Gandhi lost in hometown, found in Dandi

GANDHIAN VISION: The Mahatma's Porbandar and Dandi have changed since his lifetime.

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Keywords: 2002 Riots, Godhra

Porbandar: Kirtimandir is an austere building in the old part of Porbandar: except for the charkha painted on its façade nothing indicates that Mahatma Gandhi was born here.

And there is little to indicate that Porbandar is the Mahatma’s hometown. The 100-km coastline along Porbandar has mines and minerals that have turned Mahatma-land into mafia land.

The Rs 200-crore limestone industry in Porbandar has spawned generations of mafia dons like Sarman Munja Jadeja and then his wife, Santokben Jadeja. Porbandar’s current mafia king is Bhima Dula is in jail but he still invokes fear.

Businessman Bharat Modhwadiya’s father was shot dead outside their home—the fallout of a business rivalry. Bharat fears for his family’s life in Porbandar. “I have sent my son to a boarding school out of town, I don't want even the shadow of Porbandar to fall on him,” says Bharat.

As satya (truth) and ahimsa (non-violence) give way to muscle power, it's not just Porbander where money and strong-arm tactics rule.

Kantilal Amrutiya, BJP MLA from Morbi, spent months in jail on a murder charge but was absolved recently and is contesting the Assembly elections in December. Jayrajsinh Jadeja, BJP MLA from Gondal, faces murder charges but that hasn’t stopped him from contesting elections. Purushottam Solanki, a minister accused of crimes, is contesting the elections too. The Congress too has patronised candidates wielding muscle and money power like Vithal Radadiya.

The new Dandi

All is not bleak for Gandhi though. In Dandi, where the Mahatma broke the British monopoly over salt after a 400km journey, it’s Gujarati entrepreneurs like Babubhai Tandel who are giving a new meaning to Gandhism.

Dandi is now better known for shrimp and prawns. Tandel, 50, quit his job in America and came back to Dandi. Today the year old entrepreneur Gujarati is exporting prawns back to America, the country once his home.

Half of Dandi’s original resident live abroad. The story of Gujarati success is repeated in countries around the globe from Africa to England to Canada. But at some point in time they all march back to Dandi and the Dandi beach.

Their economic clout extends into billions of dollars and they are key players in retail, the diamond industry, and the motel industry. Yet for all their prosperity in far-off lands, it was as if the Gujaratis never left their village. So when the government could not supply water to this coastal town, Gujarati NRIs sent Rs 22 lakh for a new water tank.

At a Vibrant Gujarat meet held in Ahemdabad earlier this year, Chief Minister Narendra Modi made SEZs his special theme. The whole of Gujarat is an SEZ, he said. S stands for Spirituality. E for entrepreneurship and Z for zeal.

The applause was thundering. Wonder what Gandhi would have to said that.