Lodged in old age home in Delhi, Gandhi’s grandson looks to Rajkot

Compelled to change four shelters in the past two years, Kanu Gandhi, the US-returned grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, wants to settle down in Gujarat’s Rajkot, where his grandfather had spent the early years of his life.

At present, Kanu Gandhi, 87, stays at the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram in Delhi, where an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been converted into a room for his stay with wife Shiva Laxmi, 85.

With old age home Dikranu Ghar on the outskirts of Rajkot ready to offer lifelong accommodation, medical care and security to the couple, this former Nasa employee’s wish to move closer to the place where the Mahatma’s journey began in Porbandar may come true.

“Gujarat-Rajkot is where the roots of our family are. I would like to move there and stay for the rest of my life,” said Kanu Gandhi.

But there is a bureaucratic hurdle. “We can allow the couple to move only if recommended by a responsible authority like the PMO or any other ministry,” said Dr GP Bhagat, founder of the Delhi home.

In May, when the couple was shifted to Delhi by the authorities of Gujarat Vidyapith, an academic institute founded by the Mahatma, both the central and Delhi government had approached them to extend required help. PM Narendra Modi had sent Minister of State for culture and tourism and civil aviation Mahesh Sharma, even as the Delhi government rushed SC/ ST, child and women development minister Sandeep Kumar to call upon them.

“We read how the couple has been moving from one place to another. We want to provide a permanent stay to them,” said Mukesh Doshi of Dikranu Ghar.

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