Mahatma Gandhi’s letters to his elder son Harilal written in 1935 may trigger storm as they reveal that Mahatma’s eldest son was as an alcoholic and child molester. Three explosive letters that highlight Mahatma Gandhi's deep concerns over the behaviour of his eldest son, Harilal, will go under the hammer at an auction in England next week.
In June 1935, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to Harilal, accusing him of raping his own daughter,Manu, while she was eight years old only. He urged him to give up "alcohol and debauchery" also. In the letter, Mahatma Gandhi stated that Harilal's problems were more difficult for him to deal with than the struggle for Indian independence.
In one of the letter Gandhi wrote: “Manu is telling me dangerous things about you. She says you raped her before eight years. I can never believe she would lie.”Another rare autographed letter reads "Please let me have the pure truth, please tell me if you are still interested in alcohol and debauchery. I wish that you would rather die than resort to alcohol in any manner".One letter from Gandhiji also refers to Harilal’s ‘illicit’ relations with his dead wife’s sister.
The series of letters is part of Mullock's Historical Documents Sale at Ludlow Racecourse on May 22. The letters expected to fetch £60,000 when they go under the hammer at Mullock’s auction house in Shropshire next Thursday .The auctioneers have earlier sold 50 rare personal objects belonging to Gandhi that included a drop of his blood for a whopping Rs 2.5 crore or 287,000 pounds.
