[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

A one-page typed letter dated 18 January 1975 from Madhu Mehta, National Convenor of the Hindustani Movement (84-A Nepean Sea Road, Bombay-400 006), to Minoo Masani at his Personnel & Productivity Services office on Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay-1. Mehta writes to solicit Masani’s participation in the Movement’s observance of ‘Gandhi Nirvan Din’ on 30 January 1975, the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination.

Mehta proposes that in addition to the separate prayers and meetings that political parties and social institutions would customarily hold that day, from 30 January onward the date should also be jointly observed as ‘Shanti Din’, with all political parties and other organisations conducting evening prayers together. Framing the appeal against the backdrop of what he calls ‘these troubled times, when there is so much violence, suspicion and hatred all around us’, he argues that on Gandhi’s death anniversary organisations should set aside their disagreements and gather in silence to honour Gandhi’s memory.

Accordingly, Mehta invites Masani to a prayer meeting the Hindustani Movement is organising at Hutatma Chowk, Bombay, at 6.15 p.m. on 30 January 1975. He notes the distinctive design of the programme: there will be no speeches, only prayers, alongside tape-recorded speeches of Gandhi and others who died for India’s freedom. He closes by asking Masani to accept the invitation on the Movement’s behalf and to convey his decision as early as possible.

Key points

• Letter from Madhu Mehta (National Convenor, Hindustani Movement) to Minoo Masani, dated 18 January 1975, sent from 84-A Nepean Sea Road, Bombay-400 006.
• Addressed to Masani at his Personnel & Productivity Services office in the Army & Navy Building, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay-1.
• Requests Masani’s participation in the observance of ‘Gandhi Nirvan Din’ on 30 January 1975, the anniversary of Gandhi’s death.
• Proposes that going forward, 30 January also be observed as ‘Shanti Din’, with political parties and other organisations conducting joint evening prayers.
• Frames the appeal against a climate of ‘violence, suspicion and hatred’, calling on groups to set aside differences and gather in silence for Gandhi.
• Invites Masani specifically to the Movement’s prayer meeting at Hutatma Chowk, Bombay, at 6.15 p.m. on 30 January 1975.
• Programme design is unusual: no speeches at all, only prayers, plus tape-recorded speeches of Gandhi and other freedom-fighters.
• Asks Masani to accept the invitation on behalf of the Hindustani Movement and to convey his decision as early as possible.