Palwal’s neglected Gandhi Ashram

On his way from Mumbai to Amritsar, Bapu was arrested at Palwal Railway Station in April, 1919. Curiously, some 16 years later, Subhas Chandra Bose, who had serious differences with Gandhi, laid the foundation in 1935 of an ashram in memory of the event.

Close to the railway station, Gandhi Seva Ashram on Delhi-Agra highway is spread over five acres of land but lies desolate. The ashram has a rare collection of 178 photographs and paintings but in the absence of attention, many of them have faded. The lawns are frequented by couples looking for seclusion and are let out for weddings and other functions.

Run by a Trust registered in 1957, the only time it received some government grants was when OP Chautala was the Chief Minister of Haryana. Two statues, one of Bapu and another of the iconic three monkeys who saw nor heard or spoke evil, were vandalised and stolen, confides the president of the Trust, Devicharan Mangla.

He laments indifference of the government and political leaders. Late Sushma Swaraj frequently visited her grandmother’s house a kilometer from the ashram, he informs, but never visited the ashram.