Gandhi Family Scatters Ashes

Biography seeks to end hagiography of the leader of Indian independence

(NEWSER) - Mohandas Gandhi may have been a great man, leading India to independence, but he was also a great jerk, leading a life of racism, self-promotion, sexual weirdness, and cruelty—or so says the new biography Great Soul, by former New York Times executive editor Joseph Lelyveld. Gandhi's early biographers dubbed him a "moral demi-god," but Lelyveld's book shows a much more human image. "Gandhi was therefore the archetypal 20th-century progressive intellectual," writes Andrew Roberts in his review in the Wall Street Journal , "professing his love for mankind as a concept while actually despising people as individuals." More»

The message: 'Goodbye bitch!'

(NEWSER) - Five years after Hurricane Katrina changed the face of New Orleans forever, residents of St. Bernard Parish yesterday put her to rest with a mock funeral. Parishioners filed past an empty casket, dropping in notes, reports the Times-Picayune . "Goodbye bitch," read the note from the former parish president. “To commemorate what happened five years ago, we come together in grief, in gratitude and with hope,” said the archibishop presiding over the service, wryly acknowledging applause as the casket closed. More»

Tycoon pays $1.8m for Gandhi glasses, watch, sandals to donate to government

(NEWSER) - The few worldly possessions that Mahatma Gandhi left behind will be returning to his homeland after an Indian tycoon bought them at a controversial New York auction yesterday, the Washington Post reports. Vijay Mallya paid $1.8 million for the independence leader's spectacles, pocket watch and sandals, and pledged to donate them to India's government. More»

(NEWSER) - India has rejected a donation offer from the owner of Mahatma Gandhi’s personal effects, set for auction today in New York, the Times reports. James Otis, a peace activist who owns Gandhi’s glasses, watch, and sandals, wanted India to exhibit the items or increase spending on its poor to 5% of GDP. Even Gandhi “would not have agreed to conditions,” an official said. More»

'Insult' to India 'must be stopped,' says great-grandson

(NEWSER) - Mahatma Gandhi’s heirs have slammed a New York auction of his few belongings, calling it “immoral,” the Daily Telegraph reports. “It must be stopped," said Gandhi’s great-grandson. "It would be a grave insult to the nation if these items”—including sandals, pocket watch, and spectacles—“were sold off.” Indian MPs have called for the items’ return, and people worldwide have offered to donate a month’s salary to the fight. More»