Two lowly-paid caretakers battle scorching heat in an open hall at Gandhi Ashram in Bhitiharwa, 60 km from Bettiah in West Champaran. Along the road to the sleepy, forested village dotted with Dalit hamlets, one comes across mike-fitted SUVs blaring slogans of different parties and candidates in the fray from the Valmiki Nagar lok Sabha constituency. But no one cares to visit Gandhi Ashram at Bhitiharwa to pay either tribute or to make an honest pledge to voters.
The symbol of Bapu’s fight against the might of the British imperialism seems to offer no inspiration to our modern day politicians who routinely swear by the Gandhian values and ethos. Top political personalities like BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, RJD chief lalu Prasad, lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have addressed public rallies in West Champaran during the last one week, but no one took time off to visit the ashram.
There is a superstition that keeps netas away from the ashram during the poll time. It is believed that those making false promises after visiting the ashram are bound to meet with political debacle. Anirudh Chaurasia, whose grandfather was associated with Gandhi during his stay here, claims that he knows a host of politicians who lost offices or elections after visiting the ashram.
“It is sad that they lie here also. I remember lalu Prasad coming here in 2000 and declaring that then Chief Minister Rabri Devi had promised to upgrade local Kasturba Gandhi Mahila High School to an inter-college, but it remained a promise. The school is closed now,” says Anirudh, who kept the institution running for years.
While politicians avoid the ashram during electioneering, they do keep coming here during non-election time. The list of political visitors is long and unending. It includes former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar, George Fernandes, Rahul Gandhi, Ramvilas Paswan, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Uma Bharti, Oscar Fernandes Yashwant Sinha, Ajit Singh, etc. Anirudh points out that out of all the visitors only Nitish Kumar took interest in the expansion and re-construction of the ashram.
A tourist quarter is coming up within the ashram to provide accommodation to those who want to spend time here to undertake research or soul searching. “I met Nitish Kumar at a Janata Darbar and persuaded him to visit the ashram. Since then he is taking keen interest in its revival,” says Anirudh. Gujarat Vidyapith and Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram have donated Gandhi charkhas and lots of books to Bhitiharwa ashram.
Caretaker Awdhesh Chaurasia points out that a few people come to the ashram, which is 17 km from the Narkatiyganj railway station. The ashram was acquired by the Government in 1986 and is well maintained. A room where Gandhi stayed with Kasturba is kept closed. As you enter the place you confront the troika of Gandhi’s famous monkeys. Alas, few are ready to grasp their supreme message in the cacophony of elections.
