A view of the Sabarmati Ashram. Photo: Mano Ranjan M/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Writers, activists, former high court judges, educationists, former civil servants and other eminent citizens have written a stern note of opposition to the Union government’s Rs 1,200-crore plan to refurbish the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad into a “world class” memorial. Decrying the spirit of the Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development Project, the 131 signatories of a letter point out the historical simplicity of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram. The plan proposes, among other things, the inclusion of an amphitheatre, food courts, a new museum (even though there is already one in place), a VIP lounge and shops. The museum building designed in the early 1960s by Charles Correa reflects all the above-mentioned values and comes across as an integral part of the premises. The concern over the erasure of an integral historical component of Gujarat bears similarity to the widespread criticism of the same government’s Central Vista project, that threatens to remove much of New Delhi’s iconic structures, along with its green cover.
— source thewire.in | 14 Aug 2021