ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 31, 1997 TAG: 9701310040
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ALLAHABAD, INDIA
SOURCE: Associated Press
Chanting Hindu prayers, Mohandas Gandhi's great-grandson tipped a copper urn filled with the last remains of India's independence leader into the Ganges River on Thursday, 49 years after his murder.
Tushar Gandhi, sitting cross-legged with his wife and two children, ferried the urn on a barge decorated with flowers and draped with India's national colors. Priests and senior Indian politicians stood behind him, their hands folded in deference.
In a 20-minute ritual, Tushar Gandhi put holy water, milk, sweetmeats, fruits and flowers into the urn before tipping the ashes into the Ganges.
Devout Hindus believe immersing the ashes into a sacred river ensures eternal peace for the soul. The confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna at this central Indian town is considered one of the holiest sites in Hinduism.
Gandhi, known as the Mahatma, or great soul, was assassinated Jan. 30, 1948, by a Hindu fanatic who opposed his acquiescence to India's partition and the creation of Pakistan.
His ashes were divided and sent to all the states of India to be scattered in rivers. For unexplained reasons, the urn that went to the state of Orissa was instead placed in a bank safety deposit box in Cuttack, 1,100 miles southeast of New Delhi.
The urn's discovery led to a court battle by his great-grandson for the right to dispose of the ashes.
It also prompted much reflection on Gandhi's message of nonviolence, secularism and simple living, and the place in Indian history of the man still called ``the father of the nation.''
``I would like to focus the attention of the country on Gandhi's ideals,'' said his 37-year-old great-grandson, a graphic designer from Bombay. Tushar Gandhi said his court action had nothing to do with his own political ambitions.
Using a kitchen knife, Tushar Gandhi cut open strings binding the wooden box that had held the urn for 49 years. A priest with sandalwood paste and vermilion smeared on his forehead held burning incense sticks and led Gandhi through the prayers.
Another priest helped him remove the white cotton cloth, now yellowed with age, that was wrapped around the urn. Family members and politicians leaned across to touch it, then folded their palms in respect.
Hundreds of people, standing in waist-deep water near the bank, chanted ``May Mahatma Gandhi remain immortal.''
Earlier Thursday, hundreds paid homage to Gandhi by walking past the wooden box containing the urn. Leaders of various religions sat in an all-faith prayer session.
Gopalji Balmiki took the day off from work to join the procession.
``I don't want to miss this chance,'' he said, helping policemen put flowers on the truck that would take the urn to the river.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB