As India’s Constitution Turns 70, Opposing Sides Fight to Claim Its Author as One of Their Own

Jan 27, 2020, 12:23 PM


On Jan. 14, protesters gathered in the northern Indian city of Allahabad and lit candles at the base of a tree trunk, beside portraits of two fathers of the Indian nation.

One, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi—better known by his honorific, Mahatma (great soul)—is recognizable as the Indian independence activist and icon to peaceful protesters around the world.

The other, however, remains lesser known outside India.