Corporators pass proposal requesting Centre to grant official ‘Father of the Nation’ status to Gandhi and that of ‘Mahatma’ to Jyotirao Phule

http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2012082320120823082232416e676f0/PMC%E2%80%99s-status-show.html

Corporators pass proposal requesting Centre to grant official 'Father
of the Nation' status to Gandhi and that of 'Mahatma' to Jyotirao
Phule

Siddharth Gadkari

Posted On Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 08:22:25 AM

RTI queries had earlier revealed both icons have no official records
conferring popular titles on them
Far from passing proposals to further progress in the city, Pune
Municipal Corporation (PMC) corporators seem to have shifted focus to
titular confusions.

PMC passed a proposal to give 'Father of the Nation' status to Mahatma
Gandhi in their general body meeting on on Wednesday evening,
petitioning the Central and State governments to make the title
official.
It also passed a proposal to make the 'Mahatma' status official for
19th century reformer Jyotirao Phule.

The unusual request came after Aishwarya Parashar, a Class VI student,
sent an RTI application to the Central Public Information Officer of
the Prime Minister's Office in February this year, seeking a photocopy
of the order through which Mahatma Gandhi was officially declared
'Father of the Nation'.

However, the National Archives of India (NAI) replied to the child
saying no specific documents were available in this regard.

The proposal in PMC was submitted by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP
corporators Ravindra Malvadkar and Anil Tingre, as well as Bhartiya
Janta Party (BJP) corporator Dhanjay Jadhav. It said, "The Centre has
no records about Gandhi's 'Father of the Nation' status.

He made the most important contribution to our freedom struggle and
showed the path of non-violence to the world. It is a painful thing
that we have no records to honour him."

It added, "We must compensate for this mistake. The Central government
should make official records in a government document. The PMC general
body is requesting the State and Centre for the same."

The General Body passed a similar proposal regarding giving the
'Mahatma' status to Jyotiba Phule. The same three corporators
submitted the proposal.

Jyotirao Phule was a social reformer in Maharashtra in the 19th
century, who revolted against the unjust caste system and fought for
women's rights, women's education and widow marriages.

The State government told Chinchwad-based Ramdas Jangam after he made
an RTI enquiry that the government does not have any records about
conferring 'Mahatma' status to Phule.

http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2012082320120823082232416e676f0/PMC%E2%80%99s-status-show.html