Mahatma Gandhi – father of the Indian Nation highly important series of approx 27 autograph letters to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, and one of the most important women in modern Indian history. The earliest dating from 1920, but with others dating from the 1930s and the majority dating from the crucial period of 1938-1944. Some were written by Gandhi while in Prison. The letters, written on paper and a few postcards, are mostly written in Gandhi’s native Guajarati, with a couple in English. In remarkably good condition, in spite of the fact that Gandhi tended to use the cheapest paper and materials for his correspondence. We believe that these letters have never before been seen publicly and therefore they provide a highly important primary source of information on Gandhi and the struggle for Indian independence. Given the political importance of the recipient, they must represent one of the most important archives of letters of Gandhi to appear in recent years. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-90) the sister of the eventual first Prime Minister of India, as well as the aunt of Indira Gandhi and great aunt of Rajiv Gandhi, who also served as Prime Ministers, was a remarkable woman in her own right, being the first Indian woman to hold a cabinet post in the pre-independent Indian Government. On Indian independence she became Ambassador to the Soviet Union, the United States and Mexico and then the Indian High Commissioner in London between 1955 and 1961. She became the first woman President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. Gandhi was a close friend and political mentor, and was regarded as a family member by Vijaya. These highly important letters reveal the close bond between Gandhi and Vijaya, as their political destinies took their course through the final decades of British rule, culminating in Gandhi’s assassination and the emergence of Vijaya as one of the most important political women of the late 20th c. The letters are accompanied with full transcripts in both English and Hindi. ‘...your vessel will also be filled. Women have done more work than us. Even so much remains to be done. The modern world has as yet seen like of India’s woman power. I am convinced they will go much further ahead and I will be very surprised if you do not play a very big part in this (letter of November 11th 1930). ‘...if my blessing does not bring you peace, then whose blessing will ? By following my advice you have become my true daughter. When I think of these days, it gives me great joy...sitting here I will understand your brave work. Your name Sarup is appropriate. Jawahar [ie Nehru] is doing far more work than expected in Europe. I have no doubt that...’ (letter of August 7th 1938). ‘...on account of your health and on account of your children you should not go to jail [your husband] Ranjit is right. If you are both in jail, Ranjit will be unhappy. So stick to your creative work. The power of creativity is stronger than going to jail...the moral questions will keep arising. You can help with these. You can give some support to others. If the government cannot tolerate even this much and put you in Maini Jasil, even so no need to worry. Your girls will understand and will face it. God is with us, that alone is the truth (letter dated July 21st 1941) ‘...according to the plan I have made of our struggle, neither I nor you can be out of jail for long. If suddenly there is peace in Europe that will be another matter but let us not worry about the future. The future will be what our work makes it. The present is the father of the future ...’ (letter dated October 20th 1941) ‘...we don’t want to make new temples. Now it’s a matter of opening the old ones. We should gather our energies for that. I have little hope of opening any temple in Kathiawar... (letter from the Yeravda Jail, Poona dated May 26th 1943).