New Delhi: Dr Ramchandra Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and renowned philosopher and writer, was found dead at the India International Centre, Delhi, on Wednesday.
His body was found in Room No 15 of the IIC. The cause of death was reportedly natural. Ramchandra was 70 years old.
"As there was no response despite several calls, the room was broken open and he was found lying on the ground. Perhaps he died of a cardiac arrest," IIC secretary Venugopal said.
His family and relatives were informed and he was immediately rushed to the RML Hospital, he said.
Dr Gandhi, one of Delhi's best-known speakers on matters philosophical, was one of IIC's most familiar faces. "A regular at IIC, Ramchandra had checked in on June 10.''
Dr Gandhi used to live in the Bengali Market area of the capital. According to family sources, he moved into IIC to escape the heat as it was really bothering him.
The IIC staff reported that he was in good spirits when he arrived and had a chat with the receptionists. He then ordered for some tea and water in the room. This was the last the staff saw of him before breaking into his room on Wednesday morning.
Police said it did not suspect any foul play and prima facie it seems to be a case of natural death as the room was locked from inside. However, something definite would be available only after the post-mortem report comes, they added.
Ramchandra Gandhi was the son of Devdas Gandhi, Mahatma's fourth son. Ramchandra's mother was the daughter of Rajaji, renowned freedom fighter and first governor-general of Independent India.
Ramchandra was one of the four children of Devdas Gandhi and elder brother of West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Renowned historian Rajmohan Gandhi is his elder brother. His father Devdas Gandhi was a renowned journalist in his times and was a former editor of The Hindustan Times.
He had doctoral degrees in philosophy from Delhi and Oxford and taught philosophy in Britain, USA and at Hyderabad, Shantiniketan and Punjab in India.
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He also taught comparative religion at educational institutions like St Stephens. He was a former professor at Princeton University and Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of South Asian and Comparative Philosophy at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
A proclaimed Advaitin, a follower of Ramana Maharshi and a member of the illustrious Gandhi clan, Dr Gandhi combined an academic interest in Indian philosophy with a deeply felt experiential approach to life in general and Indian society.
An author of several books on philosophy, Ramchandra had also written and produced several plays and a film on his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. He had several books to his credit, including Sitas's Kitchen, Svaraj: A Journey with Tyeb Mehta's 'Shantiniketan Tryptich, Munniya's Light and others. Munniya's Light was Ramachandra Gandhi's maiden venture into fiction.
A renowned playwright, Dr Gandhi researched and wrote six plays, each dealing with spiritual greats like Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Francis of Assisi and Ramana Mahanti through the abhinaya of Narayan. His Kathak-based dance-drama Sanmati — which was based on Chapters VI to X of Mahatma Gandhi's Experiments with Truth — earned him a lot of accolade.
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