When Gandhi Planted Hope

In 1925, during his visit to Kerala for the Vaikom Satyagraha, Mahatma Gandhi visited UC College, Aluva, on March 18. As Kerala commemorates the centenary of the Vaikom Satyagraha, Gandhi’s visit to UC College holds profound historical significance.
His presence marked a defining moment in the institution’s history and Kerala’s higher education legacy. Today, two enduring memorials within the college preserve this legacy—the mango tree Gandhi planted and the words he inscribed in the visitor’s diary.
These artefacts serve as tangible reminders of a transformative moment. Among them, the mango tree stands out, its roots deeply entwined with the memory of that historic event. Standing tall near the college office, the tree persists as a living archive of history. Unlike static records confined to archives, this arboreal relic continues to grow, sustained by collective memory. Since 1925, it has stood as a silent witness to Kerala’s freedom struggle, embodying historical continuity and resistance.
I recall introducing my young daughter to this tree as a historian and educator. After narrating its significance, she gazed at its branches and asked, “Where are the mangoes?” Her innocent question struck me deeply. For her, the tree’s value lay not in its historical provenance but in its tangible relevance. Her query raised profound questions: Do historical symbols lose meaning when they cease to yield tangible outcomes? Or does their value lie in the narratives they inspire? I found myself ruminating on the profound implications of that seemingly naïve inquiry.
History is often preserved through tangible artefacts, reinforced by their presence in our collective consciousness. Over the past century, countless individuals have stood before this tree, recounting its story, photographing it, and weaving it into their personal histories.
With each retelling, Gandhi’s visit transcends time, his presence reaffirmed through oral tradition, memory, and imagery. Beneath the shadow of the classroom where generations have learned about non-cooperation and the Quit India Movement, Gandhi’s mango tree remains steadfast, absorbing the essence of time. Whether it bears fruit or not, it stands as an unwavering sentinel of Kerala’s socio-political history—an archive in its own right.
A short distance from the tree lies another artefact—the visitor’s diary in the principal’s office. Within its pages, Gandhi wrote: Delighted with the ideal situation. These words have been immortalized, etched into the college walls, quoted in speeches, and printed in handbooks.
Yet, how many grasp the political undertones of these thirty English letters?
Gandhi’s delight stemmed from UC College’s progressive ethos, a microcosm of the inclusive, residential academic environment he envisioned for India. The verdant campus, progressive student body, and commitment to social justice mirrored his ideals, making UC College an academic utopia in his eyes.
However, the current state of higher education in India starkly contrasts Gandhi’s vision. Commercialization has eroded academia’s fundamental values, reducing education to a commodity. Universities, once bastions of intellectual pursuit, now prioritize market-driven motives over critical inquiry and civic responsibility.
Faculty appointments are often influenced by monetary transactions, and academic integrity is compromised by financial expediency.
Amid this decline, UC College remains an anomaly, steadfastly upholding meritocracy and resisting commercialization. Gandhi’s delight in the ‘ideal situation’ gains renewed significance here, as the college continues to embody ethical principles in an era of ethical collapse.
The Botany department’s efforts to graft saplings from the original tree aim to create ‘grafted archives’—living extensions of Gandhi’s UC legacy. Dr Manju George of the Botany department explains that saplings propagated from Gandhimavu using wedge grafting preserve the mother plant’s traits, ensuring the legacy endures. As Walter Benjamin noted, history is a constellation of memories grasped in times of danger. In an era where higher education teeters on the brink of ethical collapse, these symbols serve as beacons, reminding us of ideals worth preserving.
Now an autonomous institution, UC College faces new challenges. Will it withstand the tide of commercialization or succumb to market-driven pressures? The mango tree and Gandhi’s inscription stand as vigilant sentinels, guarding the values UC has cherished for over a century. They are not mere relics of the past but active guardians of an ideal under siege, ensuring that Gandhi’s vision remains alive in an ever-changing world.
The writer is head, department of Environmental History, Tropical Institute of Ecological Sciences (TIES), Kottayam.