Mahatma Gandhi, his Salem visit and philately

Hasthampatti in Salem district is of historical importance. Mahatma Gandhi had stayed in the single-storey house here during his eight-hour visit to Salem in February 1934, as part of his cross-country tour to abolish untouchability. The building housed the local post office, then called Komarasamipatti, since July 1962. After about 35 years, the postal authorities set up a philatelic museum on Gandhiji in a room of about 170 square meters on the first floor of the building that belonged to Natesa Pandaram about 90 years ago. Built in an architectural style exemplifying what was prevalent during the British period, the heritage structure has a bust of the Father of the Nation near the portico.

Salem had special significance for him as it was the hometown of two Congress stalwarts, C. Vijiaraghavachariar and P. Varadarajulu Naidu; He was praised by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji or CR) as “one of the most intelligent and creative minds we had in the early Congress in South India, with a track record of working among the masses.”

In August 1920, Gandhiji, Rajaji and their colleague in the Khilafat movement, Shaukat Ali, stayed at Naidu’s house before leaving for Bengaluru. Vijiaraghavachariar had encouraged Gandhi to persuade Congress members to take the traditional constitutional route of non-cooperation. At a special session of the All India Congress Committee in Calcutta in September 1920, Vijiaraghavachariar and Motilal Nehru advised him to include the following demand in his proposed resolution: “swaraj.”

Visitors browse the stamp collection on display at the Mahatma Gandhi Philatelic Museum in the Indian Post Office building in Hasthampatti, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed during his visit to Salem in 1934 | Photo Credit: E. Lakshmi Narayanan

From his dozens of visits to the Madras State between 1896 and 1946, the Mahatma left his footprint wherever he visited. In 1920, 1923 and 1934 he went to Salem, now one of the thriving tier 2 cities. The year 1934 was of greater significance as it was the year in which Gandhiji toured the country as part of the campaign for the removal of untouchability. TSS Rajan, who represented Tiruchi in the old Central Assembly; A leading member of Rajaji’s camp in the Congress and the Minister for Health, Food and Public Works in the regimes of 1937-39 and 1947-51, in his first-hand account of Gandhiji’s 1934 tour, he vividly and distinctively narrated his visit to Salem.

In a 1944 publication Tamizh Naattil Gandhi [Gandhi in Tamil Nadu]Praising Natesa Pandaram and his family for the way they welcomed Gandhiji in their bungalow, Rajan wrote that there was a restaurant in the town known as ‘Gandhi Aiyar’ and the owner of the restaurant was also known by this name.

After joining the Harijan movement, ‘Gandhi Aiyar’ had decided to open his restaurant to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and allow them to dine with members of other communities. Within a week, the restaurant suffered a negative turnaround as it began to receive fewer and fewer customers and the owner of the restaurant soon went bankrupt. Yet ‘Gandhi Aiyar’ Gandhi had remained steadfast on his path. Gradually the public began to support him again. The Salem city council had passed a resolution calling on all restaurants within its territorial boundaries to allow malls and warning them that it would revoke their licenses if they served faulty food. This was also confirmed by the British government.

chakra The spinning wheel used by Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to Salem in 1934 was exhibited at the philatelic museum in Hasthampatti | Photo Credit: E. Lakshmi Narayanan

When Gandhiji heard this story, he agreed to visit the restaurant, but according to Rajan, there was so much crowd there that day that the visitor could not even get out of his car. ‘Gandhi Aiyar’ had great difficulties approaching the car to garland Gandhiji and present him a bag for the Harijan Fund. a report Hindu On 16 February 1934, he identified the owner as Subba Aiyar and the restaurant as ‘Gandhi Motel’ and also stated that Aiyar gave Gandhiji a purse worth ₹151.

According to this newspaper, Gandhiji’s itinerary included interaction with women at a college and visits to Vijiaraghavachariar’s house and the Harijan Labor Union. He also addressed a public meeting on the university grounds. Hindu He reported: “More than fifty thousand people had gathered there to hear him. More had to stay on the roads to ask for more.” [sic] Loudspeakers were placed for accommodation in that square, which is the largest open space this town can manage.”

More than anything else, it was his stirring speech at the public meeting that made his visit memorable. “In one sentence, I will say that all castes should have equal rights. When we feel that we are all God’s creatures, there can be no untouchability in our minds. We are all Harijans. I think caste-Hindus cannot be accepted by God for not doing our duty towards Harijans. If we want to receive God’s blessings, we must elevate Harijans. They should be given the same privileges that caste Hindus enjoy.” According to this newspaper, Gandhiji appealed to the residents of Salem to contribute to the relief fund set up for those affected by the massive earthquake that occurred in Bihar in January that year.

Established in January 1997 on the initiative of S. Theodore Baskaran, the then Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) of the Tamil Nadu Circle, who is also a bilingual writer on many subjects, including art, history, conservation and films, the philatelic museum displays Gandhiji commemorative stamps and first-day postal covers issued by many countries, including India and African and Caribbean regions.

Reclining teakwood chair used by Gandhiji during his stay in Salem in 1934 as visitors to the Mahatma Gandhi Philatelic Museum in Hasthampatti | Photo Credit: E. Lakshmi Narayanan

Also on display is a teakwood reclining chair that Gandhiji used during his stay in Salem. A. chakra (spinning wheel), Besides the photograph he used at the Gandhi Ashram Tiruchengode, not far from Salem, photographs taken with various leaders at the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat are also on display. In March 2003, the then Western Region General Manager Shanthi Nair (later CPMG) announced the raid.

Although the postal department in Salem uses the museum to promote philately among students, there is room for improvement in the maintenance and upkeep of the place. Authorities can use modern technology to attract young people who set up interactive devices.

It was published – 13 May 2026 06:30 IST