Mahatma Gandhi's writings go online

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B), Arun Jaitley, unveiled the e-version of 100-volume 'Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi' (CWMG) on Tuesday (September 8) in New Delhi.

Minister of State for I&B Ministry, Rajyavardhan Rathore, was also present at the event.

The digital version is available in the form of DVDs. The writings of Mahatma Gandhi have been collected and compiled with rigorous academic principles by Gandhian scholars.

The project was undertaken in 2011 by the publications arm of I&B ministry in association with Vidyapeeth (founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920) in western Gujarat state.

In his address to the gathering, Jaitley thanked the institutions and scholars who helped in the making of the e-version of CWMG.

"I have full faith that for a long time to come, the society will benefit from the knowledge (made available through the digitization of CWMG). And it is a treasure, which we are going to share with the rest of the world, with almost no cost," Jaitley said.

This e-version is the first step towards digitization of the vast literature, in the custody of I&B ministry, pertaining to eminent personalities with a universal appeal.

Scholars and academicians from across the world have awaited the formal launch of the e-version, as it serves as a window of access to the authentic works of Gandhi, which were earlier unavailable to them.

The original series of CWMG took 38 years in its making (1956-94) and runs over 55,000 pages. It was spearheaded by Professor K. Swaminathan.

The CWMG volumes were withdrawn by the Indian government in 2005, after over 100 files were reported missing, especially entries comprising letters written by Gandhi to his German friend, Hermann Kallenbach, during his tenancy in South Africa.