Kanubhai Gandhi, 86, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, died at a private hospital in Surat on Monday evening. He had been on ventilator since October 22 after suffering a heart attack.
In this famous picture, Kanubhai is seen holding Mahatma Gandhi's stick and walking ahead of him during Salt Satyagrah | mage courtesy: Gandhi Virtual Ashram website
One side of his body was paralysed. Ex-scientist at NASA, he is survived by his wife Shivalaxmi, 90. The couple did not have children.
Kanubhai was Gandhiji's third son Ramdas's son.
A family member of Gandhi's old associate Dhimat Badhia told THE WEEK that he received a call from Surat around 7 in the evening. He said that the last rites were most likely to be held in Surat.
The couple had come to India from the United States sometime in 2014 and had stayed at different places, including the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and New Delhi.
In Surat, he was undergoing treatment at Shiv Jyoti Hospital. In the diamond capital of the country, the Gandhis were looked after by a Trust that runs the Ramakrishna Temple.
The state BJP had recently announced to pay for his medical expenses. Badhia had personally contributed Rs 21,000.
The photo of Kanubhai as a child holding Mahatma Gandhi's stick and walking ahead of him during the Salt Satyagrah had become famous.
BJP president Amit Shah and party's Gujarat chief Jitubhai Vaghani have expressed grief over Kanubhai's death.
Shivalaxmi faces difficulty in hearing and suffers from age related problems.
