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Publisher's Note

Delhi Diary ~ Foreword by Rajendra Prasad written by Mohandas K. Gandhi

City of the Dead

This volume of about 400 pages contains Mahatma Gandhi's post-prayer speeches during the last four and a half months of his life. As the name suggests, it is really a diary of his stay in Delhi from the 10th of September 1947 to the 30th of January 1948. As is well-known, Mahatma Gandhi was very much distressed by the happenings that had cost so many lives, so much property and much else of so much moral and spiritual value which makes life worth living. In these page, one can read the anguish which he felt and the super human effort which he was making to restore and re-establish human standards of life and conduct amongs us. As is usual with his writings and speeches, he cover a vast field in these pages. But the most striking and significant utterances relate to the establishment of peace and concord among different sections of the people, particularly the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

It is a sad commentary on our life and work than instead of achieving the object which he had in view he had to lose his life. That he had lost interest in living if he could not bring about communal unity, is apparent in these pages, and one can see an undercurrent or pessimism which was a precursor of the tragedy which overtook the country on the 30th of January last.

Truth and ahimsa work in many inscrutable ways and it may be that the miracle which was not performed by Mahatmaji during his lifetime may now be performed by him by his death. These pages are likely to contribute to the re-establishment of that peace and concord for which he worked and died.

17-3-1948 Rajendra Prasad