Mahatma Gandhi’s Last Personal Secretary V. Kalyanam No More: 10 Things To Know

Kalyanam was one of the few who witnessed Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948. He was the man who informed both India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel of Gandhi’s death.

Photo Courtesy: AFP

Chennai: Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s last personal secretary V. Kalyanam passed away due to old-age related ailments in Chennai.

He breathed his last aged 99 at his daughter’s residence in Chennai on Tuesday.

Kalyanam joined the freedom struggle during the Quit India Movement in 1942. He was Mahatma Gandhi’s personal secretary from 1943 to 1948 during which his job was to sort out thousands of mails that came for the former.

Kalyanam was one of the few who witnessed Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948. He was the man who informed both India’s first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel of Gandhi’s death.

Kalyanam later worked as Edwina Mountbatten’s secretary in London. He returned a few years later and then worked for C. Rajagopalachari and Jayaprakash Narayan.

Kalyanam often criticized the Congress Party for forgetting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and was also critical of India’s first prime minister Pandit Nehru.

He joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2014.