RAMNIK GANDHI

Mahesh Dattani’s play Final Solution presents the voice of subaltern who suffer from upcoming
prejudices and react against the passionate and even violent hatred. Final Solutions is a play that
presents three families Zarine’s, Tasneem’s and Smita’s in respect of the dramatic action directly and
indirectly. Directly Smita’s family is presented. Smita’s father is Ramniklal Gandhi, who is small shop-
keeper who runs a not very big saree shop in the cloth market of the village Kamargaon near
Ahmadabad in Gujarat. The time is post-Babri Mosque demolition communal riots that hit the entire
nation. The two young Muslim boys take shelter in the house of the Gandhi family. Ramnik Gandhi is
ready to protect them fully against the fury of the violent mob outside. He defies the concern
expressed by his mother Hardika. He does not care for cautious warnings given by his wife Aruna. His
stiff authoritarian patriarchal conduct is noticed in this portion of the play which presents exposition.
The third act of the play is that of solution and “forget and forgive” is the solution offered by Ramnik
and Smita. Ramnik like Hardika wants to forget the past. He has already made an offer to Javed to
work in his saree shop as Javed will be able to talk with Bohra and Momen women that pass by his
shop. The real intension of course behind this offer comes out towards the end of the play. It is not
on account of his desire to maintain equality among the communities but it is atonement of the past
sins of his father and grandfather. The Gandhi family wanted to buy the shop owned by Zarine’s
family; offers were made by the Gandhis to the Muslim family who were not willing to give up the
ownership of their shop. Taking the advantage of the chaos after the communal riots the Gandhi
family members set fire to the shop which they wanted to buy. Then they ask for the burnt shop.
The deal is finished and now Ramnik owns the shop which is father and grandfather captured
through a deceitful trick. He atones for this sin of the patriarch of his family. The patriarchal
authority of his father and his grandfather is hoodwinked by Ramnik Gandhi. He defies them now
but he could not and did not oppose them when they actually committed the sin.

Ramniklal Gandhi after the departure of the two young Muslim boys from his house is reluctant to
go his shop. When asked by his mother Hardika about his unwillingness to do so, he discloses
something which he had held close to his heart for a long time:

“It’s their shop. It’s the same burnt up shop we bought from them, at half its value (Pause). And we
burnt it. Your husband, my father, and his father, they had it burnt in the name of communal hatred.
Because we wanted a shop.”

Ramniklal Gandhi tells his mother after many years about the act that was arranged by his father
and his grandfather. This was deceitful act. Ramniklal Gandhi has kept this sense of guilt for his
father and grandfather’s actions for a long time in his heart. The incidents of communal violence, the
visits by the two Muslim youths and the holding of the idol of Lord Krishna in hands by one of them
have totally shattered Ramnik Gandhi. He realises that he will have atone for the sins committed by
his elders.