--- description: Indian KVIC workers have been protesting after Mahatma Gandhi was replaced by Narendra Modi in their department's official calendar. title: Protests: Narendra Modi Replaces Gandhi in Indian Calendar image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53b517a1c738a487/6988b57abc6cfc81083dfc84/gettyimages-456376186.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Narendra Modi Replaced Gandhi in an Iconic Calendar and India Can't Handle It by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 13, 2017 1:17 PM CUT  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays his respects at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Indian embassy in Washington on September 30, 2014. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays his respects at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Indian embassy in Washington on September 30, 2014.NICHOLAS KAMM—AFP/Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 13, 2017 1:17 PM CUT Indian government workers have been protesting after [Mahatma Gandhi](http://100photos.time.com/photos/margaret-bourke-white-gandhi-spinning-wheel "undefined")‘s picture was replaced with images of [Prime Minister Narendra Modi](http://time.com/4589864/person-of-the-year-readers-poll-modi-win/ "undefined") in their department’s official calendar. Staff at the government’s Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) are reported to have staged a “a silent soul-cleansing” at the Mumbai headquarters. The Khadi department works to support village-level industries, a scheme close to Gandhi’s heart. Khadi itself—a hand-spun, hand-woven Indian cloth—was used by Gandhi, the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement, as a symbol for unity, empowerment and liberation. KVIC’s chairman, Vinai Kumar Saxena, told the [_Times of India_](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-modi-replaces-bapu-in-khadi-village-industries-commission-calendar-staffers-protest/articleshow/56507692.cms "undefined") that this is not the first time that the department has not used Gandhi’s image on official merchandise. “It is not compulsory and there is no rule \[on having Gandhi’s image\],” he said. According to the paper, KVIC calendars for 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011 , 2012, 2013 and 2016 did not carry any image of Gandhi. “We are pained at this systematic easing out of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas, philosophy and ideals by the government,” a KVIC employee said, according to the _ToI_. “We are not against inclusion of Modi’s picture on the dairies and calendars, but are pained not to find Gandhi’s picture.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4634256/narendra-modi-gandhi-iconic-calendar-india-kvic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4634256/narendra-modi-gandhi-iconic-calendar-india-kvic/"},"headline":"Narendra Modi Replaced Gandhi in an Iconic Calendar and India Can't Handle It","datePublished":"2017-01-13T13:17:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:36:47.667Z","description":"\"We are pained at this systematic easing out of Mahatma Gandhi's ideas\"","url":"https://time.com/4634256/narendra-modi-gandhi-iconic-calendar-india-kvic/","keywords":["India","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53b517a1c738a487/6988b57abc6cfc81083dfc84/gettyimages-456376186.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53b517a1c738a487/6988b57abc6cfc81083dfc84/gettyimages-456376186.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-INDIA-MODI-GANDHI","caption":"US-INDIA-MODI-GANDHI","creditText":"NICHOLAS KAMM—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4634256/narendra-modi-gandhi-iconic-calendar-india-kvic/","name":"Narendra Modi Replaced Gandhi in an Iconic Calendar and India Can't Handle It"}}]}] ```