Gayatri Devi reaches out to injured child

‘‘The child has lost his elbows and I don’t know if it is possible to give him artificial arms. But if it is, I would like to help and pay for the cost. Maybe it can be done in Iraq. Or, it can be done here in India and he can be brought here?’’ she said, speaking to The Indian Express over the phone.

Little Ali has lost his father, mother and brother and had told the Reuters correspondent at Kindi Hospital that ‘‘if I don’t get a pair of hands, I’ll commit suicide.’’ The Rajmata is incensed by the war in Iraq. ‘‘This war is very wrong. Why kill so many civilians? It is terrible. It is not for George Bush to remove Saddam Hussein but for the people of Iraq to do that. So many people are suffering as a result, like this child.’’

The Rajamata expressed her disappointment that there have not been more demonstrations in India against the war. ‘‘It’s very strange,’’ she said.