Mohandas Gandhi, the most iconic figure of Indian nationalism, remains an inspiration for anti-capitalists and peace activists globally. Seventy years after his death, however, his legacy remains contested: was he a saint, revolutionary, class conciliator, or self-obsessed spiritual zealot? This biography examines his campaigns from South Africa to India to evaluate the successes and failures of Satyagraha and Ahimsa. The contradictions of Gandhi's politics are unpacked through an analysis of the social forces at play in the mass movement around him. Entrusted to liberate the oppressed of India, his key support base were in fact industrialists, landlords and the rich peasantry. Gandhi's moral imperatives often clashed with these vested material interests, as well as with more radical currents to his left. Today, our world is scarred by permanent wars, racist violence, environmental destruction, and economic crisis. Can non-violent resistance win against state and corporate power? This book explores Gandhi's experiments in civil disobedience to assess their relevance for struggles today.
Simple text and photographs introduce the life and accomplishments of the Indian political and spiritual leader who led his country to freedom from British rule through his policy of nonviolent resistance.
Presents Essential Writings Of Mahatma Gandhi Under 8 Different Sections-Autobiographical Writings-The Search For God-Pursuit Of Truths Stead Fast Resistance And Epilogue.
On January 30, 1948, Mohandas Gandhi, the world's most revered champion of nonviolent civil disobedience, was murdered in cold blood by a man he'd never met. Gandhi was legendary?in his native India and around the globe?as the Mahatma, a "great soul." So why did Nathuram Godse, an ardent Hindu nationalist, murder him? Darkness Everywhere traces the remarkable journey of one of the twentieth century's most unconventional warriors?and his assassins?to their fateful encounter in Delhi. This is a story of Gandhi's great achievements, the enemies who brought him down, and the legacy that continues to inspire the fight for freedom and justice around the world.
A More Heroic Tale Has Yet To Be Told . . . [Mohandas] Is Meticulously Researched, Written In Felicitous Prose And Is A Delight To Read Khushwant Singh, Outlook A Candid Recreation Of One Of The Most Influential Lives Of Recent Times, Mohandas Finally Answers Questions Long Asked About The Timid Youth From India S West Coast Who Became A Century S Conscience And Led His Nation To Liberty: What Was Gandhi Like In His Daily Life And In His Closest Relationships? In His Face-Offs With An Empire, With His Own Bitterly Divided People, With His Adversaries, His Family And His Greatest Confrontation With Himself? Answering These And Other Questions, And Releasing The True Gandhi From His Shroud Of Fame And Myth, Mohandas, Authored By A Practised Biographer Who Is Also Gandhi S Grandson, Does More Than Tell A Story. Praise For The Book Rajmohan Strikes A Fine Balance In This Comprehensive Work, Lacing The Painstakingly Detailed Chronological Account With Just The Right Amount Of Interpretation. [His] Approach Goes A Long Way In Painting A Portrait Of Gandhiji That Is Very Human, Plausible, And Easy To Identify With Mukund Padmanabhan, The Hindu An Impeccable Exercise In Objectivity . . . A Remarkable Performance. This Biography Ought To Be Read Over And Over Again . . . The Bareness Of Rajmohan S Recital Of Moods And Events Heightens The Poignancy . . . Mahatma Gandhi Was A Votary Of Restraint; This Book Exemplifies, Magnificently, Such Restraint. The Grandfather Would Have Approved Of Rajmohan S Mohandas Ashok Mitra, Telegraph A Story Of Epic Proportions . . . Gandhi S Luminous Compassion, Courage And Humanity Shine Through These Pages And Bring Light Into Our Lives Sonia Gandhi The Only Word To Describe This Work Is Fabulous . Literally Scores Of People Have Written On Mahatma Gandhi . . . But . . . Mohandas Will Henceforth Be Remembered As The Last Word On The Subject M.V. Kamath, Organizer
A biography detailing Gandhi’s twenty-year stay in South Africa and his attitudes and behavior in the nation’s political context. In the pantheon of freedom fighters, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has pride of place. His fame and influence extend far beyond India and are nowhere more significant than in South Africa. “India gave us a Mohandas, we gave them a Mahatma,” goes a popular South African refrain. Contemporary South African leaders, including Mandela, have consistently lauded him as being part of the epic battle to defeat the racist white regime. The South African Gandhi focuses on Gandhi’s first leadership experiences and the complicated man they reveal—a man who actually supported the British Empire. Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed unveil a man who, throughout his stay on African soil, stayed true to Empire while showing a disdain for Africans. For Gandhi, whites and Indians were bonded by an Aryan bloodline that had no place for the African. Gandhi’s racism was matched by his class prejudice towards the Indian indentured. He persistently claimed that they were ignorant and needed his leadership, and he wrote their resistances and compromises in surviving a brutal labor regime out of history. The South African Gandhi writes the indentured and working class back into history. The authors show that Gandhi never missed an opportunity to show his loyalty to Empire, with a particular penchant for war as a means to do so. He served as an Empire stretcher-bearer in the Boer War while the British occupied South Africa, he demanded guns in the aftermath of the Bhambatha Rebellion, and he toured the villages of India during the First World War as recruiter for the Imperial army. This meticulously researched book punctures the dominant narrative of Gandhi and uncovers an ambiguous figure whose time on African soil was marked by a desire to seek the integration of Indians, minus many basic rights, into the white body politic while simultaneously excluding Africans from his moral compass and political ideals. Praise for The South African Gandhi “In this impressively researched study, two South African scholars of Indian background bravely challenge political myth-making on both sides of the Indian Ocean that has sought to canonize Gandhi as a founding father of the struggle for equality there. They show that the Mahatma-to-be carefully refrained from calling on his followers to throw in their lot with the black majority. The mass struggle he finally led remained an Indian struggle.” —Joseph Lelyveld, author of Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India “This is a wonderful demonstration of meticulously researched, evocative, clear-eyed and fearless history writing. It uncovers a story, some might even call it a scandal, that has remained hidden in plain sight for far too long. The South African Gandhi is a big book. It is a serious challenge to the way we have been taught to think about Gandhi.” —Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things
India-born Mohandas Gandhi practiced law in South Africa, where he tested his theory of civil resistance to get rights for the Indians there. Upon returning to India, he used the same practices to protest for independence from British rule--and became a global symbol of peace. Illustrations.
Recounts the life and struggles of the young Indian lawyer who became the leader of the movement for the independence of India through the use of nonviolence.
Gandhi's Salt March united all Indians in peaceful protest for independence. Yet British forces met them with violence and imprisonment. In this story of India's struggle for freedom, we'll learn how Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent action overpowered the British government. And we'll witness how Gandhi's actions influenced civil rights movements around the world. "With this salt, I am rocking the foundations of an Empire."―Mohandas Gandhi, 1930 On April 6, 1930, Mohandas Gandhi stood on the coast of the Arabian Sea in western India. He and his followers had walked 241 miles (388 kilometers) to reach this place. Now, at the end of their long journey, Gandhi made a simple gesture marking the beginning of a revolution: he reached down, grabbed a clump of sea salt, and raised it overhead. This signaled to all Indians to embark on a course of civil disobedience―making and selling their own salt. At this time, India had been ruled by the British Empire for more than 200 years. The British had taken control of India's main industries, including its highly profitable salt manufacturing process. By law, Indians were not allowed to produce their own salt―or to even pick up a lump of sea salt. Everyone in India, no matter how poor, paid a salt tax to the British government.
