Ramchandra Gandhi, famous for his rich and varied interests, left behind a large corpus of writings, both philosophical and non-philosophical. Introducing the readers to the creative Indian philosopher, this volume highlights the principal thrust of his works, critically locates them within the larger political, philosophical, literary and socio-cultural context, and accounts for his lasting influence. For the first time, essays on Ramchandra Gandhi’s earlier works and later writings have been brought together to take stock of his contribution to contemporary Indian thought as a whole. Written by philosophers as well as those belonging to literature and the social sciences, the essays record his experimental ventures both in form and content, and shed light on key themes in language, communication, religion, aesthetics, spirituality, consciousness, self, knowledge, politics, ethics, and non-violence. The book will appeal to those in philosophy, political science, history, sociology, literature, and Gandhian studies.
Here is the first volume of a magisterial biography of Mohandas Gandhi that gives us the most illuminating portrait we have had of the life, the work and the historical context of one of the most abidingly influential—and controversial—men in modern history. Ramachandra Guha—hailed by Time as “Indian democracy’s preeminent chronicler”—takes us from Gandhi’s birth in 1869 through his upbringing in Gujarat, his two years as a student in London and his two decades as a lawyer and community organizer in South Africa. Guha has uncovered myriad previously untapped documents, including private papers of Gandhi’s contemporaries and co-workers; contemporary newspapers and court documents; the writings of Gandhi’s children; and secret files kept by British Empire functionaries. Using this wealth of material in an exuberant, brilliantly nuanced and detailed narrative, Guha describes the social, political and personal worlds inside of which Gandhi began the journey that would earn him the honorific Mahatma: “Great Soul.” And, more clearly than ever before, he elucidates how Gandhi’s work in South Africa—far from being a mere prelude to his accomplishments in India—was profoundly influential in his evolution as a family man, political thinker, social reformer and, ultimately, beloved leader. In 1893, when Gandhi set sail for South Africa, he was a twenty-three-year-old lawyer who had failed to establish himself in India. In this remarkable biography, the author makes clear the fundamental ways in which Gandhi’s ideas were shaped before his return to India in 1915. It was during his years in England and South Africa, Guha shows us, that Gandhi came to understand the nature of imperialism and racism; and in South Africa that he forged the philosophy and techniques that would undermine and eventually overthrow the British Raj. Gandhi Before India gives us equally vivid portraits of the man and the world he lived in: a world of sharp contrasts among the coastal culture of his birthplace, High Victorian London, and colonial South Africa. It explores in abundant detail Gandhi’s experiments with dissident cults such as the Tolstoyans; his friendships with radical Jews, heterodox Christians and devout Muslims; his enmities and rivalries; and his often overlooked failures as a husband and father. It tells the dramatic, profoundly moving story of how Gandhi inspired the devotion of thousands of followers in South Africa as he mobilized a cross-class and inter-religious coalition, pledged to non-violence in their battle against a brutally racist regime. Researched with unequaled depth and breadth, and written with extraordinary grace and clarity, Gandhi Before India is, on every level, fully commensurate with its subject. It will radically alter our understanding and appreciation of twentieth-century India’s greatest man.
Exploring the meaning of a Buddhist story, this book is a testimony of faith in the urgent relevance of India's spiritual traditions to the future of life on Earth, and it is an inquiry into the meaning of some central notions of these traditions. The value of spiritual traditions and of life itself is at stake here. In the Introduction, Ramchandra Gandhi raises the Ayodhya issue to international and universal levels. In the text, he offers a solution on the local and national levels. The temple mound in Ayodhya --the sacred hill on which the present Babri Masjid was built, also known as "Sita's Kitchen"--was originally a sacred place of the Adivasis (the aboriginal inhabitants of the subcontinent). It was sacred to the Goddess, the great nurturing earth, the fecund source of all life, the aboriginal presupposition of all later religions. As an aboriginal place sacred to the Mother Goddess, the hill in Ayodhya brings together all religions. Rather than a source of conflict, Ayodhya should become a meeting ground for the divergent religious traditions of the world to see their ultimate harmony. In the Buddhist story, the principal female character is an adivasi named Ananya ("not other"). The opposing sides come to see their oneness in Ananya. The frame-story is taken from the Vinaya-pitaka of the Pali Canon. It is the Bhaddavaggiyavatthu or "The Story of the Group of Well-Off Ones."
Ramachandra Guha’s India after Gandhi is a magisterial account of the pains, struggles, humiliations and glories of the world’s largest and least likely democracy. A riveting chronicle of the often brutal conflicts that have rocked a giant nation, and of the extraordinary individuals and institutions who held it together, it established itself as a classic when it was first published in 2007. In the last decade, India has witnessed, among other things, two general elections; the fall of the Congress and the rise of Narendra Modi; a major anti-corruption movement; more violence against women, Dalits, and religious minorities; a wave of prosperity for some but the persistence of poverty for others; comparative peace in Nagaland but greater discontent in Kashmir than ever before. This tenth anniversary edition, updated and expanded, brings the narrative up to the present. Published to coincide with seventy years of the country’s independence, this definitive history of modern India is the work of one of the world’s finest scholars at the height of his powers.
An epic and revelatory biography of one of the most abidingly influential--and controversial--men in modern history. Opening with Gandhi's triumphant return to India in 1915 after decades abroad, and ending with his tragic assassination in 1949, Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World is a remarkable, moving portrait that provides a crucial re-evaluation of India's iconic leader for a new generation. Drawing on a wealth of newly uncovered materials unavailable to previous biographers, acclaimed historian and author Ramachandra Guha brings the past to life with extraordinary grace and clarity. Deploying his gifts as a storyteller and scholar, Guha presents Gandhi as both a fascinating human being--a man of fierce hope, eccentric personal beliefs, and sometimes dark and alarming contradictions--as well as a dynamic political force and global icon. Sharp, insightful, balanced, and impeccably researched, this free-standing sequel to Guha's magisterial biography Gandhi Before India is an indispensable resource for a contemporary understanding of Gandhi's ever-evolving legacy.
An extraordinary history of resistance and the fight for Indian independence—the little-known story of seven foreigners to India who joined the movement fighting for freedom from British colonial rule. Rebels Against the Raj tells the story of seven people who chose to struggle for a country other than their own: foreigners to India who across the late 19th to late 20th century arrived to join the freedom movement fighting for independence from British colonial rule. Of the seven, four were British, two American, and one Irish. Four men, three women. Before and after being jailed or deported they did remarkable and pioneering work in a variety of fields: journalism, social reform, education, the emancipation of women, environmentalism. This book tells their stories, each renegade motivated by idealism and genuine sacrifice; each connected to Gandhi, though some as acolytes where others found endless infuriation in his views; each understanding they would likely face prison sentences for their resistance, and likely live and die in India; each one leaving a profound impact on the region in which they worked, their legacies continuing through the institutions they founded and the generations and individuals they inspired. Through these entwined lives, wonderfully told by one of the world’s finest historians, we reach deep insights into relations between India and the West, and India’s story as a country searching for its identity and liberty beyond British colonial rule.
The twenty-first century has been dubbed the Asian Century. Highlighting diverse thinker-politicians rather than billionaire businessmen, Makers of Modern Asia presents eleven leaders who theorized and organized anticolonial movements, strategized and directed military campaigns, and designed and implemented political systems.
