Gandhi before India

Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World

Yet another book is out on Gandhi, ‘Gandhi before India’ written by our popular historian Ramachandra Guha. A book with a difference, as it seeks to explore the context of Gandhi’s words and actions in the context of the words and opinion of his associates, friends and acquaintances. ‘The Collected Works’, the hundred-volume mammoth writings of Gandhi comprising of letters, speeches, interviews, essays, has been an authentic source and a mainstay of writers and critics, who have wanted to reflect, write or film him. The volumes are indicative of his prolific writings throughout his life. It is available today as a CDROM, but Ramachandra deviates from the norm and has based his research on the archives in India, London and Africa, in  government papers, documented court cases, letters to Gandhi from friends and adversaries. He distills a space for the reader to view Gandhi from a perspective, other than his own voice. Secondly, his emphasis is on the making of the Mahatma, given the set of circumstances, influences and experiments that he encountered in Victorian London and colonial Africa, which shaped his philosophy of non-violence, and school of thought about racism, imperialism, civil rights movement, woman emancipation and a deliverance from social evils.

Guha’s preoccupation in the book is study of the colossal metamorphosis in the persona of Gandhi which happened overseas, and turned an average man into a Mahatma. A man born in an orthodox Gujarati Bania family, was drawn by the prestige of law college in London, where he practiced vegetarianism, and returned a barrister. If the barrister had made it big in his profession in India, he would have continued as a wealthy Gujju bania, confined to his conservative community, beset with prejudices, but the failure sent him to Africa where his experiences propelled him to first defend Muslims and then discover a diasporic Indian community of Bengalis, Tamilians, Punjabis…… of hawkers, tradesmen, street urchins, professionals, lawyers, representing    India’s cultural, linguistic and religious diversities. Guha says,’Gandhi’s  skills as a writer, propagandist, organiser and fund-collector were also shaped and developed there.  He wanted to pay close attention to these decades and the interesting cast of characters he worked with — his housemates Henry and Millie Pollak; the Tamil radical Thambi Naidoo who with his fellow Tamils saved the Satyagraha movement; his secretary Sonja Schlesin who pushed him to take a more sympathetic stance on gender rights; his friend Pranjivan Mehta who funded and supported him and who played a fundamental role in shaping Gandhi. In South Africa, Gandhi had real friends, colleagues, companions; in India, he had mostly followers, disciples or rivals. He also wanted to flesh out his life in Gujarat and London in more detail. It was while he was writing for the Vegetarian Society in London that he learnt how to craft an argument, how to make a case, to collaborate with other people in an organization and how to build relationships — all very important to his later work in his homeland.’ Guha has balanced his approach by also delineating his patriarchal approach to his married life and his abominable failure with his elder son.

The book, a voluminous edition and outcome of eight years of research parlayed from his series of lectures on ‘Arguments with Gandhi’ at the University of California in Berkeley. The authorities were a little skeptical about the enrollment for the course, but the full-class attendance got Guha thinking of the great worldwide impact Gandhi had on minds transcending time, geography, and national boundaries. His epigraphic quote of Gandhi from his book ‘My Experiments with Truth’ admits to  inadequacy of autobiography as history which is an individual’s subjective truth – but our wide diverse reading as avid readers leads us to discern our own truth about man and history. In this endeavor, Guha’s book is an appreciated attempt.

The book  unintentionally draws the attention of the people away from two recent  writings:  A famous historian Jad Adams who wrote many revealing facts on Mahatma Gandhi in his book, ‘Gandhi: Naked Ambition’. The book no doubt caused a lot of swirl in the public and media, but at the same time it also invoked many questions in people’s minds about the truth of Gandhi.  Joseph Lelyveld’s ‘Great Soul’ explored the homoerotic relationship of Gandhi with his Jewish friend, Hermann Kallenbach.

‘Touchzing Media, an iOS app development company, announced  the release and immediate availability of Mahatma Gandhi Interactive Biography 1.0, its latest book title developed exclusively for Apple's revolutionary iPad device. Designed specifically for the iPad screen, this app features a complete interactive biography of Gandhi with rare photographs, videos and articles covering all the major events and people of his life. Gandhi was famous as a man of peace and this app presents his life story in an interactive format. This app aims to inspire today's generation with Gandhi's message of peace, just like he inspired millions of people, years back.’

Gandhi lives on in the contemporary world of power structures, rivalries and hatred. A flame that burns over a dark void, but its very existence and prevalence sustains hope and light in our hearts. And the cycle of life goes on!