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Mahatma Gandhi.
Hundreds of books have been written about Mahatma Gandhi – the Saint, Politician and Social Reformer – whose birth anniversary falls on 2 October.
1. Gandhi Before India.
2 Mohandas.
3. The Life And Death of Mahatma Gandhi.
4. The Man Before the Mahatma.
“Gandhi Before India”
by Ramachandra Guha, is based on a wealth of new material, and archival research carried out in four continents. The book presents in vivid detail, the two decades Gandhi spent in South Africa, the ideas he shaped, and the philosophies and techniques he forged, that would ultimately destroy the British Empire in India.
“Mohandas”,
written by Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Gandhiji and Rajaji, is meticulously researched and provides a candid recreation of India’s greatest person. The book goes a long way in painting a portrait of Gandhiji that is very human, plausible and easy to identify with. An impecable exercise in objectivity.
“The Life And Death of Mahatma Gandhi”,
by Robert Payne, is the result of painstaking research beginning in 1948 and continuing till the 1960s.
The author had conducted numerous interviews with almost all the major participants in the freedom struggle as well as the main associates of the Mahatma during his lifetime.
“The Man Before the Mahatma”
by Charles DiSalvo.
The greatness of the 25 year old Gujarati baniya barrister was evident early, from the time he arrived in South Africa.
Here is an excerpt from the biography of Gandhi by Prof. Charles DiSalvo.
…..” Abdulla’s commerce empire streched from Bombay to Durban to Pretoria and beyond…….
…There were large amounts of money to be made, far, far more than Gandhi ever made in his failed attempts at establishing a practice in his home country.
It was no wonder then that the European bar in Durban eyed this prospective competitor with suspicion.
Towards the end of 1894, Gandhi packed his bags and headed for Durban, from whence,it is said, he intended to sail back to India……..
…at this occasion Gandhi, while scanning a newspaper, learned for the first time that the right of the Natal Indians to vote was coming under attack in the Natal Parliament. Gandhi recalls that his merchant hosts were unaware of this threat until he called it to their attention. The merchants, now apprised of the danger to them, asked Gandhi to stay and lead the fight against this franchise legislation on their behalf……
….He agreed to stay, but on the condition that he would not be paid for his work, arguing that no one should take a salary to work on behalf of Indian rights……. The agreement was made and Gandhi’s services were secured for a month.
Gandhi’s month of service stretched on – for twenty years. Not until 1914 would he finally leave South Africa and the cause he had now embraced”.
(Charles DiSalvo is the Woodrow A. Potesta Professor of Law at West Virginia University.)
Using materials hidden away in archival vaults and brought to light for the first time, The Man Before the Mahatma, puts the reader inside dramatic experiences that changed Gandhi’s life forever and have never been written about – until now.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
