Gandhi : the years that changed the world, 1914-1948

The second and concluding volume of the magisterial biography that began with the acclaimed, Gandhi Before India: the definitive portrait of the life and work of one of the most abidingly influential--and controversial--men in world history. This volume opens with Mohandas Gandhi's arrival in Bombay in January 1915 and takes us through his epic struggles over the next three decades: to deliver India from British rule, to forge harmonious relations between India's Hindu and Muslim populations, to end the pernicious Hindu practice of untouchability, and to develop India's economic and moral self-reliance. We see how in each of these campaigns, Gandhi adapted methods of nonviolence--strikes, marches, fasts--that successfully challenged British authority, religious orthodoxy, social customs, and would influence non-violent, revolutionary movements throughout the world. In reconstructing Gandhi's life and work, Ramachandra Guha has drawn on sixty different archival collections, the most significant among them, a previously unavailable collection of papers belonging to Gandhi himself. Using this wealth of material, Guha creates a portrait of Gandhi and of those closest to him--family, friends, political and social leaders--that illuminates the complexity inside his thinking, his motives, his actions and their outcomes as he engaged with every important aspect of social and public life in the India of his time [Volume 2]: The concluding volume of the definitive biography of Gandhi relates his struggles to attain India's independence from England, improve relations between Hindus and Muslims, and develop India's economic self-reliance, all using methods of nonviolence."-- "The second and concluding volume of Ramachandra Guha's magisterial biography that offers the definitive portrait of the life and work of one of the most abidingly influential--and controversial--men in world history. This book opens in July 1914, as Mohandas Gandhi leaves South Africa to return to India. Over the next three decades, Gandhi's daily life would be given over to the epic struggle to deliver India from British rule, to forge harmonious relations between India's Hindus and Muslims, to end the pernicious practice of untouchability, and to nurture India's economic and moral self-reliance. Guha's illuminating narrative follows Gandhi as he works his way into the hierarchy of the nationalist movement, emerging as early as 1919 as its leader ... as he organizes local and issue-specific campaigns that would lead to the spectacular movement of non-cooperation that spread across the country between 1920 and 1922 (only to be called off by Gandhi himself when a group of his followers burned a police station to the ground) ... as he spearheads the "Independence Pledge" among his colleagues in the Congress ... as he makes the extraordinary three-week-long Salt March, which would force the British, finally, to meet face-to-face with the "half-naked fakir," as Churchill (in)famously called him. In each of these campaigns, Gandhi develops novel methods of nonviolence--strikes, marches, fasts--to successfully challenge not only British authority but the religious orthodoxy and social customs that had afflicted his country for centuries. In reconstructing Gandhi's life and work, Guha has drawn on sixty different archival collections, the most significant a previously unavailable collection of papers belonging to Gandhi himself. He creates a luminous portrait not only of the Mahatma but of those closest to him, among them: the political leaders Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru; Mahadev Desai, his indispensable secretary and confidant; Charles E Andrews, the Christian priest who acted as intermediary between Gandhi and officials of the Raj; Gandhi's great rivals, the Muslim leader M.A. Jinnah and the brilliant Columbia-educated leader of the "Untouchables," B.R. Ambedkar; Gandhi's wife, Kasturba; and their son Devadas. Guha reconstructs the attitudes of the successive British viceroys of India in their dealings with Gandhi; shows how the Second World War provided impetus for the Quit India movement, which the author argues was Gandhi's last desperate effort to see the end before he died; and examines how Gandhi's opposition to the partition would be the catalyst for sectarian violence when the British granted independence on 15 August 1947. We see his extraordinary walk through riot-torn villages in that year; his fast that succeeded in stopping religious violence in Calcutta; the worldwide outpouring of grief after his assassination in January 1948. This biography is a revelation of the complexity of Gandhi's thinking, his motives, his actions and their outcomes as he engaged with every important aspect of social and public life in the India of his time--and as his influence, and the challenge and controversy of his legacy, continue unabated "The second and concluding volume of Ramachandra Guha's magisterial biography that offers the definitive portrait of the life and work of one of the most abidingly influential--and controversial--men in world history. This book opens in July 1914, as Mohandas Gandhi leaves South Africa to return to India. Over the next three decades, Gandhi's daily life would be given over to the epic struggle to deliver India from British rule, to forge harmonious relations between India's Hindus and Muslims, to end the pernicious practice of untouchability, and to nurture India's economic and moral self-reliance. Guha's illuminating narrative follows Gandhi as he works his way into the hierarchy of the nationalist movement, emerging as early as 1919 as its leader ... as he organizes local and issue-specific campaigns that would lead to the spectacular movement of non-cooperation that spread across the country between 1920 and 1922 (only to be called off by Gandhi himself when a group of his followers burned a police station to the ground) ... as he spearheads the "Independence Pledge" among his colleagues in the Congress ... as he makes the extraordinary three-week-long Salt March, which would force the British, finally, to meet face-to-face with the "half-naked fakir," as Churchill (in)famously called him. In each of these campaigns, Gandhi develops novel methods of nonviolence--strikes, marches, fasts--to successfully challenge not only British authority but the religious orthodoxy and social customs that had afflicted his country for centuries. In reconstructing Gandhi's life and work, Guha has drawn on sixty different archival collections, the most significant a previously unavailable collection of papers belonging to Gandhi himself. He creates a luminous portrait not only of the Mahatma but of those closest to him, among them: the political leaders Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru; Mahadev Desai, his indispensable secretary and confidant; Charles E Andrews, the Christian priest who acted as intermediary between Gandhi and officials of the Raj; Gandhi's great rivals, the Muslim leader M.A. Jinnah and the brilliant Columbia-educated leader of the "Untouchables," B.R. Ambedkar; Gandhi's wife, Kasturba; and their son Devadas. Guha reconstructs the attitudes of the successive British viceroys of India in their dealings with Gandhi; shows how the Second World War provided impetus for the Quit India movement, which the author argues was Gandhi's last desperate effort to see the end before he died; and examines how Gandhi's opposition to the partition would be the catalyst for sectarian violence when the British granted independence on 15 August 1947. We see his extraordinary walk through riot-torn villages in that year; his fast that succeeded in stopping religious violence in Calcutta; the worldwide outpouring of grief after his assassination in January 1948. This biography is a revelation of the complexity of Gandhi's thinking, his motives, his actions and their outcomes as he engaged with every important aspect of social and public life in the India of his time--and as his influence, and the challenge and controversy of his legacy, continue unabated"--Publisher's description "The second and concluding volume of Ramachandra Guha's magisterial biography that offers the definitive portrait of the life and work of one of the most abidingly influential--and controversial--men in world history. This book opens in July 1914, as Mohandas Gandhi leaves South Africa to return to India. Over the next three decades, Gandhi's daily life would be given over to the epic struggle to deliver India from British rule, to forge harmonious relations between India's Hindus and Muslims, to end the pernicious practice of untouchability, and to nurture India's economic and moral self-reliance. Guha's illuminating narrative follows Gandhi as he works his way into the hierarchy of the nationalist movement, emerging as early as 1919 as its leader ... as he organizes local and issue-specific campaigns that would lead to the spectacular movement of non-cooperation that spread across the country between 1920 and 1922 (only to be called off by Gandhi himself when a group of his followers burned a police station to the ground) ... as he spearheads the "Independence Pledge" among his colleagues in the Congress ... as he makes the extraordinary three-week-long Salt March, which would force the British, finally, to meet face-to-face with the "half-naked fakir," as Churchill (in)famously called him. In each of these campaigns, Gandhi develops novel methods of nonviolence--strikes, marches, fasts--to successfully challenge not only British authority but the religious orthodoxy and social customs that had afflicted his country for centuries. In reconstructing Gandhi's life and work, Guha has drawn on sixty different archival collections, the most significant a previously unavailable collection of papers belonging to Gandhi himself. He creates a luminous portrait not only of the Mahatma but of those closest to him, among them: the political leaders Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru; Mahadev Desai, his indispensable secretary and confidant; Charles E Andrews, the Christian priest who acted as intermediary between Gandhi and officials of the Raj; Gandhi's great rivals, the Muslim leader M.A. Jinnah and the brilliant Columbia-educated leader of the "Untouchables," B.R. Ambedkar; Gandhi's wife, Kasturba; and their son Devadas. Guha reconstructs the attitudes of the successive British viceroys of India in their dealings with Gandhi; shows how the Second World War provided impetus for the Quit India movement, which the author argues was Gandhi's last desperate effort to see the end before he died; and examines how Gandhi's opposition to the partition would be the catalyst for sectarian violence when the British granted independence on 15 August 1947. We see his extraordinary walk through riot-torn villages in that year; his fast that succeeded in stopping religious violence in Calcutta; the worldwide outpouring of grief after his assassination in January 1948. This biography is a revelation of the complexity of Gandhi's thinking, his motives, his actions and their outcomes as he engaged with every important aspect of social and public life in the India of his time--and as his influence, and the challenge and controversy of his legacy, continue unabated."--Jacket "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 Sou th 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"--Jacket Opening in July 1914, as Mohandas Gandhi leaves South Africa to return to India, Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1918 traces the Mahatma’s life over the three decades preceding his assassination. Drawing on new archival materials, acclaimed historian Ramachandra Guha follows Gandhi’s struggle to deliver India from British rule, to forge harmonious relations between India’s Hindus and Muslims, to end the pernicious practice of untouchability, and to nurture India’s economic and moral self-reliance. He shows how in each of these campaigns, Gandhi adapted methods of nonviolence that successfully challenged British authority and would influence revolutionary movements throughout the world. A revelatory look at the complexity of Gandhi’s thinking and motives, the book is a luminous portrait of not only the man himself, but also those closest to him—family, friends, and political and social leaders. Part I. Claiming a nation (1915-1922) Part II. Reaching out to the world (1922-1931) Part III. Reform and renewal (1931-1937) Part IV. War and rebellion (1937-1944) Part V. The last years (1944-1948) Epilogue: Gandhi in our time. Ramachandra Guha. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 897-989) And Index.