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Books
cooperation and swadeshi newly discovered facts will
movements struck root. inevitably prompt revi- MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND
But public participa- sions of past narratives. GANDHI: I AM AN ORDINARY
tion on a large scale had But every hypothesis is MAN — INDIA’S STRUGGLE FOR
FREEDOM (1914-1948)
its pitfalls especially in expected to follow a rigor- Gopalkrishna Gandhi
the context of mounting ous process of empirical
communal tension. The enquiry, examining facts ALEPH BOOK COMPANY
Moplah riots in Kerala are to establish principles. Rs.999 Pages 443
highlighted as one of the This is necessary for
causes of Gandhi-hatred a fresh understanding of
as he tried to deny its link how revolutionary and with the day-to-day affairs The dynamic flux
to the Khilafat movement. non-violent movements of Gandhi’s immediate and of political, social
Likewise, the naval mutiny coalesced to win India her extended family members and economic
(1946) is seen as creat- freedom from colonial and ashram associates. interventions together
ing a further rift between rule. The first volume with Gandhiji’s
Gandhi and Jinnah that JAYATI GUPTA covered, as suggested by relationships with
“triggered” British prime the title, Gandhi’s early hundreds of people
minister Clement At- life and the years in South demanded energies
tlee’s announcement that Complex Africa until his decision to beyond the capacity
the Cabinet Mission had return home via London. of ordinary mortals
recommended full self- narrative This second volume at-
government to India. tempts to thread together
In any large scale events encapsulating the cooperation movement;
and ambitious political REVIEWER as- decades from the begin- Khilafat Movement; Salt
programme gaps and sessing the sequel ning of World War I to his Satyagraha; and the Quit
fissures are certain to A to Gopalkrishna assassination on Janu- India Movement. These
surface. So this narrative Gandhi’s edited ‘autobiog- ary 30, 1948. In terms movements meant im-
is replete with instances raphy’ of Mahatma Gandhi of dwellings alone, these prisonment for long spells
of betrayal and treachery, cannot but be poignantly years witnessed estab- of time which, despite
revolutionaries turning struck by the unique lishment of ashrams at restrictions, gave Gandhi
approvers or becoming experiment which was Kochrab and by the Sabar- the solitude and time to
complicit with repressive the freedom movement mati River in Ahmedabad, catch up on reading and
authority. Global events of India, and exceptional and others in Wardha and learning languages. His
like the two World Wars values which animated Sevagram near Nagpur. initiatives for social uplift
confuse the scenario as the initiatives taken by the In terms of Gandhi’s cover the Khadi move-
does the birth of ‘isms’ — remarkably talented group engagement with writing, ment; Harijan Seva Sangh
communism and socialism of leaders who helmed the they cover the inception for eradication of untouch-
— which splintered movement. and running of journals ability and caste dis-
indigenous revolutionary The ethical energy Young India, Navajivan crimination; the life-long
groups. and discernment which and Harijan, besides struggle for Hindu-Muslim
What is singularly miss- formed its core was of authoring books includ- unity which culminated in
ing in the narrative is an course embodied in ing My Experiments with the heroic one-man stand
overall vision that could the person of Mahatma Truth, Satyagraha in against mindless slaughter
unite diverse, complex Gandhi, who created and South Africa, the inter- in the eastern States of
discourses into a pattern. shaped the most original pretation of the Bhagwad Bengal and Bihar during
Arbitrary connections resistance strategy against Gita, prolific correspon- the months before and
are made between events colonial rule. Culled by his dence, speeches and many after the Partition of the
and impact. The epilogue grandson from Gandhi’s resolutions he was called country, leading up to the
cursorily explains the own words as recorded in upon to draft. final, tragic sacrifice in
social processes through letters, or by his contem- The span of major Delhi.
which political parties and poraries or in the Collected political interventions This dynamic flux of
allegiances developed in Works of Mahatma Gan- includes the Champaran political, social, economic
forcibly partitioned inde- dhi, this book offers a ring- Satyagraha; Ahmedabad and spiritual interventions
pendent India. side view of the unfolding mill workers Satyagraha; together with Gandhiji’s
History is seldom static; events, even as it connects Bardoli Satyagraha; non- relationships with the
152 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2024