Gandhian Thoughts: Views and Reviews

Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, on the western coast of India. His grandfather Uttamchand Gandhi and father Karamchand Gandhi occupied the High Office of the Diwan (Chief Minister) of Porbandar. To be Diwan of one of the princely states was on sinecure. Porbandar was one of some three hundred ‘native’ states in Western India which were ruled by princes whom the accident of birth and the support of the British kept on the throne. To steer one’s course safely between wayward Indian princes, the overbearing British ‘Political Agent’ of the suzerain power and the long suffering subjects required a high degree of patience, diplomatic skill and commonsense. Both Uttamchand and Karamchand were good administrators. But they were also upright and honourable men. Loyal to their masters, they did not flinch from offering unpalatable advice. They paid the price for the courage of their convictions. Uttamchand Gandhi had his hose besieged and shelled by the ruler’s troops and had to flee the state; his son Karamchand also preferred to leave Porbandar, rather than compromise with his principles.