The Oxford India Gandhi looks beyond the plaster-cast image of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the Mahatma. Gandhi’s autobiography ends in the late 1920s, several historic years before his assassination in 1948. This book seeks to fill that void left by Gandhi himself. Edited by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the book tells Gandhi’s story in his own words–the story of his life as he himself might have narrated it to a grandchild. Through speeches and articles, and also the more informal diary entries, letters, and conversations the writings unfold chronologically unexplored facets of Gandhi’s evolving world view, his responses to persons and events, relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. The result is a collection that manages to look beyond the oft-repeated details–into the little things that almost always went unnoticed. As for example his playful retort ‘Ask Mrs. Gandhi’ when asked whether he ever suffered from nerves, or his condemning of spitting in public places as ‘a national vice’, or his telling response ‘You will be as free as any scavenger’ to the Zamindar who had asked him what will become of them (meaning the Zamindars) when India became Independent. Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s general and part introductions locate the writings in their proper context, while the detailed notes provide a wealth of additional information for interested readers and explain the relevance of selected entries. The photographs that preface each part vivify a life that roused a million hearts and spearheaded one of the greatest marches to freedom ever witnessed in human history. The Oxford India Gandhi offers a look into the personal life of one of the subcontinent’s most public figures of all time. The book is as much for those who know Gandhi, including students and scholars of Indian history and culture, as for young readers encountering the Mahatma for the first time.
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