Books On Gandhi & Gandhism

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian legal counselor, lawmaker, social dissident, and essayist who turned into the head of the Indian nationalist movement contrary to the British rule of India. Thus, he came to be viewed as the Father of Nation in India. Gandhi is globally regarded for his tenet of peaceful dissent (satyagraha) to accomplish political and social advancement. He led numerous campaigns to eliminate poverty, expand women's privileges, build religious and ethnic congruence, and discard the treacheries of the caste framework, Gandhi especially applied the standards of nonviolent civil rebellion, assuming a key part in liberating India from a foreign rule. He was frequently detained for his activities, often for years, however, he achieved his goal in 1947, when India acquired its freedom from Britain.

Because of his stature, he is presently alluded to as Mahatma, signifying "extraordinary soul." World civil rights pioneers — from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Nelson Mandela — have acknowledged Gandhi as a wellspring of motivation in their battles to accomplish equivalent privileges for their kin. The British mentality toward Gandhi was one of blended adoration, bewilderment, doubt, and hatred. Except for a minuscule minority of Christian teachers and revolutionary communists, the British would in general see him, as an idealistic visionary and even from a pessimistic standpoint as a guile poser whose callings of fellowship for the British race were a veil for disruption of the British raj. Gandhi was aware of the presence of that mass of bias, and it was essential for the methodology of satyagraha to infiltrate it.

According to a large number of his kindred Indians, Gandhi was the Mahatma ("Great Soul"). Gandhi appeared to drift uncertainty on the outskirts of Indian political issues, declining to join any political fomentation, supporting the British war effort, and in any event, enrolling warriors for the British Indian Army. Simultaneously, he didn't excuse himself from scrutinizing the British authorities for any demonstrations of oppressiveness or from taking up the complaints of the working class in Bihar and Gujarat. The British had demanded pushing through — in the teeth of furious Indian resistance — the Rowlatt Acts, which enabled the authorities to detain without preliminary trial those associated with dissidence. An incited Gandhi at last uncovered a feeling of alienation from the British raj and declared a satyagraha battle. The outcome was a virtual political seismic tremor that shook the subcontinent in the spring of 1919.

FAQs

Q1. What social movements did Gandhi inspire?

In India, Gandhi's way of thinking lived on in the messages of reformers like activist Vinoba Bhave. Abroad, activists like Martin Luther King, Jr., acquired vigorously from Gandhi's act of peacefulness and civil disobedience to accomplish their social equity aims. Most influential of all, the opportunity that Gandhi's non-violence movement won for India sounded a mark of the end for Britain's other provincial ventures in Asia and Africa. The independence movement spread like wildfire, with Gandhi's impact reinforcing existing independence reforms and starting new ones.

Q2. What was the motive of Gandhi’s activism?

At first, Gandhi's missions tried to battle the inferior status Indians got because of the British system. Ultimately, nonetheless, they turned their concentration to kicking the British system out of India through and through, an objective that was achieved in the years straightforwardly after World War II. The triumph was defaced by the way that partisan savagery inside India among Hindus and Muslims required the formation of two free states — India and Pakistan — rather than a unified India.

Q3. What is the best book to read about Gandhi?

Hind Swaraj by M K Gandhi Through this book, Mahatma Gandhi documented his thoughts about Hindustan, British imperialism, and his vision for his motherland.

In the Life of Mahatma Gandhi by Louis Fischer the author had direct access to Mahatma Gandhi, during his life and times. A very-readable biography of Gandhiji.

Gandhi before India by Ramachandra Guha The author has covered the life of Gandhiji from his birth to his living in South Africa as a Satyagrahi.

The Good Boatman, A Portrait Of Gandhi By Raj Mohan Gandhi written by his grandson, Rajmohan Gandhi, talked about Gandhiji’s views on God, untouchability, Hind Swaraj, the Hindu-Muslim divide, and about the partition.

Q4. Who Wrote the Book Gandhi and Gandhism?

Bhimji Ram Ambedkar is the writer. He was one of the staunchest and most fierce political rivals & critics of Gandhi and his ideologies. According to Ambedkar, Gandhi was no friend or savior of the untouchables; on the contrary, his actions were detrimental to the revival and upliftment of the Untouchables in the Indian society where they have been historically oppressed.

He attributes Gandhi's strict adherence to Hinduism to be the main obstacle in the path of the assimilation of the untouchables in Indian society. Ambedkar tries to explain Gandhi and Gandhism and questions their approach toward Untouchability. He wants a change in Hindu attitude towards untouchables through political reforms.

Q5. What is Gandhian philosophy of Gandhism?

Major Gandhian Ideologies

Truth: truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God and morality.

Nonviolence: Non-violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.

Satyagraha: It means the exercise of the purest soul force against all injustice, oppression, and exploitation. A method of securing rights by personal suffering without inflicting injury on others.

Sarvodaya- is a term meaning 'Universal Uplift' or 'Progress of All'.

Swaraj- Although the word swaraj means self-rule, For Gandhi ji, swaraj of people meant the total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals

Swadeshi: means belonging to one's own country- as self-sufficiency.

Q6. What are the 6 principles of Gandhi?

Truth: Observance of Truth was expected not only in speech but also in thought and action.

Non-Violence: not only abstaining from physical violence but also removing hatred, jealousy, and desire to harm the mind.

Celibacy: Brahmacharya, like truth and Non-violence, should be adhered to not only at the physical level but also at the level of thought.

Respect for All Religions: Respect one's religion, but do not disrespect other religions.

Self-Reliance or Respect: He insisted on Charkha and Khadi and unfolded his theory of Swadesh for the rejuvenation of the Indian economy.

Removal of Untouchability: He always resisted untouchability and called it cancer.

Q7. Which book influenced Gandhiji the most?

Unto This Last John Ruskin It is the most influential book, so much so that even Mahatma Gandhi said it was “impossible to lay aside”.

The Kingdom Of God Is Within You Leo Tolstoy invoked a storm within the Christian community by stating why people must dismiss violence and look inside themselves for answers about morals.

A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens The story takes us through a man’s release from jail after 18 years, his meeting with a daughter he has never met, and the love two men have for his daughter.

Bhagavad Gita Ved Vyas, R. R. Varma (Tr.) a dialogue between Arjuna and Lord Krishna.

Q8. What two books inspired Gandhi?

Unto This Last, John Ruskin : Ruskin puts forth the idea of an economy based on the consideration of humanity and the virtue of pursuing money for vested interests, and that economics must have its roots in ethics. Gandhiji established his south African settlement where people followed communal living, nonviolence, and spirituality based on Ruskin’s teachings and even translated the book into Gujarati, titled Sarvodaya.

The Kingdom Of God Is Within You, Leo Tolstoy: When Gandhi was growing skeptical of non-violence, it was his favorite author’s book that helped ease his mind. He even mentioned in his autobiography that this book made him a firm believer in ahimsa.

Q9. How many Gandhi books are there?

An Autobiography ‘My Experiments with Truth’ about his experiments with truth, covering many aspects of his life, especially his spirituality

Hind Swaraj It was published in the year 1909 and was written to inspire people to fight against the British for independence.

Truth is God It is about Truth. It is about the beliefs of a modern educated man who did extraordinary things and his thoughts about God and Truth.

India of My Dreams talks about the dreams he had of an Independent India.

·        The Bhagavad Gita

·        The Law and The Lawyers

·        Gokhale: My Political Guru

·        Diet and Diet Reform

·        Satyagraha in South Africa

·        Ashram Observances in Action