Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India (71 page)
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Authors: Joseph Lelyveld
Tags: #Political, #General, #Historical, #Biography & Autobiography, #History, #Biography, #South Africa - Politics and government - 1836-1909, #Nationalists - India, #Political Science, #South Africa, #India, #Modern, #Asia, #India & South Asia, #India - Politics and government - 1919-1947, #Nationalists, #Gandhi, #Statesmen - India, #Statesmen
Two distinguished Bengali thinkers, Amartya Sen of Harvard and Cambridge universities, and Partha Chatterjee, of Columbia and the Center for Studies in Social Sciences in Kolkata, graciously endured my recitation of plans for a visit to the two fragments of what was once a united Bengal, then made useful suggestions. In Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, I encountered a range of strong viewpoints from scholars and public intellectuals including Debapriya Bhattacharya, Badruddin Umar, Syed Abul Maksud, A. K. Roy, Imtiaz Ahmed, Anisuzzaman (a professor emeritus at the University of Dhaka who uses only one name), and Sharirar Kabir. I also had an opportunity to talk about Gandhi with
Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairman of BRAC, a welfare organization that evolved into a huge bank, becoming a reliable source of credit for the rural craftsmen the Mahatma struggled to uplift. Raha Naba Kumar, director of the Gandhi Ashram Trust in the village of Joyag, was my host and guide during a visit to Noakhali district. Among those I met in Kolkata were Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Ranabir Samaddar, the historian Amalendu De and economist Amlan Datta; Pushpakanjan Chatterjee, a centenarian Gandhi follower; and Supriya Munshi, longtime director of the Gandhi Memorial Museum at Barrackpore. I’m especially grateful to resourceful journalistic colleagues who smoothed the way for me in these places: Chandra Sekhar Bhattacharjee in Kolkata, Julfikar Ali Manik in Dhaka, and Pradip Kumar Maitra in Nagpur. And while I’m rolling the credits, I should mention the bed, board, and warm friendship provided by old pals—Bim Bissell in Delhi, Lily and David Goldblatt in Joburg, and Lindy and Francis Wilson in Cape Town.
The tutor on whom I leaned most shamelessly was David Lelyveld, a scholar in Indian Muslim history who never once accused me of trespassing on his turf. That could be because long exposure to Indian cultural values has left him with undue regard for the status of elder brother, but I don’t really think so. Nor, at this late stage, can it be explained by the fact that I got there first (given that my affair with India, intermittent though it has been, started a couple of years before his own). The only explanation is the obvious one: that my brother truly is a generous person. I hope he won’t be embarrassed by this effort and thank him with a full heart for his painstaking reading of my manuscript, on account of which there are certainly fewer errors and examples of weak reasoning in this book than otherwise would have been the case. The same can be said for the thoughtful backstopping I received from two other readers: E. S. Reddy, a retired United Nations official living in New York who has devoted years to assembling—and sharing—an archive of Gandhi materials, with particular attention to the South Africa period; and Jon Soske, a young Oklahoman I first met in Toronto whose doctoral dissertation takes a searching look at relations between Indians and Zulus in Natal in the last century.
I was helped to the finish line by Catherine Talese, who gathered nearly all the photographs that appear in these pages and efficiently secured the rights for me to use them. Hassim Seedat of Durban allowed me to browse in his extensive library and copy a rare photo of Gandhi in 1913 on which he claims copyright. Archie Tse, a colleague from
The New York Times
, provided the maps. Jai Anand Kasturi and Lee Hadbavny,
graduate students in South Asian studies at Columbia University, labored long hours to assemble my endnotes and check sources. Steven Rattazzi answered technology alarms, ensuring that my pages remained backed up in spite of my innate obliviousness. Andrew Wylie and Scott Moyers of the Wylie Agency provided unwavering support from the moment I first proposed to tackle this exhaustively written about but seemingly inexhaustible figure. One reads a lot about the state of book publishing these days, but this experience has left me with a starry-eyed feeling that it could never have been better. Sonny Mehta was persuaded that I might have something original to say, and Jon Segal, my editor, gave me every opportunity to say it, letting me know when I was straining his attention by repeating myself or digressing from a digression. It has been particularly satisfying to be reunited with Jon, who (if he’ll allow the word) midwifed my book on apartheid a quarter of a century ago. I’m glad too that Peter Andersen oversaw the book’s design.
Finally, a word about Janny Scott, who happened into my life at its darkest hour. If it hadn’t been for her, I might never have summoned the concentration or energy to pursue this project. Which is the least I can say about what she means to me.
African Chronicle
,
1.1
,
4.1
,
4.2
,
4.3
,
5.1
,
5.2African National Congress (ANC),
3.1
,
3.2
,
3.3
,
3.4
,
3.5
,
10.1
,
12.1Africans.
See
black South AfricansAga Khan Palace (near Poona), Gandhi’s imprisonment at (1942–44),
11.1
,
12.1ahimsa.
See
nonviolenceAhmedabad: ashram at (
see
Sabarmati Ashram); campaign on behalf of mill workers in (1918),
12.1
; Congress meeting at (1921),
6.1
; Congress meeting at (1924),
8.1
; Gandhi’s inability to open temples in,
10.1
; riots in (1919),
6.2
; Self Employed Women’s Association in,
12.2Aiyar, P. S.,
1.1
,
4.1
,
4.2
,
4.3
,
8.1
,
12.1
; Ambedkar compared to,
8.2
; satyagraha campaign of 1913 and,
5.1
,
5.2
,
5.3Ajmer, Rajasthan, Gandhi’s anti-untouchability tour in
Ali, Muhammad,
6.1
,
6.2
,
7.1
,
7.2
; arrests of,
6.3
,
6.4
; Gandhi’s fasts at bungalow of,
6.5
,
7.3
,
8.1
; Gandhi’s relationship with,
6.6
,
6.7
,
6.8
,
8.2
,
8.3
,
12.1
; Gandhi’s wearing of loincloth and,
6.9
; Khilafat and,
6.10
,
6.11
,
6.12
,
6.13
; noncooperation campaign and,
6.14
,
6.15Ali, Shaukat,
6.1
,
6.2
,
6.3
,
6.4
,
8.1All India Congress Committee,
2.1
,
8.1
,
11.1All India Spinners Association
All India Village Industries Association (AIVIA),
10.1
,
12.1
; celibacy vow and,
10.2
; in context of contemporary India,
10.3
; Gandhi’s disappointment with,
10.4
,
10.5
; recruitment of workers for,
10.6
,
10.7
,
10.8Alwaye (now called Aluva), Gandhi’s anti-untouchability tour in (1924)
Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji,
7.1
,
8.1
,
8.2
,
8.3
,
9.1
,
9.2
,
9.3
,
10.1
,
11.1
,
12.1
; as Buddhist convert,
8.4
; earliest petitions and statements of, on behalf of untouchables,
8.5
; educational achievements of,
8.6
; in electoral politics,
8.7
; final falling-out of Gandhi and,
9.4
; Gandhi’s convergence with,
9.5
,
9.6
,
9.7
; Gandhi’s fast unto death and,
9.8
,
9.9
,
9.10
,
9.11
; Gandhi’s first meetings with,
8.8
; Gandhi visited at Segaon by,
10.2
; Hinduism renounced by,
10.3
,
10.4
; marriages of,
8.9
,
9.12
,
12.2
; at Round Table Conference,
8.10
,
8.11
,
8.12
,
8.13
; satyagraha tactics adopted by,
8.14
,
8.15
,
8.16
; separate electorate for untouchables sought by,
8.17
,
8.18
,
8.19
,
8.20
,
9.13
,
9.14
,
9.15
,
9.16
,
9.17
; temple-entry issues and,
8.21
,
8.22
,
9.18
,
9.19
,
10.5
; as untouchable,
8.23
; in writing of 1950 constitution,
8.24
,
9.20Amrita Bazar Patrika
,
11.1Amritsar: Congress meeting at (1919),
6.1
,
7.1
; massacre at (1919),
6.2
,
6.3
,
12.1Andhra, corruption of Congress movement in
Andrews, Charles F.,
4.1
,
7.1
,
7.2
,
9.1
,
9.2
,
10.1Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902),
1.1
,
1.2
,
3.1
,
4.1
,
5.1
,
5.2
; stretcher corps led by Gandhi in,
1.3
,
2.1
,
3.2
,
3.3
,
10.1
,
12.1anti-Indian laws and regulations, South African,
1.1
,
4.1
,
12.1
,
12.2
; educational opportunities and,
4.2
,
4.3
; final settlement after satyagraha campaign of 1913 and,
5.1
; head tax on former indentured Indians and,
3.1
,
4.4
,
5.2
,
5.3
,
5.4
,
5.5
,
5.6
,
5.7
,
5.8
,
5.9
,
5.10
,
5.11
,
5.12
,
5.13
; immigration restrictions and,
3.2
,
4.5
,
4.6
,
4.7
,
5.14
,
5.15
,
5.16
,
12.3
; legitimacy of traditional Indian marriages and,
5.17
,
5.18
,
5.19
; property rights and,
1.2
,
4.8
; Transvaal’s registration requirements and (“Black Act”),
1.3
,
1.4
,
1.5
,
3.3
,
3.4
,
3.5
,
4.9
,
4.10
,
5.20
,
12.4
,
12.5
; voting rights and,
1.6
,
2.1
,
2.2
,
4.11
,
4.12
,
5.21Anti-untouchability League.
See
Harijan Sevak SanghAnything Goes
(Porter),
10.1apartheid,
fm.1
,
1.1
,
2.1
; alliance of Indian and African activists in opposition to,
3.1
; Indians’ situation under,
5.1Arab world,
6.1
,
6.2
; Palestine issue and,
10.1Area of Darkness, An
(Naipaul),
2.1ashrams,
1.1
; as base for satyagrahis,
3.1
,
4.1
; celibacy and other rules at,
6.1
; cottage industries at,
6.2
; Gandhi’s approval of intercaste marriages at,
9.1
; mission of,
4.2
,
4.3
,
6.3
; Ruskin and Tolstoy as inspirations for,
1.2
,
4.4
,
12.1
; sanitation system in,
2.1
; untouchables residing at,
6.4
.
See also
Phoenix Settlement; Sabarmati Ashram; Sevagram village and ashram; Tolstoy FarmAsiatic Law Amendment Ordinance, called “Black Act” (1906),
1.1
,
1.2
,
1.3
,
3.1
,
3.2
,
3.3
,
4.1
,
4.2
,
5.1
,
12.1
,
12.2Aurobindo, Sri (Aurobindo Ghose)
Autobiography
(Gandhi),
1.1
,
1.2
,
1.3
,
1.4
,
1.5
,
2.1
,
2.2
,
2.3
,
3.1
,
4.1
,
4.2
,
8.1
,
12.1
; “The Story of My Experiments with Truth” as subtitle of,
2.4Bajaj, Jamnalal,
10.1
,
10.2
,
10.3
,
10.4Balasundaram (Tamil gardener),
2.1
,
2.2
,
2.3Balmikis (sometimes spelled Valmikis)
Bangladesh (former East Pakistan, originally East Bengal),
11.1
,
11.2
,
12.1
; commemoration of 140th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth in,
11.3
; Hindus remaining in,
11.4
,
12.2
.
See also
Noakhali; SrirampurBanias.
See
Modh BaniasBenares (now called Varanasi), Gandhi’s anti-untouchability tour in,
9.1
,
9.2Bengal,
1.1
; East,
11.1
,
12.1
(
see also
Bangladesh; Noakhali; Srirampur); united, Suhrawardy’s plan for,
12.2
; West,
11.2
,
12.3Bhambatha Rebellion (1906),
3.1
,
12.1
; atrocities committed on Zulus in,
3.2
; corps of stretcher bearers led by Gandhi in,
3.3
,
3.4
,
3.5
,
10.1
; Dube’s position on,
3.6
,
3.7
; Gandhi’s decision to support whites in,
3.8
,
3.9
,
3.10
,
3.11
,
6.1
; outbreak of,
3.12Bhangis (sweepers),
2.1
,
2.2
,
9.1
,
9.2
,
12.1
,
12.2
,
12.3Bhavnagar, Gujarat, Gandhi’s anti-untouchability tour in
Bihar,
fm.1
,
12.1
; campaign on behalf of indigo farmers of,
6.1
,
6.2
,
6.3
,
7.1
,
9.1
,
12.2
,
12.3
; communal violence in,
11.1
,
11.2
,
11.3
,
11.4
,
11.5
,
11.6
,
12.4
,
12.5
,
12.6
,
12.7
,
12.8
; earthquake in (1934),
9.2Birla House (Delhi),
12.1
,
12.2
,
12.3
,
12.4
,
12.5
; explosion at,
12.6
,
12.7
,
12.8
; Gandhi’s assassination at,
12.9
,
12.10
; lax security precautions at,
12.11
; turned into shrine,
12.12
,
12.13“Black Act.”
See
Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinanceblack South Africans,
1.1
,
1.2
,
2.1
,
3.1
,
5.1
; alliance between Indians and,
3.2
,
3.3
; Gandhi’s contact with, outside of prison,
3.4
,
3.5
,
12.1
; Gandhi’s imprisonment with,
3.6
,
3.7
,
3.8
,
3.9
; Gandhi’s seemingly racist writings and,
3.10
; indentured Indians put on same plane as,
3.11
; indentured Indians replaced with,
5.2
; “kaffir” epithet for,
3.12
,
3.13
,
3.14
; Natives Land Act and,
3.15
,
3.16
,
5.3
; nonviolence tactic and,
3.17
,
10.1
; racial separation and,
3.18
(
see also
apartheid); repressiveness of Afrikaner regime and,
3.19
; satyagraha campaign of 1913 and,
5.4
,
5.5
,
5.6
; skin color and,
3.20
; YMCA debate of 1908 and,
3.21
,
3.22
; Zulu uprising of 1906 and,
3.23
,
12.2
(
see also
Bhambatha Rebellion)Boer War.
See
Anglo-Boer WarBombay: Ambedkar’s first meeting with Gandhi in (1931),
8.1
; Gandhi’s valedictory day as congressman in,
9.1
,
10.1
; Hindu opinion on untouchability in,
9.2
; Jinnah and Gandhi’s talks in (1944),
11.1
,
11.2
; riots in (1919),
6.1Bose, Nirmal Kumar,
11.1
,
11.2
,
11.3
,
11.4
,
11.5
,
11.6
,
11.7Bose, Subhas Chandra,
8.1
,
8.2
,
9.1
,
9.2Botha, Louis,
3.1
,
3.2
,
5.1
,
5.2
,
12.1
; three-pound head tax and,
4.1
,
4.2
; white miners’ strike and,
5.3
,
5.4