Gandhi and his Critics
B. R. Nanda
Abstract
Mahatma Gandhi had been enmeshed in controversies ever since he plunged into the racial politics of Natal until he was assassinated fifty-four years later. He had to contend with the suspicious eyes of the British, and also with discontent within the Congress Party. He infuriated orthodox Hindus for denouncing caste exclusiveness and untouchability and for advocating secular politics. He narrowly escaped a bomb attack in Poona in 1934, but fell victim to the bullets of a Poona Brahmin who accused him of betraying the Hindu cause fourteen years later. Curiously enough, for years protagonists of ... More
Mahatma Gandhi had been enmeshed in controversies ever since he plunged into the racial politics of Natal until he was assassinated fifty-four years later. He had to contend with the suspicious eyes of the British, and also with discontent within the Congress Party. He infuriated orthodox Hindus for denouncing caste exclusiveness and untouchability and for advocating secular politics. He narrowly escaped a bomb attack in Poona in 1934, but fell victim to the bullets of a Poona Brahmin who accused him of betraying the Hindu cause fourteen years later. Curiously enough, for years protagonists of Pakistan had branded Gandhi as the leading enemy of Islam. This book chronicles the important events in the life of Gandhi. It looks at his views about India’s caste system, racialism in South Africa, the Amritsar massacre of 1919, British imperialism, and religion and politics and man versus machine. It also tackles his role in ending the rule of the British empire, his relationship with the Raj, his role in the Partition of India, his reaction to the Partition massacres in August-September 1947, and his adherence to non-violence.
Keywords:
Mahatma Gandhi,
India,
racialism,
South Africa,
India’s caste system,
Amritsar massacre,
Partition,
non-violence,
British empire
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 1994 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195633634 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2012 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195633634.001.0001 |
