Through examinations of Gandhi’s critics, both individuals and groups, this book shows the complexity of Indian society and opinion at the time of the Indian Independence Movement.
Although Gandhi has been the subject of hundreds of books and an Oscar-winning film, there has been no sustained study of his engagement with major figures in the Indian Independence Movement who were often his critics from 1920–1948. This book fills that gap by examining the strengths and weaknesses of Gandhi’s contribution to India as evidenced in the letters, speeches, and newspaper articles focused on the dialogue/debate between Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Sri Aurobindo, Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Annie Besant, and C. F. Andrews. The book also covers key groups within India that Gandhi sought to incorporate into his Independence Movement-the Hindu Right, Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs-and analyzes Gandhi’s ambiguous stance regarding the Hindi-Urdu question and its impact on the Independence struggle.
Зміст
Acknowledgments
Harold Coward
Introduction
Harold Coward
Part I: Critiques of Gandhi by Individuals
1. The Convergence of Distinct Worlds: Nehru and Gandhi
Robert D. Baird
2. Gandhi, Ambedkar, and Untouchability
Harold Coward
3. Of Many Mahatmas: Besant, Gandhi, and Indian Nationalism
Joy Dixon
4. Sri Aurobindo’s Dismissal of Gandhi and His Nonviolence
Robert N. Minor
5. Tagore and Gandhi
T. S. Rukmani
Part II: Critiques of Gandhi by Groups
6. The Hindu Mahasabha and Gandhi
Ronald Neufeldt
7. Gandhi and the Christian Community
Timothy Gorringe
8. The Mahatma and the Sikhs
Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
9. Indian Muslim Critiques of Gandhi
Roland E. Miller
10. Gandhi and the Hindi-Urdu Question
Daud Rahbar
Conclusion: A Debate for Our Times
Julius Lipner
Appendix: Chronology of Gandhi, His Critics, and the Independence Movement
Hussein Keshani
Contributors
Index
Про автора
Harold Coward M is Professor Emeritus of History and Founding Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria in Canada. He is the author of numerous books, including Yoga and Psychology and The Perfectibility of Human Nature in Eastern and Western Thought, both also published by SUNY Press; The Philosophy of the Grammarians (volume five of The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, with K. Kunjunni Raja); Mantra (with David J. Goa); and Pluralism in the World Religions.