Gandhi - The Years that changed the world 1914-1948.

by Ramachandra Guha

At 1100 pages, this magnificent and magisterial biography of the mahatma may be characterized in these two following quotes.

The first is from Albert Einstein, famously featured at the beginning of Richard Attenborough's Gandhi: _"Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth."_Einstein said this in 1939, marveling at Gandhi's extraordinary life.

The second is one by Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's personal secretary and translator for 30 odd years. When the loyal secretary, Desai got into one of the rare arguments with Gandhi, he quotes the following in his diary.

To live with the saints in heaven is a bliss and a glory

But to live with a saint on earth is a different story.

In this biography, Guha masterfully illustrates these two sides of Gandhi. The man revered as a saint was also a human being, filled with complexities, contradictions, and imperfections.

Following his first volume on Gandhi's South African years, Guha's second volume picks up in 1914, when Gandhi returns to India. The narrative follows a chronological timeline from 1914 to 1948, capturing major and minor episodes of Gandhi's life, detailing what he said, what he did, and how people reacted to him in real-time.

He often enriches the episodes with real time reactions, perceptions of Gandhi's actions by other leaders, officers of British Raj, general population at large, local and international press etc.

At times, it feels like he is hopping without much of a skeleton of thought to tie it all up. But perhaps he had no other option because Gandhi himself was hopping from issue to issue, changing his focus.

He spends years on building his publications, and a honing his method of nonviolence. He spends years building up the congress party and making it national party involving urban and rural middle class. He spends years relentlessly touring all parts of the British Raj, incessantly fund raising for his causes. He spends years preaching swadeshi and spinning, sometimes even chastising viceroys and emperors. He spends years honing a strategy of non-cooperation, civil disobedience with his excellent political skills. He spends years tackling intractable problems of untouchability, intercaste marriages, and making sure hinduism splits up along upper and untouchable castes. He spends years working on hindu-muslim unity, sometimes making fatal mistakes and other times playing one man army against city wide massacres. He spends years maintaining voluminous, prolific correspondence with people from across the world.

Guha captures these layers exquisitely well.

He also captures his relationships with mentors, protégés and rivals really well.

He starts with his relationship with Gokhale, and Gandhi's contemporary disciple of Gokhale, Mr. VS Srinivasa Sastri. He captures his equal footing correspondence with Tagore, whom Gandhi considered his equal as a spiritual leader. He spends many many pages talking about his relationship with his proteges like C. Rajagopalachari, JB Kriplani, Sardar Patel, MA Ansari, Jawaharlal Nehru, Bose, etc.

Somebody once characterized Gandhi's relationship with Rajaji, Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal with this perfect analogy - they are his head, hands and heart in that order. Rajaji, the most astute visionary and political thinker of the lot, saves Gandhi from trouble time and again, offering nothing but deepest insights and sharpest wisdom. Patel, unquestionably executes whatever Bapu asks him. Jawaharlal really understands what Gandhi is going thru, although he frequently disagrees with him. If there is on congress person who deserves more popularity, it is C. Rajagopalachari.

Guha crafts compelling narratives, scenes and arguments about his rivalries too. All the viceroys, some more compassionate to Gandhi's causes than others - hear much from Gandhi and experience all kinds of annoyances. His rivalry with Jinnah and Ambedkar is well told too.

The book also has a chapter on Gandhi's strangest experiment about the sleeping naked with his grandnieces. I had to skip that chapter.

This book allows Gandhi's long, complex life to unfold on its own terms, filled with rich, sometimes bizarre, and often fascinating details. The pace is gripping during key moments such as the Champaran Satyagraha, the Rowlatt Satyagraha, and the Salt March. In these moments, Gandhi's political brilliance shines through. His struggles against untouchability are deeply moving, but as World War II looms, and particularly as the partition nears, his stubbornness can become frustrating—due in part to some of his own strategic missteps.

Yet, in the final chapters, as Gandhi almost single-handedly quells the violent riots during partition, one is reminded once more of the awe-inspiring power of this singular man.

As the book draws closer to his assassination, a profound sense of loss emerges. Tributes pour in from around the world, including a memorial service at Westminster Abbey.

This is truly a remarkable and deeply engaging read.