Ramachandra Guha Launches 'Arguments with Gandhi' at Bengaluru International Centre
Historian and author Ramachandra Guha launched his latest book, 'Arguments with Gandhi', at the Bengaluru International Centre on Friday, marking Gandhi Jayanti with reflections on the nearly three-decade journey behind the work.
Speaking at the launch, Guha explained that the origins of the book date back to 1996, when he was invited to teach at the University of California, Berkeley. After reading Mahatma Gandhi more closely alongside the writings of B R Ambedkar and D R Nagaraj, Guha proposed a university course titled 'Arguments with Gandhi'.
Guha recalled the course as one of the most memorable he had taught, noting that it drew students from widely diverse backgrounds. Among them were a Black student who debated the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, a Jewish student interested in philosopher Martin Buber's connection with Gandhi, and a Burmese refugee who had taken part in Myanmar's non-violent struggle against military rule. The classroom discussions led him to realise how Gandhi was viewed globally and how he had previously misjudged him.
The book took almost 30 years to materialise as other major writing projects intervened, including Guha's two-volume biography comprising 'Gandhi Before India' and 'Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World'. Guha noted that the delay was worthwhile, as his extensive biographical research helped him understand the nuances and complexities of Gandhi's life and thinking.
Contrasting the new work with his earlier biographical volumes, Guha said 'Arguments with Gandhi' emerged from a desire to examine Gandhi through key debates and disagreements rather than offering a simple chronological narrative. The book explores Gandhi's public life through major ideological disputes that defined his era.
Among the central debates covered in the book are Gandhi's disagreements with Ambedkar over caste, untouchability, and political representation for Dalits. It also contrasts Gandhi's inclusive vision of nationalism with the religious nationalism associated with Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
Additionally, the book examines Gandhi's differences with Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries over the use of violence and non-violence, as well as his debates with Jawaharlal Nehru on industrialisation, economic development, and self-reliance. Guha also traces how Gandhi's philosophy travelled beyond India's borders, shaping civil rights and environmental movements across the globe.
