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Big Book Announcement | Arguments with Gandhi By Ramachandra Guha
The Gandhi of this book is a compelling as well as controversial figure, whose ideas on non-violence, social justice, religious harmony and economic policy have elicited a wide range of responses, affirmative as well as critical. As Guha demonstrates, Gandhi’s debates with his contemporaries, and the arguments of later generations with him, foreground some of the vital questions of human existence that we still confront: How do we best resist political tyranny? How do we mitigate discrimination on the basis of caste, gender and race? And how do we achieve freedom from poverty and deprivation without destroying the planet?
In Arguments with Gandhi, Ramachandra Guha uses the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi to present a moral and political history of the modern world.
The Gandhi of this book is a compelling as well as controversial figure, whose ideas on non-violence, social justice, religious harmony and economic policy have elicited a wide range of responses, affirmative as well as critical. As Guha demonstrates, Gandhi’s debates with his contemporaries, and the arguments of later generations with him, foreground some of the vital questions of human existence that we still confront: How do we best resist political tyranny? How do we mitigate discrimination on the basis of caste, gender and race? And how do we achieve freedom from poverty and deprivation without destroying the planet?
With Gandhi as its pivot, this book features an array of major historical figures who engaged with his ideas, among them B.R. Ambedkar, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Lenin, Nelson Mandela, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and V.D. Savarkar.
Rigorously researched and elegantly written, Arguments with Gandhi is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding Gandhi’s legacy in the context of the challenges the world faces today.
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Ramachandra Guha says, ‘Ramachandra Guha says, ‘I have been studying Gandhi for many years, and the more I engaged with his life, the more I realized how deeply controversial his legacy was. A man sometimes called a “saint” and at other times the “Father of the Nation” provoked the most furious arguments. It is these debates, and their enduring relevance, that form the heart of my new book. I write of how Bhagat Singh disagreed with Gandhi on non-violence, how Ambedkar disagreed with Gandhi on caste, how Savarkar disagreed with Gandhi on religion, how Nehru disagreed with Gandhi on economics. Moving beyond India, I explore the impact of Gandhi’s ideas on such remarkable individuals as Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Martin Luther King, Gloria Steinem, and Nelson Mandela. I much enjoyed writing Arguments with Gandhi, with its rich cast of historical characters across time and space, and their insights on the human predicament, past, present, and future.’
Poulomi Chatterjee, Executive Publisher, HarperCollins India, says, ‘Ramachandra Guha’s luminous biographies of Gandhi remain unmatched in the depth of their engagement with an extraordinary life and their scholarship. In Arguments with Gandhi, Guha steps beyond those volumes and examines the world of Gandhi’s ideas – ideas that evolved through his exchanges with his peers from across the world, who contested them, were inspired by them, and adapted them to create their own unique impact. This book is as much an illuminating study of some of the most influential minds in history as it is a remarkable reintroduction to Gandhi and his unparalleled legacy for a new generation that is finding its voice. It is Guha’s most ambitious and important work yet, and its relevance to our times is undeniable. We at HarperCollins are privileged to be publishing it.’
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ramachandra Guha’s books include a pioneering environmental history, The Unquiet Woods; a landmark history of the Republic, India After Gandhi; and an authoritative two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi, each of which was chosen by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year. He is also the author of two memoirs, The Commonwealth of Cricket and The Cooking of Books. Guha is currently Distinguished University Professor at Krea University. He has previously taught at Oslo, Stanford and the London School of Economics. Guha’s many awards include the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society for Environmental History, the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography and the Fukuoka Prize for contributions to Asian culture. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate in the humanities from Yale University.
‘Gandhi’s finest biographer.’ – THE GUARDIAN
‘India’s leading historian and public intellectual.’ – TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
‘Indian democracy’s pre-eminent chronicler.’ – TIME
‘Perhaps the best among India’s non‑fiction writers.’ – NEW YORK TIMES
‘One of the world’s great minds.’ – THE INDEPENDENT
‘The rarest of the species, a genuinely independent-minded Indian intellectual.’ – THE TIMES OF INDIA