Arguments with Gandhi

Gandhi for a new century: his major legacies and why they still matter, from his foremost biographer.

Any shortlist of the most impactful political leaders of the twentieth century must include Gandhi, and once we eliminate the tyrants—Mao, Stalin, and Hitler—Gandhi stands virtually alone. He created one of our most effective weapons for political change in nonviolent collective resistance, a strategy that powered the American civil rights movement and remains potent today. Gandhi devoted his life to a movement that defeated the British Empire in India, and mounted similarly audacious challenges to his own society. In a nation of deep religious divisions, he insisted that Hindus and Muslims should live peaceably together. He embraced justice in relations of gender and race, and advocated for the end of Untouchable status. He opposed rapid industrial development on grounds of environmental sustainability. In this elegant, authoritative study, Ramachandra Guha gives us clear, up-close views of Gandhi’s positions, the arguments they drew, and their afterlives to the present day.