Arguments with Gandhi

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.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR REBELS AGAINST THE RAJ

‘A narrative of startling originality … his excitement at discovering a forgotten chapter of Indian history is contagious … As discussions of Britain’s colonial legacy become increasingly polarised, we are in ever more need of nuanced books like this one’

Sam Dalrymple, Spectator

‘Fascinating and provocative … Guha organises his material expertly and presents it clearly and stylishly, illuminating an aspect of Raj history which is often forgotten or neglected but which is nonetheless crucial for an understanding both of present-day India and of Britons’ complex and ambivalent past relationship to this ‘jewel’ in their collective crown. This superb book does them justice, as well as adding a new dimension to the histories both of subject India and of imperial Britain – and being a thoroughly good read’

Literary Review

‘Guha has done well to remind us of these forgotten stories, all the more as India, like much of the world, is becoming more xenophobic and intolerant, believing all the virtues lie in national frontiers’

Irish Times

‘Illuminating and engaging … Guha’s wide-ranging research and lucid narration brings to life these men and women … Rebels Against the Raj, however, makes a larger, more important and incisive point. Guha calls the lives and work of these rebels a morality tale for the world we now inhabit – a world incandescent with xenophobia and jingoism, and full of contempt for thoughts and ideas that a culture can imbibe from outside its borders’

New Statesman

‘Eminently readable and dazzling … Painstakingly researched, this is history writing at its best. It is indeed a masterly study of hitherto neglected western figures of modern India and opens a new way of engaging with the complex fault-lines between nationalism and imperialism, between India and the West … Guha’s outstanding work … couldn’t be more relevant. Every Indian should read this book’

The Tribune