Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction

Superb introduction to the life, work and thought of Mahatma Gandhi, covering a lot in 140 pages with considerable depth. Parekh starts with a brief overview of Gandhi's life, devotes most of the book to a variety of his ideas (human nature, our position in and relation to nature, cosmic spirit, views on modern society, industrialization, various forms of political government, social justice, to name a few) and how they shaped his activism and the practice of satyāgraha, and concludes with Gandhi's legacy and main strengths and weaknesses of his thought.

"Thanks to his passionate commitment to a non-violent vision of human life, Gandhi challenged conventional wisdom, broke through traditional categories of thought, stretched the show more boundaries of imagination in all areas of life, and opened up new philosophical and practical possibilities. Gandhi’s questions demand answers. And if we reject his answers, as we are bound to do in several cases, we need to provide alternative answers. He requires us to think afresh about things we have long taken for granted, and therein lies his greatest contribution and true originality."

I couldn't agree more. show less

This short introduction to Gandhi's life and thought outlines both his major philosophical insights and the limitations of his thought. It looks at his cosmocentric anthropology, his spiritual view of politics, his unique form of liberal communitarianism, and his theories of oppression, non-violent action, and active citizenship.

Interesting. There was a lot more to him than I was aware of, my knowledge being limited to the non-violent struggle for Indian independence.