Gandhi’s bookshelf: 3 texts that inspired the Mahatma
In the pages of these 3 books, Gandhi found the intellectual arsenal to challenge an empire and win a nation its freedom.
This October 2, there may be many who will celebrate one birthday while treating the other as worthy of condemnation. But such a simplistic divide is both unfortunate and misleading (Express Archive) Mahatma Gandhi’s transformation from a young lawyer in South Africa to the architect of Indian independence was forged as much in the pages of books as in political struggle. Books went a long way in shaping his philosophy, including Satyagraha (truth-force), ahimsa (nonviolence), and swaraj (self-rule).
Among his many influences, three writers in particular, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, and Henry David Thoreau, sharpened his convictions, providing the intellectual framework for a revolution.
John Ruskin – Unto This Last
Unto This Last by John Ruskin was first published in 1860 as a series of articles in Cornhill Magazine. (FQ Classics)
When Gandhi first read John Ruskin’s Unto This Last in 1904, he recalled being unable to sleep that night. The book, a collection of essays critiquing the harshness of industrial capitalism, convinced him that economics must serve humanity rather than wealth. Ruskin argued that labour should be meaningful, beauty should serve society, and true wealth lay in life itself—not profit. Inspired, Gandhi founded the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa, an experiment in cooperative living. He even translated the book into Gujarati.
The book’s title , The Kingdom of God is Within You’ is a phrase from the Bible. (Source: Watchmaker Publishers)
Civil Disobedience is a call for every citizen to value his conscience above his government. (amazon.in)
Share
