Gandhi146;s prisoner? Book on son asks

8216;8216;The title comes from discussions with my mother Manilal8217;s daughter, my uncles and aunts. My mother always said her parents were captive, enslaved. My uncle says my grandfather never had any freedom,8217;8217; said Dhupelia-Mesthrie, a history professor at Cape Town8217;s Western Cape University.

On his father8217;s orders, Manilal Gandhi spent most of his adult life managing the settlement founded by Gandhi in the eastern port city of

Durban and editing the activist8217;s Indian Opinion newspaper, the book said.

8216;8216;Manilal didn8217;t have a choice. He wanted to be a doctor but Gandhi didn8217;t allow him to study at all. He would have like to marry a particular woman but his father wouldn8217;t allow that,8217;8217; Dhupelia-Mesthrie said.

Gandhi believed working on the farm and running the newspaper offered a better education, she said. The book, which draws on personal letters father and son sent each other and on family memories, was released in South Africa this month to coincide with the centenary of Gandhi8217;s Phoenix Settlement.

8216;8216;Gandhi believed that he had found the path to correct living and wanted to save his sons from making mistakes,8217;8217; she said.

Gandhi left South Africa with his family in 1914 but sent Manilal, the second of four boys, back to keep his legacy alive. The son went on to became a renowned political activist, enduring several stints in jail for his opposition to Apartheid laws.

One of her reasons behind the book was to recognise her grandfather8217;s contribution to the South African liberation struggle, the author said.

A special Indian edition of the book is due to be published next year. 8212;PTI