HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTIONS / CORBIS
In 1894, at the age of 25, Mohandas Gandhi found his calling. Working as a lawyer for an Indian firm in Durban, South Africa, Gandhi was booted out of a first-class train compartment and denied hotel accomodations because of his race. Gandhi was embittered by the experience, and despite his ignorance of current events and terror of public speaking, he launched an all-out assault on South African prejudices, persuading the Natal Indian Congress to run a campaign of education and peaceful noncooperation with authorities.
The biggest slap in the face has come from Gandhiji’s own – his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, and great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, both of whom have described the ban as ‘un-Gandhian .’ Any sensible policymaker would let it go at that. And chances are the book will find its own level, its own takers and detractors, as should happen in a democracy. By attempting to suppress it, the one fallout will be this - “Great Soul” will register even greater sales! Censorship is always counterproductive – the more you suppress , the higher the curiosity. We saw that with the James Laine book on Shivaji (thank you Supreme Court, for showing better sense than the government of Maharashtra). We shall see the same happening with this book as well. But, hello! Who can think of reading a red-hot book, when the collective focus of the country is on the red-hot game of cricket?
Let’s face it, what’s the single most startling disclosure in the book? That the author has claimed our revered Mahatma (and perhaps the world’s most famous , self-declared celibate) had a long-term relationship with a German-Jewish architect and body builder called Hermann Kallenbach? Which makes Kallenbach , not Kasturba, the great love of his life! So? Since this ‘juicy’ tidbit was carried in nearly all the mainstream newspapers in India, it has been met with a rather tepid reaction that may surprise the more conservative elements of our society. “Really? Interesting!” said a slightly bored 20-year-old reading the news, before turning away. That was it. No rioting on the streets. No demand to ban the book. No baying for Lelyveld’s blood. We have grown up! That is the best news ever! Today, homosexuality is no longer a taboo subject and is out there, along with other aspects of sex. Whether Gandhiji’s subsequent ‘experiments’ with various truths were a part of his mission to come to terms with his own inclinations will remain a topic for future historians to tackle. But, according to this well-researched book (Lelyveld has based his work on material that is easily accessible, and quotes from “The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi” - supplementary volume 5 from the archives at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad) there are several controversial nuggets that suggest Gandhiji was indeed in a relationship of sorts with Kallenbach, with whom he shared a home for two years. He quotes from one of Gandhiji’s letters to Hermann, in which he confesses , “How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance .” A reader is free to interpret those passionate lines any which way and even disregard sexual implications when Gandhiji jokingly refers to himself as “Upper House” and Kallenbach as “Lower House” .
I have yet to read the book, but I would think an author with such impressive credentials would have done his homework scrupulously before going into print. In any case, Gandhiji’s sexuality has always been a subject of such complexity and debate that one more tome shouldn’t matter. Unless, of course, some overzealous politician with nothing better to do, decides to make an issue out of it. Whether the Mahatma preferred men over women is nobody’s business but his. We in India have such idiotic standards when it comes to sex. If Gandhiji wrote, “I cannot imagine a thing as ugly as the intercourse of men and women,” he is entitled to his opinion.
So, it’s best we keep scholars, intellectuals and academics out of this. And please, let’s also leave out his great-grandchildren , assorted grandnephews, grandnieces and other descendants . Nobody can possibly speak on behalf of the Mahatma and ‘clarify’ anything. It’s not necessary , either! There is this book and no doubt, there will be many more in the future. Nothing can take away from Gandhiji’s greatness , least of all his love for another man. It’s amusing to read Gandhian scholar Tridip Suhrud’s ‘defence’ of the Mahatma, in which he says, “In the late 19th and early 20th century, men addressed each other in a way that can be construed now as lovers.” That’s pretty twee. Who needs such justifications? Suhrud also explains that the two had “a deep bond that borders on attraction of the platonic kind.” Okay, buddy . If you say so.
Let’s hope whatever it was that Gandhiji shared with Kallenbach brought joy and fulfillment to their lives. Gandhiji as a gay icon? Why not? I think that’s pretty cool! Perhaps it will drive young Indians to read more about the man who altered their destiny and gave India freedom.
Come on, India. Grow up! If the Great Soul was indeed attracted to another man, is that so hard to accept or understand ? Which century are we living in? This column is being written on April Fool’s Day. We are looking like the biggest fools on earth right now. One can expect bachelor boy Narendra Modi to instantly cash in on the ‘sentiments’ of the people of his state and ban the controversial book after dubbing it ‘perverse’ . Paradoxically enough, those same people are free to visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and read those ‘perverse’ letters for themselves. I wonder how many people from Modi’s city bother to go to the ashram in the first place, forget about examining the many Gandhi volumes that it houses. Yes, the same archival material used by the author (Joseph Lelyveld) for the book “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India.”
The biggest slap in the face has come from Gandhiji’s own – his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, and great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, both of whom have described the ban as ‘un-Gandhian .’ Any sensible policymaker would let it go at that. And chances are the book will find its own level, its own takers and detractors, as should happen in a democracy. By attempting to suppress it, the one fallout will be this - “Great Soul” will register even greater sales! Censorship is always counterproductive – the more you suppress , the higher the curiosity. We saw that with the James Laine book on Shivaji (thank you Supreme Court, for showing better sense than the government of Maharashtra). We shall see the same happening with this book as well. But, hello! Who can think of reading a red-hot book, when the collective focus of the country is on the red-hot game of cricket?
Let’s face it, what’s the single most startling disclosure in the book? That the author has claimed our revered Mahatma (and perhaps the world’s most famous , self-declared celibate) had a long-term relationship with a German-Jewish architect and body builder called Hermann Kallenbach? Which makes Kallenbach , not Kasturba, the great love of his life! So? Since this ‘juicy’ tidbit was carried in nearly all the mainstream newspapers in India, it has been met with a rather tepid reaction that may surprise the more conservative elements of our society. “Really? Interesting!” said a slightly bored 20-year-old reading the news, before turning away. That was it. No rioting on the streets. No demand to ban the book. No baying for Lelyveld’s blood. We have grown up! That is the best news ever! Today, homosexuality is no longer a taboo subject and is out there, along with other aspects of sex. Whether Gandhiji’s subsequent ‘experiments’ with various truths were a part of his mission to come to terms with his own inclinations will remain a topic for future historians to tackle. But, according to this well-researched book (Lelyveld has based his work on material that is easily accessible, and quotes from “The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi” - supplementary volume 5 from the archives at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad) there are several controversial nuggets that suggest Gandhiji was indeed in a relationship of sorts with Kallenbach, with whom he shared a home for two years. He quotes from one of Gandhiji’s letters to Hermann, in which he confesses , “How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance .” A reader is free to interpret those passionate lines any which way and even disregard sexual implications when Gandhiji jokingly refers to himself as “Upper House” and Kallenbach as “Lower House” .
I have yet to read the book, but I would think an author with such impressive credentials would have done his homework scrupulously before going into print. In any case, Gandhiji’s sexuality has always been a subject of such complexity and debate that one more tome shouldn’t matter. Unless, of course, some overzealous politician with nothing better to do, decides to make an issue out of it. Whether the Mahatma preferred men over women is nobody’s business but his. We in India have such idiotic standards when it comes to sex. If Gandhiji wrote, “I cannot imagine a thing as ugly as the intercourse of men and women,” he is entitled to his opinion.
So, it’s best we keep scholars, intellectuals and academics out of this. And please, let’s also leave out his great-grandchildren , assorted grandnephews, grandnieces and other descendants . Nobody can possibly speak on behalf of the Mahatma and ‘clarify’ anything. It’s not necessary , either! There is this book and no doubt, there will be many more in the future. Nothing can take away from Gandhiji’s greatness , least of all his love for another man. It’s amusing to read Gandhian scholar Tridip Suhrud’s ‘defence’ of the Mahatma, in which he says, “In the late 19th and early 20th century, men addressed each other in a way that can be construed now as lovers.” That’s pretty twee. Who needs such justifications? Suhrud also explains that the two had “a deep bond that borders on attraction of the platonic kind.” Okay, buddy . If you say so.
Let’s hope whatever it was that Gandhiji shared with Kallenbach brought joy and fulfillment to their lives. Gandhiji as a gay icon? Why not? I think that’s pretty cool! Perhaps it will drive young Indians to read more about the man who altered their destiny and gave India freedom.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi slept with 12 year old female virgins Hsi Laii During a recent a meeting of MPs and legislators of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Saturday, Ms. Mayawati called the Mohandas Gandhi a “natakbaaz” (fake). To make matters worse, she also distributed pamphlets condemning both Mohandas Gandhi and the Secretary General of the Indian National Congress Mr. Rahul Gandhi. She accused the entire family of being insincere about the improvement in socio-economic status of Dalits.
Judging by the reaction off course the INC is incensed.
“Mayawati’s attempt to run down the Father of the Nation will only prove counter-productive and she will have to pay for it,”…”This only reflects her frustration on account of her failure to keep her monopolistic control over Dalits. It is high time she realises that Dalits are not her private property and they are well aware to see and understand the difference between what Mahatma Gandhi did for them and what Mayawati was doing for them,” State Congress spokesman Subodh Srivastava.
Let us look into the seeds of time and see why the Congress of the United States of America condemned this man called Mohandas Gandhi, and why the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo severely criticized and repudiated Mr. Mohandas Gandhi. It is pedagogical to note why the Dalit Freedom Network run by Bharati Christians and the Dalit Nation abhor, detest and dislike the mane.
According to Dr. G.B. Singh, and per historical records Mr. Mohandas K. Gandhi joined the British Army and participated in the Zulu and Boer wars on the side of the British. He supported both the wars and he was the self-professed “Recruiter in Chief” for the British Empire. Prime Minister Atlee of called his role in the British decision to leave South Asia as “minimal”.
‘What are the lessons we have learnt from the campaign? We have received our baptism by fire. A body of ex-civilians, who were ordered to withdraw, and with fixed bayonets they charged the enemy. They came back victorious.Our troops have gained much confidence. We have learnt that the Indian troops with the enemy are willing to come over. We must now make arrangements to take them over. We have learnt the tactics of the enemy. We have captured enemy documents. The experience gained by our Commanders has been invaluable. Before the campaign started, the Japanese had no confidence in our troops and wanted to break them up into batches attached to the Japanese Army. I wanted a front to be given to our men and this was ultimately given.We have also learnt our defects. Transport and supply were defective owing to the difficult terrain. We had no frontline propaganda. Though we had prepared personnel for this, we could not use them owing to lack of transport. Henceforth, each unit of the INA will have a propaganda unit attached to it. We wanted loudspeakers but the Japanese failed to supply them to us. We are now making our own. ‘ Why INA withdrew August 13, 1944
India will be Free. to Indians in East Asia August 17, 1945
Slowly but steadily the truth about Mr. Mohandas Gandhi’s racism is becoming self evident to most Americans. What was only whispered a few decades ago, what was only mentioned in hushed conversations a few years ago, is now part of the Congressional Record of the United States of America. The cacophony of the criticism against Mr. Gandhi is now being shouted from the top of the mountains and is consecrated in the library of congress books. The farce cannot be hidden anymore.
Come on, India. Grow up! If the Great Soul was indeed attracted to another man, is that so hard to accept or understand ? Which century are we living in? This column is being written on April Fool’s Day. We are looking like the biggest fools on earth right now. One can expect bachelor boy Narendra Modi to instantly cash in on the ‘sentiments’ of the people of his state and ban the controversial book after dubbing it ‘perverse’ . Paradoxically enough, those same people are free to visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and read those ‘perverse’ letters for themselves. I wonder how many people from Modi’s city bother to go to the ashram in the first place, forget about examining the many Gandhi volumes that it houses. Yes, the same archival material used by the author (Joseph Lelyveld) for the book “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India.”
The biggest slap in the face has come from Gandhiji’s own – his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, and great-grandson Tushar Gandhi, both of whom have described the ban as ‘un-Gandhian .’ Any sensible policymaker would let it go at that. And chances are the book will find its own level, its own takers and detractors, as should happen in a democracy. By attempting to suppress it, the one fallout will be this - “Great Soul” will register even greater sales! Censorship is always counterproductive – the more you suppress , the higher the curiosity. We saw that with the James Laine book on Shivaji (thank you Supreme Court, for showing better sense than the government of Maharashtra). We shall see the same happening with this book as well. But, hello! Who can think of reading a red-hot book, when the collective focus of the country is on the red-hot game of cricket?
Let’s face it, what’s the single most startling disclosure in the book? That the author has claimed our revered Mahatma (and perhaps the world’s most famous , self-declared celibate) had a long-term relationship with a German-Jewish architect and body builder called Hermann Kallenbach? Which makes Kallenbach , not Kasturba, the great love of his life! So? Since this ‘juicy’ tidbit was carried in nearly all the mainstream newspapers in India, it has been met with a rather tepid reaction that may surprise the more conservative elements of our society. “Really? Interesting!” said a slightly bored 20-year-old reading the news, before turning away. That was it. No rioting on the streets. No demand to ban the book. No baying for Lelyveld’s blood. We have grown up! That is the best news ever! Today, homosexuality is no longer a taboo subject and is out there, along with other aspects of sex. Whether Gandhiji’s subsequent ‘experiments’ with various truths were a part of his mission to come to terms with his own inclinations will remain a topic for future historians to tackle. But, according to this well-researched book (Lelyveld has based his work on material that is easily accessible, and quotes from “The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi” - supplementary volume 5 from the archives at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad) there are several controversial nuggets that suggest Gandhiji was indeed in a relationship of sorts with Kallenbach, with whom he shared a home for two years. He quotes from one of Gandhiji’s letters to Hermann, in which he confesses , “How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance .” A reader is free to interpret those passionate lines any which way and even disregard sexual implications when Gandhiji jokingly refers to himself as “Upper House” and Kallenbach as “Lower House” .
I have yet to read the book, but I would think an author with such impressive credentials would have done his homework scrupulously before going into print. In any case, Gandhiji’s sexuality has always been a subject of such complexity and debate that one more tome shouldn’t matter. Unless, of course, some overzealous politician with nothing better to do, decides to make an issue out of it. Whether the Mahatma preferred men over women is nobody’s business but his. We in India have such idiotic standards when it comes to sex. If Gandhiji wrote, “I cannot imagine a thing as ugly as the intercourse of men and women,” he is entitled to his opinion.
So, it’s best we keep scholars, intellectuals and academics out of this. And please, let’s also leave out his great-grandchildren , assorted grandnephews, grandnieces and other descendants . Nobody can possibly speak on behalf of the Mahatma and ‘clarify’ anything. It’s not necessary , either! There is this book and no doubt, there will be many more in the future. Nothing can take away from Gandhiji’s greatness , least of all his love for another man. It’s amusing to read Gandhian scholar Tridip Suhrud’s ‘defence’ of the Mahatma, in which he says, “In the late 19th and early 20th century, men addressed each other in a way that can be construed now as lovers.” That’s pretty twee. Who needs such justifications? Suhrud also explains that the two had “a deep bond that borders on attraction of the platonic kind.” Okay, buddy . If you say so.
Let’s hope whatever it was that Gandhiji shared with Kallenbach brought joy and fulfillment to their lives. Gandhiji as a gay icon? Why not? I think that’s pretty cool! Perhaps it will drive young Indians to read more about the man who altered their destiny and gave India freedom.
Sarojni Naidu on right of Gandhi. Wikipedia
Gandhi’s racism: The truth behind the mask. BeholdSergeant-Major Gandhi who supported the British during the Boer War and Zulu Rebellion. Behold the prophet of peace who worked to stratify the society in South Africa, Whites, Indians and Blacks based on the Hindu Caste system. Behold the “Enlightened One” that supported the British effort in World War one, and packed off thousands to the war effort to be used as cannon-fodder. Behold the pacifist that sent thousands to kill millions. Behold the “mahatma” that supported the British in World War 2 and encouraged the Indians to support the British war, thus perpetuating the colonial rule in the Subcontinent and supporting the Empire.
A plethora of information is now coming out of many sources shedding light on the life of Mr. Gandhi and his support for the British war machine, his disdain for the Africans in South Africa and his advice to invade Kashmir, and his suggestion to the Sikhs to not let their swords rust is contrary to the image of the pervert marketed in the West.
- Sex life of Mohandas Gandhi, his failures and sexual perversion
- WHich war did Mohandas Gandhi support. All of them. There wasn’t a war that the prophet of Non-Violence did not support. He was Sergeant Major in the British Army and won a medal for his war duties
- The myth of Mohandas K. Gandhi debunked. He gets an “F” on South Africa, Salt Match, Non-Violence, and independence
Mohandas Gandhi’s sleeping arrangements attracted public attention during the winter of 1946-47 in the Noakhali district in what is now Bangladesh. It came out that Gandhi was bunking nightly with his grandniece, Manu. Gandhi soon acknowledged there was more to it: he was testing his vow of brahmacharya, or total chastity in thought and deed. If he could spend the night in a woman’s embrace without feeling sexual stirrings, it would demonstrate that he had conquered his carnal impulses and become “God’s eunuch.” It turned out that Manu was not his first brahmacharya lab partner–he also had liasons with other young women in his extended family.
There were quite a few raised eyebrows in India. One of the most vocal critics was Nirmal Kumar Bose, a university lecturer who served as Gandhi’s interpreter in Noakhali. Bose protested that the master was exploiting the women, each of whom felt she had a special place in his affections and became “hysterical” if slighted. (Here I follow the account by author Ved Mehta in his 1976 New Yorker series on Gandhi and his followers.) Gandhi, far from being abashed, vigorously defended himself in meetings, letters, and articles, arguing that making a woman “the instrument of my lust” would be far more exploitative than what he actually did.
Even Bose, who quit in protest and later discussed the issue in a book, My Days With Gandhi.. Gandhi continued to sleep with women until his assassination in 1948… … His notoriously eccentric views on sex may have been a factor too. Gandhi believed that sex for pleasure was sinful (for that matter, he felt eating chocolate was sinful), that sexual attraction between men and women was unnatural, and that husband and wife should live together as brother and sister, having sex only for purposes of procreation. (I take most of this from a memoir by journalist William Shirer, another admirer.)
He swore off sex at age 36, required a similar vow of his disciples, and publicly freaked when he had a nocturnal emission in 1936 at age 67. Many hearing him rationalize his unusual blanket substitute probably figured, eh, that’s the mahatma for you. Gandhi was regularly massaged by naked women.
Fact or Fiction?: What the world thinks of Mohandas Gandhi!BHARAT (”INDIA”): Mohandas Gandhi’s Unmasked Sex: Mohandas Gandhi’s adulterous affair with Sarla Devi
Sarla was neice of Ravindra N Tagore. Her husband and Sunil Dutt were Pb Mohyals. Gandhi’s one love letter of Feb 1940 and her husband’s life sketch are also in this blog. Rahul follows Nehru Gandhi!
United States Congressional Record on Mohandas Gandhi
After Nehru’s love affairs with Lady Edwina Mountbatten now grand son of Mahatma Gandhi has disclosed the lover affairs of Mahatma Gandhi with Bengali Sarla Devi married with another freedom fighter editor of Hindustan journal of Lahore.
Sarla Devi has a son named Deepak Chaudhary. Mahatma Gandhi proposed to Pt Nehru for the marriage of Deepak with Indira. But Nehru rejected the proposal. Later Deepak Chaudhary married with a daughter of Mahatma Gandhi.
Chaudhary Ram Bhaj Datt, husband of Sarla Devi was a respected personality known in Arya Samaj, Congress, and Journalists. He was related to famous Mohyal Tree of Punjab and Haryana. Names of Late Sunil Dutt and his wife Nargis are also included in the website of this society in golden words.
When he was in Jail then Mahatama Gandhi was in his home as a host of her wife. Chaudhuri was in jail for his part in the struggle against the British and soon after he arrived, Gandhi – by now dedicated to personal celibacy – wrote in a letter: “Saraladevi’s company is very endearing… She looks after me very well.” Photo of Sarla Devi is at: www.newsanalysisindia.com/
Within months, he was thinking of their relationship in terms of a “spiritual marriage”, according to his grandson – who admits he is unsure what his grandfather meant by this. Does Domestic Violence Act (D V Act) give remedy to the husbands as Chaudhari?
Atlee: Gandhi’s role in UK decision to leave India was MINIMAL
“Nonviolence” gimmick failed to achieve any results. Is it a marketing success?
Unlike Gandhi Bose actually helped in the freedom Struggle against the British
The British left South Asia becuase of Jinnah & Bose not Gandhi
At the age of 50, Gandhi, a married father of four, came perilously close to succumbing to a temptation that threatened both his family, and his life’s work, after falling passionately in love with the beautiful Saraladevi Chaudhuri, three years his junior
Neither Mahatma Gandhi nor Sarla Devi wrote about their love affairs in their autobiographies.
Author Rajmohan Gandhi writes in his new book:”He responded to my father Devdas and letters written to him by the other leaders, especially by Rajagopalachari asking him to come out of the affair.”
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