Gandhi and South Africa

A recent book by Joseph Lelyveld Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India was seen by some tabloid newspapers as suggesting Gandhi had latent sexual feelings towards his close friend Hermann Kallenbach. The controversy was used by the BJP Gujarat chief minster, Narendra Modi, to try to ban the book nationally. The article, in The Nation, explores the motives behind Modi’s attempts and also critiques the book itself. Read the full article by Martha C. Nussbaum:

Gandhi and South Africa by Martha C. Nussbaum, published in The Nation

Joseph Lelyveld book caused a stir even in the popular press in the UK when it was published and was banned in the state of Gujarat in India. Among the reviews, one by well-known historian Professor Andrew Roberts expressed a very negative view of Gandhi. Antony Copley of the Gandhi Foundation, and a historian himself, responded:

Antony Copley’s response to Professor Andrew Robert’s review

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