The Hindu

What most people get wrong about Mahatma Gandhi | Ramachandra Guha |Arguments with Gandhi

Historian and author Ramachandra Guha discusses his latest book, Arguments with Gandhi, and explores the enduring relevance of Mahatma Gandhis ideas in the modern world. Drawing from decades of research, Guha reflects on Gandhi as a political leader, social reformer, religious pluralist and global thinker. In this conversation, Guha examines Gandhis debates with figures such as B.R. Ambedkar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhagat Singh, while also discussing the influence of Gandhi on leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He explains how Gandhis ideas on non-violence, justice, faith, caste, gender and development evolved over time and why they continue to shape contemporary political and social discourse. The conversation also explores Gandhis strengths, blind spots, openness to criticism and the arguments that continue around his legacy more than seven decades after his death.