Biography of Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most controversial and dynamic figures of the twentieth century political scenario in India and the world. In any study of Gandhi the most striking element is the intricate mix of simplicity and complexity. His broad positions on issues were often enough easy to follow but the details were often subject to controversy.
As this controversial biography of Gandhi by Joseph Lelyveld highlights it is debatable as to what proportion of his teachings were actually followed by his followers. If we consider the cataclysm of Partitioning of the British Raj into the dominions of India and Pakistan we might be tempted to conclude that Gandhi's ideas were a failure even during his lifetime. This event more than anything else and the ramifications of which South Asia is still living with seem to nullify his teachings of satyagraha and non-violence. Thus we must conclude that the centrality of Mahatma Gandhi in molding the Indian republic should not be exaggerated. At the same time no other Indian leader of the anti-colonial movement of the time succeeded in gelling the Indian masses into a coherent whole as Mahatma Gandhi did.
Joseph Lelyveld has criticized Gandhi for deserting the movement in South Africa at a critical juncture. However this ignores the fact that Gandhi's central preoccupation was with India and Indian issues even when based abroad. Similarly for Gandhi everything was interlinked ranging from his stress on celibacy to his underlining the value of non-violence. A shortcoming of Lelyveld's biography of Gandhi is that this aspect is not highlighted with sufficient emphasis.
Similarly it is easy enough to underestimate Mahatma Gandhi and become engrossed by digressions such as his relationship with Hermann Kallenbach or his backing by big business or to assume that it cost a great deal to keep Gandhi in poverty as some others have observed.
Nevertheless all these aspects ignore the centrality of the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi in fighting injustice and oppression by an alien power on his motherland. In this regard Mahatma Gandhi was more than just a "naked fakir" as Winston Churchill once described him but one whose life and teachings have importance for people of all civilizations across historical time boundaries. Therein lies the true greatness of Mahatma Gandhi's life and teachings.
Whatever our ideological persuasions might be there is no denying the greatness of what Mahatma Gandhi stood for and his unparalleled contribution in bringing down an oppressive and unjust regime run by foreigners in India.