Mahatma Gandhi, an essay in political biography

Dietmar Rothermund was attracted by Gandhis life and thought ever since he heard about him. A historian trained in the tradition of critical analysis, Rothermund initially distrusted the biographical approach in his writings on India. However, he ultimately returned to Gandhi, read all the volumes of his Collected Works and wrote a comprehensive biography in German in 1989. He planned to publish an English version too. With the recent publication of books by Judith Brown and B.R. Nanda, another comprehensive biography in English, however, appeared a superfluous exercise. But after a study of these books, the author feels that his interpretation of Gandhis thought and action differs from theirs in many respects. He has, therefore, restricted himself to An Essay in Political Biography in which he highlights points considered to be essential by him. In doing so he also aims at offering a biography which would stand on its own. Gandhi said, My life is my message. This should encourage everybody to study that life. In fact, the greatness of Gandhi can only be appreciated if one sees him in the context of his times, on the horns of dilemmas, in the usual human quandary of having to make decisions based on limited information. This book is an attempt to understand Gandhi in the above perspective.