CNCS/CNCSI & DCF Lunchtime Seminar Series

The iconic leadership of Mahatma Gandhi has always been a variable subject. He is explored for both being a quintessential Hindu figure and also as an ideal spokesperson for Muslim rights and equality in India, a major Hindu nation. At times he is hailed as the most stubborn Indian leader in South Africa who constantly broke laws against British racial injustices while in other instances he is cited for his compromise and failure to save Bhagat Singh by signing the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931). The question worth asking is: was Gandhi a born leader that is usually showcased in the popular reconstructions of Gandhi or is there a process behind his leadership skills that has its origin in his South African days?

My talk will focus on two events from Gandhi’s life in colonial South Africa which are popularly cited for his transformation from a lawyer to a Mahatma (saint). By looking at Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi (1982) which begins with the South African episode of Gandhi being thrown out of the train to being forced to carry fingerprinted identity cards, a regulation that was applicable only on Indians, popular culture creates a larger-than-life figure of Gandhi in South Africa. However, my talk argues that Gandhi was unknown to fame and popularity at this moment which is paradoxically generated in popular representations for showcasing the magnanimity of the hero to the audience right from the outset. To assert my point, I will discuss The Empire theatre speech of Gandhi which brings out the gap between real and represented relations between English colonizers and indentured Indians in nineteenth-century South Africa. Being biopic in nature the film glorifies Gandhi at the cost of British officers with whom Gandhi in reality had bitter-sweet relations.