‘Mohandas Gandhi: Experiments in civil disobedience’

Mohandas Gandhi, icon of Indian liberation, remains an inspiration for anti-capitalists and peace activists globally. His campaigns for national liberation based on non-violence and mass civil disobedience were critical to defeating the power of the British Empire. This new biography by Dr Talat Ahmed, Lecturer in South Asian History,  examines his campaigns from South Africa to India to evaluate the successes and failures of non-violent resistance. Seventy years after his death, his legacy remains contested: was he a saint, revolutionary, class conciliator, or self-obsessed spiritual zealot? The contradictions of Gandhi’s politics are unpicked through an analysis of the social forces at play in the mass movement around him.

A seminar will take place from 4.00 pm to 5.30pm, followed by a drinks reception.

Co-hosted by the Centre for South Asian Studies and the Edinburgh Centre for Global History.

Dr Ahmed's staff profile