A Gandhi Jayanti in Ravana’s company
Once again, with the coming of 2 October, we are forced to commemorate the birthday of M.K. Gandhi. (If anything people are upset that the overlap with Dussehra has robbed them of a holiday.) Navayana looks forward to the day when we can forgo this tradition, but we live in a world where even his murderous right-wing opponents feel the need to pay obeisance to his legacy. Until we are forced live in his obdurate shadow, we will remain prodigal. Here are a few books to tide us along, to help us navigate away from his influence.
The South African Gandhi: Stretcher-Bearer of Empire by Goolam Vahed and Ashwin Desai
In this in-depth study of Gandhi’s time in South Africa, learn about how he turned an apologist for empire and worked to intensify the oppression of those he considered lesser.It’s been ten years to this day since the publication of this book—time to revisit our most popular book trailer.
Annihilation of Caste: The Annotated Critical Edition by B.R. Ambedkar
The publication of Ambedkar’s magnum opus generated a clarifying and public debate with Gandhi about the nature of caste. This annotated edition includes this exchange and an extensive introduction by Arundhati Roy that examines the Gandhi–Ambedkar debate.
Radical Equality: Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the Risk of Democracy by Aishwary Kumar
Examine the different stakes and approaches of the philosophies of Gandhi and Ambedkar on the question of equality. Kumar charts their proximities and irreconcilability.
A Part Apart: The Life and Thought of B.R. Ambedkar by Ashok Gopal
The most thorough, award-winning biography of Ambedkar narrates in detail for the first time Ambedkar and Gandhi’s many encounters. Learn all about their differences and how they dealt with each other in private and in the public sphere.
As the nation lurches from celebrating one maryada-purushottam to another, let us also remember those who were left burning in their wake. A.V. Sakthidharan’s Antigod’s Own Country: A Short History of Brahminical Colonisation of Kerala tells us of the many Adivasi, Dravidian, Buddhist and Dalit narratives that show asura figures as egalitarian rebels who stood up to Brahminical domination. In these stories, Ravana emerges as a just king who lives on in peoples’ memories. Spend the day in his company rather than give into murder fantasies.