Elusive Nonviolence: The Making and Unmaking of Gandhis Religion of Ahimsa

About the BookVIOLENCE AND NON-VIOLENCE SEEN THROUGH THE GANDHIAN PRISMGandhi and non-violence are ubiquitous. But what was the precise nature of that definition as it played out in Gandhis own life and politics? The same man who spoke of turning the other cheek responded sympathetically to Hitlers rule of Jewish annihilation. The ascetic who had few material needs and personified gentleness was remorseless in his need for complete obedience from his own family. What then constituted his notion of ahimsa? Where lay its genesis and how did his idea of peaceful protest become the central point of the national movement?Chronicling Gandhis journey through the fire of experience to initiate his most unflinching mission, the restatement of Hinduism, Jyotirmaya Sharma reopens the debate around ahimsa and its continued relevanceor irrelevancein the modern world.About the AuthorJyotirmaya Sharma is professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad, India. His other books include A Restatement of Religion: Swami Vivekananda and the Making of Hindu Nationalism; Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS and India and an edited volume titled Grounding Morality: Freedom, Knowledge and the Plurality of Cultures (co-edited with A. Raghuramaraju). He has been a visiting fellow and lecturer at many prestigious universities and research centres, both in India and abroad. He has also held senior editorial positions at The Times of India and The Hindu,/i> from 19982006, and continues to write occasional columns.