Mahatma Gandhi was a profound and original thinker as well as one of the most influential figures in the history of the twentieth century. A religious and social reformer, he became a notable leader in the Indian nationalist movement, made famous for his advocacy of non-violent civil resistance. His many and varied writings are essentially responses to the specific challenges he faced, and they show his maturing ideas and political will, as well as his spirituality and humanity.

Judith Brown has written many books on Gandhi and India including Gandhi's Rise to Power. Indian Politics 1915-22 (1972), Gandhi and Civil Disobedience. The Mahatma in Indian Politics 1928-34 (1977), Gandhi. Prisoner of Hope (1989) and Nehru. A Political Life (2003). Her most recent book is Global South Asians: Introducing the Modern Diaspora (CUP, 2006). She is the author of the ODNB entry on Gandhi.
Her selection is based on Raghaven Iyer's he Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi (OUP India, 1993) in a new arrangement and with many additional items.

• Gandhi, his mission, and the influences on him


• Gandhi reflects on himself


• Gandhis acknowledges the major influences on him


• Authentic human life and the transformation of the individual


• The truly human life


• The search for God


• True religion and particular religious traditions


• Seeking truth through non-violence, self-discipline, and service


• Transforming societies


• Creating moral societies


• Ashrams - centres of personal and social transformation


• India under British rule: making a new nation


• Understanding swaraj


• Making swaraj - the Constructive Programme


• Making swaraj - key issues


• Non-violence as political action


• The birth of non-violent action


• The essence of satyagraha


• Appropriate behaviour for satyagrahis


• Tactics and dilemmas in satyagraha