AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR The story of my ... - Cmadras.com

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR The story of my experiments with truth By M. K. Gandhi
TRANSLATED FROM THE GUJARATI BY MAHADEV DESAI CONTENTS: Chapter 1 BIRTH AND PARENTAGE 6
Chapter 2 CHILDHOOD 7
Chapter 3 CHILD MARRIAGE 8
Chapter 4 PLAYING THE HUSBAND 11
Chapter 5 AT THE HIGH SCHOOL 12
Chapter 6 A TRAGEDY 15
Chapter 7 A TRAGEDY (contd.) 17
Chapter 8 STEALING AND ATONEMENT 19
Chapter 9 MY FATHER'S DEATH AND MY DOUBLE SHAME 21
Chapter 10 GLIMPSES OF RELIGION 23
Chapter 11 PREPARATION FOR ENGLAND 25
Chapter 12 OUTCASTE 28
Chapter 13 IN LONDON AT LAST 30
Chapter 14 MY CHOICE 32
Chapter 15 PLAYING THE ENGLISH GENTLEMAN 34
Chapter 16 CHANGES 36
Chapter 17 EXPERIMENTS IN DIETETICS 38
Chapter 18 SHYNESS MY SHIELD 40
Chapter 19 THE CANKER OF UNTRUTH 43
Chapter 20 ACQUAINTANCE WITH RELIGIONS 45
Chapter 21 NIRBAL KE BAL RAM 47
Chapter 22 NARAYAN HEMCHANDRA 48
Chapter 23 THE GREAT EXHIBITION 51
Chapter 24 'CALLED'-BUT THEN ? 52
Chapter 25 MY HELPLESSNESS 54
Chapter 26 RAYCHANDBHAI 55
Chapter 27 HOW I BEGAN LIFE 57
Chapter 28 THE FIRST CASE 59
Chapter 29 THE FIRST SHOCK 62
Chapter 30 PREPARING FOR SOUTH AFRICA 64
Chapter 31 ARRIVAL IN NATAL 65
Chapter 32 SOME EXPERIENCES 67
Chapter 33 ON THE WAY TO PRETORIA 69
Chapter 34 MORE HARDSHIPS 72
Chapter 35 FIRST DAY IN PRETORIA 75
Chapter 36 CHRISTIAN CONTACTS 78
Chapter 37 SEEKING TOUCH WITH INDIANS 80
Chapter 38 WHAT IT IS TO BE A 'COOLIE' 82
Chapter 39 PREPARATION FOR THE CASE 84
Chapter 40 RELIGIOUS FERMENT 86
Chapter 41 MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES 89
Chapter 42 SETTLED IN NATAL 90
Chapter 43 NATAL INDIAN CONGRESS 93
Chapter 44 COLOUR BAR 96
Chapter 45 BALASUNDARAM 98
Chapter 46 THE £ 3 TAX 100
Chapter 47 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF RELIGIONS 102
Chapter 48 AS A HOUSEHOLDER 104
Chapter 49 HOMEWARD 106
Chapter 50 IN INDIA 108
Chapter 51 TWO PASSIONS 110
Chapter 52 THE BOMBAY MEETING 112
Chapter 53 POONA AND MADRAS 114
Chapter 54 'RETURN SOON' 116
Chapter 55 RUMBLINGS OF THE STORM 118
Chapter 56 THE STORM 119
Chapter 57 THE TEST 121
Chapter 58 THE CALM AFTER THE STORM 124
Chapter 59 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN 126
Chapter 60 SPIRIT OF SERVICE 128
Chapter 61 BRAHMACHARYA -- I 129
Chapter 62 BRAHMACHARYA - II 131
Chapter 63 SIMPLE LIFE 134
Chapter 64 THE BOER WAR 135
Chapter 65 SANITARY REFORM AND FAMINE RELIEF 137
Chapter 66 RETURN TO INDIA 138
Chapter 67 IN INDIA AGAIN 140
Chapter 68 CLERK AND BEARER 142
Chapter 69 IN THE CONGRESS 143
Chapter 70 LORD CURZON'S DARBAR 145
Chapter 71 A MONTH WITH GOKHALE -- I 146
Chapter 72 A MONTH WITH GOKHALE -- II 148
Chapter 73 A MONTH WITH GOKHALE -- III 149
Chapter 74 IN BENARES 151
Chapter 75 SETTLED IN BOMBAY 154
Chapter 76 FAITH ON ITS TRIAL 156
Chapter 77 TO SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN 158
Chapter 78 'LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST'? 160
Chapter 79 AUTOCRATS FROM ASIA 161
Chapter 80 POCKETED THE INSULT 163
Chapter 81 QUICKENED SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE 164
Chapter 82 RESULT OF INTROSPECTION 166
Chapter 83 A SACRIFICE TO VEGETARIANISM 167
Chapter 84 EXPERIMENTS IN EARTH AND WATER TREATMENT 169
Chapter 85 A WARNING 170
Chapter 86 A TUSSLE WITH POWER 172
Chapter 87 A SACRED RECOLLECTION AND PENANCE 174
Chapter 88 INTIMATE EUROPEAN CONTACTS 175
Chapter 89 EUROPEAN CONTACTS (Contd.) 177
Chapter 90 'INDIAN OPINION' 179
Chapter 91 COOLIE LOCATIONS OR GHETTOS? 180
Chapter 92 THE BLACK PLAGUE - I 182
Chapter 93 THE BLACK PLAGUE - II 184
Chapter 94 LOCATION IN FLAMES 186
Chapter 95 THE MAGIC SPELL OF A BOOK 187
Chapter 96 THE PHOENIX SETTLEMENT 189
Chapter 97 THE FIRST NIGHT 190
Chapter 98 POLAK TAKES THE PLUNGE 191
Chapter 99 WHOM GOD PROTECTS 193
Chapter 100 A PEEP INTO THE HOUSEHOLD 195
Chapter 101 THE ZULU 'REBELLION' 197
Chapter 102 HEART SEARCHINGS 199
Chapter 103 THE BIRTH OF SATYAGRAHA 200
Chapter 104 MORE EXPERIMENTS IN DIETETICS 201
Chapter 105 KASTURBAI'S COURAGE 203
Chapter 106 DOMESTIC SATYAGRAHA 205
Chapter 107 TOWARDS SELF-RESTRAINT 207
Chapter 108 FASTING 208
Chapter 109 AS SCHOOLMASTER 210
Chapter 110 LITERARY TRAINING 211
Chapter 111 TRAINING OF THE SPIRIT 213
Chapter 112 TARES AMONG THE WHEAT 214
Chapter 113 FASTING AS PENANCE 215
Chapter 114 TO MEET GOKHALE 217
Chapter 115 MY PART IN THE WAR 218
Chapter 116 A SPIRITUAL DILEMMA 220
Chapter 117 MINIATURE SATYAGRAHA 221
Chapter 118 GOKHALE'S CHARITY 224
Chapter 119 TREATMENT OF PLEURISY 225
Chapter 120 HOMEWARD 227
Chapter 121 SOME REMINISCENCES OF THE BAR 228
Chapter 122 SHARP PRACTICE? 230
Chapter 123 CLIENTS TURNED CO-WORKERS 231
Chapter 124 HOW A CLIENT WAS SAVED 232
Chapter 125 THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 234
Chapter 126 WITH GOKHALE IN POONA 235
Chapter 127 WAS IT A THREAT ? 237
Chapter 128 SHANTINIKETAN 239
Chapter 129 WOES OF THIRD CLASS PASSENGERS 241
Chapter 130 WOOING 242
Chapter 131 KUMBHA MELA 243
Chapter 132 LAKSHMAN JHULA 246
Chapter 133 FOUNDING OF THE ASHRAM 249
Chapter 134 ON THE ANVIL 250
Chapter 135 ABOLITION OF INDENTURED EMIGRATION 252
Chapter 136 THE STAIN OF INDIGO 255
Chapter 137 THE GENTLE BIHARI 256
Chapter 138 FACE TO FACE WITH AHIMSA 258
Chapter 139 CASE WITHDRAWN 261
Chapter 140 METHODS OF WORK 263
Chapter 141 COMPANIONS 264
Chapter 142 PENETRATING THE VILLAGES 266
Chapter 143 WHEN A GOVERNOR IS GOOD 267
Chapter 144 IN TOUCH WITH LABOUR 269
Chapter 145 A PEEP INTO THE ASHRAM 270
Chapter 146 THE FAST 272
Chapter 147 THE KHEDA SATYAGRAHA 274
Chapter 148 'THE ONION THIEF' 276
Chapter 149 END OF KHEDA SATYAGRAHA 277
Chapter 150 PASSION FOR UNITY 278
Chapter 151 RECRUITING CAMPAIGN 280
Chapter 152 NEAR DEATH's DOOR 284
Chapter 153 THE ROWLATT BILLS AND MY DILEMMA 287
Chapter 154 THAT WONDERFUL SPECTACLE ! 289
Chapter 155 THAT MEMORABLE WEEK ! --I 291
Chapter 156 THAT MEMORABLE WEEK !---II 295
Chapter 157 'A HIMALAYAN MISCALCULATION' 297
Chapter 158 'NAVAJIVAN' AND 'YOUNG INDIA' 298
Chapter 159 IN THE PUNJAB 300
Chapter 160 THE KHILAFAT AGAINST COW PROTECTION ? 302
Chapter 161 THE AMRITSAR CONGRESS 305
Chapter 162 CONGRESS INITIATION 307
Chapter 163 THE BIRTH OF KHADI 309
Chapter 164 FOUND AT LAST ! 310
Chapter 165 AN INSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE 312
Chapter 166 ITS RISING TIDE 313
Chapter 167 AT NAGPUR 316
Chapter 168 FAREWELL 317
Chapter 1 BIRTH AND PARENTAGE
The Gandhis belong to the Bania caste and seem to have been originally
grocers. But for three generations, from my grandfather, they have been
Prime Ministers in several Kathiawad States. Uttamchand Gandhi, alias Ota
Gandhi, my grandfather, must have been a man of principle. State intrigues
compelled him to leave Porbandar, where he was Diwan, and to seek refuge in
Junagadh. There he saluted the Nawab with the left hand. Someone, noticing
the apparent discourtesy, asked for an explanation, which was given thus:
'The right hand is already pledged to Porbandar.' Ota Gandhi married a second time, having lost his first wife. He had four
sons by his first wife and two by his second wife. I do not think that in
my childhood I ever felt or knew that these sons of Ota Gandhi were not all
of the same mother. The fifth of these six brothers was Karamchand Gandhi,
alias Kaba Gandhi, and the sixth was Tulsidas Gandhi. Both these brothers
were Prime Ministers in Porbandar, one after the other. Kaba Gandhi was my
father. He was a member of the Rajasthanik Court. It is now extinct, but in
those days it was a very influential body for settling disputes between the
chiefs and their fellow clansmen. He was for some time Prime Minister in
Rajkot and then in Vankaner. He was a pensioner of the Rajkot State when he
died. Kaba Gandhi married four times in succession, having lost his wife each
time by death. He had two daughters by his first and second marriages. His
last wife, Putlibai, bore him a daughter and three sons, I being the
youngest. My father was a lover of his clan, truthful, brave and generous, but short-
tempered. To a certain extent he might have been given to carnal pleasures.
For he married for the fourth time when he was over forty. But he was
incorruptible and had earned a name for strict impartiality in his family
as well as outside. His loyalty to the state was well known. An Assistant
Political Agent spoke insultingly of the Rajkot Thakore Saheb, his chief,
and he stood up to the insult. The Agent was angry and asked Kaba Gandhi to
apologize. This he refused to do and was therefore kept under detention for
a few hours. But when the Agent saw that Kaba Gandhi was adamant, he
ordered him to be released. My father never had any ambition to accumulate riches and left us very
little property. He had no education, save that of experience. At best, he might be said to
have read up to the fifth Gujarati standard. Of history and geography he
was innocent. But his rich experience of practical affairs stood him in
good stead in the solution of the most intricate questions and in managing
hundreds of men. Of religious training he had very little, but he had that
kind of religious culture which frequent visits to temples and listening to
religious discourses make available to many Hindus. In his last days he
began reading the Gita at the instance of a learned Brahman friend of the
family, and he used to repeat aloud some verses every day at the time of
worship. The outstanding impression my mother has left on my memory is that of
saintliness. S