Gandhi After Gandhi: The Relevance of the Mahatma's Legacy in Today's World

Writing about Gandhi without being obvious is always difficult. Numerous books and articles are published every year, especially across the anniversaries of his birth and death. The judicious scholar believes that writing something new on this iconic figure is almost impossible. However, in the difficult times when this book was conceived, at the peak of what presumably can be considered as the worst humanitarian disaster of the 21st century, the Gandhian legacy has become more topical than ever. Gandhi’s thought and experience regarding laws and economy, and his views on secularism or on the tremendous effects of the colonial rule in India and beyond provide the opportunity to reflect on persistently manipulated constitutions and violated human rights, on the crisis of secularism and the demand of a sustainable, environment friendly economy. This book aims not only to offer new insights into Gandhi’s experience and legacy but also to prove how Gandhian values are relevant to the present and can provide explanations and solutions for present challenges. Gandhi After Gandhi will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in Indian culture and political thinking and Indian history since independence.

About the Author

Marzia Casolari is an associate professor of Asian History at the University of Turin, Italy. She has done extensive research on Indian and South Asian contemporary history and politics and writes regularly on contemporary politics in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. With Routledge she published the book In the Shadow of the Swastika : The Relationships Between Indian Radical Nationalism, Italian Fascism and Nazism.