Being a Gandhi

Collection by Apurva J Mehta

 Arnold Toynbee- (December 3rd 1969)

Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH (14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of
civilizations , A Study of History, 1934–1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise,
flowering and decline, which examined history from a global perspective. A religious outlook permeates the Study and made it especially
popular in the United States,[citation needed] for Toynbee rejected Greek humanism, the Enlightenment belief in humanity's essential
goodness, and the "false god" of modern nationalism. Toynbee in the 1918–1950 period was a leading British consultant to the government
on international affairs, especially regarding the Middle East.
Lord Mountbatten- September 24th 1969

Mr. & Mrs. Mountbatten with Gandhiji

Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor

Lord Mountbatten in 1976
Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl
Mountbatten of Burma KG GCB OM GCSI
GCIE GCVO DSO PC FRS (born Prince Louis
of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979),
was a British statesman and naval officer, an
uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and
second cousin to Elizabeth II. He was the last
Viceroy of India (1947) and the first Governor-
General of the independent Union of India
(1947–48), from which the modern Republic of
India emerged in 1950. Mountbatten was a
strong influence in the upbringing of his grand-
nephew, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and
later as a mentor—"Honorary Grandfather" and
"Honorary Grandson"
Pearl S Buck (July 25th 1969)

Pearl S. Buck — receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature from

King Gustav V of Sweden in the Stockholm Concert Hall, in 1938.

Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 –

March 6, 1973), also known by her Chinese
name Sai Zhenzhu was an American writer
who spent most of her time until 1934 in
China. Her novel The Good Earth was the
best-selling fiction book in the U.S. in 1931
and 1932, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.
In 1938, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Literature, "for her rich and truly epic
descriptions of peasant life in China and for
her biographical masterpieces
Sucheta Kripalani

Translation of the letter:

Gandhiji’s sincerity, truthfulness &
fearlessness impressed me

Sucheta Kriplani (25 June 1908 –

1 December 1974[2][3]), born
Sucheta Mazumdar, was an Indian
freedom fighter and politician in
Uttar Pradesh, India. She became
the first woman to be elected
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
J B Kripalani
Translation of the letter:
Gandhiji’s sincerity

Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as
Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the
Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1947. During the election for the post
of the future Prime Minister of India held by the Congress party, he had the second highest
number of votes after Sardar Patel. However, on Gandhi's insistence, both Patel and Kripalani
backed out to allow Jawahar Lal Nehru to become the first Prime Minister of India. Kripalani
was a Gandhian Socialist, environmentalist, mystic and freedom fighter. He grew close to
Gandhi and became in time one of his most ardent disciples.
 Khushwant Singh

 Khushwant Singh : (born 2 February 1915) is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column,
"With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in
the country.
 An important Indo-Anglian novelist, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism,[1] his humor, and an abiding
love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid
wit. He served as editor of several well-known literary and news magazines, as well as two major broadsheet
newspapers, through the 1970s and 1980s. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan the second highest civilian award
in India.
Mulk Raj Anand

Mulk Raj Anand (12 December

1905 – 28 September 2004) was
an Indian writer in English,
notable for his depiction of the
lives of the poorer castes in
traditional Indian society. One of
the pioneers of Indo-Anglian
fiction, he, together with R. K.
Narayan, Ahmed Ali and Raja
Rao, was one of the first India-
based writers in English to gain an
international readership.
Gaganvihari Lal Mehta (August 5th 1970)

Translation of the letter:

Gandhiji’s utter fearlessness impressed me

Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta (1900–1974) was

the ambassador of India to the United States from
1952 to 1958. He was awarded the Padma
Bhushan in 1954 and the Padma Vibhushan in
1959. He was the son of Sir Lallubhai
Shamaldas.
 Dr Jivraj Narayan Mehta (July 30 1967)

Translation of the letter:

Gandhiji’s faith in god and his
belief that truth is god
impressed me greatly

Dr Jivraj Narayan Mehta was the first Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was born on 29 August 1887 to Narayan
and Jamakben Mehta in Amreli in Bombay Presidency. He was the son-in-law of Manubhai Mehta, then
Dewan of Baroda state.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (July 19th 1969)

Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit (Kashmiri:18

August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an
Indian diplomat and politician, the sister of
Jawaharlal Nehru[1], the aunt of Indira Gandhi
and the great-aunt of Rajiv Gandhi, all of
whom served as Prime Ministers of India.
Following India's independence from the
British in 1947 she entered the diplomatic
service and became India's ambassador to the
Soviet Union from 1947 to 1949, the United
States and Mexico from 1949 to 1951, Ireland
from 1955 to 1961 (during which time she was
also the Indian High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom), and Spain from 1958 to
1961. Between 1946 and 1968 she also headed
the Indian delegation to the United Nations. In
1953, she became the first woman President of
the United Nations General Assembly
 Nayantara Sahgal (August 6th 1970)
The most impressive thing about Gandhiji
was the fact that he lived what he
believed, translating every great principle
he stood for into daily life and action. He
could thus demonstrate the great power of
example, and the love and respect in
which people held him was due most of
all to this. This also is sadly lacking in our
public life today

Nayantara Sahgal (born 10 May 1927) is an Indian writer in English.

Her fiction deals with India's elite responding to the crises engendered by political change;
she was one of the first female Indo-Anglian writers to receive wide recognition.
She is a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the second of the three daughters born to Jawaharlal Nehru's sister,
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. She was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for English in 1986 for her novel, Rich Like Us
(1985), by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
Hubert H Humphrey (February 26th 1971)

 Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. (May 27, 1911 –

January 13, 1978), served under President Lyndon
B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United
States. Humphrey twice served as a United States
Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic
Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Americans for
Democratic Action. He also served as Mayor of
Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1945 to 1948.
Louis Fischer- October 20th 1967

Mahatma Gandhi and US journalist Louis Fischer at

Sevagram Ashram ; June 1942 

Louis Fischer (29 February 1896 – 15 January

1970) was a Jewish-American journalist. Among
his works were a contribution to the ex-
Communist treatise The God that Failed, The Life
of Lenin, which won the 1965 National Book
Award in History and Biography,[1] as well as a
biography of Mahatma Gandhi entitled The Life
of Mahatma Gandhi.
Aruna Asafali
Translation of the letter:
Gandhiji was a relentless critic of the
masses
He opposed injustice in every form
therefore his great resistance __________
was directed against colonial and racial
oppression

Aruna Asaf Ali (July 16, 1909 – July

29, 1996), born Aruna Ganguly, was an
Indian independence activist. She is
widely remembered for hoisting the
Indian National Congress flag at the
Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay
during the Quit India Movement, 1942.
She was 87 years old at the time of her
death.
Pyarelalji

Translation of the letter:

Gandhiji’s all embracing
love which manifested
itself in his relentless
observance of the five
basic spiritual vows in
his search for truth- the
ultimate realization
which is love, total
intelligence, and all
bliss, ____________
Sir Philip Noel Baker (March 31st 1970)

Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker

(1 November 1889 – 8 October 1982) was
a British politician, diplomat, academic, an
outstanding amateur athlete, and renowned
campaigner for disarmament. He carried
the British team flag and won an Olympic
silver medal at the 1920 Summer
Olympics in Antwerp, and received the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1959. He is the only
person to have won an Olympic medal and
also receive the Nobel Prize.
 Kakasaheb Kalelakar

 Dattatreya Balkrushna Kalelkar popularly known as Kaka Kalelkar, was a Gandhian Indian patriot. He was a social
reformer, scholar of Indian culture, historian, educationist, and journalist. Kalelkar was born in Belgundi Village,
Taluka and District Belgaum, Karnataka near Sawantwadi in Maharashtra. He had his college education at Fergusson
College in Pune. After a few years, Kalelkar became a member of Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat.
For some time, he served as the editor of Sarvodaya periodical which was run from the premises of the Ashram. With
Gandhi's encouragement, he played an active role in establishing Gujarat Vidyapith at Ahmedabad, and served as its
vice-chancellor for some years. Gujaratis lovingly called him (savai gujrati) meaning 1.25 gujrati. Kalelkar was a
member of the Indian Rajya Sabha for twelve years after India's independence.
Morarji Desai (August 8th 1969)

Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10

April 1995) was an Indian independence activist
and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977
to 1979. He was the first Indian Prime Minister
who did not belong to the Indian National
Congress. After assuming office, Desai promoted
his policies and peace initiatives between Pakistan
and India to avoid conflicts, such as Indo-
Pakistani war of 1971. For this, he was conferred
with Nishaan-e-Pakistan (Order of Pakistan).
Desai is the only Indian national to receive the
highest civilian award from Pakistan, the
Nishaan-e-Pakistan.
V. V. Giri (September 4th 1969)

Varahagiri Venkata Giri (10

August 1894 – 23 June 1980),
commonly known as V. V. Giri,
was the fourth President of the
Republic of India from 24 August
1969 to 23 August 1974. He was
also Acting President of India
from 3 May 1969 to 20 July 1969,
before becoming actual president.
Louis Fischer- August 18th 1969
K M Munshi

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi,[1] (December

30, 1887 – February 8, 1971) popularly
known as Kulapati, Dr. K. M. Munshi, was
an Indian independence movement activist,
politician, writer and educationist from
Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he
later turned to literature and politics. He
was a well known name in Gujarati
literature. He founded Bharatiya Vidya
Bhavan, an educational trust, in 1938
Poornima A Pakvasa

Poornima Arvind Pakvasa (born c. 1916) is a social

worker from Gujarat in India, the daughter of Mangal
Das Pakvasa. She is the mother of dancer Sonal
Mansingh. In 2004 she was awarded the Padma
Bhushan award for her services to the society. She is
the "Didi of the Dangs" and has worked all her life.
Even at the age of 90, she was still working with tribal
groups. In 1956, she started "Shaktidal", an institution
for the cultural, physical and spiritual education of
women. Later in 1969, it was transformed into
Ritambhara Vishva Vidyapeeth and extended its
activities into a full fledged residential school and
college at Saputara.
Poornima A Pakvasa
Gulzari Lal Nanda

Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15

January 1998) was an Indian
politician and an economist with
specialization in labour problems. He
was the interim Prime Minister of
India twice for thirteen days each: the
first time after the death of Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964,
and the second time after the death of
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri
in 1966. (Both his terms ended after
the ruling Indian National Congress
party procedurally elected a new
prime minister.) The Government of
India honoured Nanda with the
Bharat Ratna award in 1997.
R R Diwakar

R.R. Diwakar, journalist/politician, talks

of the Swadeshi Movement of 1905-'06
and describes the mood and freedom
activities in India, especially in the
Karnatak, upto Independence and
beyond. A Kannada speaker, he has
written several books in that language.
Thank you