Atlantic Gandhi

Atlantic Gandhi takes Mahatma Gandhi out of the national space of India and examines him as an ocean-faring diasporic cosmopolitan whose life reverberates with the revolutionary currents of the Atlantic rim. Using the frames of diaspora theory, post-colonial discourse theory and the recent Atlantic turn in studies of resistance, the book brings into relief Gandhi's experience as a traveler moving from a classic colony in India to the plantation and mining society of South Africa. It argues that such a move between modes of production brought him into contact with indentured laborers, with whom he shared exilic and diasporic consciousness, and whose difficult yet resilient lives inspired his philosophy. Throughout the book, the focus is on Gandhiji's status as a diaspore, an expatriate and an exile, which, in some way or other, got reflected in his writings while in South Africa. The book explores Gandhiji's connection to the Atlantic history of subversion as reflected in his writings such as his Autobiography, Hind Swaraj, and Satyagraha as well as countless letters, petitions, letters of protest, travel essays and other journalistic pieces.