[In a typical knee-jerk reaction, even before looking at the book, let alone looking into, the Union Law Minister is talking of banning the book on Gandhi by Joseph Lelyveld. Presumably based on a few reviewers' interpretations. That's highly unfortunate, to put it rather mildly.
In this connection it needs be clarified that Gandhi was an ardent votary of celibacy. In a way, rightly or wrongly, he equated celibacy with higher morality. So any suggestion, let alone any definitive claim, that in his private life life he was actually promiscuous is utterly defamatory. But in this case, the author has strogly contested having made any such suggestion. Before passing any judgement one has got to look into that. The Union Law Minister of India cannot and must not act based on hearsays, so to say. Such an impulse needs be stoutly fought back.] I/II. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/centre-may-ban-book-that-says-gandhi-is-bisexual/768891/ <http://www.indianexpress.com/news/centre-may-ban-book-that-says-gandhi-is-bisexual/768891/>Centre may ban book that says Gandhi is bisexual *Wed Mar 30 2011, 03:22 hrs** ** Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said the Centre was planning to ban the controversial book by Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of The New York Times Joseph Lelyveld that has quoted correspondence to suggest Mahatma Gandhi was bisexual. “The government has taken a serious note of the book that has made disgraceful statement on the national leader. It is demeaning for the nation,” he said when asked on the government’s reaction to the book during his visit to Congress Bhavan in Pune. Moily’s statement came even as the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to approach the Union government seeking a ban on the book. “The references made by the American author are not acceptable and the government will initiate steps to ensure that the book does not get published in Maharashtra. We will also request the Central government to initiate steps to ban the book which maligns Mahatma Gandhi’s image,” said Industries Minister Narayan Rane in Mumbai. “The book has made statements that are unacceptable and it will not be tolerated,” Rane said. He was replying to a question in the Legislative Council by Congress MLC and state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre. Thakre highlighted newspaper reports that the book had maligned the character of the Father of the Nation. Council chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh requested Rane to take a decision on the issue on behalf of the government. The book — Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his struggle with India — has allegedly referred to Gandhi as a bisexual, a racist and a man who loved the concept of humanity more than individual human beings. Meanwhile, reacting to reports, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi too urged the Central government to ban the book. “The apostle of truth, peace and non-violence has been represented in a perverted manner. I urge the Central government to ban its (book’s) sale and publication,’” Modi told reporters in Gandhinagar. (With ENS Gandhinagar) II. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Outrage-over-reviews-of-new-Gandhi-book/articleshow/7811322.cms Outrage over reviews of new Gandhi bookAkshaya Mukul, TNN | Mar 29, 2011, 12.10am IST NEW DELHI: Thousands of books have been written on Mahatma Gandhi<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Mahatma-Gandhi> with each new one claiming to have discovered an unknown facet of his eventful life. When reviews of Pulitzer prize<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Pulitzer-Prize> winner Joseph <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Joseph> Lelyveld's "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India" hit the newspapers in England and US claiming that the book says Gandhi was a bisexual and had a German-Jewish bodybuilder lover in Hermann Kallenbach<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Hermann%20Kallenbach> it created immediate sensation. But as the Daily Mail's review of the book created a storm in cyberspace, there was a barrage of protests not just from Gandhians who said this was "blasphemy", but from the book's author himself who denied having suggested anything of the sort. Lelyveld told TOI, "I do not allege that Gandhi is a racist or bisexual in 'Great Soul'. The word 'bisexual' nowhere appears in the book." He also denied having called Gandhi a racist. "The word 'racist' is used once to characterise comments by Gandhi early in his stay in South Africa, part of a chapter summarising his statements about Africans and his relations with them. The chapter in no way concludes that he was a racist or offers any suggestion of it." Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar, one of the first to write on Gandhi's sexuality in 'Intimate Relations: Exploring Indian Sexuality' and later in 'Mira and Mahatma', is yet to read the book but has gone through an ocean of archives on Gandhi and says he never discovered anything that the reviewers claim the book consists of. Kakar remembers finding references to Kallenbach during his research but not the way the reviewers have portrayed it. He says if the book has what reviewers claim then it is plain "stupid." "Gandhi always talked of complete love but it was of platonic kind," he says. Another eminent modern India<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/India> historian who has read the book said, "The reviews are by Churchill fans and rightwingers." The Mahatma's grandson Gopal Gandhi said, "I will not comment till I read the book." But Gandhian scholar Tridip Suhrud, author of books like 'The Autobiography of The Story of My Experiments With Truth' not only interacted with Lelyveld when he was researching the book but has also read it. He is aghast with the reviews and swears by Lelyveld. Suhrud says the section on Kallenbach begins with a quote from him. "Lelyveld asks me what I think of Gandhi's relationship with Kallenbach and I say, 'It is almost like a couple'. The two had a deep bond that borders on attraction of platonic kind. Joseph is not talking about what the reviewers are claiming," Suhrud says. He explains that in the late 19th century and early 20th century men addressed each other in a way that can be construed now as lovers. He gives the instance of letters between Rabindranath Tagore<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Rabindranath%20Tagore> and CF Andrews. "Andrews wrote to Tagore in a manner that might raise eyebrows today. But the context was different then as also the usage of words. Tagore addressed him as Charlie," Suhrud says. He also says reviewers claim that the book portrays Gandhi as a racist is factually incorrect. In fact, he says, the book chronicles his work with Zulus as well during the Boer War where he took up the cause of the blacks. Suhrud goes on to give full marks to Lelyveld and the book. He says it is the first political biography of Gandhi by an expert on apartheid. "It is a fascinating work. Lelyveld shows there is continuity in Gandhi as well as major points of departure. Gandhi of South Africa was not the same as Gandhi of Sabarmati ashram. And Gandhi of Sabarmati was not the same after Dandi March." Lelyveld agrees: "The aim of 'Great Soul' is to sift the evidence and facts of Gandhi's life and discuss them in a careful, responsible and balanced way." * -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
