Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi

Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
Name	Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi
Author	Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Editor	Various editors
Country	India
Language	English, Gujarati, Hindi
Subject	Writings of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Genre	Letters, speeches, articles, essays
Publisher	Publications Division, Government of India; Navajivan Trust
Pub date	1958–present
Media type	Print, digital
Pages	Multivolume

Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi is the authoritative multivolume edition assembling the writings, speeches, letters, articles, and translations of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It serves scholars of Indian independence movement, Non-cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, Satyagraha, and observers of figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, C. Rajagopalachari, and Rabindranath Tagore. The collection illuminates Gandhi’s interactions with contemporaries including Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King Jr., Katherine Mayo, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, and institutions such as the Indian National Congress, Navajivan Trust, Sabarmati Ashram, and Wardha.

Overview

The edition compiles primary texts spanning Gandhi’s life from Porbandar and Rajkot origins through activism in South Africa and leadership in British Raj India. It documents correspondence with personalities like Vallabhbhai Patel, Mahatma Gandhi's exchanges with Lord Mountbatten, dialogues with Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and reactions to events such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Salt Satyagraha, Quit India Movement, and Partition of India. The volumes contain material in Gujarati language, translations into English language and Hindi language, and editorial apparatus produced by organizations including the Publications Division (India) and the Navajivan Trust.

Compilation and Editorial History

The editorial project emerged from initiatives by associates such as Mahadev Desai, Pyarelal Nayyar, and C. Rajagopalachari and institutions like the Navajivan Trust and the Government of India. Early compilation relied on archives at Sabarmati Ashram, Sevagram, and private papers of correspondents including Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi, Gandhi family, and Mirabehn (Madeleine Slade). Editorial oversight involved scholars and civil servants from the Publications Division (India), historians linked to Banaras Hindu University, and librarians at the National Archives of India. The work navigated challenges relating to manuscripts from South Africa collections, press items in periodicals like Young India and Harijan, and letters sent to figures such as C.F. Andrews and Charles Freer Andrews.

Contents and Organization

Volumes are organized chronologically and thematically to include letters to leaders like Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and activists such as Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. They assemble speeches at venues like Sabarmati Ashram and Rastrapati Bhavan addresses, articles from periodicals including Indian Opinion and Navajivan, and translations of religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita commentary. The apparatus provides annotations referencing events such as the Champaran Satyagraha, Kheda Satyagraha, and Bardoli Satyagraha, and cross-references to exchanges with international figures like Winston Churchill, Annie Besant, and George Orwell through indexed entries.

Publication and Editions

Initial volumes appeared under the aegis of the Navajivan Trust and later the Publications Division (India) produced a standardized scholarly edition. Editions have been issued in multiple formats and languages to serve readers in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, New Delhi, and international collections such as the British Library and university libraries at Harvard University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Critical editions incorporated errata corrected by scholars like Bipan Chandra and editorial teams from institutions including the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and the Gandhi Peace Foundation. Special commemorative printings marked anniversaries relating to Gandhi Jayanti and events coordinated with the Ministry of Culture (India).

Reception and Influence

Scholars and political figures have used the collection to study civil resistance exemplified by Satyagraha and to analyze Gandhi’s moral philosophy in dialogue with thinkers such as John Ruskin and Henry David Thoreau. It informed movements led by Martin Luther King Jr., activists in South Africa including Nelson Mandela, and reformers like Vinoba Bhave and K. Kamaraj. Critics such as B.R. Ambedkar and commentators like Dilip Hiro have debated Gandhi’s stances on caste, religion, and politics using entries from the volumes. The work influenced institutions including the Gandhi Peace Prize trustees and curricula at Jawaharlal Nehru University, shaping historiography alongside biographies by Louis Fischer and studies by Eknath Easwaran.

Access and Digitization

Digitized facsimiles and searchable text have been produced by repositories affiliated with the Navajivan Trust, the National Digital Library of India, and university projects at Columbia University, Yale University, and University of Chicago. Online access supports research by scholars consulting archives at the National Archives of India, the British Library, and specialist collections such as the South African National Archives. Preservation efforts involve cataloguing standards of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and digital initiatives coordinated with the Digital Humanities centres at universities including University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University.

Category:Mahatma Gandhi Category:Collected editions Category:Indian non-fiction books