Gandhi Behind The Mask Of Divinity
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''Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity'' is a book by United States Army officer
G. B. Singh G. B. Singh is the author of '' Gandhi Behind the Mask of Divinity'', a biography of Mahatma Gandhi and '' Gandhi Under Cross Examination''. Career Singh, shortly after immigrating from India, applied to serve in the U.S. Army in 1979. Although ...
. The book was written in biographical form nearly 60 years after the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and challenges his image as a saintly, benevolent, and pacifistic leader of Indian independence, told through Gandhi's own writings and actions over the course of his life. The book claims that Gandhi emulated racism from the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
ideology of
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
towards the blacks of South Africa and the Untouchables, instigated ethnic hatred against foreign communities, and, to this end, was involved in covering up the killing of American engineer William Francis Doherty. Singh puts forward that the portrayal of Gandhi as a great leader is "the work of the Hindu propaganda machine" and Christian clergy with ulterior motives; and, furthermore, it was based on irrationality and deception which historians have failed to critically examine.


Reception

A book containing
bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
on Mahatma Gandhi-related literature described the book to be a highly critical account which interpreted his every move as racist and was based on questionable arguments. Katie Violin of '' The Kansas City Star'' also criticized the book and stated that "Gandhi as a racist doesn't add up". Professor Manfred Steger, author of ''Gandhi's Dilemma: Nonviolent Principles And Nationalist Power'', wrote a review of the book in the December 2005 issue of ''The Historian''. He stated that the author doesn't offer hard evidence for the first thesis in the book, the alleged "Hindu propaganda machine", and found Singh's "eagerness to accuse" without raising or answering relevant questions "deeply disturbing". At the same time, Steger said that the author offers "much better evidence" for the second thesis, Gandhi's racist attitude. He stated, "Perhaps one of the strongest sections of the book is the author's examination of pertinent primary and secondary literature revealing Gandhi's attitude toward black Africans during his two decades in South Africa". Steger noted that numerous other "balanced" critiques of Gandhi exist, such as the works by Ved Mehta, Partha Chatterjee, and Joseph Alter. In comparison, Steger concluded, that the book was a "one-sided attack" on Gandhi, without offering the larger, more complex picture of Gandhi's ethical and political engagements, thus turning it into a "strident polemic". In his book, ''Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony'', the author Anthony Parel termed Singh's book as "scurrilous", "crude bias", and "deplorable ignorance".


Political

United States Congressman Edolphus Towns called the book "definitely controversial" but worth reading to broaden perspective on Gandhi and understand the foundations of India.Extensions of Remarks - December 13, 2005 by HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Proceedings and Debates of 109th Congress (First Session) Towns mentioned the book in his Congressional debate during the Proceedings and Debates of
110th United States Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...
(First Session).


See also

*'' Gandhi Under Cross Examination'' * Boer War * Bambatha Rebellion


References

{{reflist 2004 non-fiction books Books about Mahatma Gandhi