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"Reflections on Gandhi" is an essay by
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
, first published in 1949, which responds to
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
's autobiography ''
The Story of My Experiments with Truth ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' ( gu, Satya Na Prayogo athva Atmakatha, ) is the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installm ...
''. The essay, which appeared in the American magazine ''
Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated John ...
'', discusses the autobiography and offers both praise and criticism to Gandhi, focusing in particular on the effectiveness of Gandhian
nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
and the tension between Gandhi's spiritual worldview and his political activities. One of a number of essays written by Orwell and published between ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
'' (1945) and ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' (1949), "Reflections on Gandhi" was the last of Orwell's essays to be published in his lifetime and was not republished until after his death.


Background

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
was born in
Motihari Motihari is the headquarters of East Champaran district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Bihar. It is located District entry point and New City 40.09 kilometres Northeast Mehsi. north of the state capital Patna. Geograp ...
,
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, in 1903, and lived there for a year. As a young man he worked for the
Indian Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Imperial Police or simply the Indian Police or, by 1905, Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British Raj, as established by ...
in the province of Burma, then part of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, from 1922 until 1927. Later he worked for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's Indian Section, writing and producing reviews and commentaries on news for broadcast in India and Southeast Asia from 1941 to 1943. At the BBC, Orwell worked with
Balraj Sahni Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Early life Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...
, who had previously lived with
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
at his
ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...
in
Sevagram Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance d ...
. Gandhi's ''
The Story of My Experiments with Truth ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' ( gu, Satya Na Prayogo athva Atmakatha, ) is the autobiography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, covering his life from early childhood through to 1921. It was written in weekly installm ...
'' was first published in serial form in '' Navajivan'' from 1925, then translated into English and published as a book in 1927. The book describes Gandhi's childhood, his time spent in London and South Africa, and life in India until the 1920s, with a focus on the author's moral and religious development. The 1948 American edition, published by
Public Affairs Press Public Affairs Press ( – mid-1980s) was a book publisher in Washington, D.C., owned and often edited by Morris Bartel Schnapper (1912–1999). History According to notional successor Peter Osnos of the 1997-founded PublicAffairs: For f ...
, was the first edition of the full text to be published outside India. In August 1948,
William Phillips William Phillips may refer to: Entertainment * William Phillips (editor) (1907–2002), American editor and co-founder of ''Partisan Review'' * William T. Phillips (1863–1937), American author * William Phillips (director), Canadian film-make ...
invited Orwell to review ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' for ''
Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated John ...
''. Orwell was a regular contributor to ''Partisan Review'', which had been established in 1934 as an organ of the
Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
but later became an
anti-Communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
publication. His contributions between 1941 and 1946 included a number of "
London Letters The "London Letters" were a series of fifteen articles written by George Orwell when invasion by Nazi Germany seemed imminent,http://www.bu.edu/partisanreview/books/ Boston University and published in the American left-wing literary magazine ' ...
" discussing the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as well as pieces on politics more broadly and the London literary milieu. Orwell had become well known in the United States after the publication of ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
'' in 1946. Orwell had previously written about Gandhi in a number of letters and book reviews, and in his "
As I Please "As I Please" was a series of articles written between 1943 and 1947 for the British left-wing newspaper ''Tribune'' by author and journalist George Orwell. On resigning from his job at the BBC in November 1943, Orwell joined ''Tribune'' as lite ...
" column in ''
Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...
'' in 1944. In his review of
Beverley Nichols John Beverley Nichols (9 September 1898 – 15 September 1983) was an English writer, playwright and public speaker. He wrote more than 60 books and plays. Career Between his first book, the novel, ''Prelude'' (1920) and his last, a book of po ...
' ''Verdict on India'', Orwell defended Gandhi from Nichols' attacks, though in a 1948 letter to
Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
he acknowledge he harboured "dark suspicions about Gandhi".


Composition and publication

Orwell quickly accepted Phillips' invitation, writing the essay in late 1948 while revising ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'', and the review was published in January 1949. "Reflections on Gandhi" was one of a number of essays by Orwell published in the years between the publication of ''
Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
'' in 1945 and ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' in 1949; others include "
Notes on Nationalism Notes on Nationalism is an essay completed in May 1945 by George Orwell and published in the first issue of the British magazine ''Polemic'' in October 1945. Political theorist Gregory Claeys insists it is a key source for understanding Orwell's ...
", "
Politics and the English Language "Politics and the English Language" (1946) is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the "ugly and inaccurate" written English of his time and examined the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. The essay ...
", "
Why I Write "Why I Write" (1946) is an essay by George Orwell detailing his personal journey to becoming a writer. It was first published in the Summer 1946 edition of ''Gangrel''. The editors of this magazine, J.B.Pick and Charles Neil, had asked a selection ...
", "
The Prevention of Literature "The Prevention of Literature" is an essay published in 1946 by the English author George Orwell. The essay is concerned with freedom of thought and expression, particularly in an environment where the prevailing orthodoxy in left-wing intellectu ...
" and "Some Thoughts on the Common Toad". "Reflections on Gandhi" was Orwell's last published essay. In "Reflections", Orwell draws on points he had previously made in a review of
Louis Fischer Louis Fischer (29 February 1896 – 15 January 1970) was an American journalist. Among his works were a contribution to the ex-communist treatise '' The God that Failed'' (1949), '' The Life of Mahatma Gandhi'' (1950), basis for the Academy A ...
's ''Gandhi and Stalin'' (1947), on the question of Gandhi's perspective on
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
and the possible efficacy of
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
tactics in a society like that of the Soviet Union. While the essay draws on themes from his earlier writing on Gandhi, in "Reflections" he also offers a more developed perspective on Gandhi and responds to the problems posed by the post-war world. Descriptions of Gandhi as a saintlike figure, which Orwell addresses in the essay, had been advanced by British and American clergymen including
John Haynes Holmes John Haynes Holmes (November 29, 1879 – April 3, 1964) was an American Unitarian minister, pacifist, and co-founder of the NAACP and the ACLU. He is noted for his anti-war activism. Early life Holmes was born in Philadelphia on November 2 ...
and literary figures including the French author
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
. Gita V. Pai suggests that Orwell took the title of "Reflections on Gandhi" from
Georges Sorel Georges Eugène Sorel (; ; 2 November 1847 – 29 August 1922) was a French social thinker, political theorist, historian, and later journalist. He has inspired theories and movements grouped under the name of Sorelianism. His social and p ...
's ''
Reflections on Violence ''Reflections on Violence'' (french: Réflexions sur la violence, links=no), published in 1908, is a book by the French revolutionary syndicalist Georges Sorel on class struggle and revolution. Sorel is known for his theory that political revolu ...
'' (1908), which Pai suggests may also have influenced ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''; Pai also suggests that Orwell may have seen connections between Gandhi's use of political symbolism and imagery, and Sorel's argument for the necessity of symbolism and mythology in politics. Alex Woloch, meanwhile, suggests the title—and similar titles, including " Some Thoughts on the Common Toad", "
Second Thoughts on James Burnham "Second Thoughts on James Burnham" ("James Burnham and the Managerial Revolution", when published as a pamphlet) is an essay, first published in May 1946 in ''Polemic (magazine), Polemic'', by the English author George Orwell. The essay discusses ...
" and ''
Notes on Nationalism Notes on Nationalism is an essay completed in May 1945 by George Orwell and published in the first issue of the British magazine ''Polemic'' in October 1945. Political theorist Gregory Claeys insists it is a key source for understanding Orwell's ...
''—indicates the importance of the process of thinking, or reflecting, in Orwell's work, and serves "to divide the focus ''between'' process and object, means and end". "Reflections on Gandhi" was not included in '' Inside the Whale and Other Essays'' (1940) or '' Critical Essays'' (1946), the two volumes of Orwell's essays published in his lifetime, and so remained difficult to find and little-read at the time of his death. In 1949, the Ministry of Information (MOI) obtained permission to print "Reflections on Gandhi" in its Indian publication ''Mirror''. The essay was edited by the MOI with the intention of improving Anglo-Indian relations. In August 1949, months before Orwell's death, he wrote to
Fredric Warburg Fredric John Warburg (27 November 1898 – 25 May 1981) was a British publisher best known for his association with the author George Orwell. During a career spanning a large part of the 20th century and ending in 1971, Warburg published Orwel ...
with a proposal for a new collection of essays, in which "Reflections on Gandhi" would be reprinted alongside " Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool", "Politics and the English Language", "
Shooting an Elephant "Shooting an Elephant" is an essay by British writer George Orwell, first published in the literary magazine ''New Writing'' in late 1936 and broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 12 October 1948. The essay describes the experience of the English ...
", "
How the Poor Die "How the Poor Die" is an essay first published in 1946 in ''Now'' by the English author George Orwell. Orwell gives an anecdotal account of his experiences in a French public hospital that triggers a contemplation of hospital literature in the c ...
", and planned essays on
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
and
George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include ''The Nether World'' (1889), ''New Grub ...
.


Overview

Orwell introduces ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' as evidence for a positive appraisal of Gandhi's life, due in part to its focus on Gandhi's life before his involvement in politics, which Orwell finds indicative of Gandhi's shrewdness and intelligence. Orwell recalls reading the autobiography in is original serialised form, and finding that it challenged his preconceptions about Gandhi as not posing a threat to British rule. Orwell notes Gandhi's admirable and upstanding qualities. Orwell also observes that Gandhi's political views developed only slowly, and that, as a result, much of the book describes commonplace experiences. Rejecting claims by western
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
and
pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...
to claim Gandhi as an adherent to their views, Orwell argues that Gandhi's thought presupposes religious faith and is incompatible with a
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
worldview. Turning to Gandhi's
asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
, Orwell finds his views "inhuman" insofar as human existence, Orwell argues, always involves compromise between one's beliefs and one's relationships with others. Discussing Gandhi's pacifism, Orwell praises him for not evading difficult questions such as those surrounding
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, but notes that a Gandhian political strategy requires the existence of civil rights, and suggests it would not be successful in a totalitarian society. Considering the perceived likelihood of a
Third World War World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...
, Orwell acknowledges that nonviolence may be necessary, and finds that, although he feels "a sort of aesthetic distaste for Gandhi", he was nonetheless largely politically in the right and politically successful.


Critical responses

In a 1982 article, Shamsul Islam argues that "Reflections on Gandhi" indicates that Orwell, by the late 1940s, found
British imperialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
a mild form of tyranny compared to that found in totalitarian states, and even to a degree admired it. Also in 1982, Laraine Fergenson finds that Orwell's dichotomy separating Gandhian "other-worldly" commitments and Western
humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
is complicated by religious figures such as
Daniel Berrigan Daniel Joseph Berrigan (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author. Berrigan's active protest against the Vietnam War earned him both scorn and admir ...
who have campaigned for political reform on the basis of their religious convictions. Lydia Fakundiny distinguishes "Reflections" from Orwell's essays "
Shooting an Elephant "Shooting an Elephant" is an essay by British writer George Orwell, first published in the literary magazine ''New Writing'' in late 1936 and broadcast by the BBC Home Service on 12 October 1948. The essay describes the experience of the English ...
" and "
A Hanging A Hanging (1931) is a short essay written by George Orwell, first published in August 1931 in the British literary magazine '' The Adelphi''. Set in Burma, where Orwell (under his real name of Eric Arthur Blair) had served in the British Imperial P ...
", arguing that while those earlier essays present carefully-crafted narratives drawn from personal experience, "Reflections" is a more forthright statement of the author's views. Fakundiny characterises the essay as the product of: In a 2003 essay in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'',
Louis Menand Louis Menand (; born January 21, 1952) is an American critic, essayist, and professor, best known for his Pulitzer-winning book ''The Metaphysical Club'' (2001), an intellectual and cultural history of late 19th and early 20th century America. L ...
described "Reflections on Gandhi" as "a grudging piece of writing" and suggested that the successful use of
nonviolent resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...
by
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
indicated that Orwell was wrong to doubt the tactic's effectiveness. Ian Williams rejects Menand's conclusions, finding his assessment of Gandhi to be "inflated" and the essay to be "a well-balanced appreciation". Lawrence Rosenwald argues that "Reflections on Gandhi" constitutes the culmination of the transformation of Orwell's views on Gandhi "from harsh to almost sentimental", a transformation he suggests may have resulted from a change in Orwell's mood following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, from
India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
, or from his re-reading of Gandhi's autobiography. Rosenwald describes the essay as "one of the sanest, most challenging, and most generous essays" about Gandhi, and suggests that key to the essay's strength is Orwell's suggestion that Gandhi's pacifism can be separated from his broader views and practices. Rosenwald suggests that the essay reveals the personal quality of Orwell's critique of pacifism: his tendency to find pacifism worthy of consideration when articulated by pacifists such as Gandhi, who he respects, but not when defended by those he does not respect. Rosenwald takes "Reflections on Gandhi" as a contemplation of "the idea that certain
nonviolent Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
practices can be formidably resistant, as uncompromising as battle", which would be articulated in later work by
Denise Levertov Priscilla Denise Levertov (24 October 1923 – 20 December 1997) was a British-born naturalised American poet. She was a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry. Early life and influences Levertov was born and grew up in Ilford, Ess ...
and
Gene Sharp Gene Sharp (January 21, 1928 – January 28, 2018) was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of pol ...
. In his study of the essay form, G. Douglas Atkins describes "Reflections" as "a supreme instance of essaying." Atkins identifies the question of truth as Orwell's abiding concern in the essay, as indicated by its opening statement on sainthood. Atkins situates Orwell's argument, in particular his rejection of Gandhi's spirituality, as the culmination of a tradition of essay-writing inaugurated by
Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...
. Atkins contends, however, that the distinction Orwell draws between Gandhian spirituality and the necessities of politics is a false dichotomy, and that religious commitments can in fact emerge from quotidian life. Peter Marks argues that "Reflections on Gandhi"'s opening phrase recalls the argument of Orwell's earlier essay " Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool", which likened
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
to Gandhi. Marks finds that, for Orwell, Gandhi is a more complex and compelling figure than Tolstoy due to his combination of spiritual sentiment and political astuteness. In Marks' estimation, "Reflections on Gandhi" offers an intervention on global politics through an "astute if contestable" interpretation of the figure of Gandhi. In a 2011 article, Ioana Nan describes the positions articulated by Orwell in "Reflections on Gandhi" as those of "a skeptical Westerner" attentive to the possibility that Gandhi was used by British imperialists for their own gain. Nan compares Orwell's views on Gandhi to those of
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxley ...
, whose essay ''Notes on Gandhi'' was published in 1948. Nonetheless, the two authors did agree, Nan suggests, that Gandhi was more pragmatic and practical, and less idealistic, than was commonly thought. Gita V. Pai argues that in "Reflections on Gandhi" Orwell tempered his earlier hostility to pacifism, a topic on which he had criticised Gandhi in the early 1940s. While Orwell rejected Gandhian pacifism during the Second World War, Pai argues, by 1949 (after India's independence and the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
) he had come to see ''
satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...
'' as preferable to western leftists' version of pacifism. Pai suggests that the contradiction between claims for Gandhi's saintliness and the reality of his political shrewdness may be understood in terms of
doublethink Doublethink is a process of indoctrination in which subjects are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, often at odds with their own memory or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy. ...
, a term Orwell coined in ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
'' to refer to the simultaneous adherence to contrary beliefs.


See also

*
George Orwell bibliography The bibliography of George Orwell includes journalism, essays, novels, and non-fiction books written by the British writer Eric Blair (1903–1950), either under his own name or, more usually, under his pen name George Orwell. Orwell was a pro ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


"Reflections on Gandhi"
at Orwell.ru
January 1949 issue of ''Partisan Review'', featuring "Reflections on Gandhi"
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{George Orwell Essays by George Orwell Essays about politics 1940s essays Works about Mahatma Gandhi