Books across Borders: Exploring Gandhi's Global Knowledge Network

Among other notable traits, Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 - 1947), popularly known as Mahatma, was an avid reader and collector of books. Throughout his adult life, Gandhi read hundreds and accumulated thousands of books, which resided at the experimental communities that served as both his home and the institutional headquarters of his political movement. Gandhi also surrounded himself with other bibliophiles who served him in a wide variety of capacities. Foremost among these individuals was his personal secretary, Mahadev Desai (1892 – 1942). Desai (no relation to this author) was Gandhi's chief information officer and shared a sizeable collection of books with the Mahatma. Many of these books came to them from outside of India: some were sent to them from colleagues, friends and admirers from around the world; others they acquired themselves on trips abroad. This paper analyzes the global knowledge networks which informed and influenced Gandhi's social movement. Specifically, I address how Gandhi and his colleagues were able to marshal traditional British information sources and transform them into the instruments of an innovative knowledge enterprise that formed the front-line of their resistance to imperialism. Such transmission of knowledge through the physical objects of books is indicative of a vibrant and global intellectual community to which Gandhi, Desai and their co-workers had continuous and meaningful access throughout their lives.