Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light

Kasturba, as we’ve seen, was an extraordinary woman, someone who drove Mahatma Gandhi to become what he did. In the concluding part of this series, we trace her final days and hours, and try to understand her better. This is the concluding part of the series ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’. All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India.  

Mohandas and Kastur Gandhi returned to India briefly in December 1901. This set off a chain of events that would take them to South Africa once again and eventually culminate in Gandhi devoting himself fully to Indian Independence. This is Part 4 of ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’. All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India.  

With satyagraha having been vindicated in South Africa, Gandhi felt free to return to India and fulfil his promise to Gopal Krishna Gokhale to become part of the Freedom Struggle. By his side, as always, was Kasturba. This is Part 5 of ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’. All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India.

Gandhi had planned to return to India and his wife Kastur as soon as his legal assignment in South Africa was completed but he stayed back to lead the fight against the move to deprive Indians of their vote. This meant a prolonged separation from Kastur and his growing children. He returned eventually to India and then again to South Africa. This is Part 3 of ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’. All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India.

Gandhi set sail for England when he was just 18 years old. Kastur and he were parents by then and they stayed apart for three years. How did Kastur evolve during those years and how did they shape her life? This is Part 2 of ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’. All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India.

Mahatma Gandhi’s life is well documented but not as much effort has been devoted to the woman who influenced him the most – his wife, Kastur, or Kasturba as she came to be known. She was an extraordinary woman, who gave up her traditional life to take on great hardship and sacrifice to support her husband. She’s often a mere footnote in history but she was a huge factor in all of Gandhi’s work and had a larger impact on the Freedom Struggle than most believe. The objective of this series, ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’, is to know the woman who was Gandhi’s greatest constant and harshest critic. Where did she come from? What was she like? What was it like to live and grow up with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi? And what was her contribution to India’s freedom? All Indians Matter speaks to Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India. Tushar is also writing a book on Kasturba called ‘Kastur Ni Diary’.

We all know about Mahatma Gandhi’s work, but few know of the role his wife Kasturba played in it. Kasturba was not a mute but was, in fact, a great freedom fighter, a pioneering satyagrahi and often her husband’s chief strategist and harshest critic. All Indians Matter presents a six-part series, ‘Kastur: In Gandhi’s Shadow, His Guiding Light’, to bring into focus the woman Kasturba really was. Join me, Ashraf Engineer, as I interview Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Kasturba and the Mahatma, an author, a peace activist and someone who’s striving to keep Gandhi relevant in today’s India. Together, we play back the saga that was Kasturba's life.