EDITORIAL: Gandhiji’s Boswell

An intellectual landmark has disappeared with the death of Pyarelal. He was not recognised as an intellec­tual by western-educated Indians. For he did not spout ill-digested western concepts; he did not scoff at others; he was not cynical; and, above all, he was modest. But he was an outstanding Indian intellectual in the deepest sense of the word. His “The Last Phase” dealing, as the title suggests, with Gandhiji’s last phase, can  hold its own among biographies that have appeared in the post-war period anywhere in the world. He was a devoted follower of the Mahatma; he had spent his entire youth in the service of the Father of the Nation; he had been the great man’s secretary for many years. But he did not seek to make Gandhi into a godhead. He tried to bring out the Mahatma as he was – warts and all. He did not suppress any facts, however shocking to the general pub­lic brought up on a limited concept of morality. If Gandhiji tested his brahmacharya by sleeping naked with his grand-daughter, Pyarelal did not try to hide this fact. This was a tragic period in the Mahatma’s life. With communal riots raging in different parts of the country, with the country’s partition agreed to by the Congress Working Committee and with the virtual holocaust that followed the actual partition, Gandhiji’s lifework lay in ruins before him. Pyarelal brought out the agony of Gandhiji’s tortured soul as no one else could have done. If he had written nothing else afterwards, the nation would have been beholden to him. But he was unflagging in his efforts. He undertook a multi-volume biography of the Bapu despite his advancing years and declining health. “The Early Phase” which brings the story up to 1914 has been published. What a tragedy he was not able to finish this monumental work. Hopefully someone will pick up the thread where he has left it. The interest in Gandhiji has revived India, indeed, it has become worldwide. Those who wish to understand what the Mahatma sought to achieve and how will always remember Pyarelal with gratitude and fondness.