Manilal Gandhi

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia


Mani Gandhi
File:ManilalGandhiImage.jpg
Born(1892-10-28)28 October 1892
Died5 April 1956 (aged 63)
Spouse(s)Sushila Mashruwala (1927–1956)
Children3, including Arun Manilal and Ela
Parent(s)Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Kasturba Gandhi

Manilal Mohandas Gandhi (28 October 1892 – 5 April 1956)[1][2] was the second son of Mohandas Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi.

Life[edit]

Manilal was born in Rajkot, British India. His early years were spent in Rajkot, and in 1897 he traveled to South Africa for the first time. The family lived for a time in Durban and Johannesburg.[3] Between 1906 and 1914, he lived at the Phoenix Settlement (in KwaZulu-Natal) and Tolstoy Farm (in Gauteng), both settlements established by his father.[3]

After a brief visit to India, Manilal returned to South Africa in 1917 to assist in printing the Indian Opinion, a Gujarati-English weekly publication, at Phoenix, Durban. By 1918, Manilal was doing most of the work for the press and took over in 1920 as editor.

In 1927, Manilal married Sushila Mashruwala (24 August 1907 – 1988),[4] and had two daughters, Sita (b. 1928) and Ela (b. 1940); and one son, Arun (b. 1934).

Like his father, Manilal was also sent to prison several times by the British colonial government after protesting against what he perceived as unjust laws. He was one of the initial 78 marchers to accompany Gandhi on the 1930 Salt March, for which he was imprisoned.[3]

He remained editor of Indian Opinion until 1956, the year of his death.[5] Manilal died from a cerebral thrombosis following a stroke.

Legacy[edit]

Manilal's children Arun and Ela are also social-political activists. Uma D. Mesthrie, Sita's daughter, recently published a biography on Manilal.[6]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "Library of Congress LCCN Permalink n90712835". lccn.loc.gov. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  2. Dhupelia-Mesthrie: Gandhi’s Prisoner? The Life of Gandhi’s Son Manilal, p. 384
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dhupelia-Mesthrie, Uma (2007). "Gandhi's South African Family". India International Centre Quarterly. 34 (2): 34–45. JSTOR 23006303.
  4. Prasad, Archana (21 August 2013). "Remembering Sushila Gandhi 1907-1988". gandhiforchildren.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. "Manilal Gandhi Dead". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 6 April 1956. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  6. Uma Dhupelia Mesthrie, Gandhi’s Prisoner? The Life of Gandhi’s Son Manilal. (Permanent Black: Cape Town, South Africa, 2003).

External links[edit]