Empire and Activism: Gandhi, Imperialism, and the Global Career of Satyagraha

Abstract

Celebrated as the father of Indian independence, Mohandas K. Gandhi was also a transnational activist. This chapter explores the transnational dimensions of Gandhi’s career and influence. It argues that Gandhian nonviolence—what he called ‘satyagraha’—was a transnational production: it was developed as a political performance that might allow those on the colonial periphery to influence metropolitan targets; it drew upon British, European, American, and Indian influences; it reflected intercultural relationships that spanned the continents. Second, it contends that the global career of Gandhian satyagraha was enabled by the mass communications of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries and by a repeated labour of translation, shared among a community of nonviolent advocates in India and the West. The history of Gandhian protest therefore demonstrates the longevity of global activism. It also highlights the centrality of transnational networks to the forging of successful global careers and campaigns.