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The Polaks and Mahatma Gandhi: A Unique Relationship
Author
Prabha Ravi Shankar
Specifications
  • ISBN 13 : 9789382337430
  • year : 2019
  • language : English
  • binding : Softcover
Description
This book is about Henry and Millie Polak, their association with Mahatma Gandhi and their active participation in the Indian struggle in South Africa. How did Gandhi cultivate a coterie of Europeans in South Africa, many of them Jewish? Who were Henry Polak and Millie Polak? What were their family backgrounds and what were their early careers? When and why did they come to South Africa? How did they meet Gandhi and what was their impression of Gandhi after the first meeting? How did the Polaks and Gandhi become close friends? What role did they play in the early stages of the Gandhian campaign and how did they contribute to Gandhi's satyagraha campaign, especially from 1906 to 1914? What contribution did they make to the struggle of the Indian community in South Africa for equal and dignified treatment in the face racial discrimination? were they simply blind admirers of Gandhi or were they independent in thought and judgement? When they returned to England how did they continue to be involved in Indian affairs? What kind of a relationship did they have with Gandhi, especially after the latter became the chief leader of the Indian National Congress with a unique political ideology of his own? What kind of humanitarian work was undertaken by Polak after his return to England? What was their contribution to the Indian national movement and Gandhi's leadership in particulars. Answer to these and similar questions have been attempted by Dr. Prabha Ravi Shankar in what is perhaps the first detailed study of the Polkas and their association with Gandhi.