1) The document summarizes and compares books about Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Both men fought for independence of their countries from colonial rule through non-violent means. 2) Gandhi and Mandela were educated in Christian schools that emphasized social responsibility. They both became leaders who mobilized their people and endured long imprisonments for their activism against racism and oppression. 3) The books portrayed Gandhi and Mandela as complex human beings, not icons. They struggled personally and evolved as leaders, helping their countries achieve independence through morality and non-violent action.

1. G A N D H I & M A N D E L A
Bo o k Reviews
HUMANISTIC APPROACH
BY MISTY SIMS
I was deeply affected and enlightened by reading Bhikhu Parekh book on
Gandhi and Elleke Boehmer book on Nelson Mandela. Admittedly I did not know as
much about Nelson Mandela as I did about Gandhi. I discovered that both men had a
few things in common, and their respective authors did a great job in writing about
these great men with a very humanistic approach.

2. G a n d h i & M a n d e l a
Bo o k Reviews
I began reading about Gandhi approximately thirty years ago because I was fas-
cinated by his non violent approach to resolutions and his quest for truth. I too was on a
quest for truth and believed in absolutes. I was an idealist. I read his autobiography and
immediately my thinking began to transform. I recall that I would discuss Gandhi’s phi-
losophy at every opportunity I could. Gandhi possessed the perfect balance of strength
and humility, and a morality that sought the pure attribute of loving others.
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always
won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the
end they always fall. Think of it--always” Gandhi
Gandhi maintained a high view of God, and he relied on this for his own trans-
formation. Gandhi knew “God is Truth” and this belief was core to Gandhi and was
what equipped him in his ability to fight for India’s independence from Britons colonial
rule. Gandhi was a man seeking truth and he lived out his philosophy daily not as an
ideal but as “a moral compass with which to navigate one’s way through life” (Parekh
p.115). He lived what he believed and journalized regularly observing his thoughts and
gauging his spiritual and moral development, sometimes even with testing and ex-
perimentation.
Gandhi was a man of intelligence and of action. Gandhi needed to “mobilize” a
whole country in the pursuit of independence from Britain (Parekh p.12). Gandhi im-
plemented the use of symbols to unite people, like the spinning wheel. India’s society

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Bo o k Reviews
had been demoralized by colonial rule, the poor were repressed and beaten down and
there was disgust for the manual laborer. By initiating symbols to solidify people
Gandhi ignited unity and honor. Gandhi himself became a symbol for independence
with his demeanor, clothing and walking stick (Parekh p.13).
After reading through Bhikhu Parekh book on Gandhi I gained a new perspec-
tive on Gandhi’s life. I really enjoyed the way Parekh portrayed the thoughts of Gandhi,
his book was not a chronological discourse on Gandhi’s life but rather a discovery and
disclosure of Gandhi’s ideas and thoughts. As well Parekh demystified Gandhi by por-
traying him in his humanity, he challenged some of Gandhi’s ideas and revealed the
thoughts of those who opposed Gandhi’s methods. He aptly explained the complexities
of Gandhi. For instance in Parekh’s book I was able to grasp Gandhi’s intricate views on
humanity, self introspection without self centeredness and the duty of each persons in-
debtedness to society intertwined with Gandhi’s difficulty in accepting the possibility of
irreversible innate barbarism of people. I discovered that Gandhi had even written a let-
ter to Hitler imploring Hitler to reconsider his approach to humanity.
Gandhi was a great leader and succeeded in accomplishing India’s independence
from Britain’s dominating colonial rule. Gandhi lived his life according to his conviction
“non- violence was definitely more powerful than brute force” and “It is difficult to
think of many higher examples of morally sensitive leadership” than Gandhi’s (Parekh
p. 125).

4. G a n d h i & M a n d e l a
Bo o k Reviews
Nelson Mandela was also a leader who fought for the liberation of his country.
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 into the royal family of Thembu, in the vil-
lage of Mvezo in South African. South Africa like India suffered from the effects of colo-
nization. Along with India, its native non white inhabitants were abused and subjected
to racism. Apartheid, legalized racial segregation, (racism) became law in 1948 and it
was one of the worst enduring effects of colonization for South Africa. In South Africa
the majority of blacks were ruled by the minority of whites, and the government pro-
grams like education for the blacks were deficient and substandard comparatively to
that for the whites.
Nelson Mandela was educated like Gandhi, in Christian schools formed by mis-
sionaries and received his college education from a Wesleyan college. Both Mandela and
Gandhi were educated in Evangelical Christian schools that incorporated responsibility
to ones society with Christian social doctrines and social ideals, like the accountability
platforms of Jesus Christ’s for one another and the ethics of salvation and ethics of good
work. This environment was conducive to higher learning and training because it was
not racially fueled, it was very influential for Mandela, “an environment that was rela-
tively free of overt racial prejudice, is incalculable”(Boehmer p.84).
Mandela became an antiapartheid activist and joined the African National Con-
gress, ANC. He was eventually arrested and accused of treason and endured the Trea-
son Trials of 1956 -1961, Mandela was eventually acquitted. But the ANC was banned

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Bo o k Reviews
after the Sharpeville Massacre and Mandela was forced to go underground along with
other members of the ANC. During this time Mandela and others felt they needed a
more aggressive approach to end apartheid. Mandela was arrested again and during his
first imprisonment at Rodden prison, the ANC was investigated and the underground
was exposed. There were tons of documentation connecting Mandela to his more ag-
gressive military stance against apartheid. Mandela was again on trial for sabotage and
eventually sentenced to life in prison. Mandela became a political prisoner along with
his friends and associates in the ANC. Mandela was in prison for 27 years.
During his time in prison Mandela developed and refined the art of communica-
tion and negotiation. Mandela was deeply concerned for the suffering of humanity and
desired the independence for his country from apartheid. Mandela was eventually re-
leased from prison after the end of apartheid and became the first President of South
Africa elected under non racial elections.
Both Gandhi and Mandela fought for the independence of their respective coun-
tries and were victorious. Core to their belief systems was their quest for the rights of
humanity, dignity and equality.
Both men were represented by their biographical authors within the scope of
human frailty. Elleke Boehmer in her writing of Mandela described his evolution and
varying stages as he grew into the leader he became. In a time when people are iconi-

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Bo o k Reviews
cally represented she brought forth the essence of the man and his humanity and strug-
gles. Mandela’s difficulties with his family life were exposed, his flare for style and his
physical stature as a man were revealed.
I enjoyed reading these books as they described these men in a less iconic and
mysterious realm. Yet maintained the essence of Gandhi’s and Mandela’s characters and
the huge feats these men accomplished in leading their countries into independence
from colonial oppressors. The material in these small books is vast on these leaders of
independence and my knowledge and understanding of them has grown significantly
and too extensive for this paper. But I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about them
and gained a more personal in-depth view of the horrors of colonization.