Gandhi’s saintly authority absorbed the contradictions of representing all Indian constituencies at once

Evidence

Gandhi returned to India in 1915 after twenty years of political activity in South Africa, and plunged into the national movement. His first concern, as any politician’s would be, was to stitch together the various constituencies that would allow the Indian National Congress to claim it was the legitimate and sole representative of the emerging nation. It was a formidable task. The temptations and contradictions of attempting to represent everybody—Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, privileged castes, subordinated castes, peasants, farmers, serfs, zamindars, workers and industrialists—were all absorbed into the other-worldly provenance of Gandhi’s Mahatmahood. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 157

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Gandhi’s Congress absorbed conflicting constituencies until the contradictions overwhelmed him — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 158; Gandhi framed Untouchable political representation as a religious issue, not a political one — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1295; Gandhi’s moral authority cannot be separated from his caste views — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 99 (+9 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Gandhi’s Congress absorbed conflicting constituencies until the contradictions overwhelmed him — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 158; Gandhi framed Untouchable political representation as a religious issue, not a political one — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1295; Gandhi’s moral authority cannot be separated from his caste views — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 99 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Gandhi’s Congress absorbed conflicting constituencies until the contradictions overwhelmed him #expands (0.92) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 158
• Gandhi’s moral authority silenced Hindu dissent rather than inviting debate #complicates (0.85)
• Gandhi’s moral authority cannot be separated from his caste views #complicates (0.82) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 99
• Gandhi’s purity standards restricted rather than enabled mass political participation #complicates (0.80)
• Gandhi supported caste out of political self-interest #complicates (0.76) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 1263