Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum

The focus of the article is the way in which Gandhi in South Africa between 1893 and 1914 constructed a notion of India through a process of partly imaginary circulation between South Africa and India. While he embarked upon a career, firstly as spokesman, and then as leader of the very diverse Indi...

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Main Author: Claude Markovits
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud 2014-12-01
Series:South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3762
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author Claude Markovits
author_facet Claude Markovits
author_sort Claude Markovits
collection DOAJ
description The focus of the article is the way in which Gandhi in South Africa between 1893 and 1914 constructed a notion of India through a process of partly imaginary circulation between South Africa and India. While he embarked upon a career, firstly as spokesman, and then as leader of the very diverse Indian population of South Africa, he tried to remain in touch with political developments in India. His attempt at ‘inhabiting two spaces at the same time’, while necessarily utopian in character, nevertheless offers a fascinating case study in ‘long distance nationalism’, and the way it was intertwined with forms of cosmopolitanism. There is no indication however of an inclination on the part of Gandhi to think in terms of a wider space that would extend to contemporary South Asia.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
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publishDate 2014-12-01
publisher Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud
record_format Article
series South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal
spelling doaj-art-e3adb41f41034b2db1e5ca131c46c67a2025-08-20T01:55:12ZengCentre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du SudSouth Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal1960-60602014-12-011010.4000/samaj.3762Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s ConundrumClaude MarkovitsThe focus of the article is the way in which Gandhi in South Africa between 1893 and 1914 constructed a notion of India through a process of partly imaginary circulation between South Africa and India. While he embarked upon a career, firstly as spokesman, and then as leader of the very diverse Indian population of South Africa, he tried to remain in touch with political developments in India. His attempt at ‘inhabiting two spaces at the same time’, while necessarily utopian in character, nevertheless offers a fascinating case study in ‘long distance nationalism’, and the way it was intertwined with forms of cosmopolitanism. There is no indication however of an inclination on the part of Gandhi to think in terms of a wider space that would extend to contemporary South Asia.https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3762IndiadiasporaSouth AsiaGandhiSouth Africacosmopolitanism
spellingShingle Claude Markovits
Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal
India
diaspora
South Asia
Gandhi
South Africa
cosmopolitanism
title Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
title_full Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
title_fullStr Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
title_full_unstemmed Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
title_short Thinking India in South Africa: Gandhi’s Conundrum
title_sort thinking india in south africa gandhi s conundrum
topic India
diaspora
South Asia
Gandhi
South Africa
cosmopolitanism
url https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3762
work_keys_str_mv AT claudemarkovits thinkingindiainsouthafricagandhisconundrum