How Gandhi crafted his own public image

Source: The post is based on the article “How Gandhi crafted his own public image” published in The Indian Express on 5^th October 2023.

Syllabus: GS 1 – Modern Indian History – Famous Personalities

Relevance: About Mahatma Gandhi

News: The article explores Gandhi’s willingness to be photographed.

What are some of the details of Gandhi’s fondness for being photographed?

Gandhi was one of the most photographed people of the 20th century. He understood the power of images and used them to his advantage in the fight for Indian independence.

Gandhi was willing to make his private life as accessible as his public actions if it served the purpose.

For instance, he deliberately created a photo opportunity by collecting salt granules three days after making salt at Dandi in 1930, which became an iconic image associated with the salt march.

When did the documentation of Gandhi’s life through photographs start?

Gandhi’s life began to be documented in photographs while he was still in South Africa.

Initially, he was photographed as a practicing lawyer, and later, as an advocate for Satyagraha, fighting against the Black Act that restricted Indian entry into Transvaal.

When he returned to India in 1915, the camera continued to capture his journey, starting from his arrival with his wife Kasturba at Apollo Bunder in Bombay.

Gandhi allowed his life and work to be documented in pictures throughout his life. In his later years, he started charging Rs 5 for autographs, to raise money for the underprivileged.

Gandhi’s interaction with the camera evolved from a formal relationship to a more intimate one by the 1930s.

Swiss photojournalist Walter Bosshard noted in his book “Indien kämpft!” (1931) that Gandhi had sworn not to pose for photographers anymore. However, he was lucky to take some pictures by just being around Gandhi.

This resulted in a collection of photographs showing a relaxed and unguarded Gandhi engaged in various activities like shaving, reading, spinning the charkha, etc.

Which photographer had a closer relationship with Gandhi?

Gandhi’s grandnephew, Kanu, was one of the most privileged photographers to document his life. Kanu closely followed Gandhi until his death. However, he was absent from Birla House on the day of Gandhi’s assassination.

Kanu began working at Gandhi’s ashram in Sevagram in the mid-1930s, when he was still a teenager. He had the unique privilege of being able to take pictures of his grand-uncle at any time.

The only rules were no flash photography, no posing of Gandhi, and no funding from the ashram for his photography.

Kanu became Gandhi’s photo-biographer, documenting both everyday moments and significant events, such as Gandhi’s 1940 meeting with Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan.

Moreover, Margaret Bourke-White was one of the last journalists to interview Gandhi before he was assassinated.