On Understanding Gandhiji

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Chunder, Pratap Chandra; MA, LL.B.. Ph.D. Politician, Lawyer, Writer & Painter, b September 1, 1919 Calcutta, m Leena Roy Chowdhury, four s: Educ Calcutta Univ. Practising lawyer, Calcutta 1945 Member Senate and Law Faculty, Calcutta Univ. 1961-68, Exec Council of Rabindra Bharati Univ. 1962-68) Member, W. Bengal Legislative Assembly 1962-68. President, W Bengal Provincial Cong Com. 1967- 69; Minister of Finance and Judiciary in State Govt. 1968, Member, Working Com, Central Parliamentary Board of Organisation Cong 1969-76, Member, Janata Party 1977, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) 1977-79, Union Minister of Education, Social Welfare & Culture 1977-79, Fellow, Asiatic Soc of Calcutta 1975, President International Education Conference, UNESCO 1977-79, Indo- American Soc 1984-92, 1997, Writers Guild of India 1985, Bengal Literary Conference 1987. All India Buddhist Mission 1989, Iran Soc. 1990-92, Indian Inst. of Social Welfare & Business Management 1991 World Bengali Conference 1991. Soc for the Deaf 1991-94, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkata & Agartala Regions 1993 Incorporated Law Soc 1995- 98 W B Heritage Comm 2001 Patron, Mahabodhi Soc of India 1995 Trust of 93, on Fair ( Street,; Trustee Victoria Memorial 1990-98, Sardar V. B Patel Memorial 1991-98, Regional Grand Master Eastern India, Freemasons 1990- Dy Grand Master 1993-94, Member, Kolkata Bar Asson held one-man exhibitions of paintings in Kolkata and New Delhi 1982 1984. 1985, 1987, 2003, publs - Kautilya Love and Morals, The Sons of Mystery, Job Chamock and His Lady , Socialist Legality and Indian Law, Brother Vivekananda, Facets of Freemasonry, Kautilya Arthasastra, In Captivity Two Funny Puppet Plays: and several novels and plays Awards Best Playwright Award 1965, DLitt h.c.) and DSc (hc) 1978, Bhalotia Prize 1991, Indira Gandhi Memorial Prize 1992: Kalabibhusan Art Award 2002 Address 23 Nirmal Chunder Kolkata-700012 India.

Time is the greatest healer and history is the greatest leveller. Very few even imagined, and almost everybody was surprised, when the Time magazine announced that the Mahatma is the Man of the Century and Man of the Millennium. The only close second was Albert Einstein who was himself a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. In spite of all this the prejudice was still lurking behind the thin veil because the article on Mahatma Gandhi was full of inaccuracies and misinterpretations. The positive aspect of this publication is that it has encouraged and inspired the people world over to interpret and understand Mahatma Gandhi in totality and in the context of the fast changing world which seems to have lost its soul and goal.

Dr. Pratap Chandra Chunder's book "On understanding Gandhiji" is a valuable addition to our Gandhiana. Like Sir Attenborough's (1923) epic films Gandhi (1982), which won eight Oscars, "On understanding Gandhiji" gives an insight to the readers to understand Gandhiji in his true self, as a man in search of the Truth.

Dr. Chunder has put the Mahatma in this perspective. Inspite of our advances in diverse fields of life, our problems are mounting every day. The Twenty-first century has thrown new challenges to us Fundamentalism has raised its new fang. Terror is a daily occurrence. In the name of development, we pollute our environment and atmosphere. Drugs and drinking fuddle our minds. New weapons of mass destruction make our lives unsafe. Globalisation creates new methods of exploitation. Above all, growing consumerism makes us more self-centred and corrupt. Most of these problems existed in somewhat different form in Gandhiji's days. He had presented antidotes against these ills of human society.