EVERYTHING ABOUT ME IS UNCERTAIN: GANDHI‘S PERSONAL COUNSEL IN THE YEAR OF PARTITION, 1947
A group of three letters and notes addressed to Anand T Hingorani and Gangi A Hingorani between March and December 1947 concerning Gandhi's Bihar and Noakhali peace efforts, the discipline of Ramanama, publication matters, possible treatment abroad, and Gangi's duty of service to Anand.
Comprising:
Letters Nos. 216, 217, 218, and 219; Note to Anand T Hingorani, on train from Allahabad to Delhi, between 28 and 30 March 1947. Paper; six slips; reused envelopes; Hindi; handwritten in pencil; silent - day note. Gandhi writes while travelling from Allahabad to Delhi, referring to his efforts in Bihar and Noakhali, his uncertain movements, Anand’s hearing difficulties, and the need to accept deafness without self-pity.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 94, Letter No. 218, p. 208.
Letter No. 194, to Anand T Hingorani, Delhi, 6 June 1947.
Envelope and paper; Hindi; dictated and handwritten in blue ink. Gandhi states that he can offer Anand no ordinary solace and directs him instead towards Ramanama, advising Anand and Gangi to do whatever they can while repeating God’s name.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 95, Letter No. 194, p. 216.
Letter No. 339, to Anand T Hingorani, Calcutta, 17 August 1947.
Envelope and paper; front and back; Hindi; handwritten in black ink; with returned press cutting.
Gandhi declines to write a foreword to his own writings, asks Hingorani to approach someone else, and remarks that he may go to America for treatment of his ear trouble if he so wishes.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 96, Letter No. 339, p. 243.
Three communications were written in 1947, including a silent-day note on reused envelopes, a dictated letter in blue ink, and two late handwritten letters, documenting Gandhi’s final-year counsel to Anand and Gangi Hingorani amid national crisis, illness, deafness, publication work, and spiritual discipline.
"One Who Has Lost Faith in Oneself Has Only Ramanama to Fall Back Upon"
Written during the final year of Gandhi's life, these four letters preserve a sequence of personal reflections addressed to Anand T Hingorani and his wife Gangi at a time when both India and Gandhi stood on the threshold of profound uncertainty. Throughout the correspondence, Gandhi appears in the role he frequently occupies within the Hingorani archive: counsellor, mentor and friend.
The sequence opens in March 1947 while Gandhi was travelling between Allahabad and Delhi after months of peace work in Noakhali and Bihar. Asked about treatment for Anand's deafness, Gandhi refers to Beethoven's achievements despite deafness, he urges Anand to accept his condition without self-pity. The letter also refers to the uncertain future of Gandhi's work in Bihar and Noakhali at one of the most volatile moments of the Partition crisis.
The second letter, written from Delhi in June 1947, comprises practical advice to spiritual counsel. Gandhi tells Anand that when faith in oneself has been lost, only Ramanama remains, adding, "Everything about me is uncertain." Written two months before Independence, the observation reflects both the unsettled political situation and Gandhi's own awareness of the increasingly fragile circumstances surrounding him.
The letter of 17 August 1947, written two days after Independence, offers a striking contrast. While the nation celebrated freedom, Gandhi remained in Calcutta attempting to contain communal violence. Yet the letter is occupied with personal matters: concern for Gangi's health, discussion of a proposed foreword, and practical advice regarding possible treatment in America.
The final document, addressed to Gangi in December 1947, belongs to the closing weeks of Gandhi's life. Writing from New Delhi, he explains that he is living "at the house of a rich man" and discourages any attempt to stay with him. Instead, he urges Gangi to remain with Anand, arguing that duty to one's family outweighs any perceived benefit of proximity to him. The letter reflects Gandhi's rejection of personal veneration and the humility that remained central to his self-understanding until the end of his life.
These letters offer an intimate portrait of Gandhi during the most turbulent year of modern Indian history. They address faith, duty, personal responsibility and the burdens of public life as the subcontinent witnessed Partition and Independence. Read as a sequence, they illuminate the close relationship between Gandhi and the Hingoranis and preserve a record of his personal counsel during the final year of his life.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.
A group of three letters and notes addressed to Anand T Hingorani and Gangi A Hingorani between March and December 1947 concerning Gandhi's Bihar and Noakhali peace efforts, the discipline of Ramanama, publication matters, possible treatment abroad, and Gangi's duty of service to Anand.
Comprising:
Letters Nos. 216, 217, 218, and 219; Note to Anand T Hingorani, on train from Allahabad to Delhi, between 28 and 30 March 1947. Paper; six slips; reused envelopes; Hindi; handwritten in pencil; silent - day note. Gandhi writes while travelling from Allahabad to Delhi, referring to his efforts in Bihar and Noakhali, his uncertain movements, Anand’s hearing difficulties, and the need to accept deafness without self-pity.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 94, Letter No. 218, p. 208.
Letter No. 194, to Anand T Hingorani, Delhi, 6 June 1947.
Envelope and paper; Hindi; dictated and handwritten in blue ink. Gandhi states that he can offer Anand no ordinary solace and directs him instead towards Ramanama, advising Anand and Gangi to do whatever they can while repeating God’s name.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 95, Letter No. 194, p. 216.
Letter No. 339, to Anand T Hingorani, Calcutta, 17 August 1947.
Envelope and paper; front and back; Hindi; handwritten in black ink; with returned press cutting.
Gandhi declines to write a foreword to his own writings, asks Hingorani to approach someone else, and remarks that he may go to America for treatment of his ear trouble if he so wishes.
Published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 96, Letter No. 339, p. 243.
Three communications were written in 1947, including a silent-day note on reused envelopes, a dictated letter in blue ink, and two late handwritten letters, documenting Gandhi’s final-year counsel to Anand and Gangi Hingorani amid national crisis, illness, deafness, publication work, and spiritual discipline.
"One Who Has Lost Faith in Oneself Has Only Ramanama to Fall Back Upon"
Written during the final year of Gandhi's life, these four letters preserve a sequence of personal reflections addressed to Anand T Hingorani and his wife Gangi at a time when both India and Gandhi stood on the threshold of profound uncertainty. Throughout the correspondence, Gandhi appears in the role he frequently occupies within the Hingorani archive: counsellor, mentor and friend.
The sequence opens in March 1947 while Gandhi was travelling between Allahabad and Delhi after months of peace work in Noakhali and Bihar. Asked about treatment for Anand's deafness, Gandhi refers to Beethoven's achievements despite deafness, he urges Anand to accept his condition without self-pity. The letter also refers to the uncertain future of Gandhi's work in Bihar and Noakhali at one of the most volatile moments of the Partition crisis.
The second letter, written from Delhi in June 1947, comprises practical advice to spiritual counsel. Gandhi tells Anand that when faith in oneself has been lost, only Ramanama remains, adding, "Everything about me is uncertain." Written two months before Independence, the observation reflects both the unsettled political situation and Gandhi's own awareness of the increasingly fragile circumstances surrounding him.
The letter of 17 August 1947, written two days after Independence, offers a striking contrast. While the nation celebrated freedom, Gandhi remained in Calcutta attempting to contain communal violence. Yet the letter is occupied with personal matters: concern for Gangi's health, discussion of a proposed foreword, and practical advice regarding possible treatment in America.
The final document, addressed to Gangi in December 1947, belongs to the closing weeks of Gandhi's life. Writing from New Delhi, he explains that he is living "at the house of a rich man" and discourages any attempt to stay with him. Instead, he urges Gangi to remain with Anand, arguing that duty to one's family outweighs any perceived benefit of proximity to him. The letter reflects Gandhi's rejection of personal veneration and the humility that remained central to his self-understanding until the end of his life.
These letters offer an intimate portrait of Gandhi during the most turbulent year of modern Indian history. They address faith, duty, personal responsibility and the burdens of public life as the subcontinent witnessed Partition and Independence. Read as a sequence, they illuminate the close relationship between Gandhi and the Hingoranis and preserve a record of his personal counsel during the final year of his life.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.