 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Harilal Gandhi" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Harilal Gandhi | |
|---|---|
 Gandhi in 1910 | |
| Born | Hiralal Mohandas Gandhi (1888-08-23)23 August 1888 |
| Died | 18 June 1948(1948-06-18) (aged 59) |
| Other names | Hiralal Gandhi Abdullah Gandhi |
| Spouse | Gulab Gandhi |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
|
Heeralal Mohandas Gandhi (formerlyAbdullah Gandhi; bornHarilal Mohandas Gandhi; 23 August 1888 – 18 June 1948)[1] was the eldest son ofMahatma Gandhi andKasturba Gandhi.[2] He had three younger brothers:Manilal Gandhi,Ramdas Gandhi andDevdas Gandhi.
Harilal was born on 23 August 1888, just before his father left forEngland for higher studies.[3] Harilal remained in India with his mother.
Harilal was involved in the Indian independence movement, and was imprisoned as asatyagrahi six times between 1908 and 1911.[4] His willingness to endure these sentences earned him the nickname of 'Chhote (Little) Gandhi'.[4]
He too wanted to go to England for higher studies, hoping to become a barrister as his father had once been. His father however firmly opposed this, believing that a Western-style education would not be helpful in the struggle againstBritish rule over India, leading to tensions between father and son.[5] Eventually rebelling against his father's decision, in 1911 Harilal renounced all family ties.
In 1906[6] he married Gulab Gandhi, with whom he had five children: two daughters, Rami, and Manu; and three sons, Kantilal, Rasiklal and Shantilal. Rasiklal and Shantilal died at an early age. He had four grandchildren (Anushrya, Prabodh, Neelam Solanki, and Navmalika) via Rani, two (Shanti and Pradeep) via Kantilal, and one (Urmi) via Manu. After Gulab died during the1918 influenza pandemic, Harilal became detached from his children. He contemplated marrying his wife's sister Kumi Adalaja, who was a child widow, however this did not materialize. This led to Harilal's further descent and he gradually became an alcoholic.
In 1925, Harilal had lentMahatma Gandhi's name to a Calcutta firmAll India Stores. One of the investor of this firm was a Muslim fromLyallpur, he feared this was a bogus fair. He sent a legal notice toYoung India, whose editor was Mahatma Gandhi.Gandhi replied that 'Harilal was indeed his son but his ideals and mine are different and he has been living separately since 1915'.[7]
He stayed in touch with his father sporadically through the years, sometimes through commonly known people, right up to 1947.[8]
Harilal appeared athis father's funeral in such a poor health condition that few recognized him.
Neelam Parikh, the daughter of Ranibehn, the eldest of Harilal's children, wrote a biography of him subsequently, entitledGandhiji's Lost Jewel: Harilal Gandhi.
In May 1936, at the age of 48, Harilal publicly converted toIslam and named himself Abdullah Gandhi.[9] Later on he re-converted toHinduism.[10]
In June 1935, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter[11] to Harilal, accusing him of "alcohol and debauchery". In the letters,[12] Mahatma Gandhi stated that Harilal's problems were more difficult for him to deal with than the struggle for an independent India. In one of these letters, Gandhi also accused Harilal of rape, the victims being either his sister-in-law or his daughters.[13]
In 2014 three letters written by Mahatma Gandhi to Harilal in 1935 were offered for auction.[14][15]
Harilal died of tuberculosis four months after his father's assassination, on the night of 18 June 1948, aged 59 at a municipal hospital (now theSewri TB Hospital) inMumbai. His death certificate is preserved at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's archives inVakola. Harilal's death certificate reveals that he was admitted to the hospital after being found unconscious inKamathipura.[16] Harilal did not reveal to the staff that he was Gandhi's son, and his family only found out about his hospitalisation after his death.[17]
The troubled relationship between Harilal and his father is the subject of the film and playGandhi, My Father. The film adaptation was released on 3 August 2007 and directed byFeroz Abbas Khan and produced byAnil Kapoor. Harilal is portrayed byAkshaye Khanna. Khan's play,Mahatma vs. Gandhi,[18] while different from this film, had a similar theme. The film got positive reviews from critics but was a failure at box office.
There is also aMarathi play namedGandhi virudh Gandhi.
| Ancestors of Harilal Gandhi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
{{cite web}}:|first= has generic name (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
