Today I met with Shanti Ghosh, Sudhir Ghosh's wife (Sudhir was Gandhi's Emissary)

[Mark Templer]

Clayborne Carson thought it would be good for me to share with the community about my time with Shanti Ghosh in New Delhi. I work here helping the poor, and besides Gandhi and MLK, Senator Harris Wofford is one of my heroes. At the age of 88 Shanti Ghosh, who lives in New Delhi, India, is just as bright and lucid as someone might be in their 30s. Shanti and her late husband Sudhir Ghosh lived through an amazing time in history. They met during the Bengal famine of 1943, when both were trying to help famine victims in Kolkata. At that time Sudhir Ghosh already had a close relationship with Gandhi and was increasingly trusted by him to act on his behalf contacting others as "Gandhi's Emissary." Mr. Ghosh had studied at Cambridge and so was comfortable both with Indians and the British. After Churchill lost the British election in 1945, the new Prime Minister Clement Atlee sent a Parliamentary delegation to visit India and do fact-finding. The Viceroy wanted someone local to be their guide, and Gandhi asked Sudhir Ghosh to take them around India. Later in 1946 when the British Government sent a Cabinet Mission to negotiate independence, led by Stafford Cripps, Gandhi asked Mr. Ghosh to act as a go-between, shuttling between Nehru, Gandhi, Cripps and others. Shanti had met Gandhi along with her husband on numerous occasions in various locations, including in Sewagram (Maharashtra), Bengal, and in Delhi at Gandhi's nightly prayer meetings. She recounted how calm and kind Gandhi was, never losing his temper in spite of meeting people day and night. She also remembered that he would not even be able to sleep if something important was on his mind. Once at 4AM, while her husband was in Britain negotiating with the government, Gandhi thought of something he wanted Sudhir Ghosh to say to the British government. He called Shanti's brother in Delhi at 4AM, who woke her and sent her to Gandhi's home. There he gave her a slip of paper to send as a telegram to London. Gandhi paid great attention to detail, even asking her if she had the funds to send the telegram (which she did, successfully). She also observed, "Nothing was too small for Gandhi to care about." Dr. Shanti Ghosh was in London with her husband studying at the School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 1947. Sudhir was also serving there while Krishna Menon was High Commissioner, and it became clear he would be more useful in India. Gandhi wrote Shanti not to return to India when Sudhir returned, but instead to stay a while longer so she could finish her studies. He said that he had asked his Quaker friend Agatha Harrison to look after her. "He had all the problems of the world on his head, yet he worried about a young woman's studies." I asked her about Barack Obama's election, both her views, and what she thought Gandhi would have thought. She said, "It was amazing how the American nation responded to Barack Obama. In spite of the history of oppression of blacks--especially in some states, he was victorious. In the past, blacks in America have had a long history of being cruelly treated, working as servants of the whites. It was a great achievement for America to see a young, relatively inexperienced man voted into office by both whites and blacks. It was beautiful seeing the joy and tears on people's faces on election night. I pray he succeeds, in spite of the very difficult challenges he faces. For us in India it was a great moment." She said Gandhi "would have welcomed Obama's election--a big democracy like the US had recognized the equality of whites and blacks." She noted that he is very capable and she is very impressed with him. Dr. Ghosh also observed that Michelle Obama is a very intelligent woman, and she is very excited (along with most Indians and most of the world) with the wonderful new American Administration. On non-violence she noted that during Gandhi's time Khan Abdul Gaffer Khan was a noted Pathan pacifist, a nonviolent leader. Sadly today many Pathans (Pashtuns) have forgotten this. "A generation of klling and violence has indoctrinated them." She noted that Afghanistan is a nation of fierce fighters who are scattered in many places, and it won't be easy to subdue this spirit. (Shanti served as the head of WHO in Kabul from 1978-1984). Shanti Ghosh has had her own distinguished career in medicine in India, and is known as the "mother" of neonatal medicine in this country. Her husband also had many years of successful service to the government, serving in Parliament, helping Pakistani refugees build the city of Faridabad with their own hands, and promoting the growth of the steel industry in India. For me personally, as a student of history and lover of India, it was very inspiring to meet Shanti, and I hope to see her again. She was very patient and kind and gladly spoke to me.

[Shara Lili Esbenshade]

Yes, thank you for this post. "Nothing was too small for Gandhi to care about." This quote keeps repeating in my head. Aligning your beliefs with your treatment of the tiniest seemingly insignificant actions and interactions as well as with your larger goals is so essential, it is great to hear Dr. Ghosh's perspective on Gandhi's embodiment of that.

[Clayborne Carson]

Thanks so much, Mark, for sharing your vivid account of your meeting with Dr. Ghosh, who seems to be a wonderful person. I learned much that was useful about her and about Gandhi.
Clay