“Gandhi is often portrayed as someone who transcends his historical moment, but I ask you to see him as a human with flaws and eccentricities,” says Sunil Khilnani, author of Incarnations. Khilnani’s book takes a look at Indian history through the lives of 50 people and brings out unconventional sides to their personalities.
Khilnani minces no words as he goes on to dissect one of Gandhi’s major socio-political movements – The Dandi March – and talks about how Gandhi manipulated the media as a political tool. “Gandhi could’ve taught Steve Jobs about branding.”
The book also talks about figures who have lost prominence in modern times, but were crucial in shaping the course of history, such as Malik Ambar, a black Sultan in Deccan Indian region.
Khilnani spoke at Spring Fever 2016, a literary festival organised by Penguin Random House at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi.
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