Did Gandhi kill his wife?

“Gandhi killed his wife.”

Over the summer, I was talking with some friends about Gandhi, and one of them chimed in with that scrap of information. I was literally speechless. It turned out that his source was a YouTube video promising “The Truth About Gandhi.” (I'm not going to link to it.) Here's a little more balanced version of the truth about Gandhi.

Married life

Mohandas Gandhi was married to Kasturba in 1882 at the age of 12. I use the phrase “was married to” because a preteen boy can't really be an active participant in making a lifelong commitment to marriage. Gandhi spent his adult life criticizing the practice of child marriage, and discouraged his own boys from marrying young.

The couple was frequently separated. At 18, Gandhi took off to London for three years, leaving Kasturba and their oldest son, Harilal, behind. Manilal was born the year after he returned with his law degree, and a few months later he set off to South Africa for three years.

By the turn of the century, the family was living together in South Africa. They had two more children, Ramdas and Devadas, before Gandhi's vow of brahmacharya in 1906, after which he remained celibate. Biographer Louis Fischer suggests that Kasturba's health might have contributed to his decision; another pregnancy could have been fatal.

Kasturba joined the civil disobedience efforts in South Africa and went to jail for the first time in 1913, protesting a court decision which invalidated non-Christian marriages. Over the decades, she was imprisoned both with and without her husband.

The final years

During World War II, Gandhi introduced a resolution calling for the British to "Quit India!" The Indian National Congress passed it overwhelmingly, and the British rounded up the "ringleaders" the next day.

When Gandhi was arrested in the early hours of August 9, 1942, Kasturba was offered a chance to go with him. Instead, she agreed to stay and speak in his place at a rally that evening. The British arrested her shortly afterwards, and interred her at the Aga Kahn Palace with him. She would never be allowed to leave.

After six months of being detained without charges, Gandhi started a 21-day fast to protest. Kasturba was by his side caring for him, making sure his needs were met. After 13 days, his pulse was weak, his skin was clammy, and the British made arrangements for a media blackout if he died. Kasturba prayed to a sacred plant, and Gandhi pulled through, sailing through the last week of his fast. Biographer Jad Adams makes a point of saying his doctor explicitly denied adding nutrients to his water, which sort of seems like a “have you stopped beating your wife yet?” statement to me.

After Gandhi's fast, Kasturba's own health deteriorated. The British reported she had two heart attacks over the next few weeks, and even more that winter. At the end of 1943, Gandhi wrote to a friend in London, describing Kasturba's health as “oscillating between life and death. The complications are many and great. She is receiving all the attention possible in a detention camp.” Soon after, he wrote the jail superintendent that “she despairs of life, and is looking forward to death to deliver her.”

There were some good times for Kasturba in jail. Gandhi had time to spend with her, they reminisced and sang old songs together. He tried to educate her, as he had when they were newlyweds. When Kasturba's condition got worse, he asked the British to contact their oldest son, Harilal, so his mother might see him before she died. An alcoholic, Harilal managed one sober visit while his two youngest brothers were there, which cheered Kasturba immensely. (His drunken, second visit was less pleasant.) Other friends and family visited as well.

As her heart and kidneys failed, Kasturba developed pneumonia. Devdas Gandhi procured penicillin, which had been introduced in 1942, for his mother. Gandhi counseled his youngest son against it; painful injections 4-6 times daily would not restore Kasturba to good health, and she deserved peace. Devdas acquiesced.

On the evening of February 22, 1944, her head in her husband's lap, Kasturba Gandhi died. She was cremated on the grounds of the Aga Kahn Palace, her husband of 62 years steadfastly remaining by the pyre, hour after hour, until nothing was left. “After sixty years of constant companionship,” he said, “I cannot imagine life without her.”

For the rest of his life, on the 22nd of each month, Gandhi honored her memory with extra prayers.

TL:DR; Did Gandhi kill his wife? No. He let nature take its course, instead of pointlessly prolonging her suffering.

Sources:

Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World (Fischer, 1954)

Gandhi (Coolidge, 1971)

Gandhi: The Man, his People, and the Empire (Gandhi, 2006)

Gandhi: Naked Ambition (Adams, 2010)

Reminiscences of Kasturba Gandhi (Nayer)

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (Electronic Book)

An earlier version of this article was published in two parts (2/22 & 2/23/18) on Reddit as part of the 30-day Gandhi challenge, where participants abstain from alcohol for 30 days (Gandhi didn't drink) and fast for 24 hours. (Gandhi fasted for as many as 21 days.)