The implicit paradox in Mahatma Gandhi’s last fast: A study in theory and practice

The article argues that Gandhi’s last fast, aimed at restoring peace amidst Hindu–Muslim riots triggered after India’s partition, was a divergence from all his previous fasts in his reason to undertake the same and in its practice/performance. However, the fast did not meet its desired end. In a way, it turned out to be paradoxical in nature where Gandhi’s experiments in fasting failed to bring about a change of heart not only in the ordinary citizens but also in the leaders of independent India who could have strived towards communal harmony. Consequently, a subtle shift can be demarcated in the meaning of his fast and how it came to be understood in the popular imagination of postcolonial India. The article looks at this change in theory and explains how it occurred. In order to see how Gandhi performed the same fast differently than he had in the past, the article also examines Margaret Bourke-White’s photographs of Gandhi’s last fast. The article questions how far her presence as a photographer impacts this shift. What kind of pictures of Gandhi were produced for the world from this last fast? How did these photographs impact the national discourse?