Introducing Mahatma Gandhi to Children Through Narratives

From time immemorial, children have loved listening to stories—of faraway lands, of battles, of adventures of heroic figures, both legendary and real. Oral narration was followed by written script, later expressed in printed form and multimedia. Literature emerged in various genres: drama, poetry, biography, novel, and short story. However, literature written specifically for children is relatively recent, especially biographies written for children. Narratives and biographical sketches, detailing the life of an individual must take into account all available evidence to create the illusion of a life actually being lived in a certain context and age. The task becomes even more challenging when one sets out to create a book for children, as they have not yet been exposed to that depth of history which would facilitate their imagination. While commemorating the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, one begins to reflect on his thoughts and ideas for self and society. What then is Gandhiji’s vision? More importantly, how do children perceive this vision? What is the understanding of children, in India as well as in other countries, on Gandhiji’s concepts of non-violence, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, and world peace? This paper provides an overview of selected narratives on Mahatma Gandhi, each of which provides unique glimpses of his life and a message, examined within the parameters of children’s literature.