Speaking through bodies, exhibiting the limits: British colonialism and gandhian nationalism

This essay examines how Gandhi's understanding of his gendered and religious identity was shaped by colonial discourse. Mahatma Gandhi, like many of his Indian counterparts, came to believe in the powerful narrative articulated by the West that attributed British colonization of India to Indian effeminacy, apathy, and "deviant" sexual behavior. Gandhi's capitulation to British ideals of masculinity in his youth made him focus his critical gaze …