Image: Mahatma Gandhi. Wikimedia Commons.
The Story of My Experiments with Truth is one of the most important primary sources for understanding Gandhi in his own words. It is not simply a conventional political memoir: Gandhi presents his life as a series of experiments involving truth, diet, religion, self-discipline and public service.
How the autobiography was written
The Gandhi Heritage Portal records that the autobiography was first published serially in Navajivan beginning in 1925. An English translation by Mahadev Desai appeared in Young India.
It begins before Gandhi became a national leader
The book covers his childhood, marriage, years in London, South Africa and the early stages of his Indian public life. This makes it particularly useful for understanding the development of his ideas.
Why Gandhi called them experiments
Gandhi repeatedly described his efforts as experiments rather than presenting himself as someone who had always possessed perfect certainty. The approach allowed him to discuss mistakes, changes of opinion and attempts at self-discipline.
A primary source with limitations
An autobiography is a first-person account and should therefore be read alongside letters, contemporary records and other biographies. The Gandhi Heritage Portal makes it possible to compare Gandhi’s autobiography with his wider collected writings.
Where to read it
The Government of India’s description of the Gandhi Heritage Portal notes that the portal provides complete collections of Gandhi’s major writings and identifies the autobiography among his key texts. citeturn0search2
Read the Gandhi Heritage Portal and the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation eArchive, which also provides editions and translations.
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