As Jinnah declared Direct Action Day, India feared a tsunami of violence. Mahatma Gandhi struggled to hold together the unwinding threads of unity that he had so painstakingly woven. At the concluding session of the Muslim League Council, Jinnah declared: “Today we bid goodbye to Constitutional methods… We have forged a pistol and are in a position to use it.” Nowhere was the communal carnage worse than in Noakhali. Once again, Gandhi showed that miracles may be slow in the making but, where there is determination, they are possible.

We are in conversation with Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of the Mahatma, a great chronicler of the Mahatma’s life and a peace activist.