Makarand R Paranjape 
Death & afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi 

The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi is an explosive and original analysis of the assassination of the Father of the Nation. Who is responsible for the Mahatma’s death? Just one determined zealot, the larger ideology that supported him, the Congress-led government that failed to protect him, or the vast majority of Indians and their descendants who considered Gandhi irrelevant, and endorsed violence instead? Paranjape’s meticulous study ends with his assessment of Gandhi’s last six months in Delhi where, from the very edge of the pyre, he wrought what was perhaps his greatest miracle-the saving of Delhi and thus of India itself from the internecine bloodshed of Partition. The author, taking a cue from the Mahatma himself, also shows us a way to expiate our guilt and heal the wounds of an ancient civilization torn into two. This is a brilliant, far-reaching and profound exploration of the meaning of the Mahatma’s death.