In Mahatma Gandhi's Ideas Andrews wrote about Gandhi's recruitment campaign: 'Personally I have never been able to reconcile this with his own conduct in other respects, and it is one of the points where I have found myself in painful disagreement.' Īndrews was elected President of the All India Trade Union in 19.Īndrews developed a dialogue between Christians and Hindus.

In 1918 Andrews disagreed with Gandhi's attempts to recruit combatants for World War I, believing that this was inconsistent with their views on nonviolence. Stephen's College, Andrews was instrumental in persuading Gandhi to return to India with him in 1915. įollowing the advice of several Indian Congress leaders and of Principal Susil Kumar Rudra, of St. Andrews was deeply impressed with Gandhi's knowledge of Christian values and his espousal of the concept of ahimsa ( nonviolence) – something that Gandhi mixed with inspiration from elements of Christian anarchism.Īndrews served as Gandhi's aide in his negotiations with General Jan Smuts and was responsible for finalizing some of the finer details of their interactions. Arriving in January 1914, he met the 44-year-old Gujarati lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi, who was leading the Indian community's efforts against the racial discrimination and police legislation that infringed their civil liberties. Known for his persuasiveness, intellect and moral rectitude, he was asked by senior Indian political leader Gopal Krishna Gokhale to visit South Africa and help the Indian community there to resolve their political disputes with the Government. Andrews soon became involved in the activities of the Indian National Congress, and he helped to resolve the 1913 cotton workers' strike in Madras. Increasingly dismayed by the racist behaviour and treatment of Indians by some British officials and civilians, he supported Indian political aspirations, and wrote a letter in the Civil and Military Gazette in 1906 voicing these sentiments. Stephen's College, where he grew close to many of his Indian colleagues and students. In 1904 he joined the Cambridge Mission to Delhi and arrived there to teach philosophy at St. Andrews over his grave, in Lower Circular Road Christian Cemetery – Kolkata (earlier Calcutta)Īndrews had been involved in the Christian Social Union since university, and was interested in exploring the relationship between a commitment to the Gospel and a commitment to justice, through which he was attracted to struggles for justice throughout the British Empire, especially in India.

Mk gandhi autobiography