As some contemporaries observed, India's Mohandas Gandhi and Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh appeared to share something in common. Both were extraordinarily charismatic leaders. Each carefully nurtured a memorable public persona. Ho Chi Minh was a 'communist saint'; Mohandas Gandhi was the 'Mahatma' - the 'great soul'. Yet, in Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh we would be hard-pressed to find two more divergent responses to European imperialism.
Through the writings of these two leaders, their contemporaries, their critics and their political opponents, students will explore the momentous end of two European empires in Asia, examining the critical role played by these two individuals and their distinctive ideologies. In the process, students will be encouraged to engage with a number of key questions. What were the origins of Gandhi's and Ho Chi Minh's contrasting political philosophies? Why did their ideas gain purchase when and where they did? Would their revolutions have worked in an alternative political context? Are their ideas still relevant today?
Through the writings of these two leaders, their contemporaries, their critics and their political opponents, students will explore the momentous end of two European empires in Asia, examining the critical role played by these two individuals and their distinctive ideologies. In the process, students will be encouraged to engage with a number of key questions. What were the origins of Gandhi's and Ho Chi Minh's contrasting political philosophies? Why did their ideas gain purchase when and where they did? Would their revolutions have worked in an alternative political context? Are their ideas still relevant today?