Part 1: Chapters 1 through 3 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 1: The World Weeps

Near the holy waters of Jumna, outside New Delhi, a million people wait in the oppressive heat for the funeral procession of the Mahatma, Mohandas K. Gandhi. Gandhi had been assassinated the day before, January 30, 1948. He was India's leader and its teacher. In the evening, his pyre is set afire by his son, Ramdas to the wailing of weeping of the throngs gathered to honor him. When he died, Gandhi was what he had always been: a private citizen with no wealth, property, title or noteworthy professional achievement. Despite this, all the major leaders of the world pay homage to him. Gandhi had made "humility and truth more powerful than empires." Those who adore him feel that his death leaves the conscience of mankind without a spokesman.

Chapter 2: Blundering Boy

Gandhi is born...