Revered globally as a symbol of peace and nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi’s personal life – particularly his ideas and experiments related to celibacy and sexuality – has long been the subject of controversy.
Adams, after 15 years of research, described Gandhi as a sexually repressed man who experimented with celibacy in ways that might be considered morally problematic today. These included sleeping naked with young women and even bathing with them to “test” his self-control. Kumar listed around 18 women who participated in these practices, including close associates of Gandhi like Manu, Abha Gandhi and Sushila Nair. Some were reportedly tasked with massaging him while he was naked, a practice that Gandhi described as part of his spiritual discipline.
According to Adams, when riots were taking place in Noakhali, Bengal, Gandhi called Manu and said, “If you had not been with me, the Muslim extremists would have killed us. From today, let us both sleep naked with each other and test our purity and celibacy.”
The book also describes the practice of celibacy in Panchgani, Maharashtra, where Sushila Nair bathed and slept with Gandhi. According to Adams, Gandhi himself has written, “When Sushila is naked in front of me while bathing, my eyes are closed tightly. I do not see anything. I only hear the sound of soap being applied. I do not know at all when she is completely naked and when she is wearing only underwear.
Nirmal Kumar Bose, Gandhi’s close associate for two decades, has also documented these experiments in his book “My Days with Gandhi”. He mentioned some disturbing incidents. Referring to a special incident in Noakhali, Nirmal Bose has written, “One day early in the morning, when I reached Gandhi’s bedroom, I saw Sushila Nair crying and the Mahatma banging his head on the wall.” After that, Bose started openly opposing Gandhi’s experiment of celibacy. When Gandhi did not listen to him, Bose separated himself from him.
Critics argue that these acts took advantage of the young women’s trust in Gandhi’s ashram and harmed their future personal lives. Some researchers claim that many of these women never married or led emotionally troubled lives thereafter. Political contemporaries such as Nehru, Patel and Ambedkar reportedly disapproved of Gandhi’s personal conduct, although he avoided public criticism.
After Gandhi’s assassination, Manu, one of Gandhi’s female friends, was given strict instructions to keep her mouth shut. He was sent to a very remote area in Gujarat. Sushila also always remained silent on this issue. The saddest thing is that almost all the women who participated in Gandhi’s experiment with celibacy lost their marital lives.
Gandhi’s letters to women such as Sarala Devi and the missionary Esther Fearing reveal emotional intimacy that often went beyond normal spiritual relationships. His relationship with Madeleine Slade, whom he renamed Mirabein, adds to the list of intense female attachments in his life.
This topic remains sensitive. Some argue that Gandhi used celibacy not only as a personal test, but also as a means of asserting moral authority over his followers. According to the British historian, due to Gandhi’s celibacy, Jawaharlal Nehru considered him a person with unnatural and unusual habits. Sardar Patel and JB Kripalani had kept distance from him because of his behaviour.
Despite ongoing debates, Gandhi is respected globally. However, the revelation of these personal aspects challenges the one-dimensional saint image often associated with the “Father of the Nation” of India.
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