Karamchand Gandhi

• 1. Introduction

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  Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi, known to those close to him as "Kaba," died on the 16th of November 1885 in the town of Rajkot. He was 63 years old. His youngest son, a 16-year-old named Mohandas, had been at his bedside that night, massaging his father's legs, when his uncle arrived and sent him to his room. Within moments, a servant's call brought Mohandas back. But it was already too late. That night would stay with Mohandas for the rest of his life. The man who died was not a famous general or a wealthy merchant. He was a court administrator, a diwan, who governed not through force but through loyalty, judgment, and a practical wisdom earned without schooling. His family had served the rulers of Porbandar for generations. His youngest child would go on to move the world. But who was Karamchand Gandhi himself? What shaped the man who raised one of history's most remarkable figures? The answers reach back to a village in Junagadh, to a family that pledged its right hand to a prince, and to a household that was respectable but never rich.

• 2. A Dynasty of Diwans

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  Lalji Gandhi moved to Porbandar in the early 18th century and entered the service of its ruler, the Rana. That single act of migration planted the roots of a family tradition. For generations, the Gandhis worked as civil servants in the Porbandar state administration. The family had originally come from the village of Kutiana, in what was then Junagadh State. Each generation deepened the family's attachment to Porbandar's ruling house. Karamchand's father, Uttamchand, rose to become diwan under Rana Khimojiraj in the early 19th century. When Khimojiraj died suddenly in 1831, his only son, Vikmatji, was just 12 years old. Rani Rupaliba, Khimojiraj's widow, stepped in as regent for the boy. She and Uttamchand soon fell out, and she forced him back to his ancestral village in Junagadh. What happened next became a story the family told. When Uttamchand appeared before the Nawab of Junagadh, he saluted with his left hand rather than his right. Asked why, he replied that his right hand was pledged to Porbandar's service. In 1841, Vikmatji finally took the throne and called Uttamchand back as his diwan. Karamchand, who also went by Ananyachand's line, followed his father into the same role, serving as chief minister of the local ruling prince. His duties included advising the royal family and hiring other government officials.

• 3. The Man Behind the Title

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  Karamchand's formal schooling was minimal. What he possessed instead was the close-range education of watching his father govern: attending religious ceremonies, observing judgment in action, absorbing what books never gave him. Geography and history remained areas where his knowledge was thin. Yet within the role he inhabited, he excelled. His personality carried contradictions that made him human. Those who knew him described him as kind and generous. They also noted a bad temper. His household occupied a middle station: enough servants for respectability, decent furniture, and sufficient food, but no accumulating wealth. The salary Karamchand earned covered the household's needs and little more. He never found ways to build a fortune beyond what his position paid. That combination of public effectiveness and private modesty shaped the household where his children grew up. Karamchand married four times. His first three wives died, two of them immediately after childbirth. In 1857, he married Putlibai, who had been born in 1844. That marriage lasted until his death and produced four children. The eldest son, Laxmidas, was born in 1860. A daughter, Raliatbehn, arrived in 1862. Karsandas followed in 1866. The youngest, Mohandas, was born on the 2nd of October 1869. All four children married during Karamchand's lifetime.

• 4. The Final Year

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  In 1885, Karamchand suffered a serious attack of fistula. Putlibai and the children took care of him at home, with Mohandas described as particularly attentive. Doctors tried many different treatments, none of which halted the decline. Karamchand himself eventually suggested surgery, but his family doctor refused. His condition continued to worsen through the year. On the night of the 16th of November, his younger brother Tulsidas came to visit. No one in the household had yet accepted that this would be the final night, even as death drew close. Tulsidas sat with his ailing elder brother as he had on earlier visits, then told Mohandas, who had been massaging their father's legs, to go to bed. The teenager went. His wife, Kasturba, was already sleeping. Within seconds, a servant called him back. By the time Mohandas returned, Karamchand was gone. Mohandas later recalled these events directly, describing the hour as around 10:30 or 11 at night. Karamchand was 63. Putlibai outlived him by several years, dying on the 12th of June 1891. Raliatbehn, the daughter born in 1862, lived until December 1960.