His views were sought by several newspapers from the home country and for a time, he also served as the South African correspondent for Dadabhai Naoroji’s Indian that was being published from England at the time. Upon moving to South Africa and becoming involved in the struggle for the rights of Indians in the country, Gandhi became something of a go-to person for all matters concerning Indians in South Africa.

But that cliché was created by political leaders like Gandhi who used the press to bring about change. To stress on the power of the press is a clichéd thing to do. In another section in the same chapter, French writer Louise-Sebastien Mercier’s quote, ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of the world! Tremble before the virtual writer!’ is cited as further evidence of the print medium’s ability to bring powerful individuals to heel. It emphasises how Luther posted a printed copy of his document, the much-studied ‘Ninety-Five Theses’ on the church door and by doing so, sparked off a flurry of events which ultimately resulted in the division of the church and the birth of the Protestant sect. Among the interesting examples it cites as proof of how print influenced the course of world events has to do with Martin Luther’s critique of church malpractices in 1517. The Class 10 CBSE history textbook has an interesting chapter titled ‘Print Culture and the Modern World’. It has been republished on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary also known as Gandhi Jayanti.

Editor’s Note: This piece was first published on 2 October 2020.

Mahatma gandhi young