Tushar Gandhi’s The Lost Diary of Kastur: My Ba Reveals Kasturba Gandhi’s Untold Voice
A rare pic of Kasturba and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Team L&M
Come June 2, readers will witness a historic literary moment as author Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, launches his first book on his great-grandmother Kasturba Gandhi titled The Lost Diary of Kastur: My Ba.
The Lost Diary of Kastur, My Ba
Kasturba Gandhi in Her Own Words
The book presents the only known diary written by Kasturba Gandhi, featuring the original Gujarati text along with its English translation by Tushar Gandhi. Rare photographs of Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi further enrich the narrative, offering a deeply personal portrait of Kasturba as an individual of strength and conviction.
For the first time, readers gain direct insight into Kasturba’s daily life—her thoughts, routines, and experiences as the wife of the Mahatma and, more importantly, as a committed satyagrahi in her own right. Her diary also reveals her experiences of imprisonment during India’s freedom struggle, highlighting her personal acts of resistance beyond her association with Gandhi.
A Remarkable Historical Discovery
The diary’s discovery is itself a compelling story. Staff at the Gandhi Research Foundation, Jalgaon found a damaged 135-page diary at Kasturba Ashram, Indore. Written between January and September 1933, it had remained forgotten for decades—much like Kasturba’s own legacy.
A page from the book
Initially, there was disbelief that Kasturba, long believed to be illiterate, could have written such detailed entries. However, Tushar Gandhi’s research confirmed the authenticity of the diary. “It gave me a glimpse into who she was—an individual, a companion, and a satyagrahi in her own right,” he shares.
Reclaiming Kasturba’s Identity
According to Swati Chopra, Executive Editor at HarperCollins India, Kasturba Gandhi has historically been viewed only as Mahatma Gandhi’s wife. This book changes that perception by presenting her own voice for the first time through her diary.
Lost for decades and later rediscovered by Tushar Gandhi, the diary offers a rare and powerful opportunity to understand Kasturba not just as Gandhi’s companion, but as a woman of courage, thought, and resistance.
