Gentle Resistance- The Autobiography of Chandi Prasad Bhatt

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C HANDI PRASAD BHATT had originally thought of titling these reminiscences Gudgudi (Ticklishness), which would have seemed whimsical, but also suggested the mirthful acceptance of a surge towards writing up old and youthful feelings. Perhaps this was the first graceful response of one who would rather let history do the talking but who also knows history can be a form of ventriloquism partial to certain voices while ignoring others. These implications of what Chandi Prasad Bhatt meant by gud- gudi- that is, being tickled into writing his memoirs, struck me while writing this short note.

I am neither an academic nor a professional translator. So why did I want to translate this book, now called Gentle Resistance be- cause the phrase suggests the core of its author's message to us? I have known about Chipko and Bhatt-ji- the honorific version of his surname is the one I have always used - from about the mid 1970s, and later through occasional discussions, particularly with Anupam Mishra, one of Bhatt-ji's closest friends. My own friends and I have long been involved with environmental issues, so Chipko had in many ways become a benchmark for our social involvement and interventions. However, it was only in 1997, thanks to a seminar at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, put together with Shekhar Pathak - titled "Empowerment and Or- ganisation Building" and involving practising Gandhian social workers that I came to know Bhatt-ji personally. The seminar, while indicating how empowerment might be a concept antithetical to Gandhian thinking, asked how even organisation-building can create structures detrimental to genuine mobilisation efforts.

**Contents and Sample Pages**