Over the years, friendship between individuals from opposing, even warring groups, has influenced attitudes and the outcomes of historic conflicts. The power of such friendship has even led some to embrace the cause of their friend on the other side of the conflict. La Trobe School of English lecturer, Dr Leela Gandhi, is undertaking a new study of cross cultural friendships in the 'Age of Empire' at the turn of the 19th-century. Friendship is, once again, emerging as a field of serious theoretical interest, especially under the aegis of contemporary French philosophy. Most of Dr Gandhi's examples of cross-cultural friendships are between British and Indian intellectuals at the turn of the previous century.
Some surprising names crop up.
The Mahatma Gandhi, because of his background and philosophic outlook, had many friends on either side of the movement towards Indian independence. He had an exemplary friendship with an Englishman named C.F. Andrews. He was a passionate critic of imperialism and a great advocate for the cause of Indian nationalism. An example of a leading Indian who distanced himself from the business of anti-colonialism was Manmohan Ghosh, who was educated in England and became a minor 'decadent' poet.