List of 10 women said to have slept with 'Mahatma' Gandhi in his bed

Above: Gandhi with six-year-old Indira Gandhi during his 21-day fast in Delhi in 1924 (Source: Express Archive)

Nicholas F. Gier, Professor Emeritus, University of Idaho

1. Sushila Nayar was only 15 when she came to the Sabarmati Ashram and then became Gandhi's intimate companion, with some periods of alienation and remove, for the rest of his life. Gandhi claimed that Nayar was a natural brahmachari, having observed it from childhood. They bathed together and even used the same bath water, but Gandhi assured everyone that he kept his "eyes tightly shut."

2. Lilavati Asar, associated with Gandhi from 1926-1948, slept in his bed and gave him "service," which meant bathing and massaging.

3. Sharada Parnerkar slept "close" to Gandhi and rendered "service." She was very ill in October, 1940, and Gandhi gave her regular enemas.

4. Amtul Salaam, whom Gandhi called his "crazy daughter," was a Punjabi from Patiala. She was also a bedmate and masseuse. Gandhi once wrote about the joy he gave Salaam when she received a massage from him.

5. Prabhavati Narayan, a Kashmiri, lived in an unconsummated marriage with Jayaprakash Narayan, Indira Gandhi's most famous political foe. Because of her lack of sexual interest or desire, Gandhi thought that Prabhavati would be a perfect married brahmachari. In addition to sleeping with Gandhi, she also gave him "service."

6. Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, married to a Rajasthani prince, was India’s first health minister and was a Gandhi associate for 30 years. Although older, she slept right along with the younger women in Gandhi's quarters. She also helped with baths and massages.

7. Sucheta Kriplani, a member of Parliament and professor at Benares Hindu University, was a member of Gandhi’s Peace Brigade in East Bengal in 1947. She maintained a brahmachari marriage with J. B. Kriplani, a famous socialist and saint. Gandhi fought their union tooth and nail. Although Gandhi invited Mrs. Kriplani to his bed on a regular basis, he insisted that married couples in his ashrams always sleep in different quarters.

8. Abha Gandhi was a Bengali who accompanied the Mahatma in East Bengal. She started sleeping with Gandhi when she was 16; she also bathed him and washed his clothes.

9. Kanchan Shah, also a married woman, had a "one night stand" with Gandhi and was banned from brahmacharya experiments because she reputedly wanted to have sex with him. Gandhi gave the following instructions on brahmachari marriage to Shah and her husband: "You should not touch each other. You shall not talk to each other. You shall not work together. You should not take service from each other." But Gandhi of course received "service" from his women on a daily basis. On the hypocrisy of taking what he denied to others, Kumar has this to say: "The vow of brahmacharya was a revenge he took upon everyone else."

10. Manu Gandhi was his brother’s granddaughter and she was his constant companion for the last eight years of his life. Interestingly enough, there is a temple to Manu, a powerful rain goddess, in Gandhi’s home city of Porbandar.

(Extract from WAS GANDHI A TANTRIC?)