Ganca \gan-'ja\ formerly (1804-1918) Yelizavetpol’ \yi-li-z3-'vyet- ,pol\ or (1935-89) Kirovabad \ l ke-ro-v9- , bat\ City (pop., 1997 est.: 291,900), western Azerbaijan. It lies along the Ganca River. A town was founded nearby in the 5th century ad, was destroyed by earthquake in 1139, and was rebuilt on the present site. Taken by the Mongols in 1231, it was captured in 1606 by the Persian Safavid dynasty, who made it the centre of the Ganca khanate. The Russians annexed it in 1804 and renamed it Yelizavetpol’. In 1935 it was renamed Kirovabad and devel¬ oped industrially to become one of the largest cities of Azerbaijan. It manufactures aluminum, machinery, and instruments and is an agricul¬ tural processing centre. Notable buildings include Dzhuma-Mechet Mosque (1620) and the mausoleum of the 12th-century Persian poet NezamI, a lifelong resident of the city.
Gance \'ga n s\, Abel orig. Eugene Alexandre Perethon (b. Oct. 25, 1889, Paris, France—d. Nov. 10, 1981, Paris) French film director
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Ganda ► Gang of Four I 733
and screenwriter. He worked in the cinema from 1909, finally winning acclaim with Mater dolorosa (1917) and Tenth Symphony (1918). His J’accuse (1918) and The Wheel (1923) were hailed as masterpieces. He devoted four years to his greatest film, Napoleon (1927), in which he used experimental techniques to emphasize cinematic movement. Battle sequences were shot with three synchronized cameras, and the images were projected on a triple screen to produce a three-dimensional effect; the film also pioneered the use of stereophonic sound. A triumph in Europe, it fared badly in a harshly edited version in the U.S. but was finally released in its original glory in 1981. Gance’s later films, largely controlled by the studios, gave inadequate scope for his creative genius.
Ganda or Baganda People of southern Uganda. They speak Luganda, a Bantu language of the Benue-Congo group. Numbering 3.7 million, the Ganda are Uganda’s largest ethnic group. Traditionally hoe cultivators, they also grow cotton and coffee for export and keep livestock. In the 19th century the Ganda developed the centralized state known as Buganda.
Gandhara art Style of Buddhist art that developed in what is now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan from the 1st to the 7th century ad. It was contemporaneous with Mathura art. The Gandhara region had earlier been a site of much Buddhist missionary activity, and the Kushan rulers maintained contact with Rome; the Gandhara school incorporated motifs and techniques from Classical Roman art (e.g., vine scrolls, cherubs with garlands, tri¬ tons, centaurs), but the iconography was based on the interpretation of Buddhist legends. Sculptural materi¬ als included green phyllite, gray-blue mica, and stucco; sculptures were originally painted and gilded. See also Central Asian arts; Kushan art.
Gandhi Vgan-deV Indira (Pri- yadarshini) orig. Indira Pri- yadarshini Nehru (b. Nov. 19,
1917, Allahabad, India—d. Oct. 31,
1984, New Delhi) Prime minister of India (1966-77, 1980-84). The only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, she stud¬ ied in India and at the University of Oxford. In 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (d. 1960), a fellow member of the Indian National Congress. In 1959 she was given the largely hon¬ orary position of party president, and in 1966 she achieved actual power when she was made leader of the Congress Party and, consequently, prime minister. She instituted major reforms, including a strict population-control program. In 1971 she mobilized Indian forces against Pakistan in the cause of East Ben¬ gal’s secession. She oversaw the incorporation of Sikkim in 1974.
Convicted in 1975 of violating elec¬ tion laws, she declared a state of emergency, jailing opponents and passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. She was defeated in the following election but returned to power in 1980. In 1984 she ordered the army to move into the Golden Temple complex of the Sikhs at Amritsar, with the intent of crushing the Sikh militants hiding inside the temple; some 450 Sikhs died in the fight¬ ing. She was later shot and killed by her own Sikh bodyguards in revenge.
Gandhi, Mohandas K(aramchand) known as Mahatma Gandhi (b. Oct. 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—d. Jan. 30, 1948, Delhi) Preeminent leader of Indian nationalism and prophet of nonviolence in the 20th century. Gandhi grew up in a home steeped in religion, and he took for granted religious tolerance and the doctrine of ahimsa (noninjury to all living beings). He studied law in England but seemed too diffident
to become a successful lawyer. He took a job with an Indian firm in South Africa. There he became an effective advocate for Indian rights. In 1906 he first put into action satyagraha, his technique of nonviolent resistance. His success in South Africa gave him an international reputation, and in 1915 he returned to India and within a few years became the leader of a nationwide struggle for Indian home rule. By 1920 Gandhi commanded influence hitherto unattained by any political leader in India. He refash¬ ioned the Indian National Congress into an effective political instrument of Indian nationalism and undertook major campaigns of nonviolent resis¬ tance in 1920-22, 1930-34 (including his momentous march to the sea to collect salt to protest a government monopoly), and 1940-42. In the 1930s he also campaigned to end discrimination against India’s untouch¬ able class—whom he renamed Harijans (literally “children of God”)— and concentrated on educating rural India and promoting cottage industry. India achieved dominion status in 1947, but the partition of the subcon¬ tinent into India and Pakistan was a great disappointment to Gandhi, who had long worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. In September 1947 he ended rioting in Calcutta (Kolkata) by fasting. Known as the Mahatma (“Great- Souled”), Gandhi had won the affection and loyalty of millions. In Janu¬ ary 1948 he was shot and killed by a young Hindu fanatic.
Gandhi, Rajiv (Ratna) (b. Aug. 20, 1944, Bombay [Mumbai], India—d. May 21, 1991, Sriperumbudur, near Madras [Chennai]) Indian politician, prime minister of India (1984-89). Son of Indira Gandhi, he studied engineering at the University of Cambridge and became a com¬ mercial airline pilot in 1968. He entered politics after the death of his brother, Sanjay, in 1980. Sworn in as prime minister the day his mother was assassinated (Oct. 31, 1984), he led the Congress (I) Party to a land¬ slide victory in elections that year. His administration took vigorous mea¬ sures to reform the government bureaucracy and liberalize the country’s economy, but his attempts to discourage separatist movements failed, and his government became embroiled in financial scandals. He resigned in 1989 but remained leader of the Congress (I) Party. He was assassinated in 1991 while running for reelection.
Gandhinagar ^gon-do-'no-gorV City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 195,891), capital of Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies on the banks of the Sabarmati River, north of the former capital of Ahmedabad. Built to sup¬ plant the former capital, after the state of Bombay was divided, the city was begun in 1966 and named for Mohandas K. Gandhi. The first state government offices were transferred there in 1970, and the city subse¬ quently continued to grow.
Gando See Gwandu
Ganesha \g9-'na-sho\ or Ganesa Elephant-headed Hindu god, the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is also revered in Jainism, and he is impor¬ tant in the art and mythology of Bud¬ dhist Asia. As the remover of obstacles, Ganesha is invoked when beginning worship or starting any new venture. He was popular with Indian nationalists, who saw British colonialism as one obstacle to be removed. The patron of letters and learning, he is the legendary scribe who wrote down the Mahabharata.