Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

I was not one of the main contributors to this article, but have dabbled in it. It is a well-written article with appropriate sources and references. Also has an extensive and useful set of external links. The article itself is to the point and clear, and comprehensively covers the topic. --ashwatha 06:05, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Oppose. Article is very good, one of the better bios we have, but still has several problems. First, the lead section is inadaquate; most of the information on Gandhi's principles should be further down; the lead should really by a summary of Gandhi's life and work. It's also pretty short; entire books have been written about Gandhi, so I think it could be expanded a bit more. The quotes should be moved to Wikiquote. Neutrality^talk 06:57, Jan 13, 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback - I have moved the quotes to Wikiquote. Will take a shot at the lead section. --ashwatha 15:50, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Support. Like any candidate for FAS, there is probably some room for improvement. Still, it seems the basic elements are all here. Edeans 22:25, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Object. Lacks completeness and balance. Devotes entire (albeit relatively short) sections to the title of "Mahatma", statues of Gandhi, and the Nobel Peace Prize he never got. At the same time, barely a paragraph on his formative experiences in South Africa, and the "Movement for Indian independence" section is littered with one-sentence paragraphs that positively cry out for expansion. --Michael Snow 22:57, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I have added added more info regarding Gandhi's years in South Africa and the movement for Indian independence. Merged the data in "Nobel Peace Prize nominations" into Miscellaneous Info. --ashwatha 01:35, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

South African section is improved—at least enough that I wouldn't continue objecting only on that basis. Movement for Indian independence section still needs work. The expansion has been accomplished mainly by adding assorted events and combining them with those already mentioned. The effect is that much of it reads as a chronological list of various things Gandhi did, with little else to provide context. Items are placed together in the same paragraph even though nothing particularly indicates that they're related topics; the text has hardly any elaboration to give meaning to these events or indicate what might be of especial significance. --Michael Snow 22:22, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Thanks again for the feedback. I reorganized the information in this section, along with some changes. Basically, I have tried to provide a better context to the events mentioned, as well as putting related events in the same paragraphs. I have also elaborated on some events so as to give the reader a better idea of the historical context and significance of the events. --ashwatha 03:00, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Support One of the better biographical articles we've had nominated here. A good article, worth our efforts for any needed improvements. Vaoverland 20:43, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC)
• Support--ZayZayEM 12:57, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Comment. It's a good article but it gets a bit brief in parts, especially during the 1930s where there is nothing between 1933 and 1939. Could this be expanded? Dbiv 13:47, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Done. --ashwatha 01:35, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Support Ghandi did a lot for civil rights, and it would be nice to have Wikipedia bring awareness to this great man. --Iconoclast 21:36, 16 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Support But getting rid of all that whitespace at the bottom of the article would be nice. Awesome. Squash 07:41, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Done. --ashwatha 17:49, 17 Jan 2005 (UTC)

• Support. Easily as good as articles in competing encyclopediae. Jordi·✆ 11:55, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)
• Object - the image of Gandhi has no source. I'll ask User:Netoholic - I am sure he reads his talk pages :-). Otherwise support but personally would prefer more images to illustrate the rich history. --JuntungWu 16:11, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I looked around, and several other wikis seem to have the same image. The French Wiki says that this image is in the public domain and is from www.pdimages.com - fr:Image:Gandhi.jpg --ashwatha 16:51, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The image from pdimages.com is different (see [1]). The information on the French Wikipedia is from when somebody originally uploaded it. Since then somebody uploaded this newer one there as well, without updating the source and license information. --Michael Snow 21:54, 18 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Image:Mahatma_Gandhi.jpg > Image:Maghandi.jpg No comment. Squash 01:30, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

In otherwords, you'll have to ask User:J.J. Squash 01:32, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Yes, you are right regarding the French wiki - I tried to find where the existing image might have been downloaded from, but couldn't find the source. We can wait for User:Netoholic or User:J.J. to respond. In anycase, I just uploaded another image - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mkgandhi.jpg - I downloaded it from http://www.consciouslivingfoundation.org, which says that all images there are believed to be in the public domain. I have placed the image under the "fairold" tag - please see the image page for rationale. We can use that image if there are no objections. --ashwatha 02:07, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The British government made a stamp with this image, so we could use it at the very least. [2] -- user:zanimum

I have replaced the image with one for which we have source information (see my reply above). --ashwatha 02:11, 20 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I don't know if I am suffering from copyright paranoia but please make sure that it works under fair use. --JuntungWu 01:44, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

How do I do that? I am not sure of the Wiki procedure for making sure that it works - please provide further info (personally, I think it is pretty obvious that it falls into the fair use category). --ashwatha 02:36, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Refer to Wikipedia:Fair use and Wikipedia talk:Copyright problems. I suggest the latter as a forum for further questions since I am not a lawyer and don't know enough to tell. --JuntungWu 05:55, 21 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Ok, I got a public domain photo from the Dutch Wikipedia, and have used that image in the article: Image:Mohandas Gandhi.jpg. Please take a look. Thanks --ashwatha 02:52, 22 Jan 2005 (UTC)