Did Mahatma Gandhi say, "I believe in equality for everyone - except
reporters and photographers." I need confirmation that is NOT from
SAJA.org but from a Gandhi source and a confirmation of it.

Dear sreenet,

The answer on your question is, alas, negative. Though this saying is
indeed widely attributed to Gandhi, there is no evidence he really
ever said or wrote it.

The website of the Gandhian Institution Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal does
not list that sentence in its extensive Gandhi quotations section:
http://www.mkgandhi.org/epigrams/contents.htm

Also, I could not find the saying anywhere among the ressources
provided by the GandhiServe Foundation:
http://www.gandhiserve.com/

Furthermore, I tried to detect the quote in the library in Gandhi’s
writings by searching the indexes of the books; my efforts remained
fruitless.

I even contacted the renowned German Gandhi expert, Michael Blume, via
e-mail and asked him for his views concerning this question. He was
very helpful and answered me:
"That saying is not known to me as a Gandhi quote. Therefore, I can
not verify its authenticity. (...) In my opionion, it does not fit in
with Gandhi’s character."

Obviously, the saying belongs in the same category as the famous "We
are not amused", which Queen Victoria never actually said or wrote, or
the also well-known "L’état c’est moi", commonly but nevertheless
wrongly attributed to French king Louis XIV. By the way, this Gandhi
pseudo-quote seems to be known among Americans and Englishmen only; I
did not find it in French or German versions. This might indicate that
the sentence on reporters and photographers emerged somewhere in the
Anglo-American world.

So the final answer is: Gandhi said many important, intelligent and
even amusing things, but he did most likely not say "I believe in
equality for everyone - except reporters and photographers."

Hope this was helpful!
Regards,
Scriptor

hey sreenet-ga

nothing definitive here, but this quote is WIDELY attributed to Ghandi

see, e.g.,

http://www.quotationreference.com/quotefinder.php?strt=1&subj=quality

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/q105881.html

http://www.famous-quotations.com/asp/mail.asp?ID=906

http://www.schindler.org/quote.shtml

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/bkgrd/chapter2.html

http://web.mit.edu/sdey/www/people.htm

http://www.zmag.org/quotes/quotesResults.cfm?topic1=Strategy
(unfortunately, no source provided)

hope this helps!

Eric Sherman (mmi)

Aparently it is from his book "Non-Violence in Peace and War" 1948
But I could only find one source that gave the reference of the book.
http://www.conservativeforum.org/authquot.asp?ID=271
Hope it helps
THX1138

I found the quote attributed to him with a degree of separation from
an original source...

( http://www.spiritwalk.org/gandhi.htm#quotations )

On that page, there is a link to a chronology of his life 
( http://www.spiritwalk.org/gandhichronos.htm ) 
taken from: 

The Gandhi Reader : A Sourcebook of His Life and Writings; by Gandhi,
Homer A. Jack (Editor); Samata Books; Madras, India; 1984

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802131611/spiritwalkA/102-7911959-0951313
)

Obviously the book is edited from Gandhi's writings.  While the quote
is not cited directy from the book, this site seems grounded in strong
source material, rather than the many of the 'neat quotes from famous
people' sites that attribute the quote to him.

Here are some books that might be able to serve as
sources/confirmations:

Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth
by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahadev Desai (Translator), Sissela Bok
( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0807059099/qid=1020967673/sr=2-1/102-7911959-0951313
)

Gandhi: A Life, by Yogesh Chadha (
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471243787/102-7911959-0951313
)

Gandhi on Non-Violence, by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Thomas Merton
(Editor)
( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811200973/ref=pd_sim_books/102-7911959-0951313
)

I Have a Dream : Writings and Speeches That Changed the World
by James Melvin Washington (Editor), Martin Luther, Jr. King, Coretta
Scott King
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062505521/ref=pd_sim_books/102-7911959-0951313
)



I searched for :

I believe in equality for everyone - except
( ://www.google.com/search?q=I+believe+in+equality+for+everyone+-+except&hl=en&start=10&sa=N
)

political quotes ( ://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&querytime=k8wSB&q=political+quotes
)

Here's a newspaper article that lay's this quote at Gandhi's feet, so
to speak:

Chicago Tribune 
May 19, 1996 Sunday, CHICAGOLAND FINAL EDITION 

SUNDAY MAGAZINE; Pg. 16; REPLAYS. 

By Cheryl Lavin. 

 
"The First Law of Journalism: To confirm existing prejudice, rather
than contradict it."
- Alexander Cockburn 

"Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to
the protagonists."
- Norman Mailer 

"The only qualities for success in journalism are ratlike cunning, a
plausible manner and a little literary ability. The capacity to steal
other people's ideas and phrases is also invaluable."
- Nicholas Tomalin 

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and
photographers."
- Mahatma Gandhi 

"The lowest depth to which people can sink before God is defined by
the word journalist."
- Soren Kierkegaard 

"A (journalist is) a professional whose business it is to explain to
others what he personally does not understand."
- Lord Northcliffe