ISBN: 9780670058273    Publisher: PENGUIN INDIA Year of publishing: 2005     Format:  Hardcover No of Pages: 560        Language: English

The Letters In This Volume, Written By Some Of The Leading Figures Of Our Times, Cover The Three Eventful Decades Leading Up To India's Independence In 1947. Evocative Of The Spirit Of Those Stirring Times, Many Of The Letters Are From Those Most Closely Involved In The Freedom Struggle Among Them, Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Rabindranath Tagore, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana Azad, Vallabhbhai Patel And Jayaprakash Narayan. Of Particular Interest Is The Long Correspondence Between Subhas Chandra Bose And Nehru, Which Covers The Crisis During The Tripuri Congress In 1939, And Reflects The Two Leaders Sharply Differing Views On The Mobilization Of National Resistance To British Rule. Equally Fascinating Are The Letters From Mahatma Gandhi, Which Reveal His Acute Political Instincts As Well As His Deep Humanity And His Genuine Respect For Dissent. The Letters Also Bear Testimony To Jawaharlal Nehru's Extraordinary Gift For Friendship, And The Respect And Admiration He Evoked, Both Personally And For The Cause Of Indian Independence, From World Figures As Diverse As George Bernard Shaw, Romain Rolland, Clare Boothe Luce, Edward Thompson, Chiang Kai-Shek And Bertrand Russell, Among Others. A Bunch Of Old Letters Is Essential Reading For An Understanding Of The History Of National Movement.
Read less

First prime minister of independent India (1947 - 64). Son of the independence advocate Motilal Nehru (1861 - 1931), Nehru was educated at home and in Britain and became a lawyer in 1912. More interested in politics than law, he was impressed by Mohandas K. Gandhi's approach to Indian independence. His close association with the Indian National Congress began in 1919; in 1929 he became its president, presiding over the historic Lahore session that proclaimed complete independence (rather than dominion status) as India's political goal. He was imprisoned nine times between 1921 and 1945 for his political activity. When India was granted limited self-government in 1935, the Congress Party under Nehru refused to form coalition governments with the Muslim League in some provinces; the hardening of relations between Hindus and Muslims that followed ultimately led to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. Shortly before Gandhi's assassination in 1948, Nehru became the first prime minister of independent India. He attempted a foreign policy of nonalignment during the Cold War, drawing harsh criticism if he appeared to favour either camp. During his tenure, India clashed with Pakistan over the Kashmir region and with China over the Brahmaputra River valley. He wrested Goa from the Portuguese. Domestically, he promoted democracy, socialism, secularism, and unity, adapting modern values to Indian conditions. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, became prime minister two years after his death.
Read less