Author: B R Nanda
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 438
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195658272
Description
This book is an in-depth study of a crucial period of the freedom movement and of Gandhi's role as the chief actor and catalyst. Noted scholar B.R. Nanda analyses Gandhi's aims and methods during the period 1915-25, his emergence as the dominant political figure in India, his confrontation with the British, and the consequences of the Congress-Khilafat alliance in the non-cooperation movement.
Nanda also examines the varying attitudes of different segments of Indian society and the British towards the movement. The spirit of the time is vividly recreated and includes career sketches of significant Muslim leaders - Sir Syed Ahman Khan, the Ali brothers, Dr. Ansari, and Maulana Azad. The author analyses why Gandhi chose to support the pleas of Indian Muslims on behalf of the Ottoman Khilafat, and how the fate of Turkey and the Ottoman Caliphate so completely came to obsess the consciousness of a whole generation of Indian Muslims. This work views the Khilafat movement as a part of the total evolution of Muslim politics, and the external and internal forces which molded the Muslim community.
With a new introduction, this book is essential reading for those interested in the freedom movement, Muslim politics, and Gandhi.
REVIEWS :
B. R. NANDA is a leading historian and biographer of Gandhi with many books to his credit. His most recent is 'In Search of Gandhi' (OUP, 2002). He is also Founder-Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
— Modern History
Contents
Prologue
The Burden of the Past
Syed Ahmad Khan
The Marriage of Convenience
The Alliance Under Strain
Hindu-Muslim Entente
Pan-Islamism in India
The Ali Brothers
Gandhi on the Periphery of Politics
Enter Gandhi
Leader of the Khilafat
Leader of the Congress
Swaraj Within a Year
Riding the Khilafat Tiger
The British Response
The Mappila Rebellion
Towards Confrontation
Anti-Climax
The End of Dream
The Balance-Sheet of the Khilafat
Epilogue: Verdict on Non-Cooperation
Bibliography
Index