Author: Benjamin Zachariah
Publisher: Roli Books
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 299
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8174363386
Description
For too long Nehru has been presented as someone through whom we learn only about India. Now Dr Zachariah's exciting book gives us new means of understanding his intriguing man.
-Robert Anderson, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver
There is an urgent need to reassess the life and work of Jawaharlal Nehru. Benjamin Zachariah does this in an original and provocative way.
-Rajat Kanta Ray, Presidency College, Calcutta
How did Jawaharlal Nehru come to lead the Indian nationalist movement, and how did he sustain his leadership as the first Prime Minister of Independent India? Nehru's vision of India, its roots in Indian politics and society, as well as its viability have been central to historical and present-day views of India. This engaging new biography dispels many myths surrounding Nehru, and distinguishes between the icon he has become and the politician he actually was.
Benjamin Zachariah places Nehru in the context of the issues of his times, including the central theme of nationalism, the impact of Cold War pressures on India and the transition from colonial control to a precarious independence. Connecting the domestic and international aspects of his political life and ideology, this study provides a fascinating insight into Nehru, his times and his legacy.
Contents
LIST OF PLATES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHRONOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
The making of a colonial intellectual
The young Gandhian
Ineffectual angel, 1927-39
The end of the Raj
Interlude-Envisioning the new India
Consolidating the State, c 1947-55
High Nehruvianism and its decline, c 1955-63
Conclusion: death, succession, legacy
Notes
Further Reading
Index