Mahatma Gandhi And Jawaharlal Nehru: A Historic Partnership 1916-1948

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

This is the third Volume of the four-Volume study of interaction between Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru by Madhu Limaye, leading intellectual, scholar, parliamentarian and active participant in the freedom struggle. The period covered in this Volume has been momentous in India's story.

The first Chapter deal with the upheaval caused by the wholesale arrests of 9 August 1942, Jinnah's rise as supreme Muslim leader, Gandhi's fast, his release on grounds of health, his efforts to revive Congress activity, break the political deadlock and engage Jinnah in a serious discussion of Pakistan. During this period Jawaharlal was a passive observer of events in Ahmednagar Fort Prison. A glimpse into his reactions to Gandhi's actions is provided in these Chapters.

The Volume throws new light on the Bhulabhai Liaquat Pact, the mischievous role of Bengal Governor Burrows in the revision of the Grouping Clause that finally wrecked the Cabinet Mission Plan, divided counsel in the Congress Camp, Gandhi's growing distrust of Maulana Azad and the former's decisive intervention to make Jawaharlal Congress President in 1946. The author shows that the double partition of 1947 was implicit in the principle of self-determination which Gandhi persuaded the Working Committee to accept in April 1942 and his method of non-violence. The Indian National Congress was not yet a state and it could not secure transfer of power by applying coercion to parts of India which refused to join the new Union. The author critically examines the role of Viceroy Wavell who, despite his sincerity and honest intentions, failed in the end because of his total lack of political judgement, deep prejudice against the Congress and his pronounced pro-Jinnah bias.

Madhu Limaye (b.1922-d. 1995), the most prominent and distinguished among the Socialist Movement's younger leaders, was drawn towards the freedom movement and the Socialist Party at an early age. He was held in great affection by Jayaprakesh, Lohia, Narendra Deva and other leaders.

The struggle against foreign rule landed him in prison many times. His first imprisonment came in 1940-41. He participated in the Quit India underground movement and was detained under DIR till the end of the war. In the Goa Liberation Movement Limaye was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by a Portuguese Military Tribunal. Again, he spent nineteen months in detention during the Emergency.

Limaye held various offices: Secretary, (All India) Socialist Party; Secretary, Asian Socialist Conference; Chairman, Socialist Party; Leader, SSP Parliamentary Group. He was also General Secretary, Janata Party and later, of Lok Dal. He is the author of several books in English, Marathi and Hindi.

I had originally planned the study of Gandhi-Nehru interaction as a three volume work. But the period from 1942 to 1948 which the third part was supposed to cover, was so crowded with events that the typescript became very lengthy and the Publishers decided that it would be better to split it up in two parts and publish them as Volume III and IV. I agreed with their suggestion. This part brings the story of the interaction to the middle of 1946-the final triumph and tragedy of the National Freedom Movement being the main theme of the last volume.

The theme of Gandhi-Nehru has been developed in a chronological sequence, but in order to elucidate the significance of events a comparative discussion has been found to be useful.

Thus a correct understanding of Jinnah's rise as a popular leader is facilitated by a bird's eye view of his earlier political career.

Similarly, Gandhi-Jinnah talks of 1944 inevitably raise the issue of the contradiction between the Working Committee's resolution on "territiorial self-determination" in April 1942 and the anti-partition resolution of Jagat Narayan adopted by the Allahabad AICC held a few weeks leter.

The Wavell proposal for the setting up of a political executive at the Centre in 1945 necessitates a discussion of the difference between the Cripps offer of 1942 and the new proposal.

The Congress stand in favour of Provincial Antonomy in May-July 1946 unavoidably involves an extended analysis of the reversal of the positions of the Congress and the Muslim League on this question.

**Contents and Sample Pages**