Author: Shashi Tharoor
“During this time Jawaharlal found his leader unwilling to lead. Gandhi ‘refused to look into the future, or lay down any long-distance programme. We were to carry on patiently ‘serving’ the people.’ This, despite the ironic quotation marks around the word ‘serving’, Jawaharlal continued to do, focusing particularly on the boycott of foreign cloth and the promotion of homespun, a cause which bolstered Indian self-reliance while uniting peasants, weavers and political workers under a common congress banner. But he was too dispirited to do more than extol khadi; in particular, he took no specific steps to combat the growing communalisation of politics.”

We think: A thoroughly objective account of the freedom years, illuminating the complexities, the public mood and the struggle of those difficult years all in Shahsi Tharoor’s lucid style. Two very enthusiastic thumbs-up.