Mohandas - Rajmohan Gandhi (2006)

The best tribute a person can give to his grandfather. More so if your grandfather is the greatest soul of India. A detailed treatise on Mahatma Gandhi's life. Beautifully presented in a fairly long book. The language is not easy read. It needs a fair bit of pauses before you proceed. Written in a chronological fashion, it starts with Gandhiji's childhood, talks about his London years, establishing Satyagraha in South Africa and subsequently all the work carried out in India. The book quotes from various sources of Gandhiji's life. It talks about many of Gandhiji's well known activities in the struggle for freedom. Also, speaks a lot about his personal and family lives. His emotional attachment to a middle-aged lady or experiment of celibacy at the age of 70 which was denounced and less understood.

At the end of reading such a voluminous work you still wonder, was he a saint, a politician, a reformist or just a hyped-up image of the Indian independence struggle. In fact he was such a crucial force for Indian struggle for independence. But there were other factors as well. How can a person have such a simple solution for all complex problems of life? All these make one wonder.

This is a work of scholarship by Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi. And needs serious time and effort to get the best out from this work. For many, this book may become the cornerstone of Gandhian studies. Recommended if you are serious about knowing about Gandhi. There are simpler and shorter books in the market if you want a quick grasp of his life and works.

Lord Curzon - The Last of the British Moghuls (1993) by Nayana Goradia

A biography of one of the most talked about Viceroys of India. In short, Lord Curzon was a man with a value system of his own, a set of his defined principles which he followed without much of influence from the society at large. The history of India has denounced Curzon for various reasons and most importantly blaming him for the Bengal partitions. However, this book shows a definitely different picture. Curzon had some positive thoughts for India and has contributed significantly in setting up of Archaeological Survey of India, maintaining a law and order situation in the country rather than the Indians getting bulldozed by the oppressive British elements in the Government. In Nehru's language Curzon saved everything that's beautiuful in India.

Why was he misunderstood?

People typically of high esteem for themselves work on an agenda of their own which they find hard to express before the stakeholders. This is what probably happened in Curzon's life. Indians never understood the administrative reasons which he had in mind in Bengal partition nor he had enough friends in the British government. He was a man of honor and principle but could not become a people's person. Losing his Vice-royalty and later the prime ministerial candidature speaks a lot of this.

The book is quite well written but the facts may have very little significance to the modern readers. Indian history is general has very little reference to Viceroys of British Empire. It may be a good read if you are interested in just reading about Curzon. The significance of the book to a larger goal of knowing Indian history better may not be achieved through this book.