David Hardiman

This is the first volume in a study of Gandhi's role in relation to the broader history of Indian movements for justice and independence, by a British historian who has specialised in Indian history and peasant struggles. The book includes important and little known material on Indian 'passive resistance' movements from 1905-1909, charts Gandhi's role in the 'passive resistance' in South Africa 1906-14, and after his return to India his varied links to different forms of peasant resistance in Bijoliya, Champaran (often covered in literautre on Gandhi) and Kheda. This volume concludes with an assessment of Gandhi's evolving theory of nonviolence in relation to other theories of the time, and his leadership role in the 1919 resistance to the Rowlatt Acts.

Sympathetic, but not uncritical, assessment of Gandhi’s style of politics, his conflicts with the Raj and opposition groups and critics within India, and his impact on later movements. The author studied ‘subaltern’ movements in India for many years before engaging with Gandhi.