Netaji Subhas Confronted the Indian Ethos (1900-1921): Yogi Sri Aurobindo's "Terrorism", Poet Tagore's "Universalism", and Mahatma Gandhi's "Experimental Non-Violence" [Hardcover]

The greater part of the book is devoted, not to Subhas himself, but to three slightly older contemporaries each of whom played a key role in the development of the Indian nationl revival which ultimately brought to an end British rule - Sri Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi. All of these famous figures have of course been extensively studied in the past, but Dr. Ganguly's especial contribution lies in the masterly way in which he has been able to bring together the essential contribution of each, and to relate them so as to form a coherent and well integrated picture of those turbulent times - times in which Subhas's own political philosophy was formed, and of which his own life and death constitute a particularly dramatic chapter.

Dr. Ganguly writes with admirable economy and directness. Somehow he has succeeded in compressing an immense amount of relevant information into a relatively small space, and in putting his finger on the precise nature of the contribution of each one of the three very different figures he studies. He shows how Aurobindo, Tagore and Gandhi represent, each in his own unique way, three different aspects of the rich and complex thought and culture of India. In the course of this, many other significant figures - among them B.G. Tilak, C.F. Andrews, C.R. Das, Sister Nivedita and Bipin Chandra Pal - step briefly onto the stage; all are woven into a rich tapestry of the times, and it becomes clear how their combined thought and efforts came to have such far reaching effects.

A valuable feature of the book is the way in which the varied and often paradoxical contribution of the English themselves to events in India has been integrated into the wider picture. Dr. Ganguly has been living since 1966 in London, and he has already shown his exceptional ability to understand the complexities of the intellectual relations between the British and India in a much-praised study of E.M. Forster's novel A Passage to India. In his new work he has again been able to demonstrate his grasp of the conflicting inner currents. Much of this part of the story centres on Cambridge, the ancient university town and centre of learning long reserved for the British elite, at which both Aurobindo and Subhas spent formative years: "It is a strange irony of the Anglo-Indian connection", Dr Ganguly writes with his usual perception, "that the University of Cambridge became the mainspring of the Second Indian Revolution [the first being the so-called Sepoy Mutiny of 1857]".

Mention should be made of the striking collection of photographs which Dr. Ganguly, no doubt with great labour, has unearthed in order to illustrate his book; they do much to capture the atmosphere of the times and the changing attitudes of the central figures. For those wishing to pursue their own studies in this area, the book is furnished with a very thorough Bibliography and with extensive and carefully chosen Appendices in which Aurobindo, Tagore and Gandhi are allowed to speak for themselves.

Dr. Ganguly's new book is richly informative, well-written and always pleasant to read. Not only does it fulfil its author's intention of providing an in-depth background to the life of Netaji Subhas, but it has much to tell us about the rebirth of India as an intellectual and political force in the world. For anyone wishing to understand the ferment of ideas, above all in Bengal, out of which modern India came into being, and without which Subhas's own activities cannot be correctly assessed, it is essential reading.