Today, in an age of permanent war, Gandhi s message of non-violent resistance resonates internationally among a new generation. And yet he remains something of an enigma. In India he was supported by businessmen and landlords as well as the poor. The British derided him as an anarchist and the left condemned him as a 'mascot of the bourgeoisie'. Today his ideas are championed and condoned by similarly diverse groups.

Talat Ahmed s approach is to locate Gandhi as an activist within India's history. She engages with the contemporary debates about Gandhi s ideas on non-violence, direct action and strategies for social change. This is a book that will challenge the deification of Gandhi without airbrushing his role out of the South Asian landscape.