That the Italian Risorgimento worked as a powerful source of inspiration for the makers of modern India over the many decades, is a well documented fact. But this was not the only channel linking up India and Italy during those times. Italy, from her own part, had already developed a definite attitude towards India, her culture and present political situation, thanks to the works of social thinkers like Romagnosi and Cattaneo. Against this background, India’s and Italy’s search for an entente developed especially during the inter-war period-a period marked by crucial events, such as the rise of Fascism in Italy and the advent of the Gandhian leadership in India. A close look to these two decades reveals a fairly expanded network of relations, both individual and institutional. The role played by the Vatican is an interesting case in point, for the urge to spread Christianity among the Indian people made it necessary for Italian missionaries to establish a dialogue between the two cultures. These and other facets of Indo-Italian relations in modern times are for the first time brought home to the Indian public through this highly informative book, which presents the results of the Author’s scholarly endeavor over the last few years, and which is bound to stimulate further discussion and research.
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