Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a great liberal and parliamentarian, was a disciple of Justice Ranade. Mahatma Gandhi regarded him as his political ‘guru’. Gokhale’s rise to the national political stage was swift. He became the general secretary of the Indian National Congress and then its president at a very young age. His thorough grasp of the economic and administrative problems facing India were recognised both by the members of the British Parliament and his countrymen. He was the most active member of the central legislature, where he was unofficially recognised as a leader of the opposition. Though mild by temperament, he did not compromise on his principles. It was Gokhale who gave the call for spiritualisation of politics and did not stop at preaching this doctrine but put it into practice by founding the ‘Servants of India Society’, which was aimed at creating a team of dedicated political and social workers inspired by lofty idealism and missionary zeal. Though Gokhale was under the spell of justice Ranade and Dadabhai Naoroji, he carved for himself a niche in the political life of India. He was an eloquent speaker who avoided appealing to sentiments. His appeal was to reason. Being a mathematician, the statistical figures came alive to him; nonetheless his speeches were never prosaic or boring. It was his axiom that his generation had to suffer reverses so that the generations to come would reap the benefits. The task before him was daunting. But he and the liberals of his generation succeeded in nailing the moral bankruptcy of imperialism. It is noteworthy that this book is being published in the centenary year of the servants of India society. The book depicts the life of Gokhale in the context of the situation prevalent in India and England and also of the dominant ideologies of the time. The writer has made an extensive use of English and Marathi sources, some of which were untouched before to throw a new light on Gokhale’s personality and achievements.
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