The literature of what may be called Gandhiana is immense; yet it must be said that Gandhiji long awaited a biographer who could study him from the view point of criticism, avoiding both cheap anathema and easy apotheosis, such study has begun only lately and the present book of Hiren Mukerjee, being one such, serves a real national  need.

An erudite Marxist, a scholar-politician and an enthusiastic participant in the movement that brought India freedom, the author is uniquely equipped for the task.