Several streams of thought have dominated socio-political movements in precolonial and postcolonial India. Be it M N Roy’s anti-imperialist internationalism, Subhash Chandra Bose’s anti-colonial nationalism, Gopal Krishna Gokhale’s moderate politics, Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s extremism within the Congress fold, B R Ambedkar’s politics based on caste consolidation, or V D Savarkar’s religious nationalism. None, arguably, has withstood the ethical test as resolutely as Gandhian non-violence and Satyagraha. The moral courage to stand against power without resorting to violence is what shaped leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, who changed the course of Indian democracy.

In India, the arrest of a Gandhian leader – not a self-proclaimed one, but one who follows both Gandhian ethics and method – has

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