Dr. G.A. Biradar’s book on Gandhi’s tour of Karnataka is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the late 1920s/early 1930s period in particular. By bringing together a range of official materials on the Congress activities in Mysore/Karnataka at this time, alongside personal assessments by Congress sympathizers, he portrays a region that was at a remove from mainstream nationalism. Yet, at the same time, Mysore/Karnataka had a long legacy of anti-caste, anti-untouchability movements that was both receptive to, and simultaneously diffused, the Gandhian call for the abolition of untouchability.
Dr. Biradar also highlights the contribution of Lingayats to the national movement, particularly in Bombay Karnataka. He has provided other scholars working on Mysore/Karnataka with a very important set of documental materials to carry forward questions relating to the history of caste, nationalism, and societal reform in a relatively under-researched region.
Janaki Nair
Professor,
Centre for Historical Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi-110016.
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