The Life And Times Of George Fernandes: Many Peaks Of A Political Life By Rahul Ramagundam

Since the time he left his coastal town of Mangalore and came to Bombay (now, Mumbai), more than seven decades ago, George Fernandes’s was a life lived with passion, but more importantly, of struggle against all odds. From those early years of fighting for the rights of dock and municipal workers of Bombay to this last decade as a bed-ridden, afflicted with Alzheimer’s, but keenly watchful of his own slow bodily degeneration, his fights were always persistent and single-handed.

Chronicling the story of George, who rose from the streets of Bombay to straddle the power corridor, The Life and Times of George Fernandes opens a window to the life of George Fernandes and traces the course of the Socialist Party in India from its inception in 1930s to its dissolution into the Janata Party in the late nineteen-seventies. With nineteen-eighty as the dividing line, the book explores India’s post-independence politics. It focuses particularly on a trail of opposition parties that worked to displace the long-ruling Congress Party from its preeminent position.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rahul Ramagundam is an Associate Professor, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. A doctorate in modern Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he has been closely associated with grassroots movements in India. His area of work lies as much in exploring history as in understanding contemporary times. His academic and research interest spans subjects such as modern and contemporary Indian history, production of poverty, social movement, volunteerism, education etc and cuts across temporal boundaries. He is currently engaged in a critical analysis of social movements and their inherent potential in the Indian context.

Coming Soon : July 2022