ABSTRACT
The legacy of Gandhi and Nehru is now highly contested on the left, with certain "orthodox" positions disparaging them perhaps giving way to newfound respect for their accomplishments. A number of different social classes have been associated by left writers with the rise of communalism, although this way of analyzing things has somewhat given way to more cultural and political approaches, and vigorous debate exists about whether postmodern types of perspectives are complicitous with or antagonistic toward this ominous development. Unfortunately, the narrow focus on "internalist" content means that most of the book is devoted to recapitulating positions without any insight into why intellectuals are staking these out or what their political implications are. Furthermore, so many topics are covered in a brief space that the analysis of content is superficial and frequently comes down to "some writers say this, while others say that.".
