Forthright and throughly researched, ‘Understanding the Founding Fathers’ by Rajmohan Gandhi talks about the great founding fathers, the able political leaders of India who shaped Indian ideology that has been able to withstand against all odds ever since the country attained Independence in 1947.

Though Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose, and others may have had different approaches and stances, what made them similar was how ably they were able to unite the whole country, even after fighting such odds like the stubborn caste system, fissiparous tendencies, religious intolerance and many others.

In the recent times, people have been making attempts to disrespect these legends and even strip them of all their due credits. Rajmohan Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, by recounting the past, attempts to make the record straight about all the founding fathers of the nation.

In doing so, the historian and award-winning biographer also talks about India’s main opponent back in the 1940s—Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He also provides answers to some perennial questions disturbing the Indians for years—who was the person behind the partition? Was there animosity between the Gandhis and the Ambedkars? Was Mahatma Gandhi anti-Muslim or was he the one to weaken the Hindus? Would Patel and Bose better leaders than Nehru and Gandhi?

Thoroughly researched by the eminent Indian historian Rajmohan Gandhi, this book published in 2016 by Aleph Book Company is available in hardcover