Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari: Vol. II, 1921–22

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Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the last Governor General of India, was, in the words of his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, a 'prophetic political figure who predicted in 1916 the success of Gandhi's satyagraha in India. A true follower of Gandhi, C.R., or Rajaji (as he was called), gave up a lucrative practice as a lawyer in 1919 to fight for the country's independence. He explained Gandhi's political moves to the Indian public, who were often baffled by the strategies the latter adopted. C.R. supplied the reasoning behind these strategies in speeches or in articles in Gandhi's Young India. Gandhi spoke of C.R. as one of satyagraha's finest exponents and also as his 'conscience-keeper, a remark that underscored their personal relationship.

The Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari. Vol. II, 1921-22, is the second in a series of ten volumes being published in association with the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library on the writings of Rajaji covering the period between 1907 and 1972. The second volume covers a brief but very significant phase of Rajaji's political life, when he was first arrested for participating in the non-cooperation movement in December 1921 and imprisoned for three months in Vellore Central Jail. This volume offers a close commentary on the non- cooperation movement and its aftermath. It includes the diary written by Rajaji in jail, which is published here with detailed annotations for the first time. When he was released from jail in March 1922, Mahatma Gandhi, his close associate by then, had been imprisoned in Yeravda Jail, and the mantle of bringing out the nationalist weekly Young India fell on Rajaji's shoulders. Through the columns of Young India, Rajaji kept alive Gandhiji's message of non-violence, khaddar and the spinning wheel. Besides his various editorial writings and articles in Young India, the volume also contains letters, speeches and other writings by Rajaji during this period. The volume ends with his spirited defence of the non-cooperation programme opposing Council-entry at the 37th Session of the Indian National Congress at Gaya in December 1922. This volume is a collector's edition that will inform and interest the scholar and lay reader alike. It will also be useful for students, researchers and academics studying the Indian national movement in all its facets.

It is a privilege to place before the reading public and the scholarly community the second volume of the Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari covering the period 1921 to 1922. The first volume ended with the arrest of Rajaji in December 1921. He was then one of the General Secretaries of the Indian National Congress that spearheaded the non-cooperation movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. By the end of the second decade of the 20th century, Rajaji had established himself as one of the prominent leaders of the country, and his increasing proximity to Gandhiji added to his stature. The writer in him came to the fore when he was confined in the Vellore Central Jail from December 1921 to March 1922. He recorded events during his life in jail down to the minutest detail in the form of a diary. This second volume starts with his jail diary, which gives an insight into the various facets of the Indian freedom struggle after the advent of Gandhiji. Throughout his interactions with revolutionaries and other co-prisoners in the jail, Rajaji emphasised non-violence as the best means of attaining liberation, however oppressive the British might be. His convictions in this matter were deep and abiding at all times. The 1920s were a period of great significance in the history of modern India, when Gandhiji emerged as the undisputed leader of the Indian national movement. The decade witnessed momentous events, and programmes of far-reaching consequence. Above all, it made clear to the world at large that non-violent Satyagraha would be the weapon for struggle against the British. Rajaji's ascendency on the national scene is clearly reflected in his writings and speeches included in this volume. Following violent incidents in Chauri Chaura in the United Provinces in February 1922, Gandhiji suspended the non-cooperation movement. He was subsequently arrested by the British Indian government on sedition charges and sentenced to a six-year jail term When Rajaji was released from jail on 20 March 1922, he found his mentor Gandh imprisoned in Yeravda Jail. While condemning the arrest of Gandhiji, Rajaji hoped t mobilise his countrymen, appealing for the celebration of Gandhi Day on the 18tu of every month. In the absence of his master, the mantle of the editorship of the Young India fell on Rajaji. Through its editorials, articles and comments, he spread the message of Mahatma Gandhi and kept alive the momentum of the struggle for freedom. During this period he also toured the entire country as a member of the Civil Disobedience Enquiry Committee, along with its other members, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Motilal Nehru, M. A. Ansari, V. J. Patel and S. Kasturi Ranga lyengar The second volume of the Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari ends with the Gaya Congress held in December 1922 in which Rajaji made a significant contribution by staunchly defending Gandhiji's view of boycotting Councils as part of the non-cooperation programme.