About the Book This book is an attempt to tell the story of some of the greatest of the men who have made and are making Indian history. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, India herself tended to forget her great and splendid past. The legacies of her cultures, her art, her literature, the records of her history were neglected. But during the last fifty years India's national spirit has revived, and with that revival has arisen a new generation of India leaders.
The subjects of this book are divided into eight sections according to the varied mani festations of their genius. Yet they might well be divided into two parts only, for any classification of the great men of India falls naturally into two main groups. There are the men who made the India of the past with its rich culture, its deep philosophical wisdom, and its stirring examples of courage and chivalry. There are the men of to-day who, turning again for guidance to the history of their land, are taking the best from the past, and making of it a foundation on which to build an even greater India of the future.
Introduction India, it may perhaps be said, more truly than of many other countries, that through the centuries, time and again, her destiny: has rested in the lands of one man. This is of itself remarkable, for no man, however great, has possessed the advantage of a field clear of rivals and competitors. Where numerous kingdoms flourish it needs a more than ordinarily great king to conquer and to hold so great a stretch of terri tory. Where there are many statesmen, it calls for very remarkable qualities in any one of them to impress his ideas of government upon the others. Where there are many creeds, it only a very great teacher whose precepts can stand the test of centuries. Where poets flourish, it takes a very great genius to compose epics which are accepted as national.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
