How could the advocate who had been so painfully shy in the court rooms of Bombay and whose luggage was thrown off the train in the middle of the night on the station of Maritzburg in South Africa, acquire power to challenge the most powerful British Empire? Dr. Dilip Datta's book on Gandhi identifies the turning points in Gandhi's life and his strong determination, importunity and the flame burning within him for which Gandhi had made a mark in the history of India's freedom movement. Admitting that Gandhi's life was a continuing series of controversies, contestations and contradictions, Dr. Datta has analysed Gandhi's life and works sociologically in a reader-friendly manner without overlooking Gandhi?s contribution as a modern liberal democrat