Newsletter: Remembering Gokhale

Remembering Gokhale

A great nationalist leader and social reformer who influenced economic and development thinking.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was born on May 9, 1866, and died at the age of 49, on 19 February 1915. During this year and next, we mark a centenary of his death anniversary, and also his 150th birth anniversary. He is described as one of the founding leaders of India's independence movement, having risen to become the President of the Indian National Congress in 1905.

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The lodestar of Indian liberalism

 The lodestar of Indian liberalism

The values Gokhale embodied could have new relevance in today’s India

Gopal Krishna Gokhale is now a forgotten man even though both M.K. Gandhi and M.A. Jinnah were inspired by him in the years before they became mass leaders. Gandhi described Gokhale as his political guru while Jinnah aspired to be the Muslim Gokhale.

However, the importance of Gokhale goes far beyond his influence on these two star disciples, who continue to be worshipped as the fathers of their respective nations. He was the lodestar of a style of liberal politics that needs a fresh airing in contemporary India.

Gokhale died on 19 February 1915, so today marks the beginning of his death centenary.

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