Between modernity and nationalism: Halide Edip's encounter with Gandhi's India

Halide Edip (18841964) once observed that Turkey is an ideal cross-section of the human world. Her own life was no less eclectic. A prolific novelist, teacher, erudite scholar, and political activist, Edip preserved her objectivity throughout her odyssey on the left-of-centre. She explored India and its national movement during the great churnings of the liberation struggle which made Turkeythe melting pot of eastern and western civilizationsprominent in the international scenario of 1930s and 40s. In Between Modernity and Nationalism, Mushirul Hasan investigates the intersection of Indian and Turkish histories. Through Edips experiences on her visit to India and her descriptions Hasan delves into the anti-colonial struggle, the leaders of the freedom movement, and the participation of women in the struggle among several other significant signposts of Indian history. A prominent nationalist leader in Turkey, Halide Edip was enthused by Gandhis philosophy and actions. Her meeting with the eminent Indian leader presents a unique perspective of Gandhi, as a leader providing inspiration for nationalist struggles worldwide. In this intellectual biography of Halide Edip, Hasan finds that her descriptions of the Indian landscape, nationalist movement and its leaders is imbued with the same spirit of the search for new ideas and her faith in the future. (Source: www.oup.co.in)