The Struggle Within: A Memoir of the Emergency

The book begins with Chakravarti’s return to India from Oxford in 1973 and follows his involvement with left-wing activists and efforts to organize Delhi’s textile workers and safai karamcharis. It also discusses the Turkman Gate clashes, his changing political beliefs and his involvement in the 1977 elections.

Ashok Chakravarti is an economist who has provided policy advice to countries, particularly in Africa, for several decades. His professional work focuses on institutions and economic development, and he has also written books published in the UK and USA.

The Struggle Within combines personal memoir with an account of political activism during the Emergency. Through the experiences of ‘Arjun’, Chakravarti describes underground activities, labour organization, political idealism, encounters with state repression and the evolution of his own political thinking. The memoir also reflects on identity, purpose and the author's eventual involvement in the political changes surrounding the 1977 elections.