After the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi on 30 January 1948, there was a major thrust in favour of voluntary action in India. Six weeks later a few men and women met at Sewagram near Wardha in Maharashtra. They were seeking answers to various questions, including the role that civil society should play in addressing the concerns of the country's underprivileged and marginalised sections. Thus was born the Sarva Seva Sangh, commonly known as Sarvodaya. Among those present that day were the social reformer and socialist leader, (Lok Nayak) Jayaprakash (JP) Narayan who...