Jiwantram Bhagwandas Kripalani or Acharya Kripalani, was one of the major figures in Congress during the Indian struggle for independence. Hisife spanned almost a century. As a young man, he was witness to the astonishing rise of Mahatma Gandhi and the pinnacle of the Indian freedom movement and in hisater years, he would see India nearlyose her hard-earned democracy as the Emergency was imposed.