The Importance Of Extremism In Sriram's Waiting For The Mariram

Sriram sets out to the army quarters following Jagadish's directions. He catches a bus and reaches his destination. When he is about to cut a portion of the barbed wire fence, panic seizes him. For the first time, he begins to douby his decision. As a result he withdraws himself from the active involvement in the extremists’ campaign. In this regard it is worthwhile to note what Dr. M.K. Naik observes:
His lack of genuine faith in the cause of the freedom struggle also makes Sriram a coward and cowardice and freedom go ill together. Thus, he is asked to distribute copies of Subhas Chandra Bose's message to the Indian Army in the army camp at Belliali, but he loses his nerve when he approaches the barbed wire fence. (Naik 28)
Sriram's association

It reflects that Waiting for the Mahatma dwells upon the theme of freedom struggle comprehensively with due scope for the extremist and moderate factions of freedom fighters. Also, it shows the influence of extremism on Sriram and his change of loyalty from violent to non-violent mode of freedom struggle which implies that Sriram is superficial in his commitment as a Gandhian freedom fighter. On a larger canvass it displays the fact that in the absence of results, the youth turned to violent means. Gorpad also says at one point that if Mahatma had not led him on the path of Non-violence, he too would have gone the way of his brother. The young Sriram's response to Jagadish's invitation to join his campaign is governed by his directionlessness at that point and the fact that Jagadish says a few things which were in accordance with his own bent of mind at the time. He has a half-baked resolution which falters between Gandhi’s words and that of Subhas Chandra Bose. When he suffers from desolation, Jagadish mentions that he and Bharati are working for the same cause and he mistakes Jagadish to be a follower of Gandhi and volunteers himself to support him subsequently. P.K. Singh elaborates it

This puts him back on the Path of Gandhi and he does not try to run away when the police come to arrest him. At the central jail Sriram asks for privy arrangements in the jail on the ground that he has not yet been tried and proved guilty in the court. But his request is denied to him. He is not regarded as Gandhi's man but as a dangerous person by the I.G and kept in company of forgers, murderers, housebreakers and pickpockets. They laugh at him because they don’t understand why he joined the extremists ‘because someone wanted him to do something, and not because such exploits as derailing a train brought him a share of profit. This was a fresh outlook that had not occurred to Sriram in his self- centered political existence” (WFM 193). He stays in jail till the country attains freedom; his fancy ideas of jailbreak in the beginning slowly give way to practical reality. When the political prisoners are released, his name is not in the list. The British have quit India. On the advice of the chief he submits a representation for his release. On coming out of the prison he meets Jagadish. A disillusioned Sriram looks at the album he has put together and thinks, “if only I had known that people would reduce it all to this. I didn’t go about inscribing “Quit” and overturning trains