This historical interview is available to us thanks to the far-sighted Oral History program of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), Delhi. Chaudhary Charan Singh shares memories of his early life and the abiding influences of the character and programs of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Mahatma Gandhi; his long and deep association with the Indian National Congress since 1930 when he first headed the Meerut District Congress Committee; his participation in the long non-violent struggle for freedom from colonial Britain including his multiple periods of incarceration; his career as a young lawyer in Ghaziabad in the 1930s; his views on the downfall of the character and morality of Congressmen soon after Independence in 1947; the poor state of the administration in Uttar Pradesh; his experience in government and his recollections of national and regional political leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Govind Ballabh Pant.