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FEATURES & THEMES

Modern Indian
Political Thought
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Past year’s questions
• Syllabus: Introduction to Modern Indian Political Thought
• 2020:. Colonization provide the context for the development of
modern Indian political thought. Comment.
• 2019: Write an essay on major characteristics of Modern Indian
Political Thought
• 2017: Discuss the pre-dominant themes of Modern Indian Political
Thought
What is Modern Indian Political Thought?
• How and in what manner India as a community/society and nation, in
modern times- beginning late 18th century- conceptualized or
understood the meanings of political values and concepts such as
• State, nation, nationalism
• Individual vs State
• Liberty, equality, fraternity
• Religion vs Politics
• Ideal Society
• Political Freedom vs social reforms and individual freedom/emancipation
• Democracy
Essential Features of Modern Indian Political
Thought
• Developed in the context of Colonialism, India coming into contact with European
modernism- Enlightenment, Liberalism, nationalism
• Intimately linked to National Freedom Movement; which became the arena for
experimenting the political thoughts developed by political leaders/thinkers.
• Also affected by:
• Rise of Italian and German nations in 1861 and 1871 respectively
• Rise of fascism in Germany, Italy, Japan
• Communist Revolution in Russia
• Break as wells as continuity with Ancient/medieval Indian Political Thought
• Overarching elements of Humanism, oriental spiritualism, socio-religious reforms
• Multiple themes or strands: Liberal, Idealist, humanist, socialist, feminist, Sub-
altern reformist, etc
Essential Features of Modern Indian Political
Thought…2/3
• 3 attitudes towards Western Modernity
• Positive; God sent opportunity; helpful in socio-religious reforms
• First wave; Liberal strand; Indian Renaissance
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ranade, Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
• Negative; corrupting effect on Indian society, culture, civilization
• Second wave: Idealists or revivalists- recovering glory of ancient Indian
culture/civilization
• Dayanand Saraswati, Lala Lajpat Rai, Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Veer Savarkar
• Balanced; synthesis of western modernity with Indian spiritualism
• Vivekanand, Tagore, Gandhi, Nehru, Lohia, Ambedkar
Essential Features of Modern Indian Political
Thought-3/3
• Lack of grand political theories
• As in ancient/medieval period- Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Rajadharma by Veda Vyas, Barni’s
advise to Sultans, and Fazl’s ‘Sulh-i-Kul’
• Or as in western world- Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx
• Most of theorization came from political leaders/activists
• Lack of syncretic tradition in modern political thoughts
• More like Hindu revival, could not take along Islamic, Buddhist, and other streams
• Gandhiji was lone voice
• Was elitist and Bourgeois in character
• sub-altern and feminist thoughts at margin
• Political freedom vs social freedom( social reforms- caste system)
• Which should come first?
• Ram Mohan Roy, Tagore, Ambedkar, Gandhi- social reform before political freedom
• Tilak, Lal-Bal-Pal, Aurobindo, Savarkar, Nehru- Political Freedom first
Liberal Theme or Strand
• Led by well educated upper caste/class men in big cities- Kolkata, Mumbai
• First wave or generation of Modern Indian Thinkers
• Indian Renaissance beginning in late 18th Century
• Influenced by western Liberalism
• Individual freedom/autonomy, natural rights of life, liberty, property, toleration, multi-
culturalism
• Considered British colonial rule good for Indian society/nation
• Modernity, modern education, scientific values, reason/rationality, rule of law
• Helped socio-cultural reforms, social reconstruction, economic development
• Proponents: Raja Ram Mohan Roy, M.G.Ranade, G.K. Gokhale, Dadabhai Naoroji,
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Pros and cons of Liberal Strands

In favour Criticism
• Started Indian Renaissance • Accepted superiority of western
civilization
• Social Reforms • Elitist, Bourgeois in character
• Limited in big cities
• Brahmo Samaj, Prathna Samaj, • No mass participation
Servants of India society • Sub-altern rights and issues were
• Egalitarian: Equal worth and neglected.
• They talked of gender rights but only
dignity of each individual within the limits of Patriarchy and existing
social norms.
• Peaceful, gradual change • Wrongly believed in sense of justice and
benevolence in British colonial rule
Idealist or Nationalist strand
• Critical of western Modernity and liberal political ideology
• Revivalists
• Reviving ancient intellectual and spiritual resources to bring new civilization
• Glorified Veda, Vedantic Philosophy- Upanishad, Geeta, Mahabharat, Ramayana
• Considered British colonial rule bad for Indian society/nation
• Corrupting, exploitative, subjugating
• Nationalists
• Believed in India as a nation, idea of cultural nationalism, national identity, raising national
consciousness
• National self-determination- Swaraj
• Second wave or generation of modern thinkers:
• Radical socio-political thoughts in 19th and early 20th Century
• Proponents: Lal-Bal-Pal, Dayanand Saraswati, Sri Aurobindo, Veer Savarkar, Iqbal
Pros and cons of Idealist Strands

In favour Criticism
• generated proud in our past traditions, • Themes, symbols mostly from Hindu
civilization, culture religion and culture
• Swadeshi- belief in Indian-ness ; self-reliance • No Syncretism, synthesis
• Social Reforms • Left Muslims, other religious minorities,
tribal, Dalits
• Arya Samaj, caste reforms, DAV and other
educational institution • Militant nationalism
• Raised national consciousness • Inspired by western nationalism
• Bipin Chandra Pal- Image of Bharat Mata • Italian & German nationalism
• Tilak-’Swaraj is my birth right’ • Reactionary- completely rejected western
• Savarkar- ‘Hindutva’-cultural nationalism modernity and modern political values
• Started radical phase of national freedom • Patriarchal, traditionalist
movement
• Neglected or suppressed gender rights, and
rights to sub-altern class
Socialist strand
• Multiple sub-strands
• Communist, Social democrats, Third or Indian way of Socialism; Socialist revolutionaries
• Communist : Influenced by Marxism; Social democrats- by Fabian Socialism, Third way- Marxism,
Fabianism, and Gandhian Philosophy of decentralization and social reconstruction ; Socialist
revolutionaries- Italian revolutionary nationalists such as Mazzini and Garibaldi and Communist
revolution in Russia
• Vision of Caste less and Class less Society
• Social ownership of production, worker’s rights, Socio-economic equality, social justice, positive rights and
liberty, Welfare State
• Wanted substantive democracy- socio-economic democracy
• Critique of liberal democracy as political and nominal democracy
• Linked Nationalism in 3rd world to anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism
• Secular- strict separation of Religion and Politics; but mixed spiritualism to materialism of
western socialism
• Proponents: Communist: S.A.Dange, M.N.Roy ; Social Democrats: Ambedkar, Nehru ; Third way:
Lohia, Jay Prakash Narayan, Acharya Narendranath, Minoo Masani ; Socialist Revolutionaries:
Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad
Pros and cons of Socialist Strands

In favour Criticism
• Aimed for substantive democracy • Like liberalism, adopted from
• Positive & substantive rights, socio- Europe/West
economic equality , distributive and • Communists and revolutionary
social justice socialists used violent means
• Vision of caste-less & class less society • Undermined individual liberty &
autonomy
• Gave voice to worst off, marginalised
people • Radical changes, anti-
establishment, somewhat utopic,
• Secular- didn’t used religious towards anarchism
emotions and symbols • Fragmented- multiple strand
• Respected cultural diversity
Humanist strand
• Primacy to human dignity, worth of human life, human agency over anything else
• Universalism : unity of humankind, equal worth, same nature, same fate
• Each human being as end in itself; cannot be used as means for any other end.
• Humanity as one big tree, nations are only its branches
• Cosmopolitanism: Bond of humanity above bond of religion, culture, nation, any
other external identity
• Unity of religion ; Universal Synthetic Culture
• Influenced by : European Humanism, Vedantic philosophy of Adwaitwad-
अद्वैतवाद
• Proponents: Vivekananda, Tagore, M.N.Roy, Deen Dayal Upadhaya
Pros and cons of Humanist Strands

In favour Criticism
• ‘वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम ्’ • Generally against Nationalism
• Egalitarian vision- no caste/class and nation-state
hierarchy, differences
• Couldn’t become part of
• Service to human- service to God national movement
• Became the voice of worst off,
marginalised people • Not much focus on Gender
issues
• Secular- used only spiritual part of
religion- philosophy of religion • Idealism, romanticism
• Respected cultural diversity • Somewhat Utopic
Feminist strand
• Raised Women’s question: Women’s subjection, their status in marriage, family, society.
• 2 Sub-strands
• Liberal Feminists
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy, M.G.Ranade, Ramabai Ranade, Gopal Hari Deshmukh, Keshav Chandra Sen,
Jyotibha Phule
• Radical Feminists
• Pandita Ramabai, Rakhmabai, D K Karve, Tarabai shinde, Annie Besent, Anandibai Joshi

• They fought for women’s equality, economic independence, education, socio-cultural

reforms to end practices harmful to women
• Pluses: brought 50 % of Indian population into mainstream socio-political debate; ended
many deplorable social practices/customs, women’s education, organization to help
women, feminist literature, etc.
• Minuses: Liberals were too much embedded in patriarchal social order, radicals were
lonely voice, couldn’t became mainstream
Gandhian Thoughts
• Gandhian Thoughts
• Enlightened Anarchism
• Hind Swaraj : moral goodness & moral re-generation, self-governing autonomous community life
without any formal coercive authority
• Satyagraha: Resistance against injustice with truth & non-violence
• Sarvodaya: Good for all, participative governance, true decentralization
• Antyodaya- good for the last one
• Oceanic Circle: India as community of communities, at bottom self-reliant village, at center
Individual
• Trusteeship: Capitalist class trustee of wealth of masses
• Bread Labour: Each one need to do physical labour equivalent to his/her consumption
• Vinoba Bhave, JP, Lohia carried forward Gandhian philosophies in their own thoughts
• Pluses: Brought Masses into national movement, was the voice for all
• Minuses: not much focus on gender issues, caste system; anarchic and utopic; couldn’t
became mainstream of Indian Polity post-Independence
References
• Books:
• Indian Political Thought by O.P. Gauba
• Political Thoughts in Modern India, edited by Thomas Pantham and Kenneth L Deutsch
•DU reading list:
•V. Mehta and T. Pantham (eds.), (2006) ‘A Thematic Introduction to Political Ideas in Modern India: Thematic
Explorations, History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian civilization’ Vol. 10, Part: 7, New Delhi:
Sage Publications, pp. xxvii-ixi.
•Online Resources:
• IGNU study material on this theme :
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/20623/1/Unit-2.pdf
• J STOR Articles :
• 1.themes and trends in indian political thought by Sikata Panda and Manas Ranjan Pujari
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42761803?read-now=1&seq=8#page_scan_tab_contents
• 2.The 'Modern' of Modern Indian Political Thought: Outline of a Framework of Appraisal by
Sasheej Hegde https://www.jstor.org/stable/27644215?read-
now=1&seq=6#page_scan_tab_contents
• 3.Reviewed Work: Political Ideas in Modern India: Thematic Explorations. History of Science,
Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. X, part 7 by V. R. Mehta, Thomas Pantham
Review by: Pahi Saikia
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/40023804?read-now=1&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents
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