POLITICAL SCIENCE – MODERN INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Module I : Introduction to the study of Modern Indian Political Thought.
Indian Renaissance.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Liberal thinker and social reformer.
Vivekananda - Social and political ideas.
Module II : Freedom Movement and Indian Politics.
Gokhale - Political Liberalism.
Tilak - Nationalism.
Aurobindo - Spiritual Nationalism.
M.K.Gandhi - Non-violence, Ends and Means, Satyagraha .
Module III : Socialist Thinkers.
M.N. Roy - Radical Humanism
Jawaharlal Nehru - Secularism, Socialism
Ram Manohar Lohia - Indian socialism.
Module IV : Modern Social Thinkers.
B.R.Ambedkar - Social Justice
Vinobha Bhave - Sarvodya
Jayaprakash Narayan - Total Revolution.
, Module I : Introduction to the study of Modern Indian Political Thought
INDIAN RENAISSANCE
The Resurgence or Renaissance of India is one of the most significant phenomena of world
history during the last two hundred years. Since the middle of the 19th century the mind and
soul of India have definitely awakened. A new awakening or change happened in Indian society
is termed as Indian Renaissance. The intellectual renaissance of India has been a great casual
factor in the rise of modern Indian nationalism. The awakening of the Indian spirit manifested its
relativism first in the realms of philosophy, religion and culture and political self consciousness
came as an inevitable consequence. The European Renaissance was mainly intellectual and
aesthetic. But the renaissance in India was characterized primarily by moral and spiritual
aspirations. Revivalism was far more dominant in the Indian Renaissance. Some of the leaders
of the Indian Renaissance movement advocated a deliberate modeling and moulding of the
present life on the basis of the past scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and
Gita. The most important feature of the Indian Renaissance was the overall upliftment of Indian
society. A new intelligentsia which came into being, inhibited the Western liberal culture. The
Indian Renaissance recognized the need to reform social institutions and religious outlook
inherited from the past etc. They targeted social evils like caste system, untouchability, religious
orthodoxy etc. They worked for the upliftment of women; widow remarriage, abolition of Sati,
and monogamy were important reforms in this area. The Indian reform movements were
basically urban in nature.
Modern and improved means of communications and English education helped them propagate
their views more freely and easily. The emergence of the printing press aided them a great deal
in this regard. They also organized lectures and Sabhas to communicate their views to the
masses. Though localized in their operations, they had a vision of reform for the whole India.
Their ideologies cut across different castes, cultures and religious identities. Reform movements
like Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj were highly progressive in nature. They
targeted age-old traditions and customs of the society. One of the greatest forces in the making
of renaissance in India is the Brahma Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahma
Samaj has done considerable cultural, humanitarian and social work in north India during the
mid 19th century. The Brahma Samaj is based on a synthesis of stern monotheism, intellectual
rationalism, the monism of the Upanishad and the religious principles of Christianity. Raja Ram
Mohan Roy was one of the earliest scholars of comparative religions. In his writings and deeds,
Roy launched a vigorous attack on the archaic social principles and mores dividing Indian along
caste and religious cleavages. For him, the priority was to create a society free from decadent
feudal values that stood in the way of attaining the goal of liberty, equality and fraternity. Arya
Samaj, founded by Dayananda Saraswathi, has been another powerful religious and social
,movement successfully fought for Indian Renaissance. Arya Samaj has done a great service to
Indian nationalism especially in Punjab. It created a new progressive and militant spirit among
the Hindus. Another movement which has championed Hinduism in all its comprehensiveness
was started by Swami Vivekananda, the foremost disciple of Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a
great intellectual and orator and had a remarkable insight both in the Vedanta scriptures and
European philosophy. His historic role at the Chicago parliament in 1893 prepared the ground
for the propagation of Hinduism in America and Europe. The renaissance in Northern India and
southern India was mainly spiritual and religious in character.
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY (1772-1833)
Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of
the founders of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform movement/ institution in the Indian
subcontinent. He was given the title of Raja by Akbar II, the Mughal emperor. His influence was
apparent in the fields of politics, public administration, education and religion. He was known for
his efforts to abolish the practices of sati and child marriage. Roy is considered to be the "Father
of the Bengal Renaissance" by many historians.
Ram Mohan’s vision was broad enough to encompass various aspects of human life. His
movement covered religious, social, economic, educational, political and national issues. A
Brahmin himself, he peeped into the inner substance of Brahminical Hinduism to discover the
existence of one omnipotent being. The ideal of monotheism was itself a supreme force in
Hinduism, as it was in Islam and Christianity. Roy was highly critical of the outer forms of
Hinduism, notably, polytheism, worship of images, ritualistic ceremonies, and suspirations rites.
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY AS A LIBERAL POLITICAL THINKER
Ram Mohan Roy had a passionate attachment to the concept of liberty. He urged the necessity
of personal freedom. Liberty is a priceless possession of the human being and, hence, Ram
Mohan was a champion of personal freedom. But liberty is also needed for the nation. Roy had
a passion for liberty and equality, yet he showed his respect for property and believed in the
freedom of contract. Indeed, he pleaded for state intervention suppressing evil practices in
society and held that it was the duty of the state to protect tenants against the oppression of the
landlords.
He believed not only in the natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of property, but also
championed the moral rights of the individual. His theory of natural rights, however, was
constructed in the prevailing Indian conditions. Thus although an exponent of the theory of
Natural Rights and freedom, he also advocated state legislation for social reform and
educational reconstruction. As a champion of freedom and democratic rights and a believer in
parliamentary democracy. It should be remembered that Ram Mohan Roy championed the
, struggle for freedom and democratic rights, not for Indians alone but for the entire human beings
in the world.
Ram Mohan Roy had a keen appreciation of the uncompromising freedom of the creative spirit.
He wanted the people of India to develop a sense of self confidence, and was a crusader
against unreason and superstition. He admired the English people who not only enjoyed civil
and political liberty but was interested in promoting freedom, social happiness and rationalism in
the areas where their influence extended.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the earliest champions of the freedom of the press. Like any
other liberals, Roy also felt that the uncritical acceptance of British liberal values was probably
the best possible means of creating democratic institutions in India. He appreciated the British
rule as a boon in disguise’ because it would eventually transplant democratize governance in
India.
Being a champion of freedom and rights, Ram Mohan was a great humanist and believed in
co-operation, tolerance and fellowship. Roy established the ethical concept of universal love on
the basis of the doctrine of ethical personality of God. He was also the exponent of
cosmopolitanism and stood for brotherhood and independence. He had begun with the study of
comparative religion but later come to visualize the necessity of a universal religion. Finally, he
formulated the scheme of a fundamental spiritual synthesis stressing the unity of religious
experience based on the worship of a monotheistic God.
SOCIAL REFORMS
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the father of Modern Indian renaissance. He was a social
reformer par excellence Most of the reform movements that have revolutionized Hindu society
can be traced to his great son of India. He was himself the victim of social evils, and throughout
his life he worked for the social and religious uplift of his community. His role in doing away with
the evil practice of sati among the orthodox Brahmins was historical. By founding Brahma
Samaj, Roy sought to articulate his belief in the Islamic notion of one God’ in his
conceptualization, social reform should precede political reform, for the former laid the
foundation for liberty in the political sense. Given his priority, Roy did not appear to have paid
adequate attention to his political ideas.
Abolition of sati and the formation of Brahma Samaj :
As a strong opposer of social evils and unscientific and unhealthy practices prevalent in the
traditional caste ridden Hindu society, Mohan Roy formed a number of social organizations in
North India. In 1816, he started a spiritual society known as ‘Atmiya Sabha’ for religious and
social purposes which were later extended to other fields of activity. Atmiya Sabha was sort of
discussion club for scholars of religion and philosophy at other fields of activity. In 1818, he
began his celebrated crusade for the abolition of sati, and on December 4, 1829, Lord William
Bentinck, the then Governor General of India made Sati illegal by Regulation XVII. Thus the
Module I : Introduction to the study of Modern Indian Political Thought.
Indian Renaissance.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Liberal thinker and social reformer.
Vivekananda - Social and political ideas.
Module II : Freedom Movement and Indian Politics.
Gokhale - Political Liberalism.
Tilak - Nationalism.
Aurobindo - Spiritual Nationalism.
M.K.Gandhi - Non-violence, Ends and Means, Satyagraha .
Module III : Socialist Thinkers.
M.N. Roy - Radical Humanism
Jawaharlal Nehru - Secularism, Socialism
Ram Manohar Lohia - Indian socialism.
Module IV : Modern Social Thinkers.
B.R.Ambedkar - Social Justice
Vinobha Bhave - Sarvodya
Jayaprakash Narayan - Total Revolution.
, Module I : Introduction to the study of Modern Indian Political Thought
INDIAN RENAISSANCE
The Resurgence or Renaissance of India is one of the most significant phenomena of world
history during the last two hundred years. Since the middle of the 19th century the mind and
soul of India have definitely awakened. A new awakening or change happened in Indian society
is termed as Indian Renaissance. The intellectual renaissance of India has been a great casual
factor in the rise of modern Indian nationalism. The awakening of the Indian spirit manifested its
relativism first in the realms of philosophy, religion and culture and political self consciousness
came as an inevitable consequence. The European Renaissance was mainly intellectual and
aesthetic. But the renaissance in India was characterized primarily by moral and spiritual
aspirations. Revivalism was far more dominant in the Indian Renaissance. Some of the leaders
of the Indian Renaissance movement advocated a deliberate modeling and moulding of the
present life on the basis of the past scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and
Gita. The most important feature of the Indian Renaissance was the overall upliftment of Indian
society. A new intelligentsia which came into being, inhibited the Western liberal culture. The
Indian Renaissance recognized the need to reform social institutions and religious outlook
inherited from the past etc. They targeted social evils like caste system, untouchability, religious
orthodoxy etc. They worked for the upliftment of women; widow remarriage, abolition of Sati,
and monogamy were important reforms in this area. The Indian reform movements were
basically urban in nature.
Modern and improved means of communications and English education helped them propagate
their views more freely and easily. The emergence of the printing press aided them a great deal
in this regard. They also organized lectures and Sabhas to communicate their views to the
masses. Though localized in their operations, they had a vision of reform for the whole India.
Their ideologies cut across different castes, cultures and religious identities. Reform movements
like Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj were highly progressive in nature. They
targeted age-old traditions and customs of the society. One of the greatest forces in the making
of renaissance in India is the Brahma Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahma
Samaj has done considerable cultural, humanitarian and social work in north India during the
mid 19th century. The Brahma Samaj is based on a synthesis of stern monotheism, intellectual
rationalism, the monism of the Upanishad and the religious principles of Christianity. Raja Ram
Mohan Roy was one of the earliest scholars of comparative religions. In his writings and deeds,
Roy launched a vigorous attack on the archaic social principles and mores dividing Indian along
caste and religious cleavages. For him, the priority was to create a society free from decadent
feudal values that stood in the way of attaining the goal of liberty, equality and fraternity. Arya
Samaj, founded by Dayananda Saraswathi, has been another powerful religious and social
,movement successfully fought for Indian Renaissance. Arya Samaj has done a great service to
Indian nationalism especially in Punjab. It created a new progressive and militant spirit among
the Hindus. Another movement which has championed Hinduism in all its comprehensiveness
was started by Swami Vivekananda, the foremost disciple of Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a
great intellectual and orator and had a remarkable insight both in the Vedanta scriptures and
European philosophy. His historic role at the Chicago parliament in 1893 prepared the ground
for the propagation of Hinduism in America and Europe. The renaissance in Northern India and
southern India was mainly spiritual and religious in character.
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY (1772-1833)
Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of
the founders of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform movement/ institution in the Indian
subcontinent. He was given the title of Raja by Akbar II, the Mughal emperor. His influence was
apparent in the fields of politics, public administration, education and religion. He was known for
his efforts to abolish the practices of sati and child marriage. Roy is considered to be the "Father
of the Bengal Renaissance" by many historians.
Ram Mohan’s vision was broad enough to encompass various aspects of human life. His
movement covered religious, social, economic, educational, political and national issues. A
Brahmin himself, he peeped into the inner substance of Brahminical Hinduism to discover the
existence of one omnipotent being. The ideal of monotheism was itself a supreme force in
Hinduism, as it was in Islam and Christianity. Roy was highly critical of the outer forms of
Hinduism, notably, polytheism, worship of images, ritualistic ceremonies, and suspirations rites.
RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY AS A LIBERAL POLITICAL THINKER
Ram Mohan Roy had a passionate attachment to the concept of liberty. He urged the necessity
of personal freedom. Liberty is a priceless possession of the human being and, hence, Ram
Mohan was a champion of personal freedom. But liberty is also needed for the nation. Roy had
a passion for liberty and equality, yet he showed his respect for property and believed in the
freedom of contract. Indeed, he pleaded for state intervention suppressing evil practices in
society and held that it was the duty of the state to protect tenants against the oppression of the
landlords.
He believed not only in the natural rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of property, but also
championed the moral rights of the individual. His theory of natural rights, however, was
constructed in the prevailing Indian conditions. Thus although an exponent of the theory of
Natural Rights and freedom, he also advocated state legislation for social reform and
educational reconstruction. As a champion of freedom and democratic rights and a believer in
parliamentary democracy. It should be remembered that Ram Mohan Roy championed the
, struggle for freedom and democratic rights, not for Indians alone but for the entire human beings
in the world.
Ram Mohan Roy had a keen appreciation of the uncompromising freedom of the creative spirit.
He wanted the people of India to develop a sense of self confidence, and was a crusader
against unreason and superstition. He admired the English people who not only enjoyed civil
and political liberty but was interested in promoting freedom, social happiness and rationalism in
the areas where their influence extended.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one of the earliest champions of the freedom of the press. Like any
other liberals, Roy also felt that the uncritical acceptance of British liberal values was probably
the best possible means of creating democratic institutions in India. He appreciated the British
rule as a boon in disguise’ because it would eventually transplant democratize governance in
India.
Being a champion of freedom and rights, Ram Mohan was a great humanist and believed in
co-operation, tolerance and fellowship. Roy established the ethical concept of universal love on
the basis of the doctrine of ethical personality of God. He was also the exponent of
cosmopolitanism and stood for brotherhood and independence. He had begun with the study of
comparative religion but later come to visualize the necessity of a universal religion. Finally, he
formulated the scheme of a fundamental spiritual synthesis stressing the unity of religious
experience based on the worship of a monotheistic God.
SOCIAL REFORMS
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the father of Modern Indian renaissance. He was a social
reformer par excellence Most of the reform movements that have revolutionized Hindu society
can be traced to his great son of India. He was himself the victim of social evils, and throughout
his life he worked for the social and religious uplift of his community. His role in doing away with
the evil practice of sati among the orthodox Brahmins was historical. By founding Brahma
Samaj, Roy sought to articulate his belief in the Islamic notion of one God’ in his
conceptualization, social reform should precede political reform, for the former laid the
foundation for liberty in the political sense. Given his priority, Roy did not appear to have paid
adequate attention to his political ideas.
Abolition of sati and the formation of Brahma Samaj :
As a strong opposer of social evils and unscientific and unhealthy practices prevalent in the
traditional caste ridden Hindu society, Mohan Roy formed a number of social organizations in
North India. In 1816, he started a spiritual society known as ‘Atmiya Sabha’ for religious and
social purposes which were later extended to other fields of activity. Atmiya Sabha was sort of
discussion club for scholars of religion and philosophy at other fields of activity. In 1818, he
began his celebrated crusade for the abolition of sati, and on December 4, 1829, Lord William
Bentinck, the then Governor General of India made Sati illegal by Regulation XVII. Thus the
