Modern Indian Political Thought: Text and Context PDF

Modern Indian Political Thought ii Modern Indian Political Thought Modern Indian Political Thought Text and Context Bidyut Chakrabarty Rajendra Kumar Pandey Copyright © Bidyut Chakrabarty and Rajendra Kumar Pandey, 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First published in 2009 by SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd B1/I-1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044, India www.sagepub.in SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320, USA SAGE Publications Ltd 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP, United Kingdom SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd 33 Pekin Street #02-01 Far East Square Singapore 048763 Published by Vivek Mehra for SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd, typeset in 10/12 pt Palatino by Star Compugraphics Private Limited, Delhi and printed at Chaman Enterprises, New Delhi. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chakrabarty, Bidyut, 1958– Modern Indian political thought: text and context/Bidyut Chakrabarty, Rajendra Kumar Pandey. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Political science—India—Philosophy. 2. Nationalism—India. 3. Self- determination, National—India. 4. Great Britain—Colonies—India. 5. India— Colonisation. 6. India—Politics and government—1919–1947. 7. India— Politics and government—1947– 8. India—Politics and government— 21st century. I. Pandey, Rajendra Kumar. II. Title. JA84.I4C47 320.0954—dc22 2009 2009025084 ISBN: 978-81-321-0225-0 (PB) The SAGE Team: Reema Singhal, Vikas Jain, Sanjeev Kumar Sharma and Trinankur Banerjee To our parents who introduced us to the world of learning vi Modern Indian Political Thought Contents Preface xiii Introduction xv PART I: REVISITING THE TEXTS 1. Early Nationalist Responses: Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dayananda Saraswati and Jotiba Phule 7 Contours of the Early Nationalist Responses 8 Socio-political Thought of Ram Mohan Roy 10 Bankim as a Nationalist Thinker 12 Socio-political Ideas of Dayananda Saraswati 14 Jotiba Phule: Unique Socio-political Ideas 16 Assessment of the Early Nationalist Responses 19 2. Moderates and Extremists: Dadabhai Naoroji, M.G. Ranade and B.G. Tilak 23 Defining Moderates and Extremists 24 The 1907 Surat Split 35 Concluding Observations 37 3. Mahatma Gandhi 41 The Basic Precepts 43 Conceptualising Swaraj 51 Concluding Observations 56 4. Rabindranath Tagore 61 A Life in Creative Unity 61 Main Strands of the Political Thought of Tagore 63 viii Modern Indian Political Thought True Freedom 63 Nationalism 67 Critique of Gandhi 71 Concluding Observations 74 5. B.R. Ambedkar 76 A Life for the Cause of Untouchables 79 Castes and Untouchability in Hindu Society 82 Annihilation of Caste 85 Gandhi–Ambedkar Debate 89 Political Thoughts of Ambedkar 92 Rights of the People 93 Constitutional Democracy 95 Social Justice 96 Concluding Observations 98 6. Jayaprakash Narayan 103 A Life of Ideological Turbulence 104 Transition from Marxism to Sarvodaya 105 Plan for Reconstruction of Indian Polity 109 Sarvodaya 113 Methods of Realising the Sarvodaya Order 115 Total Revolution 117 Concluding Observations 120 7. Jawaharlal Nehru 122 Background 123 The Pragmatic Thinker 124 Structure of Governance: Nehruvian Inputs 128 Planning for Development 131 The Dilemma of a Democrat 133 Internationalist Jawaharlal Nehru 137 Concluding Observations 142 8. Muhammad Iqbal 146 A Life in Complete Turnaround 147 Political Ideas of Iqbal 149 Views on Nationalism 149 Contents ix Pan-Islamism 152 Ideas on Pakistan 153 Concluding Observations 156 9. M.N. Roy 158 From Marxism to Radical Humanism 159 Critique of Gandhian Thought and Action 160 Radical Humanism 168 Concluding Observations 174 10. Ram Manohar Lohia 177 A Life in Indigenous Evolution 178 Main Currents of Lohia’s Political and Social Thought 180 Political Thought of Lohia 181 Critique of Western Ideologies 181 New Socialism 183 Model of Political System for India 185 Social Thoughts of Lohia 186 Lohia as an Internationalist 188 Concluding Observations 190 11. Subhas Chandra Bose 193 His Early Background 193 Bose’s Political Ideology 196 Bose and His Idea of Future India 201 Concluding Observations 203 12. V.D. Savarkar 205 A Life for the Hindu Cause 207 Savarkar’s Nationalist Interpretation of Indian History 210 Social Thoughts of Savarkar 213 Savarkar’s Views on Hindutva 214 Concluding Observations 218 13. Pandita Ramabai 221 A Life in Pilgrimage for the Cause of Women 221 Aspects of Feminist Thoughts of Ramabai 222 x Modern Indian Political Thought Institutional Pursuits for Women’s Emancipation 223 Concluding Observations 224 PART II: CONTEXT AND CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCES RE-EXAMINED 14. Nature and Processes of Indian Freedom Struggle 231 The Revolt of 1857 232 The Non-cooperation Movement (1919–22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930–32) and Quit India Movement (1942) 235 The Indian National Army and the Axis Powers, 1941–45 258 Indian Naval Uprising 268 15. Landmarks in Constitutional Development during British Rule: A Historical Perspective 280 Acts and Reforms: Morley–Minto and Montague–Chelmsford Reforms 281 The Simon Commission 284 The Government of India Act, 1935 290 The Cripps Mission 294 Concluding Observations 299 16. Socio-economic Dimensions of the Nationalist Movement 305 The Communal Question and Partition 306 Backward Castes Movements 310 Dalit Movements 317 Tribal Movements 324 Women’s Movements 329 Civil Rights Movements 335 Trade Union Movements 341 Peasant Movements 345 Linguistic Movements 348 Contents xi 17. Culmination of the British Rule and the Making of India’s Constitution 357 The 3 June Plan and India Independence Act, 1947 358 The Constituent Assembly and the Making of the Constitution 360 Salient Features of the Constitution 367 Concluding Observations 391 Conclusion 395 Model Questions 403 Glossary 412 Index 419 About the Authors 431 xii Modern Indian Political Thought Preface I ndian political thought constitutes one of the most significant components of undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum in political science and modern Indian history in almost all the universities in India. However, the majority of writings on the subject by Indian authors appear to suffer from a fundamental flaw in the sense that these writings are shorn of a context-driven con- ceptualisation of the major strands of the thoughts of the thinkers. The present work, therefore, seeks to articulate the main currents of modern Indian political thought in an unconventional way of locating the texts and themes of the thinkers within the socio- economic and politico-cultural contexts in which such ideas were conceptualised and articulated. Moreover, the book also tries to analytically grasp the influences of various British constitutional devices that appeared as the responses of the colonial government to redress the genuine socio-economic grievances of various sections of the Indian society. Thus, the book happens to be unique in the sense that it breaks new grounds in not only articulating the main currents of modern Indian political thought, in an analytically more sound approach of context-driven discussion, but also provokes new researches in the field by chartering a new course in grasping and articulating the political thought in India. In writing the book, a number of people have, directly and in- directly, contributed, to whom we remain indebted. It is indeed a matter of pride for us to steer the SAGE Text Book project further with this tract. We are thankful to SAGE management for bestowing this honour on us. In fact, it was the personal care and interest of Dr Sugata Ghosh, Vice President, Commissioning, SAGE, and the constant prodding of his team of able and efficient editors who got the work finally done, despite a number of hiccups right from the very beginning. We feel dutybound to express our gratitude to them. xiv Modern Indian Political Thought We are thankful to the anonymous referees of the manuscripts whose suggestions were quite insightful and helped in revising the contents of the volume. We are also indebted to our students whose critical queries in the classroom proved to be valuable inputs in arranging the texts and contexts of the various thinkers. If they find the book useful and intellectually provocative, we will have achieved what we are looking for. Finally, we fondly acknowledge the unflinching support and contribution of our families without which it would not have been possible for us to concentrate on our academic pursuits of which the latest product comes in the form of the present book. Introduction1 T here are broadly two specific ways in which social and political thought in India can be conceptualised. On the one hand, there is a relatively easier way of articulating the thought in a chronological format. This is a format in which the ideas are explained in a sequence underplaying the importance of the context in defining the ideas in a particular mould. Those supporting this type of conceptualisation tend to focus more on the ideas per se and less on what lay behind them. Although it is a useful exercise, its academic utility seems to be limited for two reasons: (a) by following a purely descriptive mode, this exercise does not allow us to go beyond what is visible on the surface, and (b) the narrative mode is theoretically restraining because it fails to explain the moments when new ideas emerge as hegemonic, re- placing those ideas which lost their explanatory capabilities. In contrast to this, there exists, on the other hand, another mode whereby ideas are articulated as part of complex socio-economic and political processes that remain at the root of their construction and evolution. Social and political thought, as per this conceptualisation, is organically linked with the interplay of factors involving society, economy and politics. What is significant in this mode is the critical importance of the milieu in which ideas get articulated. Especially in a colonial dispensation, the importance of the context is obvious, for not only does it distort the natural evolution of a society, it also seeks to swallow the prevalent oppositional ideas, presumably because of their very nature. In such an explanatory mode, the complexity of the evolution of social and political thought is evi- dent and clearly spelt out. The purpose of this long introduction is not merely to document the political ideas of those thinkers who changed the course of India’s freedom struggle, but also to analyse the socio-historical contexts in which these ideas evolved and also the socio-political changes that these ideas aimed at. xvi Modern Indian Political Thought Given the dialectical interaction between ideas and their context, it provides a persuasive theoretical format that is relative to the circumstances. Opposed to the foundational views of social and political thought, this is an approach giving space to the search for alternatives within a framework that adequately underlines the organic nature of ideas. Located within fluid socio-economic and political processes, ideas are always in constant flux and, hence, their fluid nature. Such a theoretical postulate allows us to both articulate and conceptualise social and political thought in the context of colonialism or any other value system with no organic link with the prevalent society. Since the book is about modern Indian political thought, its obvious focus is on ideas that critically influenced the articulation of nationalism in India. Even before nationalism emerged as a decisive ideology, there was a long tradition of political thought which provided specific perspectives in which several thinkers interpreted their views and ideas. This is not the right place to deal with pre-modern political thought, though a discussion of major perspectives in which political ideas were articulated in the past is perfectly in order. Broadly speaking, Kautilya and Barani, representing two different periods of Indian socio-political life, are two major thinkers who not only put forward their views most systematically, but also set the ideological tone of the period in which they articulated their lived experience. Hence, we will concentrate on the contribution of Kautilya and Barani primarily to grasp the perspectives in which they conceptualised major socio-political issues of the period by critically engaging with the prevalent historical context. KAUTILYA In the ancient Indian political thought, the contribution of Kautilya appears significant for at least two reasons. First, the comprehensiveness and analytical precision of his ideas on the subjects as diverse as origin of state, the nature of state, the concepts of dharma and danda, interstate relations and diplomacy, the ideas of decentralisation, welfare state and public opinion, and so on are so profound that they seem axiomatic to explain the idea of political thought in ancient India. Second, as a result, Kautilya Introduction xvii and his Arthashastra are ordinarily reckoned as the representative thinker and the text, respectively, to delineate the broad contours of political and administrative system prevailing in the ancient times. So all-encompassing seems to be the scope of the Arthashastra that it contains vivid commentary on subjects like economics, ethics, sociology, intelligence, espionage, warfare, criminology, education, and so on. Yet, the science of politics and statecraft remains the running theme of the treatise. Accepting monarchy as the most suitable form of governance, Kautilya provides a deep analysis of the basic issues of statecraft like organisation of the state, qualities of the ideal ruler, ethical and moral foundations of the society, norms of practical politics, problems of war and diplomacy, and various aspects of an efficient and effective administration. Kautilya’s theory of state stands out prominently as one of the theoretical postulates propounded in ancient times but carry some amount of veracity even in modern times. Explaining the ori- gin of state as patently man-made, he noted that the original state of nature was marked by the existence of matsyanyaya or ‘the law of the fish’ whereby the bigger fish swallows the smaller fish. This situation was overcome by people by anointing Manu, the son of Vivasvat, as the king. Thus, it seems obvious that as far as the system of governance was concerned, Kautilya preferred the system of monarchy in comparison to other forms of govern- ance such as dvairajya (joint rule by males of the same family over the whole kingdom), vairajya (rule by a foreign ruler by occupation), and so on, the mention of which were made by Kautilya in the Arthashastra. Nevertheless, given the supreme position of the king in the state, Kautilya emphasised on certain innate qualities of the king including his training in philosophy, economic sciences and dandaniti or political science (Kangle 1972: Book I, Chapter 6). A key aspect of the Kautilyan theory of state is considered to be the saptang (seven organs) theory. Consisting of the seven vital organs, that is, the swami (the ruler), the amatya (the minister), the janapada (the territory with people settled on it), the durga (the forti- fied capital), the kosha (the treasury), the danda (the army) and the mitra (the ally or friend), the saptang theory seeks to define the state as an organic entity rooted in the seven elements. The nature of state which emerges from an analysis of the saptang theory seems to be enmeshed in the characteristics of a strong monarchy with stable xviii Modern Indian Political Thought and systematic administration. Though references have been made to the elements of people and territory through the overbearing concept of the janapada, Kautilya appears to be laying more stress on the structural dimensions of state by detailing the elements of the durga, the kosha and the danda so profoundly. Interestingly, the inclusion of mitra as an inalienable element of state provides a holi- stic perspective to his theory of state, for it portrays the state not only as a sovereign entity in itself, it also recognises the existence of the state as a member of the comity of nations having interactions with each other, thereby ordaining the polity a distinct characteristic of pluralistically dominated monism (Krishna Rao 1958: 64). In proper operationalisation of his theory of state, Kautilya banks heavily upon the twin concepts of dharma and danda. Explaining dharma as some sort of social duty involving obedience to the customary and sacred laws, Kautilya seems to visualise two-fold functions of dharma. First, while advocating a strong monarchy, he never allowed the king to become absolute and the restraining factor was supposed to be dharma. In other words, though the king was supreme in his state, he was not above dharma. Second, the social conduct of the citizens of the state is also supposed to be regulated and restrained by the dynamics of dharma. Thus, dharma happens to be some sort of amorphous and supreme law of the land in ancient times within the norms of which everyone in the state, including the king, has to live his life and discharge his stipulated responsibilities. Kautilya maintains that in order to have the proper functioning of dharma in society, the unmistakable role of danda should not be ignored. Conceptually, danda, in ancient Indian political traditions, is understood in the sense of coercion or punishment. Standing out as the prime instrument of discipline in society, danda was supposed to ingrain in the personality of the king the very right to punish a citizen if the latter is found to be acting in gross violation of the laid down norms of the state, which were fundamentally determined by the sacred and customary laws of the state. Thus, in the formulations of Kautilya, disciplining an aberrant citizen appeared to be an important duty of the king, as the failure in doing so would have resulted in unnecessary disturbances and miseries for the otherwise peaceful and happy life of the citi- zens of the state. And danda was supposed to be the legitimate instrumentality to bring out order and discipline in the state. Introduction xix Another important subject finding a place of prominence in the Arthashastra is the idea of interstate relations and diplomacy. In the ancient Indian literary works, the whole idea of interstate relations was sought to be conceptualised through the notion of the mandala (circles). Hence, Kautilya also attempted to explain the dynamics of interstate relations in ancient times through his mandala theory. The essence of the theory lies in delineating the position of a kingdom as an ally or enemy vis-à-vis the intending conqueror with respect to its spatial placement in the mandala. Taking the vijigishu (the conqueror or the ambitious king) as the reference point of the mandala theory, Kautilya explains the theory in terms of four basic circles. For instance, in the first circle, the vijigishu, his friend and his friend’s friend exist as the three primary kings forming a circle of states and each possessing the five elements of sovereignty such as the amatya, the janapada, the durga, the kosha and the danda. Consequently, a circle of states comprises of 18 elements. This analogy applies to the other three circles of states having the ari (enemy of the vijigishu), the madhyama (the indifferent king) and the udasina (the neutral king) kings forming the core of each of the three circles. In final reckoning, therefore, the mandala theory consists of four primary circles of states, 12 kings, 60 elements of sovereignty and 72 elements of states, drawing on the texture of the four circles. In the realm of interstate relations, apart from the mandala theory, Kautilya also elaborates upon what he calls as the upayas (peace politics) and the shadgunyas (six war tactics). These are supposed to be the operational tips to the conqueror to conduct his interstate relations in times of peace and war. Besides, Kautilya puts forward a detailed system of diplomatic relations amongst the states and insists upon a sound espionage system to be maintained by the king in order to remain immune from any internal or external threat to his life and state. In final analysis, it comes out that Kautilya is rightly reckoned by various scholars and commentators as the true representative to describe and explain the form and nature of state and society as existing in the Maurayan times. The Arthashastra, therefore, not only turns out to be the authentic source of information regarding the state of things in the ancient times, but its coverage and the depth of analysis of various aspects of life have been so profound that most, xx Modern Indian Political Thought if not all, of the dimensions of the socio-economic and politico- administrative systems of the ancient times may be discerned from the text of the Arthashastra. Moreover, many of the ideas pre- sented and analysed by Kautilya in the Arthashastra hold good even today in most of the domains which constitute the bedrock of the modern life. BARANI The medieval period represented a distinct phase in the history of the political thought in India owing to the introduction of new aspects in the socio-economic and politico-administrative lives of the people with the arrival of the Muslim rulers in the country. Quite evidently, the unique feature of Islamic way of life, as it ex- isted in the medieval times, was the belief in the universality of the law of the Quran as drawn from the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad. Consequently, the Shariat, based on the precepts of the Quran, was taken as the final authority on the very existence of life and the raison d’être of the state and the government was to serve the purposes of Shariat. Hence, the typicality of the political thought rooted in such a singular view of life was bound to be articulated by the chroniclers and the historians of the time. In this regard, taken as the representative thinker of the medieval times, the contribution of Zia-ud-din-Barani seems to be immense, as in his writings, he was able to articulate the scenario of the political life in the middle ages focussing on the functional aspects of the institution of the Sultan with reference to the Islamic faith on the one hand and the social dynamics of life of the common people on the other. As one of the main intellectuals of the Delhi Sultanate, Barani wrote a number of books and monographs detailing the various aspects of the social and political life of the medieval ages. Suffi- ciently enriched and authenticated by his first-hand experiences in the functioning of the monarchy during the Sultanate period, two distinguished works of Barani that stand out are reckoned as the Tarikh-i-Firozeshahi and the Fatwa-i-Jahandari. Keeping with the tradition of the historians writing under the patronage of a king, Tarikh-i-Firozeshahi was also authored by Barani in a eulogising tone to the rule of Firoze Shah Tughlaq, to begin with. But with Introduction xxi the withdrawal of patronage, Tarikh-i-Firozeshahi is concluded with scornful critique of the rule of Firoze Shah Tughlaq. Though Tarikh- i-Firozeshahi carried certain insightful comments on the functional dynamics of monarchy in the medieval times, the substantial theorisation on the political philosophy of the Sultanate period is found in the Fatwa-i-Jahandari, for it is in this treatise that Barani presented a dispassionate and critical view of the political and ad- ministrative systems prevailing in the times of Delhi Sultanate, with the king standing at the apex of the state and government. Barani’s theorisation of the concept of state and the ideal Sultan is reminiscent of the peculiarity of the political thought in the medi- eval times. Taking Prophet Mohammad as his reference point, Barani asserted that the Prophet was the embodiment of state on earth, having blessed to be so by the Almighty himself. After the departure of the Prophet from the scene, Sultan succeeded him to rule over the people as the representative of God. Thus, in Barani’s formulations, the state in the medieval times used to be somewhat a theocratic state based on the stipulations put forward by God through the persona of the Prophet Mohammad. Consequently, the two holy codes of Quran, comprising of the fundamental guide- lines of life based on the teachings of Mohammad, and Shariat, pro- viding the operational framework of state and government drawing on the precepts of Quran, were supposed to be the supreme laws of the land and an ideal Sultan was expected to discharge his re- sponsibilities of governance only in accordance with the prescrip- tions of the two holy books. The fundamental thrust of the Fatwa-i-Jahandari seems to be on providing the ideal Sultan with a set of advices (nasihats) in guiding his conduct both in his personal as well as official capacities. It is by way of these advices that Barani tried to propound his theory of the ideal Sultan and commented on various other aspects of state and government as existing in the medieval period. Born out of his deep knowledge drawn from his ancestral interactions with various Muslim rulers as well his own first-hand experiences in the conduct of the affairs of governments during the times of the Tughlaqs, Barani’s advices appear to be an admixture of the analysis of particular scenarios experienced by the Sultans over different times, and appropriate prescriptive suggestions to the Sultan re- garding the probable ways out to either avoid or wriggle out of such precarious circumstances. Thus, the advices of Barani tend to xxii Modern Indian Political Thought have a critical analysis of the prevailing situations on the one hand and articulate Barani’s own perspective on those circumstances on the other hand. A remarkable feature of Barani’s theorisation on the polity of the medieval times is its distinct class character dominated by the elites having the right to collect land revenues from specified areas (Habib 1995: 82). Moreover, given the foundational support provided to the kingdom by the two formidable pillars of administration and conquest, it was obvious that the bureaucracy and the army form an inevitable part of the ruling elites during the medieval period. However, the top echelons of the bureaucratic setup of the Sultan were essentially aristocratic, as it was staffed with the high-born Muslim men of traditional noble lineage with almost total exclusion of the low-born men from the promotional avenues of the bureaucracy. Similarly, the armed forces of the Sultan were commanded by the predominantly Muslim aristocratic class having loyalties exclusively to the persona of the king and finding a place of prominence in the court of the Sultan. Thus, the realms of state and government during the medieval times were confined to the high-born traditional nobles occupying the top positions in various sectors of the kingdom with the plebeian sections of the society standing in total disengagement with the governing elites of the society. In the times when the whole structure and processes of government were rooted in the religious texts like Quran and Shariat, a profound contribution of Barani appears to be his ad- vocacy of zawabit (the state laws) as an important source of law in governing the state. The basic rationale for the acceptance of zawabit by Barani seems to be his realisation that with the chang- ing complexion of society and the increasing complexity of ad- ministering the diverse populace and unwieldy empires, it might not have been possible to do the things strictly in accordance with the stipulations laid down in Shariat. Hence, Barani expressed himself in favour of zawabit whose foundations were non-religious and secular. Though he maintained that the zawabit should not be overtly contradictory to the precepts of the Shariat, he asserted that the former should be given due weightage in the state as its aim is to introduce functional flexibility in the works of various governmental departments on the one hand, and foster loyalties to the king and the state on the other. Introduction xxiii In the end, Barani turns out to be the real and authentic source of information and subsequent theorisation on the state of things existing in the middle ages. The unique contribution of Barani to Indian political thought seems to lie not only in elucidating the foundation and functioning of an Islamic state based on the precepts of Quran and Shariat, he was also eloquent enough in portraying the subtle transformations which the classical Islamic systems of state and government underwent over a period of time in India in the medieval times. Thus, despite being a conservative aristocrat in his outlook, Barani seems to be aware of the necessity of stability and flexibility in the affairs of the state for the securing of which he appeared to be prepared to even mildly compromise with certain norms of the traditional Islamic law (Habib 1980: 113–15). As the above discussion of two contrasting perspectives shows, Indian social and political thought is perhaps a vantage entry point to grasp the ideas that were a peculiar admixture of both conflicting and complementary ideas drawn on various sources. It would also be wrong to simply accept that the well-entrenched ‘Indian’ values had no role to play in this process; in fact, it was a creative articulation of ideas that had an imprint of both the foreign and indigenous influences. It cannot, therefore, be characterised as a ‘derivative’ discourse per se; its articulation in the Indian con- text also suggests that by indigenising these ideas, those who formulated the ideas out of their serious engagement with the pre- valent socio-economic and political context creatively constructed new set of models which were neither imitative of the past nor purely ‘traditional’ in its orthodox sense. CONCEPTUALISING MODERN INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT Indian political thought involves three related issues of ‘nation’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘national identity’. For obvious reasons, these three ideas constitute the foundation, as it were, of any nationalist discourse. Based on specific experiences, the thinkers engaged in this project seek to articulate a voice which is neither absolutely derivative nor entirely delinked with the context. In other words, xxiv Modern Indian Political Thought the ideas are constructed, nurtured and developed within a social, political and economic milieu that can never be wished away in conceptualising social and political thoughts. What is most determining in the entire process is the organic link with a par- ticular reality that always leaves an imprint on the construction of ideas. The purpose of this introduction is to capture the complex interrelationship between the ideas and reality in the context of exogenous but formidable influences of colonialism. Implicit in this process is the dialectics of social and political changes shaping ‘the mind’ of an age that is simultaneously a point of departure and convergence with its immediate past. Presumably because the ideas that constitute ‘the core’ of new thinking are an outcome of a process in which both the present and past seem to be important, they are creatively articulated underlining both the influences. Conceptualising nationalism is problematic. Identifying a na- tion is equally difficult. Scholars differ radically as regards the nature of this phenomenon. Part of this reason is probably located in the peculiar socio-economic circumstances that contribute to the consolidation of nationalism as an ideology. Hence, anti- colonial movements in different parts of the world are differently constituted and textured. Despite the obvious difference in its manifestations in different locations, nationalism is probably the most effective political instrument in political mobilisation against colonialism. What brings otherwise the disparate masses together is a sentiment, articulated in the form of a nationalist ideology that transcends barriers of different kinds for a cause in a particular context. Nationalism creates and sustains an identity by fusing the socio-economic properties of a community with its political and territorial habitat. Through cultural symbols underlining fraternity among a specific group of people, it also creates probably the only credible basis for socio-political unity. By nurturing specific belief systems and displaying its ideas in popularly tuned images, the ideology championing the aspirations of a nation sustains credi- bility despite odds. The power of nationalism probably lies in the fact that belonging to a nation provides a powerful means of iden- tifying and locating individual selves in the world through the prism of the collective personality and its distinctive culture. In recent years, scholars have brought out several new dimen- sions of nationalism as a conceptual category. Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities (1983) is a major intervention in the debate Introduction xxv on the subject, with an argument that nations were not so much the product of specific sociological circumstances such as language, race, religion, and so on but were imagined into existence. Nations seen as ‘imagined communities’ appear to be a useful construct in underlining the homogeneity of interests of various sections of a society in any struggle against colonial powers. While endorsing the basic premise of Anderson, Partha Chatterjee (1986, 1994) pro- vides a creative interpretation of nationalism in the context of anti- colonial political mobilisation in India. Chatterjee accepts the basic premise about the essentially ‘invented’ nature of national identities and the importance of such factors as ‘print capitalism’ in their spread and consolidation. He, however, challenges Anderson’s assumption concerning ‘modular forms’ of nationalist intervention since it ignores the point that if modular forms are made available, nothing is left to be imagined. In Chatterjee’s formulation, Afro-Asian nationalism was based on difference and, therefore, it is wrong to conclude that the na- tionalist discourse that galvanised the masses into action was entirely derivative and heteronymous. It is true that the non- western leaders involved in the struggle for liberation were deeply influenced by European nationalist ideas. They were also aware of the limitations of these ideas in the particular socio-economic contexts of Africa and Asia due to their alien origin. So while mobilising the imagined communities for an essentially political cause, they spoke in a ‘native’ vocabulary. Although they drew upon the ideas of European nationalism, they indigenised them substantially by discovering or inventing indigenous equivalents and investing them with additional meanings and nuances. This is probably the reason as to why Gandhi and his colleagues in the anti-British campaign in India preferred swadeshi to nationalism. Gandhi avoided the language of nationalism primarily because he was convinced that the Congress flirtation with nationalist ideas in the first quarter of the twentieth century frightened away not only the Muslims and other minorities but also some of the Hindu lower castes. This seems to be the most pragmatic idea one could possibly conceive of in a country like India that was not united in terms of religion, race, culture and common historical memories of oppression and struggle. Here is located the reason why Gandhi and his Congress colleagues preferred the relaxed xxvi Modern Indian Political Thought and chaotic plurality of the traditional Indian life to the order and homogeneity of the European nation–state because they realised that the open, plural and relative heterogeneous traditional Indian civilisation would best suit Indians. In view of the well-entrenched multilayered identities of those identified as Indians, the drive to revitalise the civilisation of India was morally more acceptable and politically more effective. Political freedom from the British was necessary not for conven- tional nationalist logic but because it choked and distorted India’s growth as a civilisation. Such an argument probably explains why the Gandhi-led nationalist movement contained essentially ‘Indian’ features. Drawing upon the values meaningful to Indian masses, the Indian freedom struggle developed its own modular form which is characteristically different from that of the West. Although the 1947 Great Divide of the subcontinent of India was articulated in terms of religion, the nationalist language drawing upon the exclusivity of Islam appeared absolutely inadequate in sustaining Pakistan resulting in the rise of Bangladesh in 1971. CONSTRUCTING THE NATION India was not a nation in the stereotypical sense as it lacked the classical ingredients of nationhood. Yet, there were constant en- deavours during the colonial rule to attain nationhood on the part of those seeking to articulate nationalist aspirations. The process that contributed to the constitution of the nation began in an earlier phase of cultural contestation through various social and political reform movements. There are three major ways in which this process got articulated. First, the appropriation of the popular that was translated into an effort towards developing a national culture, without seeking to homogenise the nation which was not united in the European sense. Since the popular was conceptually pervasive, the nationalist thinkers generally sought to articulate their arguments in popular terms. Swadeshi was perhaps the most ideal expression to gain maximum political mileage in a context wherein the conventional nationalist logic seemed to be divisive. The second way was the ‘classicisation’ of traditions whereby at- tempts were made to create a history of the nation. By drawing Introduction xxvii upon the historical memories, the past of the nation was sought to be captured in the form of a history. A classicisation of the past involved appropriation of the so-called ‘Indian tradition’, including such overtly anti-Brahmanical movements as Buddhism, Jainism and the various deviant popular sects. Islam could not be accommodated in this tradition since it was an alien religion and had also an alternative tradition. Islam’s contribution to the his- tory of the nation was recognised merely as ‘a foreign element’, domesticated by sharing the so-called classical past of the nation. The third way concerns the structure of the hegemonic domain of nationalism where colonialism was never allowed to inter- vene. The contradiction between the colonisers and the colon- ised clearly separated their respective domains. On this basis, the anti-colonial nationalist struggle created its own domain of sovereignty confronting the imperial power. This is usually ex- plained in a theoretical format dividing this domain between ‘material’ and ‘spiritual’ or ‘inner’ and ‘outer’. The material domain constituted the economy, science, technology and statecraft in which the West proved its superiority and the East had ‘succumbed’. There was, however, an inner domain drawn on the unique spiritual and cultural resources of the East. Although the West was politically dominant, its role was marginal in the inner domain presumably because of its failure to comprehend the complexity of the spiritual and cultural world of the East. This had a significant consequence. With growing influence of the West in the public sphere, the nationalist project was sought to be strengthened by looking more and more at the inner domain. By drawing upon the spiritual and cultural strength of the imagined nation, those seeking to identify its ‘distinctiveness’ vis-à-vis the West initiated a process that loomed large, particularly in the twentieth century, when Gandhi organised a mass campaign by underlining the role of a colonial power in undermining India’s age-old ‘civilisation’. Similarly, Tilak’s critique of the 1890 Age of Consent Bill is, therefore, a part of wider nationalist agenda seeking to protect the distinct Hindu identity of which caste remains a non-negotiable dimension. In his perception, the Bill struck at the foundation of caste and the sudharaks undermined ‘the power of caste panchayats’ by allowing the colonial ruler to intervene in an exclusive domain of Hindu society and, hence, it needed to be resisted (Chatterjee 1994: 4–7). xxviii Modern Indian Political Thought CONTEXT AS A DRIVING FORCE Indian social and political thought is contextual. Hence, a uni- linear explanation of its evolution can never be tenable. Ideas metamorphose in response to the milieu contributing to their ger- mination. Under colonialism, the role of the alien power seems to be a significant determinant in the articulation of the ideas which can either be ‘oppositional’ or ‘supportive’ of the regime it creates. So the changing nature of the ideas is largely an outcome of this process involving the incipient nation and its bête noire, the colonial power. This invariably draws our attention to an interplay in which society, economy and polity interact with each other in a very com- plex manner, obviously under the paradigm of colonialism. For analytical purposes, one can theoretically distinguish two phases of Indian nationalist movement. The first is roughly described as pre-Gandhian phase while the second phase is known as Gandhian phase when the Mahatma reigned supreme both in conceptualising and articulating the freedom struggle. Following the rise of Gandhi, the nature of the nationalist intervention had undergone dramatic changes. Nationalist articulation in this phase was neither ‘elite actions’ of the Extremists nor ‘constitutional reconciliation’ of the Moderates but the growing importance of the mobilised masses where the Gandhian voice appeared to be most crucial. Within this broad typology, one can also think of further classi- fication of Indian nationalist thought in terms of separate ideo- logical moments. According to Partha Chatterjee (1986), nationalist thought in India has three well-defined moments which are defined as moments of ‘departure’, ‘manoeuvre’ and ‘arrival’. The moment of departure epitomises an encounter of a nationalist consciousness with the framework of knowledge, created by post-Enlightenment rationalist thought. It contributed to an awareness—and acceptance as well—of the basic cultural differences between East and West. Accepting that the European culture was superior to the trad- itional East, thinkers like Bankim, Dayanad or Phule were in favour of adopting the modern attributes of European culture to strengthen the disparate collectivity, vaguely defined as ‘a na- tion’. The second phase of the nationalist thought is known as a moment of manoeuvre because of the capacity of the nationalist leadership to govern the articulation of the nationalist thought in terms of its own priority. One of the distinguishing features of this Introduction xxix period was the prevalence of several ideological possibilities. Not only was Gandhian non-violence dominant, there were multiple ideological strands opposed to Gandhi and his worldview. Given the articulation of diverse ideological constructs, this was an inter- esting phase when national political thought was perhaps the most complex for obvious reasons. Apart from competing ideologies that tried to nurse specific constituencies, Gandhi’s swadeshi was also an all-embracing ideological platform where nationalists of all shades came together. This is why Gandhi was most significant in this phase. The moment of arrival is when nationalist thought attains its fullest development. It becomes a discourse guiding the socio-economic development of the young nation that gained political salience in its struggle against the alien power. The nation articulates itself in an unambiguous voice, as it were. Glossing over the ideological divergences, the nation was now engaged in developing a unified life history that was hardly challenged, due presumably to the hegemonic influence of what was defined as ‘common concern’. Jawaharlal Nehru is probably the most power- ful thinker in this phase when the idea of a nation–state was both articulated and consolidated within this mould. Nationalism, therefore, became a state ideology by clearly guiding the incipient state to an ideological goal that was peripheral in both the earlier phases. The evolution of nationalist thought needs to be contextualised in the larger social processes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The two most obvious ones are nationalism and democratisation. In the context of the first, the question that deserves careful attention is as to why communities seek to redefine themselves as nations. What mark of distinctiveness does being a nation carry and, as a corollary, what is denied to a community and its members if they do not claim their status as a nation? After all, the obsessive desire of communities to claim the status of nations or to define India as a nation is historically conditioned and textured. Simply put, after the late nineteenth century, the claim to any form of self-government was shelved so long as it was not articulated as the claim of a nation. Colonial sovereignty in part rested upon denying that India was a nation. The nationalist project was not simply something that elites dreamt up to define others in their image; it also sought to identify and highlight the distinctive features of a population to justify its claim for nationhood. xxx Modern Indian Political Thought The belief in an Indian nationhood as a historical fact was based on western models. But it ‘was also an emotionally charged reply to the rulers’ allegation that Indian never was and never could be a nation’ (Raychaudhuri 1999: 18). The construction of even a vaguely defined Indian nationhood was a daunting task simply because India lacked the basic ingredients of a conventionally conceptualised notion of a nation. There was, therefore, a selective appeal to history to recover those elements transcending the internal schism among those who were marginalised under colonialism. Hence, an attempt was always made in a concerted manner to underline ‘the unifying elements of the Indian religious traditions, medieval syncretism and the strand of tolerance and impartiality in the policies of Muslim rulers’ (ibid.). So the colonial milieu was an important dimension of the processes that led to a particular way of imagining a nation in a multiethnic context like India which is so different from the perceptions based on western experience. The political sensibilities of Indian nationalism ‘were deeply involved in this highly atypical act of imagining’ (ibid.). FREEDOM STRUGGLE AND POLITICAL THOUGHT Apart from colonialism, the major factor that contributed to the formation of a political entity that was India was the freedom move- ment. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to suggest that the Indian consciousness, as we understand today ‘crystallised during the national liberation movement’ (Oommen 1990: 39). So national ‘is a political and not a cultural referent in India’ (ibid.). This perhaps led the nationalist leaders to recognise that it would be difficult to forge the multilayered Indian society into a unified nation–state in the European sense. The early nationalist responses were, for instance, highly fractured in diametrically opposite ways. While the Moderate viewpoints were articulated in opposition to the British rule in a strictly constitutional manner, the Extremists, by simply paying no heed to this, experimented with a completely different method of anti-British campaign in which violence was justified as well. The idea of independence dawned on them, though their definition of nation did not appear to have reflected the highly diversified Indian society. For instance, the lukewarm attitude to the Muslims Introduction xxxi followed their interpretation of the Islamic rule as barbaric. Yet, there was ambivalence in characterising the Indo-Islamic phase of Indian history. In its later conceptualisation, radicalism, however, was defined to incorporate the Muslims as well presumably be- cause of the impact of Gandhian mass politics. With the rise of the Muslim League in 1906 and the increasing role of religious schism in nationalist response, Muslims grew in importance not only in the British-initiated constitutional arrangement but also in the nationalist political articulation. The other dimension that gained political mileage was the nationalist urge to incorporate the hitherto neglected sections of the society, namely, peasants and workers. Drawn on their faith on national democracy, the radicals of the Gandhian period sought to mobilise both the peasantry and workers, of course, within the broad nationalist paradigm of anti-British struggle. What it suggests is the growing complexity of radicalism as a socio-political goal as well as its ideological components, which were contingent on the milieu in which it was articulated. Nationalism is, therefore, not only a political method it is also about fashioning self-representations. While the Hindu identity governed the political discourse in the first phase of radical politics, the complex national identity, inclusive of both religious and other vertical divisions within different religions, figured prominently in later radical conceptualisation. Not only were the subalterns sought to be mobilised, there were also attempts to avoid the nationalist language that tended to homogenise the nation ignoring the socio- cultural distinctiveness of religious communities. Drawn on the dichotomy between nationalism and communalism, the early na- tionalist argument contributed to a nationalist ideology that was an upshot of a search for alternative which was neither derivative nor purely indigenous. CONSTRUCTING PAN-INDIAN NATIONALISM Realising the conceptual limitation of nation as a category for political mobilisation in a fractured society like India, the radical thinkers put forward an innovative formula seeking to expand the nationalist domain by linking regional issues with their pan- Indian counterparts. This resulted in two types of complementary xxxii Modern Indian Political Thought responses: on the one hand, it created awareness among people in various parts of the country, though not always affected in the same degree of the exploitative and anti-Indian nature of British rule which, on the other hand, linked the regional aspirations for political freedom with the national campaign. In such a process where regional issues became national, the unifying role of the British administration was no doubt significant. The process was not without friction however. But the internal ideological struggles produced probably the most complex and non-western construction of nation and nationalism. As evident, a claim to dif- ference and, at the same time, appreciating the western ideals of reason and humanism seemed to have figured prominently in the radical search for ideological alternative. Past was given great descriptive salience so long as it served the present purpose. So, it was not surprising for the early nationalists like Ram Mohan, Bankim or Dayananda that the Hindu past was preferred to the Islamic past in accordance with an ideological design that had a natural appeal to the majority Hindu community. By ideologically dissociating from the mendicant nationalism of the first generation of Congressmen, the Extremist thinkers made the nationalist discourse highly masculine. Whether it was the social radicalism of Jotiba Phule or Ram Mohan, or political radicalism of Bankim, Aurobindo, Bipin Chandra Pal or Tilak, what ran through their writings was an aggressive stance on both social and political issues. Based on opposition, the radical nationalist discourse was articulated in two distinct and yet complementary ways: first, the ideologues of social radicalism expressed their resentment in categorical terms against ‘distorted’ Hinduism while those with politically radical views suggested inspirational elite action plans as illustrative of the masculinity of the nationalist endeavour. It was not, therefore, surprising that both Ram Mohan and Phule argued strongly against the archaic Hindu social customs that, inter alia, privileged the upper castes as against those at the bottom of an artificial social hierarchy in the name of the so-called religious purity. Similarly, issues like widow remarriage or education of girls that Phule took up clearly indicated the extent to which they were grounded on an urge for dramatically altering the prevalent social norms and value systems despite strong opposition from those supporting the status quo. Even the arguments that Phule made to defend Ramabai’s conversion to Christianity were an Introduction xxxiii aggressive critique of Hinduism that completely lost its vitality by the distortions, made by the Brahmans to sustain their hegemony in society. Second, radical nationalism of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries underlined its masculine character by encouraging violence against the rulers. This new stress was best represented by some of the most romantic forms of protest against colonialism, such as the immensely courageous but inef- fective terrorism of Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab led by semi- westernised, middle class, urban youth. Despite its failure to attain the goal, radical nationalists sought to redeem Indian’s masculinity by their aim to defeat the British even by resorting to violence. So, radical nationalism in its various forms not only influenced the course of the freedom struggle but also contributed to its concep- tualisation. Central to this articulation was a concern for change, whether at the social, cultural or political front. Radical thinkers inspired the nation by drawing upon its distinct socio-cultural identity while their political agenda was informed by an urge to get rid of oppression of any kinds. For the early nationalists, it was the ruler—whether the Mughals or their successor the British—that was the principal target; for the later radicals, especially in the Gandhian phase, apart from the alien government, their attack was also directed against the landlords and industrialists. What it shows was not only the changing ideological contours of radicalism but also its expanding scope that took into account the gradual extension of the constituencies of nationalist politics. So it would be wrong to characterise radicalism as an example of ideological dilution because it was, for obvious reasons, hardly a static conceptual formation. Instead, given its dynamism, rad- icalism was, as shown above, a creative formulation both as an oppositional method of struggle and a device to ideologically com- bat the prevalent conceptualisations of nationalist politics whether in its militant or non-violent form. REDEFINING THE CONTOUR OF NATION The second broader context that appears to have decisively shaped the nationalist thought is democratisation. What sort of unity does democracy require? After all, it was a staple of liberal discourse (John Stuart Mill, for instance) that democracy could not flourish xxxiv Modern Indian Political Thought in multiethnic societies. The important thing about Jinnah and Savarkar is that they were deploying precisely the liberal argument about why a unitary nationhood is necessary for a modern polity. And then, they provided their own interpretations of how this was to be attained. Second, democracy complicates the problem of representation. What is being represented and on what terms? After all, the divisions between the Congress and Muslim League turned on issues of representation. This is, however, not to suggest that the state created two monolithic communities and these communities came into being through the politics of representation, since the relationship between identity and democracy is far deeper and complex than it is generally construed in contemporary discourses on South Asia. Identity politics is about expressing one’s agency and creating new forms of collective agency. In this sense, they are part of the democratic ferment where people want to fashion iden- tities for themselves. This process will happen at all levels with a complicated relationship between the levels. Furthermore, democratisation is both inclusive and exclusive. Inclusive because it unleashes a process to include people, at least theoretically, regardless of class, clan and creed; it is essentially a participatory project seeking to link different layers of socio- political and economic life. As a movement, democracy thus, writes Charles Taylor (1998: 144), ‘obliges us to show much more solidarity and commitment to one another in our joint political project than was demanded by the hierarchical and authoritarian societies of yesteryears.’ This is also the reason why democratisation tends towards exclusion that itself is a byproduct of the need of a high degree of cohesion. Excluded are those who are different in so many ways. We are introduced to a situation where a communal identity can be formed or malformed in contact with significant ‘others’, generally projected with an inferior or demeaning image. The 1919–21 Non-Cooperation–Khilafat Movement is illustrative here. By a single stroke, both Hindus and Muslims were brought under a single political platform submerging, at one level, their distinct separate identities. At another level, this movement is a watershed in the sense that these two communities remained separate since they collaborated as separate communities for an essentially political project. So the politics of inclusion also led towards exclusion for the communities which identified different political agenda to mobilise people. Introduction xxxv NATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY In the imagination of national identity, both these forces of na- tionalism and democratisation appeared to have played decisive roles. Nationalism as a concerted effort was not merely unifying, it was also expansive in the sense that it gradually brought together apparently disparate socio-political groups in opposition to an imperial power. The character of the anti-British political cam- paign gradually underwent radical changes by involving people of various strata, region and linguistic groups. The definition of nation also changed. No longer was the nation confined to cities and small towns, it also consisted of innumerable villages which so far remained peripheral to the political activities generated by the freedom struggle. Whatever the manifestations, the basic point relates to the increasing awareness of those involved in nation-building both during the anti-imperial struggle and its aftermath. The construction of national identity has thus to be viewed in the context of a search for nationhood by those who apparently felt threatened under the prevalent socio-economic configurations. For instance, one of the first serious attempts to establish the Indian Muslims as a separate national community was made by Rahmat Ali. Although Rahmat Ali clearly articulated the demand for a separate national status for the Muslims, the 1916 Lucknow Pact appears to be the first well-defined attempt in this direction. In his earlier incarnation as the member of the Congress, Jinnah— underlining the distinctiveness of Muslims as a community— defended separate electorates for them as the only mechanism to defuse inter-community tension. Such Muslim leaders were clearly in favour of separate electorates for the Muslims for protection of their distinct identity as compared with the Hindus. It was, therefore, easier for the British to pursue a policy that culminated in the 1932 Communal Award. Not only was the Communal Award an institutional device to split the Indian communities on grounds of religion, it was also an obvious choice for the British, given the fact that Indian society is essentially a congeries of widely separate communities with divergences of interests and hereditary sentiments which for ages have precluded common action or local unanimity. The 1932 scheme was the culmination of a series of ef- forts, undertaken by the Muslim leadership to ascertain both the xxxvi Modern Indian Political Thought distinctiveness of the community and thus the extent to which it was separate from the Hindus. In the context of the new political arrangement following the adoption of the 1935 Government of India Act, the communal equations appeared to have significantly influenced the course of India’s freedom struggle. A.K. Ghuznavi, a prominent Muslim leader, in his memorandum to the Simon Commission, 1927, emphasised that as the Muslim community was educationally, economically and politically behind the Hindus, ‘further extensions of parliamentary institutions without proper and definite safeguards would place the Muslims permanently in a position subservient to the Hindus.’2 Jinnah’s 14 Points Programme was the formulations of the above in concrete terms. These points, inter alia, demanded that all legislatures in the country and other elected bodies should be reconstituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in every province without reducing the majority of any province to a minority. The representation of communal groups had to be governed by means of separate electorate. So what was articulated in the 1932 Communal Award was nothing but a well-prepared design to strengthen the argument that since Muslims were a sep- arate community with a distinct identity, their claim for a separate status within the British India appeared most logical. WHAT THE BOOK IS (NOT) ABOUT The book is unique in the sense that it seeks to provide a contextual study of Indian political thought which was not exactly derivative of western sources. Despite being drawn to western enlightenment, Indian nationalist leaders articulated their responses which were meaningful in the Indian context. What separates the book from the prevalent literature is the well-argued and also critical exposition of the multidimensional Indian political thought by linking it with the constantly changing socio-economic and political milieu in which it was articulated. The book is woven around three major arguments: first, Indian political thought is far more complex than anywhere else, presumably because of the volatile socio-economic conditions in which it evolved. Accordingly, the discussion is pur- sued linking the ideas with the context. Colonialism was a power- ful input in the articulation of the nationalist response. In other Introduction xxxvii words, Indian political thought during the nationalist period was an immediate response to the colonial rule. Second, while articu- lating their response, the individual thinkers reinterpreted views on Indian social and political life by drawing on both western and indigenous sources. One cannot dismiss the emotional chord that most of the nationalist thinkers had with the West, especially Britain, for a variety of reasons. In this sense, Indian political thought is a creative blend of western and Indian inputs. Hence, it would be wrong to characterise Indian political thought as purely derivative of the western sources given the clear influences of Ramayana, Mahabharata or any other epic and also various other indigenous tracts in shaping the ideas of these thinkers. While politically challenging the foreign domination, the nationalist thinkers always drew on the indigenous sources to meaningfully articulate their views for mobilising people against colonialism. Third, what is striking in Indian political thought is its changing nature. There is a clear demarcation between Indian political thought that was articulated before and after Gandhi’s emergence as an unquestionable national leader. Dominion status and not complete independence was the political goal for most of the think- ers before the rise of Gandhi–Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose as formidable leaders in the nationalist movement. It is possible that by the time the radical Congress nationalists emerged on the scene, the constituencies of the nationalist politics were no longer confined to the metropolitan cities only but expanded considerably to the peripheral sections of society which the Congress could not afford to ignore. So the changed social base of the nationalist politics was reflected in the Congress agenda that by including the militant demands for complete independence actually articulated the pent- up aspirations of various strata of people who, so far, had remained peripheral to the campaign against the British rule. The methodology that the book follows is not merely analytical, it is also descriptive in the sense that it has dealt with the subject in a most detailed manner. Within a broad chronological sequence, the book dwells on the representative thinkers articulating specific points of views in the context of the British rule in India. Structured in an evolutionary mould, the book discusses various strands of social and political thought with reference to their articulation and defence in a context. These various strands are not disjointed, xxxviii Modern Indian Political Thought presumably because the context in which they gained salience continued to remain the same. The book is innovative for two specific reasons: first, besides deal- ing with Indian political thought, it will acquaint the readers with the context in which it had evolved. Unlike the conventional studies, the book is, therefore, an articulation of a process that remained critical to grasp the changing nature of Indian political thought in different timeframes. Second, in order to understand the distinct characteristics of political ideas, the book focusses on various British constitutional devices which were undoubtedly responses of the Raj to redress the genuine socio-economic grievances of various sections of Indian society. The context-drawn interpretation of these major constitutional interventions by the colonial government is what separates the book from the available literature on Indian political thought that always remained dialectically driven. NOTES 1. Some of the ideas presented here are drawn on our earlier works, including Chakrabarty (2004). 2. India Office Records (IOR), London. Memorandum by A.K. Ghuznavi. CND 2360, Vol. XVI, p. 188. REFERENCES Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities. London: Verso. Chakrabarty, Bidyut (ed.). 2004. Social and Political Thought in Modern India. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Chatterjee, Partha. 1986. Nationalist Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ———. 1994. The Nation and its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Habib, Irfan. 1995. Essays in Indian History. New Delhi: Tulika. ———. 1980. ‘Barani’s Theory of the History of the Delhi Sultanate’, Indian Historical Review, VII (1–2): 113–15. Kangle, R.P. 1972. The Kautilya Arthasastra. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas. Krishna Rao, M.V. 1958. Studies in Kautilya. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. Oommen, T.K. 1990. State and Society in India: Studies in Nation-building. New Delhi: Sage Publications. Introduction xxxix Raychaudhuri, Tapan. 1999. Perceptions, Emotions, Sensibilities: Essays on India’s Colo- nial Past and Post-colonial Experiences. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Taylor, Charles. 1998. ‘The Dynamics of Democratic Exclusion’, Journal of Democracy, 9(4[October]): 144. xl Modern Indian Political Thought Part I Revisiting the Texts 2 Modern Indian Political Thought T he nationalist movement in India was not only a long drawn battle against the British colonialism to win freedom but also contributed to socio-political ideas which laid the founda- tion of the nation-in-the-making. The nationalist ideas evolved out of an intimate interaction with the colonial power. In different phases of India’s freedom struggle, different ideas emerged that became critical in the articulation of the nationalist responses. The variety in the nationalist thinking is attributed to the fact that the participants in the freedom struggle crafted their role in accord- ance with their specific social locations. Although the underlying thread was anti-colonialism, thinkers differ from one another while addressing the nationalist issues, presumably because of the obvious socio-economic differences among themselves. Differences notwithstanding, the nationalist discourse in India was clearly anti- colonial in character. What is striking is also the changing nature of the nationalist response. At the outset, nationalist movement was directed for reforming colonialism that was completely illiberal and was, thus, despised by the moderate thinkers. The Extremist thinkers insisted on independence but followed revolutionary– terrorist tactics to combat the foreign rule. Following Gandhi’s rise as the undisputed leader of the nationalist campaign, the freedom struggle underwent radical changes. In fact, the Gandhian phase of India’s freedom struggle saw the articulation of the nationalist response from multiple perspectives. The thinkers representing this tumultuous phase of Indian nationalism were Gandhian, hardcore nationalist or internationalist in their approach. This phase also confirmed and unfolded new vistas of ideological thinking over various social issues that appeared to have plagued the Indian na- tionalist assault on the British government. For instance, concern for Dalits that was meaningfully articulated by Jotiba Phule in the nineteenth century became very critical in the twentieth century nationalist response. Similarly, despite being uncertain about a separate Muslim state, several nationalist thinkers, including M.A. Jinnah, were persuaded to accept the idea of Pakistan. These representative examples draw our attention to those unique features 4 Modern Indian Political Thought of the nationalist responses which are primarily context driven. Given the critical importance of the context, it is also conceptually inadequate to view Indian nationalism in the derivative format. Quite evidently, the reconciliatory stance adopted by the early nationalists was focussed on getting to the root of the problem plaguing India in order to provide for a comprehensive critique of the British rule in India on the one hand, and seeking certain very nominal concessions in spheres like the participation of the natives in the institutions and processes of governance, reduction in the exorbitant costs of maintaining a huge army, and so on, on the other. Thus, the trend set by the early nationalists turned out to be the permanent undercurrent informing the national movement in India throughout the early phase of the freedom struggle. Indeed, the nationalist movement was not a ‘war’ of liberation. It began as a movement for political concessions and reforms from the British government, and it retained a compromising attitude towards the British at the outset. In the Gandhian period of mass upheavals also, it never aimed at snapping the British connection altogether (Raghuvanshi 1959: 6). Nevertheless, the intellectual pursuits of the nationalist leaders, both in trying to provide a meaningful critique of the British rule in India, as well as in articulating their considered opinions on the present circumstances and future perspectives of the Indian polity remained the most significant aspect of the history of political ideas and nationalist movement in India. The aim of this part of the book is to provide a contextual inter- pretation of the nationalist thought. Hence, the chapter is structured around the main currents of the nationalist responses by drawing upon the socio-political ideas of the leading participants of India’s struggle for freedom. Instead of following a chronological sequence of the nationalist articulation, this part is woven around individual thinkers, their socio-economic and political context and the ideas that they put forward to fulfil an ideological mission. What is most striking in this effort is the analytical attempt to lay out the contours of India’s nationalist thought not only by reference to the individual thinkers, but also by reference to the sociological milieu in which they evolved their ideas. This analytical framework is useful to grasp the complexities of the nationalist responses that were hardly homogeneous. Undoubtedly Gandhi remained a dominant strand; his colleagues in the nationalist movement, like M.N. Roy, Subhas Chandra Bose, B.R. Ambedkar and V.D. Savarkar among others, Revisiting the Texts 5 also provided important inputs in the articulation of the nation- alist responses, though they scarcely agreed with what Gandhi stood for. It is, therefore, plausible to argue that Indian nationalist thought had multiple axes that cannot be comprehended without grasping its socio-economic and political roots. Gandhi represented one definite strand which his colleagues, especially those who were opposed to him, never appreciated, though his success in mobilising a large segment of Indian masses for a political goal was unparallel. The following exercise is, therefore, rewarding for two basic reasons: (a) not only will this part acquaint the readers with the complex unfolding of the nationalist responses, it will also provoke further research given the focus on the context–text dialectics, and (b) by exploring the responses of the individual thinkers to Indian nationalism, this part also attests to a creative variety in the Indian nationalist imaginations and struggles under colonial modernity. REFERENCE Raghuvanshi, V.P.S. 1959. Indian Nationalist Movement and Thought. New Delhi: Atmaram and Sons. 6 Modern Indian Political Thought 1 Early Nationalist Responses: Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dayananda Saraswati and Jotiba Phule LEARNING OBJECTIVES z To map the basic contour of the early nationalist response. z To analyse the socio-political thought of thinkers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dayananda Saraswati and Jotiba Phule. z To assess the early nationalist response. T here are two different phases of Indian nationalism. The first one continues till the formation of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1885 whereas nationalism, in its second phase, was articulated through popular mobilisation around various kinds of anti-imperial ideologies. Of all the competing ideologies, Gandhian non-violence was perhaps the most popular ideology in organising anti-imperial movements in India. Unlike the second phase when the national intervention was primarily political, namely, the capture of state power, the first phase was largely dominated by the zeal of reform that appeared to have brought together various individuals with more or less the same ideological agenda. In these kinds of activities, individuals played decisive roles in sustaining the zeal of those who clustered around them. What inspired them was perhaps the idea of European En- lightenment that travelled to India simultaneously with colonialism. Drawn on the philosophy of Enlightenment, neither was the British colonialism condemned nor were there attempts to expose its devastating impact on India’s socio-political map in the long run. In other words, colonialism was hailed for its assumed role in radically altering the archaic socio-political networks sustaining the feudal order. It is possible to argue that colonialism in this phase did not become as ruthless as it later became. And, in contrast with the past 8 Modern Indian Political Thought rulers, the British administration under the aegis of the East India Company seemed to have appreciated social reforms either as a matter of faith in the philosophy of Enlightenment or as a strategy to infuse the Indian social reality with the values on which it drew its sustenance. With this background in view, this chapter will focus on the early nationalist response to the British rule that was largely appreciated in comparison with the socio-political nature of the past rulers. Not only will there be an argument seeking to explain the uncritical endorsement of the British rule by the socially radical thinkers, there will also be an attempt to focus on the changing nature of colonialism that also had a noticeable impact on their conceptualisation of the British rule in India that became coterminous with exploitation very soon. CONTOURS OF THE EARLY NATIONALIST RESPONSES Before embarking on a detailed analysis of the individual thinkers, it would be appropriate to identify the sources from which they seemed to have derived their ideas in the context of an incipient colonial rule. As mentioned earlier, the first formidable influence was definitely the Enlightenment philosophy that significantly influenced the famous 1832 Macaulay’s minutes. Seeking to or- ganise Indian society in a typical western mould, Macaulay argued for an introduction of English education and British jurisprudence for their role in radically altering the feudal basis of Indian society. What was implicit in his views was the assumption that the liberal values of the British variety would definitely contribute to the required social transformation in India. So the arrival of the British in India was a boon in disguise. Not only did colonialism introduce Indians to western liberalism, it also exposed them to the socially and politically progressive ideas of Bentham, Mill, Carlyle and Coleridge, which drew attention to a qualitatively different mode of thinking on issues of contemporary relevance. The second equally important influence was the ideas of German philosophers like Schelling, Fichte, Kant and Herder. These ideas gained ground as the intellectual challenge against the British rule acquired momentum. In fact, there are clear traces of German ideas Early Nationalist Responses 9 in Bankim’s writings. Unlike Ram Mohan Roy whose historical mission was to combat the social evils in the form of inhuman customs, including the sati, Bankim sought to champion the goal of freedom by drawing upon the German philosophy and the Hindu past. Conceptually, the notions of volk, community and nation seemed to have inspired the early nationalists, including Bankim, presumably because they contributed to homogeneity despite differences in the context of foreign rule. So the primary concern of the early nationalists was not uniform: for some, the intro- duction of ideas of European Enlightenment was unwarranted simply because that would destroy the very basis of civilisation of India that drew, in a considerable way, on the Hindu past; while there are others who adopted a very favourable stance vis-à-vis the English rule and its obvious social consequences. The third significant influence in the early phase of Indian nationalism was the French revolution and its message of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Ram Mohan Roy was swayed by the ideas that inspired the French revolution. In his writings and deeds, Roy launched a vigorous attack on the archaic social mores dividing India along caste and religious cleavages. For him, the priority was to create a society free from decadent feudal values that simply stood in the way of attaining the goal of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The final source is of course the traditional Indian thought that was interpreted in the context of colonial rule. Not only were there writings of William Jones and Max Muller on India’s rich cultural traditions, there were contributions from the Renaissance thinkers, including Vivekananda, which provided the basis for redefining India’s past glossing largely the phase of Muslim rule in India. Inspired by the message of Bhagavad Gita, the Renaissance thinkers supported the philosophy of action in the service of the motherland. What they tried to argue was the idea that success or failures were not as important as the performance of one’s duty with ‘the purest of motives’. Their attack on fatalism in Hinduism and Buddhism clearly shows how realist they were in conceptualising the outcome of human action. For them, life could be transformed in this world by individuals believing in the philosophy of action. So it was not surprising that both Vivekananda and Dayananda insisted on karma, or service to the humanity, as the best possible way of justifying one’s existence as human beings. 10 Modern Indian Political Thought This discussion of sources is very useful in underlining the im- portance of intellectual threads in shaping the nationalist ideas of the early nationalist thinkers like Ram Mohan Roy, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Dayananda Saraswati and Jotiba Phule. It should also be mentioned here that while seeking to articulate an alternative nationalist vision, the early nationalists were influenced by the processes of socio-economic and political churning of a particular phase of British colonialism when political articulation of freedom of the Gandhian era was a distant goal. SOCIO-POLITICAL THOUGHT OF RAM MOHAN ROY Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a social thinker par excellence. His role in doing away with sati among orthodox Brahmans was historical. By founding Brahmo Samaj, Roy sought to articulate his belief in the Islamic notion of ‘one god’. In his conceptualisation, 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. Although he despised colonialism, he appeared to have endorsed the British rule, presumably because of its historical role in combating the prevalent feudal forces. Not only was the British rule superior, at least, culturally than the erstwhile feudal rulers, it would also contribute to a different India by injecting the values it represented. His admiration for the British rule was based on his faith in its role in radically altering traditional mental makeup of the Hindus. The continued British rule, he further added, would eventually lead to the establishment of democratic institutions as in Great Britain. Like any other liberal, Roy also felt that the uncritical acceptance of British liberal values was probably the best possible means of creating democratic institutions in India. In other words, he appreciated the British rule as a boon in disguise because it would eventually transplant democratic governance in India. The other area for which the role of Ram Mohan was decisive was the articulation of the demand for the freedom of press. Along with his colleague, Dwarkanath Tagore, he submitted a petition to the Privy Council for the freedom of press which he justified as essential for Early Nationalist Responses 11 democratic functioning of the government. Not only would the freedom of press provide a device for ventilation of grievances, it would also enable the government to adopt steps for their redressal before they caused damage to the administration. Viewed in the liberal mould, this was a remarkable step in that context for two reasons: (a) the demand for freedom of press was a significant development in the growing, though limited, democratisation among the indigenous elites in India, and (b) the idea of press freedom, if sanctioned, would act as a safety valve for the colonial ruler because of the exposition of grievances in the public domain (Pantham 1986). Ram Mohan Roy had played a progressive role in a particular historical context. While conceptualising his historical role, Roy appeared to have privileged his experience of British colonialism over its immediate feudal past. By undermining the obvious de- vastating impact of foreign rule on Indian society, politics and economy, he also clearly supported one system of administration over the other rather consciously, simply because of his uncritical faith in British Enlightenment in significantly transforming the prevalent Indian mindsets. One may find it difficult to digest his invitation to the British planters in India despite their brutalities and ruthlessness vis-à-vis the Indian peasants if discussed in isolation. But this was perfectly rationalised if one is drawn to his argument justifying the continuity of the empire on the basis of its economic strength. The more the planters acquire ‘wealth’, argued Roy, the better would be their defence for continuity in India. Given his historical role, it would not be wrong to argue that Ram Mohan Roy discharged his responsibility in tune with the historical requirement of his role in the particular context of India’s growth as a distinct socio-political unit. It would, therefore, be historically inaccurate to identify him as a pro-imperial thinker simply because nationalism did not acquire the characteristics of the later period. Since his ideas—whether supporting the British or criticising the past rulers—were both historically conditioned and textured, he authored his historical role in the best possible way reflecting the dilemma of the period and the aspiration of those groping for an alternative in the social and political doldrums of incipient colonialism. 12 Modern Indian Political Thought BANKIM AS A NATIONALIST THINKER Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838–94) was probably the first systematic expounder in India of the idea of nationalism. His unique contribution lay in conceptualising nationalism in indigenous terms. In opposition to the Muslim rule, Bankim elaborated the idea by drawing upon the Bhagavad Gita that was widely translated in Bengali in the nineteenth century. In his translated version of Bhagavad Gita, what Bankim provided was a reinterpretation in the light of western knowledge to make the Gita more suitable to read for the western educated intelligentsia in the newly emerged context of the nationalist opposition to the British rule. An entirely new Gita emerged, reflecting the concerns of those seeking to provide a national alternative to foreign rule (Chatterjee 1986: Chapter 3). What was primary in Bankim’s thought was his concern for national solidarity, for on it depended the growth of the Hindu society. National solidarity is conceivable, as Bankim argued, only when there is a change in one’s attitude in the following two ways: first, the conviction that what is good for every Hindu is good for me, and my views, beliefs and actions must be consistent with those of other members of the Hindu society. And, second, one should inculcate a single-minded devotion to the nation and its interests. This was an idea that Bankim nurtured in all his novels and other writings because he believed that without care and love for the nation (and implicitly for the country) one simply failed to justify one’s existence as a unit in a cohesive whole called the nation. Here lies an important theoretical point. Unlike typical liberals, Bankim was in favour of community and the role of the individual was explained in terms of what was good for the former. Bankim was of the opinion that the contact with the British enabled the Hindu society to learn its weaknesses not in terms of physical strength but in terms of what he defined as ‘culture’. Hindus lack the culture simply because they are so diverse, separated by language, race, religion, and so on, and it would not be possible for them to create conditions for national solidarity unless these divisive content of Hindus completely disappeared. From the notion of national solidarity, Bankim now delved into anushilan or his concept of practice. Elaborating this notion in his Early Nationalist Responses 13 1888 essay entitled ‘The Theory of Religion’, Bankim defined it as ‘a system of culture’, more complete and more perfect than the western concept of culture, articulated by western thinkers like Comte and Mathew Arnold. Critical of the agnostic western view of practice, anushilan was based on bhakti (devotion) that implied a combination of knowledge and duty. In practical terms, anushilan means that it simultaneously imparts knowledge of what is good for the community and what the community is supposed to do under specific circumstances. Anushilan implies duty that is the performance of an act for which one should not expect reward. In other words, the community is duty-bound to perform certain acts not out of choice but out of devotion to a cause or a goal. From this, he derived the idea of duty towards the nation. There was no choice and the community had to work for the defence of the nation that was completely crippled due to specific historical circumstances. For Bankim, this selfless and non-possessive notion of devotion lay at the foundation of dharma or religion (Tripathy 1967). By underlining the importance of dharma in national solidarity, Bankim sought to create conditions for a separate identity for the Hindu community. Not only was it necessary for a subject nation, it was also most appropriate for building a strong community on the basis of its inherent cultural strength and not merely by imitat- ing the West. Superior in the domain of sciences and industry, the West represented a culture that succeeded in conquering the East. Hence, he argued for emulating the West in the domain of material culture. But in the domain of spiritual culture, the East was certainly superior and, hence should not be bypassed. Com- bining these two ideas, Bankim, thus, suggested that the West could be emulated in the domain in which it was superior while internalising the spiritual distinctiveness of the East. So, in the construction of a national identity, Bankim does not appear to be entirely xenophobic but a creative ideologue of the early na- tionalist movement appreciating the strength and weakness of the both East and West simultaneously. In other words, the difference- seeking project of Bankim constitutes what Partha Chatterjee defines as ‘the moment of departure’ in our national thought (Chatterjee 1986: Chapter 3; Kaviraj 1995). 14 Modern Indian Political Thought SOCIO-POLITICAL IDEAS OF DAYANANDA SARASWATI While Bankim had a clear political message for the nation that lacked solidarity, Dayananda Saraswati (1825–83) who founded the Arya Samaj had concerns similar to those of Ram Mohan Roy. Primarily a social reformer, the latter believed that the success of the British in subjugating the Hindu society was largely due to its divisive nature and also the failure in realising its strength. If Ram Mohan drew upon the Upanishads and Bankim upon Gita, Dayananda while articulating his nationalist response, was inspired by the Vedas. The other contrasting point that marked Dayananda off from the rest lies in the utter absence of the influence of European culture and thought on him. Ram Mohan was fascinated by European Enlightenment and his response was articulated accordingly. The influence of the positivist and utilitarian philosophy was evident in Bankim’s conceptualisation of national solidarity. Unlike them, Dayananda found the Vedic messages as most appropriate for inspiring the moribund nation, plagued by several ills that could easily be cured. Seeking to construct a strong Hindu society, Dayananda was strikingly different from other early nationalists in two specific ways: first, his response was essentially based on a conceptualisation that is absolutely indigenous in nature, pre- sumably because he was not exposed to western ideas. Unique in his approach, Dayananda, therefore, interrogated the processes of history in a language that added a new dimension to the early nationalist response. Second, his response was also an offshoot of a creative dialogue with the traditional scriptures, especially the Vedas, which appeared to have influenced the later Extremist leadership for its appeal to distinct civilisational characteristics of India. Unlike those who were drawn to western liberal ideas, Dayananda was probably the only thinker of his generation to have begun a debate on the relative importance of the ancient scriptures in inspiring a nation that was divided on innumerable counts. Two ideas stand out in Dayananda’s Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth) that was published in 1875. First, the idea of God as an active agent of creation appeared to have appealed him the most. He asserted that the empirical world was no illusion but had an independent and objective existence. His refutation of advaita and nirguna brahman separated him from Ram Mohan and Vivekananda, Early Nationalist Responses 15 as his denial of sakara and avatara distinguished him from Bankim and Ramakrishna. On this basis, he further argued that human action was an index of punishment and reward by God. Here, a theoretical effort was made by Dayananda to assess individual acts in terms of certain well-defined norms of behaviour in the name of God. This was what inspired Aurobindo who found in this contention a clearly argued theoretical statement not only for analysing human behaviour at a critical juncture of history but also for mobilising a vanquished nation for a goal that was to be rewarded by God. In other words, by redefining God in a creative manner, Dayananda actually articulated the Old Testament God of Justice and not the New Testament God of Love. Underling the importance of Divine in shaping human action, the Arya Samaj founder was perhaps trying to play on the religious sentiments for meaningful social activities. This was, in his views, the basic re

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