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The present work Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient Indian discusses different views on the origin and nature of the state in ancient India. It also deals with stages and processes of state formation and examines the relevance of caste and kin-based collectivities to the construction of polity. The Vedic assemblies are studied in some detail, and developments in political organisation are presented in relation to their changing social and economic background. The book also shows how religion and rituals were brought in the service of the ruling class.
"The Imaginary Institution of India is the first major collection of Sudipta Kaviraj's essays and as such, will be received with great curiosity and attention."-Sanjay Subrahmanyam, University of California, Los Angeles --
Based on the NEP syllabus, the book serves as a comprehensive introduction to the foundation of ancient Indian political thought from a historical perspective. It aims to offer insights into the diverse theories, principles, and philosophies that structured ancient Indian society. By focusing on institutional history, the text delves into various components of the state as an institution, illustrating how these encompassed not only political but also social, economic, religious, and ethical dimensions of governance and statecraft. The book offers perspectives on the history and structure of the state in ancient India, discussing political concepts, organizations, types, architecture, and governance. It explores the norms, duties, and responsibilities that governed the state and its institutions, highlighting conceptual changes from various scholarly interpretations of ancient texts. Drawing upon ancient and medieval literature, the book addresses key concepts of Indian political consciousness, including dharma (dhamma), danda, niti, nyaya, sabha, samiti, rajya, rashtra, varna, and jati. It acquaints students with these concepts, serving as theoretical and conceptual pillars for understanding ancient Indian social and political ideas. Besides, it enlightens students about the concepts of Dharma and Danda, and the methods used in ancient India's Nyaya (justice), Niti (ethics/policy), Sabha (assembly), and Samiti (committee) practices. It also covers the development of Rajya (kingdom) and Rashtra (nation) and explains Varna's workings and its distinction from caste (jati). TARGET AUDIENCE B.A. Political Science (as per NEP Syllabus)
Revisiting the Political Thought of Ancient India: Pre-Kautilyan Arthashastra Tradition rediscovers the political ideas of the original and celebrated schools of thought in ancient India—early Arthashastra and Pre-Kautilyan traditions. This book throws light on hitherto not very well-known aspects of political ideas in ancient India, which flourished during the 5th and 4th centuries before Christ. Kautilya’s Arthashastra is a major text on ancient Indian political thought, wherein he cited views of a number of Arthashastra teachers who had written on political science. Unfortunately, their writings are not available today; only their views are found scattered in different texts. This book brings together these views to prepare a coherent account of their political ideas and reconstructs the pre-Kautilyan Arthashastra tradition with the help of available sources.
Political theory and political philosophy are generally used inter-changeably, though sometimes a distinction is made between the two. This book on political theory deals with the study of political instructions alongwith the theories of State, Law, Liberty and Equality. In its second edition, the book continues to analyse the key concepts like Authority, Power, Sovereignty, Political obligation, Civil disobedience, Citizenship, Rights, Democracy and Justice. The non-western ideas, including Indian and Chinese, are incorporated to underline cultural plurality and shared values in an enterprise that tries to set universal standards. The book is designed for the undergraduate and postgraduate students of Political Science. The book will be equally beneficial for the students appearing for the civil services examinations.
Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers covers all major Indian political thinkers from the ancient, through medieval to the modern times. Thus, this book provides an overview of the evolution of the Indian political thought through different historical periods, giving an insight into the sociological and political conditions of the times that shaped the Indian political thinking. It does not only talk about the lives and times of the thinkers, but also explores the important themes that formed the basis of their political ideologies. The chapters discuss the contributions of the thinkers and at the same time examine some important themes including the theory of state, civil rights, ideal polity, governance, nationalism, democracy, social issues like gender and caste, swaraj, satyagraha, liberalism, constitutionalism, Marxism, socialism and Gandhism. With a comprehensive coverage of both the thinkers and the themes of the Indian political thought, this book caters to needs of the undergraduate as well as the post graduate courses of all Indian universities. It is valuable also for UGC-NET and civil service examinations.
This book is an unconventional articulation of the political thinking in India in a refreshingly creative manner in more than one way. Empirically, the book becomes innovative by providing an analytically more grasping contextual interpretation of Indian political thought that evolved during the nationalist struggle against colonialism. Insightfully, it attempts to unearth the hitherto unexplored yet vital subaltern strands of political thinking in India as manifested through the mode of numerous significant socio-economic movements operating side by side and sometimes as part of the mainstream nationalist movement. This book articulates the main currents of Indian political thought by locating the text and themes of the thinkers within the socio-economic and politico-cultural contexts in which such ideas were conceptualised and articulated. The book also tries to analytically grasp the influences of the various British constitutional devices that appeared as the responses of the colonial government to redress the genuine socio-economic grievances of the various sections of Indian society. The book breaks new ground in not only articulating the main currents of Indian political thought in an analytically more sound approach of context-driven discussion but also provokes new research in the field by charting a new course in grasping and articulating the political thought in India. This volume will be useful to the students, researchers and faculty working in the fields of political science, political sociology, political economy and post-colonial contemporary Indian politics in particular. It will also be an invaluable and interesting reading for those interested in South Asian studies.
At present, a nativist turn in Indian political theory can be observed. There is a general assumption that the indigenous thought to which researchers are supposed to be (re)turning may somehow be immediately visible by ignoring the colonization of the mind and polity. In such a conception of svaraj (which can be translated as ‘authentic autonomy’), the tradition to be returned to would be that of the indigenous elites. In this book, this concept of svaraj is defined as a thick conception, which links it with exclusivist notions of spirituality, profound anti-modernity, exceptionalistic moralism, essentialistic nationalism and purism. However, post-independence India has borne witness to an alternative trajectory: a thin svaraj. The author puts forward a workable contemporary ideal of thin svaraj, i.e. political, and free of metaphysical commitment. The model proposed is inspired by B.R. Ambedkar's thoughts, as opposed to the thick conception found in the works of M.K. Gandhi, KC Bhattacharya and Ramachandra Gandhi. The author argues that political theorists of Indian politics continue to work with categories and concepts alien to the lived social and political experiences of India's common man, or everyday people. Consequently, he emphasises the need to decolonize Indian political theory, and rescue it from the grip of western theories, and fascination with western modes of historical analysis. The necessity to avoid both universalism and relativism and more importantly address the political predicaments of ‘the people’ is the key objective of the book, and a push for a reorientation of Indian political theory. An interesting new interpretation of a contemporary ideal of svaraj, this analysis takes into account influences from other cultures and sources as well as eschews thick conceptions that stifle imaginations and imaginaries. This book will be of interest to academics in the fields of philosophy, political science, sociology, literature and cultural studies in general and contemporary political theory, South Asian and Indian politics and political theory in particular.
Political theorists focus on the nature of justice, liberty, and equality while ignoring the institutions through which these ideals are achieved. Political scientists keep institutions in view but deploy a meager set of value-conceptions in analyzing them. A more political political theory is needed to address this gap, Jeremy Waldron argues.