This volume examines the multiple forms of reasoning in Indian politics and explores a framework to understand them. In the process, it looks at a series of issues involving the relationship between politics and philosophy, including the status of political theory, political practices, identity politics, and political ontology. The book argues that in the years leading up to and soon after independence, the task of conceptualizing politics was largely in the domain of practising politicians who built theories and philosophical methods, and further took those visions into the practice of their politics. It maintains that Indian politicians since then have not been as inclined to articulate their theories or methods of politics. This book traces the transition from philosopher politicians to politicians seeking philosophy in Indian polity in the post-independence era and its implications for current practices. It views Indian political philosophy from the standpoints of political theorists, philosophers, and practitioners. With expert and scholarly contributions, this volume will be of interest to students and researchers of Indian political thought and political philosophy, social sciences, and humanities.

A groundbreaking history of the political ideas that made modern India Violent Fraternity is a major history of the political thought that laid the foundations of modern India. Taking readers from the dawn of the twentieth century to the independence of India and formation of Pakistan in 1947, the book is a testament to the power of ideas to drive historical transformation. Shruti Kapila sheds new light on leading figures such as M. K. Gandhi, Muhammad Iqbal, B. R. Ambedkar, and Vinayak Savarkar, the founder of Hindutva, showing how they were innovative political thinkers as well as influential political actors. She also examines lesser-known figures who contributed to the making of a new canon of political thought, such as B. G. Tilak, considered by Lenin to be the "fountainhead of revolution in Asia," and Sardar Patel, India's first deputy prime minister. Kapila argues that it was in India that modern political languages were remade through a revolution that defied fidelity to any exclusive ideology. The book shows how the foundational questions of politics were addressed in the shadow of imperialism to create both a sovereign India and the world's first avowedly Muslim nation, Pakistan. Fraternity was lost only to be found again in violence as the Indian age signaled the emergence of intimate enmity. A compelling work of scholarship, Violent Fraternity demonstrates why India, with its breathtaking scale and diversity, redefined the nature of political violence for the modern global era.

BJP is a political party rich in distinct ideology possessing an army of committed and dedicated workers. Added to this is a succession of capable; industrious and talented leaders. Our collective endeavour would accelerate the process of development and instill probity in public life. On being returned to power; our commitment would be to establish Su-Raj (good governance). --- A negligent and lethargic attitude about casting one’s vote; despite having the capacity and facility to do so; in principle not only weakens the democracy but in practice also paves the way for unhealthy elements getting into the polity which in turn is detrimental to the health of democracy. Voters should also bear in mind that they not only form the government by casting their vote but also indirectly pave the way for someone to form the government by not exercising their franchise. --- The entire nation is looking at us to find answers to these challenges. If the BJP fails to respond to these challenges; then rest assured; no other political party will have a solution for them. If by galvanizing our organizational powers we are successful in this election; respond to all these challenges and take the country out of these crises; then we will be considered as architects of history in the years to come. —From this book Collection of speeches of BJP President Shri Rajnath Singh which reflect the basic ethics and characteristics of this nationalist party and emphasis on the motto of ‘Nation First’.

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.

The book seeks to intervene in current debates within political theory and intellectual history.

This volume examines the distinct structural characteristics of Indian politics and unearths significant sociopolitical and economic processes which are critical to the political articulation of governance in the country. It reflects on the foundational values of Indian polity, the emergence of the nation post-colonialism, the structural fluidity of federalism in India, and the changing nature of the planning process in the country. The book also studies the electoral processes, social movements, party system, local and state governance. Apart from analyzing corruption and public grievance systems, the volume also probes into significant issues in Indian politics. This book will be useful to the students, researchers and faculty working in the field of political science, public administration, 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.

Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru helped create the myth of a nonviolent ancient India while building a modern independence movement on the principle of nonviolence (ahimsa). But this myth obscures a troubled and complex heritage: a long struggle to reconcile the ethics of nonviolence with the need to use violence to rule. Upinder Singh documents the dynamic tension between violence and nonviolence in ancient Indian political thought and practice over twelve hundred years. Political Violence in Ancient India looks at representations of kingship and political violence in epics, religious texts, political treatises, plays, poems, inscriptions, and art from 600 BCE to 600 CE. As kings controlled their realms, fought battles, and meted out justice, intellectuals debated the boundary between the force required to sustain power and the excess that led to tyranny and oppression. Duty (dharma) and renunciation were important in this discussion, as were punishment, war, forest tribes, and the royal hunt. Singh reveals a range of perspectives that defy rigid religious categorization. Buddhists, Jainas, and even the pacifist Maurya emperor Ashoka recognized that absolute nonviolence was impossible for kings. By 600 CE religious thinkers, political theorists, and poets had justified and aestheticized political violence to a great extent. Nevertheless, questions, doubt, and dissent remained. These debates are as important for understanding political ideas in the ancient world as for thinking about the problem of political violence in our own time.