Reappraising Modern Indian Thought: Themes and Thinkers [1 ed.] 981191415X, 9789811914157

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Reappraising Modern Indian Thought Themes and Thinkers Edited by Ankit Tomar · Suratha Kumar Malik

Reappraising Modern Indian Thought “A fine collection of impressive essays dealing with a large array of Indian thinkers who between them cover more or less the entire range of Indian thought during this period. With works like this appearing from time to time, there is no excuse for ignoring the teaching of Indian political thought in Indian or non-Indian universities.” —Bhikhu Parekh, Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, University of Westminster, UK & Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) “This book brings together essays by young scholars, on themes and thinkers, from modern and more contemporary Indian thought. In doing this it fills, what may be best described as a void, in contemporary scholarship, which has systematically neglected these thinkers no matter their conceptual contributions to the making of the modern Indian nation. Given the vast range of this collection it will be of interest not only to researchers and scholars of Political Science, Philosophy and Modern Indian History but also to the general reader.” —Bindu Puri, Professor & Chairperson, Centre for Philosophy, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (India) “While progressive writers have dominated the intellectual scene in India for decades, this book deals (mostly) with under studied cultural-revivalist thinkers. All of them, except Tagore, Vivekananda and Azad share the same brand of ethno-religious nationalism, the dominant idiom today in Indian politics. To read these makers of the Indian intellectual scene under the Raj shows that, at that time already this brand of nationalism went on a par with social conservatism.” —Christophe Jaffrelot, Avantha Chair & Professor of Indian Politics and Sociology, King’s College London & Senior Research Fellow at CERI-Sciences PO/CNRS, Paris “An excellent introduction for undergraduates and the lay reader on the many strands of Indian political thinking. The essays take up a diverse range of political figures and intellectuals who moved beyond the nationalism-colonialism divide and allow us to better understand the persistence of hierarchy and violence in Indian society.” —Dilip M. Menon, Mellon Chair in Indian Studies & Director, Centre for Indian Studies in Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

“This book offers readers a competent insight into a rich universe of ideas and perspectives: the universe of Indian culture during the past two hundred years. The diverse dimensions of this culture are carefully differentiated and explored. Thus, one finds chapters on idealist humanism, on political militancy, on cultural revivalism, and on radical pragmatism. However, in the midst of diversity one always remains aware of the deeper connectedness or relationship of ideas. Thus, one comes to realise that, when applied to our global situation. The Indian universe of perspectives can be a pathway to peace in the world.” —Fred R. Dallmayr, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, University of Notre Dame, USA “This book offers assessments of a remarkably broad range of Indian political thinkers, who represent diverse perspectives on culture, society and politics. It usefully places them within their historical contexts which are not always fully visible in such studies. Readers will gain an appreciation of the marked contrasts and debates between these thinkers, and the book will stimulate further debates in a changing India.” —James Manor, Emeritus Professor of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London “The volume is a rich collection of essays on Modern Political Thought woven around Indian thinkers and their socio-political ideas. Divided into several themes and issues, the essays collectively, provide a comprehensive overview of the making of modern India. It is lucidly written and well researched and will be of interest to students and scholars working on the subject.” —Pampa Mukherjee, Professor, Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh (India) “It is an interesting collection of essays that discuss a wide range of thinkers and themes from across the political spectrum. The book thus provides a broad discussion of the intellectual origins of the pluralist political culture of India that developed during the colonial period. It will certainly be useful to students of politics and history, and will be of interest to general readers.” —Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Professor, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand & Director, New Zealand India Research Institute “The book is a scholarly contribution in the field of Indian Political Thought. It covers some very contemporary thinkers who had their own vision of India. There is broad coverage of themes to offer a holistic site for conceptual analysis. It will be immensely helpful to students and to the teaching community.” —Shashikant Pandey, Professor & Head, Department of Political Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar (Central) University, Lucknow (India)

Ankit Tomar · Suratha Kumar Malik Editors

Reappraising Modern Indian Thought Themes and Thinkers

Editors Ankit Tomar Lakshmibai College University of Delhi New Delhi, Delhi, India

Suratha Kumar Malik Department of Political Science Vidyasagar University Midnapore, West Bengal, India

ISBN 978-981-19-1414-0 ISBN 978-981-19-1415-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

This Work Is Dedicated To Our Teachers

Foreword

Political thought has since long been an area of considerable inquisitiveness for scholars of social philosophy throughout the world. Enormous amount of literature is available on various streams of political thought which originated and grew in Greek, Roman and English political communities over two thousand years. A keen student of political science would evidently find some essential linkages between these three main traditions of Western political thought. The preponderance of this stream in our classrooms and syllabi of Political Science throughout the globe somehow led us to unwittingly submit to the fallacy of the thesis of political thinking locating its origin in Greek societies. Colonisation of many nations in various continents by the British, Portuguese and other European imperialists did not provide any space of indigenous thinkers to be placed forward in this area and this resulted in gross failure of otherwise age-old societies in exploring sustaining and substantiating their own traditions of systematic thinking and intellectual endeavours in any meaningful field of human activity. Interestingly, Indian academia has also been substantially influenced by this menace. For quite a long time, any innocuous indication of Indian contribution to socio-political thinking was summarily dismissed with sufficient disdain. The advent of Indian national movement could eventually witness a visible growth of reasonably articulate stream of scholarly works on Indian tradition of political thinking. Some of these exceptionally great academic

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pursuits managed to attract inadvertent attention of academic communities of the West, which have, till today, been considered as the highest apostles of academic excellence and which have, as a result, attained an unquestioned authority of providing intellectual recognition (or rejection too) to the research exercises of the rest of the world. However, many of these highly systematic and authentic analytical presentations by Indian scholars, trained and groomed in the Western educational institutions, were calculatively termed as ‘nationalistic writings’ purporting to highlight the Indian academic tradition in a greatly appreciative colour, so as to emphasise upon the quest for independence from colonial powers. This was, in fact, considered to be attempts to justify and legitimise the demands of self-rule. Unfortunately, after the independence, this tradition of exploring the Indian past with a view to understand socio-political thinking of our own philosophers and seers got abruptly discontinued. After the sixties, another stream of writings on Indian political systems of ancient India was initiated by some scholars who were bent upon establishing ‘classstruggle’ in each and every sphere of Indian life from ancient to present. These analysts presented Indian political thinking in a pre-decided manner to find conflicts, clashes, exclusion, discrimination and disempowerment of the different ‘classes’ by the ‘powers’ that be. This trend played havoc with academic understanding of Indian minds since the absolute ignorance of our own tradition of socio-political ideas was less harmful than the deliberate picturisation of the yesteryears as the ‘history of violent class-struggles’. The disservice done by these, strangely termed as ‘liberal’, scholars to the cause of objective and impartial and unbiased academic researches has been immense and got tremendous impact on the trajectory of intellectual pursuits and higher learning in and about India. In this background, it is highly imperative that efforts to understand and examine Indian political thought be encouraged at all levels. Although the present volume has concentrated only on the modern Indian thought and proclaims of reappraising the Ideal-Humanist, Militant-Extremist, Cultural-Revivalist and Radical-Pragmatist traditions only, yet the significance of the present work lies in the fact that it attempts to provide an overview of the major political thinkers of modern India.

FOREWORD

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Many of the contributors of this work have long been my friends and well-wishers. I congratulate the editors and the contributors of the book for their efforts. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma Vice-Chancellor Mahatma Gandhi Central University Motihari, Bihar, India

Preface and Acknowledgements

Venturing for editing a book can be a fascinating and pleasurable activity but at the same time it is a taxing and challenging task also especially when one is working in the field of socio-political thought of various thinkers of Indian sub-continent. It is taxing, because one is constantly evaluating one’s own abilities to come up with a product that should be welcome in the world of academia. And it is challenging because unlike the Western Political Thought where we consider political philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Marx purely as political philosophers, in Indian Thought, we generally associate Indian thinkers, particularly modern Indian thinkers either with a particular ideology or a party or organisation. For example, if one is writing a chapter on the political or economic ideas of Nehru, then he/she will be consider as supporter of Congress party whereas if someone is writing on Savarkar or Deendayal then we start labelling him/her as an activist or campaigner of Right-wing ideology. Let takes an another example, suppose a person is writing or working on the ideas of Karl Marx or Bakunin so does it mean that he or she is a Marxist or anarchist? But there is a problem which we generally face when tries to study or explore the ideas of modern Indian thinkers and it is because of such kind of mindset, we have not learnt anything from our rich traditions of modern Indian thought. In this context, we have made a serious attempt to change the mindset so that we can think ‘out of the box’.

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Second, we also wish to make it very clear that our present work is not a work of selective thinkers; in fact, it is a continuation of another book on modern Indian thought entitled Revisiting Modern Indian Thought: Themes and Perspectives edited by Suratha Kumar Malik and Ankit Tomar which includes rest of the thinkers of modern India that we were not able to incorporate in this book. The continuation volume has been published by Routledge global edition in 2021, where the readers will find the continuation of the ideas of other great thinkers of modern India under different thematic sections. This book has evolved over a period of three years and is the result of continuous discussions, debates and conversations between the editors regarding the pedagogy of modern Indian thought. Our interest in the Indian philosophy combined with our engagement with teaching modern Indian thought in classroom stimulated us to think of ways to integrate our concerns for preparing the text-cum reference book on modern Indian thought which is a crying need not only for the students of Political Science, History, Sociology and Philosophy, but also for the general readers at large. The book is also an attempt to explore the ideas and thought of modern Indian thinkers by revealing our indigenous knowledge system, culture, civilisation and ideals of the freedom movement in one way, and withering away from ‘Eurocentrism’ which posits European history and values as ‘normal’ and ‘superior’ to others, thereby helping to produce and justify Europe’s dominant position within the global capitalist system and also in the epistemic world in another way. The contributors of this volume are expert in their fields, and they analyse the ideas of modern Indian thinkers from different vantage points. Every chapter of this book had a dual mandate—it needed to be ‘student friendly’ in terms of its handling of the theme and, at the same time, would bear each author’s independent opinion on every issue. The present compendium is divided into four thematic sections: IdealHumanist, Militant-Extremist, Cultural-Revivalist and Radical-Pragmatist thought. The first section of the book deals with the ideas and contributions of Rabindranath Tagore, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo Ghose and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to the annals of modern Indian thought and all of them directly and indirectly remained idealist and humanist in their thought and action. The chapters on such thinkers not only talks about their lives and times, but also discusses and examines the contributions of those to contemporary period. The second section of the book reflects the thought process and

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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strategies of militant-Extremists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. In contrast to the Moderate thinkers of the Indian National Congress who pursued a policy of reconciliation, the Extremists demanded time bound programmes and policies harming the British interests in India through direct actions. The third section of the book deals about the cultural revivalists which includes Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar and Deendayal Upadhyaya who tried to revive India’s culture and glorious past along with the freedom movement. All of them believed that Indian culture and tradition is superior to Western materialism and had tried to arise national consciousness among the mass through revival of Indian tradition and culture and endeavoured to reconstruct the nation. They linked India’s future essentially to the resurgence of native culture, alongside the struggle for political liberation from the colonial rule. In the fourth and the last section, the emergence and evolution of radicalpragmatist thought of Syed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Iqbal have been discussed at length. In writing the book, a number of people have directly and indirectly contributed to whom we remain indebted. We are happy to be associated with the Palgrave Macmillan (part of Springer Nature Group) book project. We are thankful to the Palgrave Macmillan team especially to Sandeep Kaur, Shreenidhi Natarajan, Misao Taguchi, Aurelia Heumader, Chitra Gopalraj and others, without their support and cooperation, the project would not have taken off within stipulated deadlines and the manuscript would not have reached the press without their initiative and personal care. We are also indebted to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions in making this work meticulous and worth reading. We would like to extend our appreciation to a number of people who made this project possible through their invaluable support and guidance. We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers of the manuscript for their comments, which we strived to incorporate to the best of our abilities. Their suggestions were quite insightful and helped in revising the content of the volume. We are grateful to Prof. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Bihar and General Secretary and Treasurer, Indian Political Science Association (IPSA) to have kindly consented to write the ‘foreword’ for the book. We are indebted to Prof. Narender Kumar, Chairperson, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for writing

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the introductory chapter of the book. We are indebted to Professor Bhikhu Parekh, Professor Bindu Puri, Professor Christophe Jaffrelot, Professor Dilip M. Menon, Professor Fred R. Dallmayr, Professor James Manor, Professor Pampa Mukherjee, Professor Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and Professor Shashikant Pandey for writing the endorsements for this compendium. We take this opportunity to congratulate and thanks to all the contributors who have contributed their valuable piece and cooperate during the whole process of the production of this book. We are thankful to all of them especially to the senior academicians. We are thankful to our students, who stimulate us with their conversations, ideas and critical queries in the classroom and outside, in making this work worthwhile. 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. As far our knowledge is concerned, the book does not use any third party materials and there is no funding interest associated with this book. New Delhi, India Midnapore, India

Ankit Tomar Suratha Kumar Malik

Contents

1

Introduction Narender Kumar

1

Part I Ideal–Humanist Thought 2

Rabindranath Tagore Tridib Chakraborti

19

3

Madan Mohan Malaviya Suratha Kumar Malik

55

4

Swami Vivekananda Projit Kumar Palit

73

5

Sri Aurobindo Ghose Budh Bahadur Lama

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6

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad M. J. Vinod

125

Part II Militant–Extremist Thought 7

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Sangeeta

147

8

Bipin Chandra Pal Ashu J

169

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9

Lala Lajpat Rai Urmil Vats

203

Part III Cultural–Revivalist Thought 10

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Sourav Naskar

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11

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Jajneswar Sethi

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12

Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar Pramod Kumar Ray and Prabira Sethy

251

13

Deendayal Upadhyaya Ankit Tomar

277

Part IV Radical–Pragmatist Thought 14

Syed Ahmed Khan M. Mohibul Haque and Khurram

293

15

Muhammad Iqbal Islam Ali

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Index

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Notes on Contributors

Ali Islam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Zakir Husain Delhi College (Evening), University of Delhi. He did his M.A. M.Phil. and Ph.D. from University of Delhi. He has published two books: Contemporary Africa: Issues and Concerns (ed. 2011) and Bhartiya Rajnitik Chintan: Sankalpnayeen Evam Vicharak (ed. 2012). He has also published various articles in national and international journals. His areas of interest include African Politics, Political Philosophy, Gender and Contemporary Studies. Chakraborti Tridib is a Former Professor in the Department of International Relations, Jadavpur University, Kolkata (India) and former ICCR Chair Professor in Indian Studies and Visiting Professor at Dublin City University, Ireland. He is also Former Dean and currently Emeritus Professor of the School of Social Sciences, Adamas University, Barasat, India. He is an expert in South Asian, Southeast Asian and Asia-Pacific Affairs, Indian Political Thought, Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies. J Ashu is currently working as an Academic Counsellor at IGNOU Centre, Sri Aurobindo College, University of Delhi and Senior Research Associate at Department of Education in Social Sciences, NCERT, Delhi. He has completed his M.A., M.Phil. and pursuing Ph.D. in History with a major in Ancient History from Department of History, University of Delhi. He has published two books and many articles related to his

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specialisation. He is also voluntarily serving as President of Asiatic Society for Social Science Research, Delhi. Khurram is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, AMU Aligarh. His area of specialisation is Political Theory and Constitution of India. He has authored a book on Political Development and published research papers/articles on political themes. He has presented papers in national and international seminars in India and abroad. Kumar Narender is a Professor & Chairperson in Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has experience of teaching and research for 18 years in various Central Universities including University of Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (Lucknow). He has five books to his credit which include Sukhadeo Thorat and Narender Kumar (ed.) B. R. Ambedkar: Perspective on Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies, New Delhi: Oxford University Press (Paperback edition 2009), Sukhadeo Thorat and Narender Kumar (ed.) In Search of Inclusive Policy: Addressing Graded Inequality, Jaipur: Rawat Publications (2008), Narender Kumar and Manor Rai Dalit Leadership in Panchayats: A Comparative Study of Four States, Jaipur: Rawat Publications (2006), Narender Kumar Dalit Policies, Politics and Parliament, New Delhi: Shipra Publishers (2004), Narender Kumar Scheduled Castes and Panchayat Elections in Haryana, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute (2001). He has also been working on Family/Dynasty Politics in Haryana under a collaborative international project, where academic institutions, i.e. King’s College London; London School of Economics from Britain; and CERI-Sciences PO, Paris from France were partners. He was awarded Indo-French Social Scientist Fellowship in 2011 and studied the problems of Roma, a minority and Gypsy community in France. He has also completed two major research projects awarded by University Grants Commission and Indian Council for Social Science Research. He has published another book on Ambedkar and Democracy from Oxford University Press. His areas of interest include Political Institutions, Political Process and Public Policy with special reference to marginalised groups. Lama Budh Bahadur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Sikkim Central University. He was a Former Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science with Rural Administration, Vidyasagar University. He has guided many M. Phil. Students

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on various fields of research and his publications include 12 articles and chapters in different edited books and journals. He has also invited as resource person and presented paper in 19 international and national seminars/conferences across the country. His areas of interest include India-Nepal Relations, Local Governance, Political Thought, Social Movements, Political Theory and Indian Politics. Malik Suratha Kumar is an Assistant Professor and Teacher-in-Charge in the Department of Political Science, Vidyasagar University. He holds an M.A. and M.Phil. in Political Science from the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He obtains his Ph.D. degree from Vidyasagar University under the supervision of Prof. Tarun Kumar Banerji (Former Professor of Political Science and Director of Gandhian Studies Centre, Vidyasagar University and National Fellow, ICSSR, New Delhi). In his credit, he has published four books (sole authored and co-edited) and twenty research articles and chapters in different national and international books and journals including Sage, Springer and Routledge, etc. He was invited as resource person, guest of honour and chief guest to different colleges and universities and has also presented papers in more than 40 international and national conferences/seminars including Imperial College London, UK, Linton University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Dubai. He has organised 5 international and national seminars/conferences in the capacity of convener and organising secretary sponsored by UGC, New Delhi and NHRC, New Delhi. His areas of interest include Indian political thought and philosophy, tribal politics and issues, dalit identity, politics and issues and International Politics. Under his supervision, 15 M.Phil. Scholars have been awarded their degree. He has completed UGC Major research project on Land Alienation and Politics of Tribal Exploitation: A Study of Koraput District of Odisha and has been awarded with Nirman Foundation Fellowship (Lord Bhikhu Parekh endowment) during his M.A., UGC Junior Research Fellowship during M.Phil. and the Vivekananda Excellence Award in 2019 (Presented by Seva Youth Guild, Kolkata affiliated to NYKS, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Government of India). Since last 6 years, he is associated with National Service Scheme, as the Programme Officer and awarded the best NSS Programme Officer in the state for the year 2019-20 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Government of West Bengal. He is also involved in social service for the

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downtrodden and is the adviser of Youth Mass of Kanpada (Bhadrak, Odisha). Mohibul Haque M. is a Professor in the Department of Political Science of Aligarh Muslim University, India. His areas of interest are: International Politics, Indian Polity, Minority Rights, Human Rights, Terrorism, Globalisation and Political Islam. He is a prolific writer and has contributed several articles, research papers and chapters in the edited books on socio-political issues of national and international importance. He has also authored a book titled International Terrorism and Violence: A Human Rights Perspective. He has presented papers in national and international seminars/conferences in India and abroad. He has been participating in discussions on television channels (national and international) and other public fora as panellist, expert and discussant. Dr. M. Mohibul Haque is also the recipient of the President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal for Excellence. Naskar Sourav is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Vidyasagar University, West Bengal. He has published many research articles/books related to Social History. His areas of interest include Defence and Strategic Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Diplomatic History of World, Contemporary World and Cultural History of Indian Diaspora. Palit Projit Kumar is a Professor in the Department of History at Assam University, Assam. He has authored 8 books and published many research articles/chapters in edited books and journals. He is also the Director, Centre for Indological Studies, Department of History, Assam University, Silchar (India). Ray Pramod Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at L. B. College, Angalo, Jajpur, Odisha. He has completed his M.A. in Political Science from Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, M.Phil. in Political Science (International Relations and Strategic Studies) from Central University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad and Ph.D. from Utkal University, Odisha. Dr. Ray has published a number of research articles and chapters in different journals and edited books respectively to his credit. He has presented a number of research papers in various national and international conferences; delivered invited lectures and acted as resource person in various conferences. Besides, he was often invited as a panellist for various Odia news channel discussions on electoral politics and other socio-economic

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and political issues. He has also worked in a number of national and international Research Projects and currently the Project Director in an ICSSR funded Major Research Project. Dr. Ray has been working as an approved councilor at IGNOU Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar Odisha for Political Science and Public Administration PG Courses. He has translated IGNOU BDP Political Science study materials from English to Odia. Presently, he has been working as an Associate Editor in a national peer reviewed Journal named Asiatic Society for Social Science Research published from New Delhi. Sangeeta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Morning), University of Delhi. She has done M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Delhi. She has more than 11 years of experience in teaching to undergraduate students in this college. She has published 1 book and 12 articles in different edited books published by reputed publishers. She has presented research papers in several seminars (both national and international) in different colleges of University of Delhi. Sethi Jajneswar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Ravenshaw University, Odisha. He has completed his M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. and Post-Doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has presented his papers in different seminars and published his research articles in different journals and books. Sethy Prabira is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi. He has published chapters in different journals and books including Sage and other publishers and has presented papers in different international and national seminars. Tomar Ankit teaches Political Science at Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi. He holds an M.A. in Political Science from University of Delhi and an M.Phil. in International Politics from School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is currently on the verge of submitting his Ph.D. to the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD), School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has contributed various chapters and research articles in different national and international edited and co-edited books, journals and to several reputed institutions of India including Institute of Life Long Learning, University of Delhi. He

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has also participated and invited as resource person in different seminars, conferences, workshops and training programmes at national and international level. His areas of interest include Indian and Western Political Philosophy, Theories of International Relations, Non-Western International Relations Thinking and Global Political Economy. Vats Urmil is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, University of Delhi. She has a Ph.D. in the subject from University of Kurukshetra. She has more than 10 years of experience of teaching undergraduate students of Political Science. Her research articles have appeared in various national and international journals. She has also associated with many non-governmental organisations. Her areas of interest include Political Theory, Political Philosophy and Human Rights. Vinod M. J. is a Former Professor in the Department of Political Science at Bangalore University, Bangalore. He has thirty years of teaching and research experience in the field. He has been a Salzburg Fellow, Ford Foundation Fellow, Swiss Foreign Ministry Fellow to the Graduate School of International Studies and a Visiting Fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Centre, Washington, DC. He has written many monographs and published widely in academic journals from India and abroad. Professor Vinod has authored/co-authored four books titled Contemporary Political Theory (2013), Security Challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Taiwan Factor (2009), India’s Foreign Policy in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities (2006) and United States Foreign Policy Towards India: A Study of the American Approach (1999). He has recently completed a major research project with the UGC on ‘Migrations into Bangalore City: A Study of Its Social, Economic and Political Implications’. His research expertise includes India-United States Relations, South Asian Security Research, Political Theory and Indian Political Thought.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction Narender Kumar

1.1

Backdrop: Modern Indian Thought

Without understanding meanings of modern, Indian, political and thought separately, conceptualisation and contextualisation of modern Indian political thought might be a difficult task. For clarity, beginning needs to be done from the last word, i.e. thought. ‘Thought’ denotes contemplation, pondering, consideration, reflection, introspection, deliberation, rumination, cogitation, brooding, mulling over, concentration, debate, even musing and speculation. Thus, thought may be taken as more systematic than merely thinking, which could be in abstraction. ‘Political’ implies authority, legitimacy, decisions, institutions, bodies, units associated with the functioning of the State, regimes and dispensations so on and so forth. It also needs to be mentioned that political is not exclusive of few of these components but also spreads to the other disciplines that has been the case in ancient Greek, medieval Europe or

N. Kumar (B) Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_1

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N. KUMAR

modern/contemporary world where political is not exclusive but inclusive and touches interdisciplinary aspects to produce a complete meaning of the major developments. ‘Indian’ obviously denotes something that relates to India not merely in geographical terms but in its diverse traits. Rathore and Mohapatra (2010) contend, “….what specifically characterises Indianness of Indian Political Thought is the way in which it is infused by Indian tradition(s)— whether to accommodate, assimilate, sublimate or even negate. Wrestling with the tradition(s), evoking the tradition(s), evading the tradition(s), these are all characteristics useful in delimiting the notion of ‘Indian’ within the Indian Political Thought”. ‘Modern’ needs to be understood not only in terms of times but more in terms of ideas and their context and the context here revolves around the themes of nationalism and nation-building. Various strands of social nationalism, cultural nationalism and political nationalism mark nationalism. The invocation of these various strands is primarily against the colonial rulers and also against the internal colonisation of groups and communities at the margins. Modern Indian Political Thought has been marked by response to colonialism, nationalism of various kinds, nation-building, democratisation and addressing significance or insignificance of traditional value system of Indian society, among others. Thus, the ideas were composed, cherished and advanced in a particular social, political and economic context, which cultivated conceptualisation of thought of the times. Nation-building remains one of the ideals with the thinkers of modern India. Political scientists have engaged on the subject and look at this period sometimes differently and at times complementing each other. Mehta (1996) in his formulation about the modern Indian political thought talks of three influences—(I) a strong tradition in India emphasised about the oneness of being; (II) the individualist idea of society was under attack in much of the nineteenth century thinking in Europe; and (III) later social reform thought concerned with welfare of people, socialism, equality, national developments through participatory means of belongingness. Pantham and Deutsch (1986) adopt two important perspectives: world-historical and political economy. They observe two major strands of modern Indian political thought, where one argues for adaptation of Western political traditions and the other seeks to develop indigenous/local articulations. Thus, obviously formulating modern political philosophy by developing reasonable connections between both the

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Western conventions and Indian traditions. There is an attempt to bring fusion of local traditions and global concepts like swadeshi and saty¯ agraha of the former and rights and equality of the latter. Chakrabarty and Pandey (2009) argue that there is a context to when, where and how the ideas are constructed, nurtured and developed. These are marked by social, political and economic specificities. It argues that organic link with a particular reality usually leaves an imprint on the way the construction of ideas takes place. The colonial influences seem to have formidable impact on the modern political thought of the thinkers. It primarily revolves around nation, nation-building and nationalism. The relatively new work by Singh and Roy (2017) observes that the modern Indian political thought marks intended and unintended costs of colonial modernity where an array of ideologies such as liberalism, capitalism, nationalism and democracy impacted the Indian context. The nationalist elites further added radical, socialist and marxist overtones to these conceptions. Consequently, there was rise of counter-ideological orientations, viz. forces of traditionalism, conservatism, revivalism and communalism of caste, tribe and religious variety that finally culminated in the partition of India (Singh & Roy, 2017: XXVI). The above discussion informs that modern Indian political thought is not a thought about national struggle/movement against the British and needs to be understood in terms of several struggles and contestations of ideas not only among the thinkers but also within their self. We shall try to understand Modern Indian Thought in terms of few contestations that underline the thought process of modern Indian thinkers. It may be in terms of Hegelian formulation of thesis and anti-thesis; Marxian diction of contradictions or Ambedkar’s construction of struggle between the two articulations of Br¯ ahminism and Buddhism and more recently Alone’s (2019) formulation in Ambedkar and Anti-Ambedkar to look at the post-colonial politics in India. In the context of these formulations, one might understand that the Modern Indian Thought could be enumerated in terms of—(I) contestation between colonialism and nationalism; (II) contestation between traditions and modernity; (III) contestation between Self and Nation; and finally (IV) contestation between nation-building and majoritarian State.

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1.2 Contestation Between Colonialism and Nationalism The most obvious contestation that is reflected throughout the thought process of Modern Indian Thought is between the ideas of colonialism and nationalism. This is more prevalent among the pre-twentieth century thinkers but not absent among the later ones as well. Thus, the early generation of reformist thinkers began their intellectual voyage with dual challenge—(I) colonialism simply did not represent merely an extraneous power to them but it was representative of modern and forward-looking society; and (II) Christian missionaries presented a formidable critique of Hinduism and its most inhuman practices namely Sati, female infanticide and caste oppression, especially untouchability. And these puzzled the early thinkers to the core making them believe their inferiority. Even after a durable period of colonial rule and their subjugation of Indian masses, the Indian Moderates like Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee, W. C. Banerjee, Pherozeshah Mehta and even Madan Mohan Malaviya (who has become an icon of right wing) had faith in constitutional methods and generated public opinion in favour of their demands and persuaded the British for bringing in reforms in the political system. To meet their demands, some of these leaders, who are part of the Indian political thought, even sent representations and memorandums to the British Parliament. Their faith in colonialism could be gauged while they argued for “self-government within the British regime” (Bhartarya, 1958: 74). Some of them expressed not only their loyalty towards the British Crown but also opined that India was approbated with the presence of the British especially for brining Western political institutions. The appreciation was not only for interventions in administration and politics but also in the social sphere. Not only the intelligentsia at the national level but also at the regional level were appreciative of British rule, person like Bal Shastri Jambhekar, who used to run first major Marathi newspaper in the early nineteenth century observed that merely sixty or seventy years of British rule in Bengal transformed it beyond recognition as in the place of the “violence, oppression and misrule” of the past, a picture of “security and freedom” was emerging due to people acquiring “a superior knowledge of the Arts and Sciences of Europe” (IGNOU, 2017). Indian national movement has been divided into two phases, sometimes it is in terms of periods, early and later; pre-1900 and post-1900;

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pre-Gandhian and post-Gandhian, etc. Chakrabarty and Pandey, (2009) remark that the rise of Gandhi brought significant transformation in nationalist articulation “as 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” (Chakrabarty and Pandey, 2009: XXVIII). India becoming a nation has always been questioned even after the independence from the British by not only the most vocal critic like Ambedkar in pre- and post-independent India but also much later by Aloysius in his celebrated volume “Nationalism without a Nation” articulating the similar sentiments with evidences. Observing about the most difficult task of making and claiming India as a nation due to the absence of most of the characteristics for being a nation, Raychaudhuri writes that “imaging India as a nation was a response to the rulers against their alleged formulation that India never was and never could be a nation” (Raychaudhuri, 1999: 18). However, “the unifying elements of the Indian religious traditions, medieval syncretism and the strand of tolerance and impartiality in the policies of Muslim rulers” (ibid.) made possible to imagine India as a nation despite multidimensional identities which were beyond the imagination of Western formulation of a nation.

1.3 Contestation Between Tradition and Modernity Another contestation that we observe in the Modern Indian Thought is between tradition and modernity. This contestation is also the like we discussed under the colonialism and nationalism, where some of the thinkers were not averse to adopting the reasonable qualities of the colonial rulers and in argued for adoption of modernity against the traditional outlook of the Indian society and like the nationalist sentiment, there were few having faith in Indian traditional values and defending them. The thought reflects there being few who neither were adopting a kind of middle path, adopting good traditions of the past and also of the modernity. Arguing that everything was not fine and to feel proud in the ancient cultural traits that sometimes continue at present thinkers like Day¯ananda Saraswati, Ram Mohan Roy and many endeavoured to redefine traditions. Day¯ananda Saraswati opined that idolatry and priest craft prevalent in Indian society were primarily responsible for the destruction of the

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longing for knowledge. Others tried to elevate the status of women by raising the issues of Sati, widow remarriage and supported their educational development. These efforts tried to redefine tradition offering hard-nosed critiques of such traditional practices, which at times inspired the colonial government to enact suitable rules and regulations and sometimes even bringing in legislations in this regard. On the other hand, there are thinkers like Tilak who were critical of the 1890 Age of Consent Bill that struck at the foundation of caste allowing the British intervention in the private realm of Hindu society requiring resistance from the native Indians (Chatterjee, 1994: 4–7). This reflects caste being an uncompromising and distinct marker of Hindu identity that needed to be protected, which probably was similar to the sentiments of Gandhi who wanted to protect the varn.a system in particular. On the other hand were Phule and Ambedkar who were critical of the traditions and wanted a complete disjunction from the traditions of Indian society that was primarily marked by inequalities of several kinds. Two conflicting figures namely Jinnah and Savarkar were initially liberal in their outlook Savarkar, “who stayed away from the Gandhi-dominated Congress movement, was a thorough modernist and atheist who was opposed to all kinds of superstitions and was greatly influenced by the scientific and philosophic achievements of the West” (IGNOU, 2017: 48). Interestingly, “Savarkar greatly valued the work done by Ambedkar” and criticised irrational and retrograde ideas of Gandhi “for his wholesale rejection of modern civilisation, science and technology” (Chakrabarty and Pandey, 2009). The contestation between tradition and modernity was not merely among the Hindu thinkers but also a great deal of this contestation is observed as well among the Muslim thinkers of those times. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is considered the harbinger of liberalism and modernity in the Muslim society. He was among those who believed that colonial rule brought in modern ideas to the land and therefore to propagate modern scientific knowledge, he founded Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College that converted into the Aligarh Muslim University in due course. He argued in those times about Islam being compatible with modern ideas and values and took recourse to a method of ijtihad using independent reasoning for keeping up with changing times. Ayesha Jalal argues that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan remains a complex personality as he eludes classification either as a “liberal moderniser” or as an “anti-modern traditionalist” with his attempts to channelise a dialogue

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among the Aligarh modernists and the traditionalists represented by the Ulema of Deoband and Farangi Mahal, respectively.

1.4

Contestation Between Self and the Nation

The contestation between the self and the nation apart from other operates at three levels—religious identity, caste background and gender location. The first two have considerable literature and third one still being voiced. On the religious front, Muslims were initially apprehensive of modernity and English education that was contrary to the perception of Hindu intelligentsia that seemed forthcoming to adopt new frontiers as discussed in the contestation between colonialism and nationalism. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s initiatives and later by others had a considerable impact for adopting new methods of advancement. However, with coming up of twentieth century, the sufficient representation debate brought in Muslim League for Separate Electorates and that culminated in finding distinction between self and the nation in the minds of Muslims that is reflected from the remarkable shift that took place in the activities and decisions of Jinnah and Iqbal. Initially Jinnah was a liberal and secular politician but with the changing scenario became torchbearer for a separate nation in the form of Pakistan. On the other hand, Muhammad Iqbal has been one of the strongest proponents for individual freedom and modernity into the religion. Articulating the idea of Khudi (self) undertaking destiny in one’s own hands instead of depending on the notion of God above and away from human being, he criticised the religion as practised by the mullahs . This contestation became more nuanced as the British rule was becoming inevitable. From the idea of representation to the idea of separate nation is what is reflected in the contestation between self and the nation. There have been many Muslim thinkers who were not in tune with the idea of separation and they saw no contestation between self and the nation and remained in India after the partition. At another level, the contestation between the idea of self and the nation was with regard to the Backward Caste leaders, who were equally puzzled with the idea of power being in the hands of Hindu elites represented by the “upper castes”. The vital issue that needs special mention with respect to thinkers coming from “lower caste” viz. Jyotirao Phule, E. V. Ramasamy Naicker and B. R. Ambedkar is that it differed from the contestation of nationalism and colonialism on the one hand and tradition

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and modernity on the other prevalent among both Hindu and Muslim thinkers of the times. Dr Ambedkar even argued for need of a third front against the dominance of Hindus on the one side and Muslims on the other, who were busy in establishing their own domination and fighting. The three features are predominant in their thought. One, the social reform agenda was never secondary for them and their unfailing criticism of nationalism of dominant kind remained consistent. Two, there was no incongruity among them with regard to the need and appreciation for modernity. Third, independence from colonial rule was a matter of time and they had to bargain for the marginalised sections of the society especially from the dominant sections of Hindu society or the custodians of Hindu social order. It needs to be noted that though this segment might have doubts about the unfolding events and the domination of the other, but for them this contestation was not between self and the nation so clearly, but it was more of the self and the control of nation by the Other and this Other becomes powerful by strengthening the national movement against the British.

1.5 Contestation Between Nation-Building and Majoritarian State The amassing importance of Muslims after the formation of the Muslim League in 1906 and the partition of Bengal had a distinct impact on the national movement that was puzzling and perplexing for the leaders of the movement. On the one hand, the intensity of the nationalist movement was multiplying and on the other, the communal question raised its cranium significantly and it led to a major rift between the Hindus and Muslims in different parts especially in the Northern part. The political question of representation demanded by Muslims and granted by the British further complicated the matter making nationalism and communalism moving parallel. The moves paved way for the demand of a separate nation by the Muslims that finally culminated in the division of the land into two nations namely India and Pakistan. In the post-independent India, the nationalism was replaced by nation-building that pushed the communal agenda to the back for initial few years. However, the nationbuilding project got thwarted with the rise of communal violence in different parts of the country and a majoritarian State that was envisaged by few thinkers of the times.

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Nehru envisaged India as a civic nation and a modern, liberal State. He conceptualised India as a composite State with freedom of culture for different groups while at the same time being a unified political entity. He underlined the importance of tolerance for building a united nation. In a diverse country like India, no “real” or “true” nationalism can be built except on the principle of secularism (Gopal & Iyengar, 2003: 194). He argued that due to majoritarian rule, Hindus will already be the dominant group in the country. So they should be generous towards minorities. For Golwalkar, religion is an all-encompassing entity interwoven with the way of life in India. He is against the idea of religion being a matter of individual life. He argues that attempts to separate public and political life from religion must not be made. Hindus identifying themselves with Muslims as Indians in the independence struggle against the British are criticised by Golwalkar as holding a wrong notion of democracy. He calls it as a bid to “nationalise the foreigners” (Golwalkar, 1939: 14). He not only considers Muslims as foreigners but also with a debased civilisation having a degenerating effect on India. On the other hand, Savarkar’s idea of nation-state has been exclusivist and nativist in nature. He conceptualised Indian State as a sacred geography (Heredia, 2009). He avowed for the two-nation theory claiming that there are centuries of national and cultural antagonism between the Hindus and the Muslims and that the Hindus constituted a nation or Hindu Rashtra. He envisaged a majoritarian State which would protect Hindus as a dominant group and ensure its political preponderance with a Unitarian orientation (Savarkar, 1949: 4). He defended Hindu nationalism on the ground that all nationalisms have been parochial and communal by nature. Finally, Hindu nation and Indian nation are coterminous for Savarkar. Thus, the seeds of majoritarian State were prevalent during the nationalist struggle and an undercurrent for both nation-building and majoritarian State paved way for majoritarian ideals. This aptly reflects in the assertion of a recent observation: The vision of a Hindu majoritarian polity held by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP combines cultural nationalism and political strategies aiming at flagrant social dominance by upper castes……majoritarian ideology functions and modifies institutions and social relations. (Chatterji et al., 2019: 1–2)

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One may well argue that the contestation between nation-building and majoritarian State prevalent in the ideas of the modern-era Indian thinkers has begun to emerge clearly in the contemporary times with the beginning of new politics.

1.6

The Volume and the Thinkers

The present volume is not a work of selective thinkers, rather this volume is a way of continuation of another volume entitled Revisiting Modern Indian Thought: Themes and Perspectives published by Routledge in 2021 and edited by the editors of this volume. Thus, some of the major thinkers have been discussed in the earlier one and those who needed urgent attention of the students of modern Indian thought have been incorporated and deliberated upon here. This volume classified the thinkers’ thought into four segments, namely: Ideal-Humanist Thought; MilitantExtremist Thought; Cultural-Revivalist Thought; and, Radical-Pragmatist Thought. In the following discussion, there is an attempt to understand the conceptions proposed by the editors. Ideal-Humanist Thought The last century brought into focus the human concerns due to the devastating impacts of two World Wars but if we try to locate the ideas of those who talked about humanism or those who may be considered as humanists in Indian context, they were responding to the challenges posed by the international developments and also the deep-seated prejudices prevalent in the native society. Humanism, according to Humanist International, stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality. Attaining humanism itself is an ideal in the society marked by differences of various kinds, be it of gender, race, caste and many more. And when ideal is attached to humanist, then the goal becomes farther and harder to achieve. The first ideal philosopher in Political Science, Plato argued that ideals exist independent of humanity such that reason discovers the principles rather than simply creating them (Rescher, 1992: 118). In this sense, to achieve ideals, it has to be independent of, if not devoid of, humanity but if we get deeper into the meaning, then we realise

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that by humanity, Plato probably meant human world and not humanity from humanist perspective, as we understand today. Tagore was a humanist and a social and religious reformer. He was against the British Raj ruling over his people. As a Humanist-Ideal, he was caught between the British culture and that of the native Indians bringing in good qualities together for humanity. On the other hand, Malaviya who has been adopted as an ideal by the rightists of the day founded “Prayaga Hindu Samaj” that seems to have been inspired by Buddhist philosophy and wrote articles on the contemporary issues and problems of the country. Later in 1885, he edited an English Weekly known as “Indian Union” and finally in 1887 founded “Bharata Dharma Mahamandal ”, to propagate sanatan dh¯ arma and Hindu culture, considering them ideal for human beings. Swami Vivekananda’s understanding does not indicate any particular nation or country but rather to human civilisation world over. His philosophy and thought revolve around human unity, national reconstruction, spiritual nationalism, handling poverty and underdevelopment in India making him humanist-ideal. Militant-Extremist Thought Nationalism is marked by various variants, as the society comprises of individual and groups with different mindsets. The trio known, as BalPal-Lal in the Indian national movement did not adhere to the idea of applications and petitions to the British rather presented Extremist stream. Individuals and groups carrying out terrorist actions are, though, an important division of the larger class of militant-Extremists. However, terrorism differs from militant extremism as it is not a broad behavioural pattern, but rather an irregular method or rare tactic adopted to realise political goals subverting or ignoring in ways that subvert or ignore the requirements of law (Goldstick, 2002: 20). Militant extremism refers to adherence to a set of beliefs and values combining advocacy of measures beyond the norm (i.e. extremism) on the one hand and intention and willingness to resort to violence (i.e. militancy) on the other. It differs further from violent militant extremism that not just intends but gets involved in actual violence, violating human rights of the opponents, instigating anarchy and invigorating an atmosphere of tremor and revulsion (Saucier et al., 2008). We observe some correspondence between militant extremism and terrorism, the former is taken to be more in the thought process, whereas

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the latter more applicable on the ground with physical violence of extreme kind. Militant-Extremist mindset may not be confined to individuals and groups but also in the persons occupying State apparatus and thus, referring to State terrorism. However, the focus in the volume is on the militant-Extremists operating in the society against the cruel colonial administration and power. Cultural-Revivalist Thought Identities are dear to human beings and culture is an important and undisputed aspect of the identity. When the identities get threatened due to colonisation, relocation—forced or voluntary, oppression, or modernisation then the members of the group revert to and assert their cultural identities that may be referred to cultural revival. Thus, the term “cultural revival” indicates reconfiguration of a group identity around a perceived common culture laying a claim to the effect that the aspects of culture with which the group identifies need to be recovered, retrieved and reclaimed. Howard Campbell (1994) argues that cultural revivalism is predominantly associated with small and minority populations demanding for rights and restitution and also for political or legal recognition as an ethnic group. Cultural revivalism intentionally or unintentionally carried on as a strategy by minority groups to consolidate political identity and advance recognition appealing to cultural logic inciting the logic that authentic age-old traditions are unchanging, unique and define a community, suitably transferred through heredity and/or ancestry merely to the members of that group. MacCannel (1984) adds to the conception of cultural revivalism by referring to an assemblage of signifiers from the sign systems of cultural discourse at large and a specific signifier becomes attached to specific groups through the idea of social convention. These social conventions become part and parcel of the community concerned and are invoked at the time of challenges to or for the assertion of identity. Further, he argues that the contemporary cultural revivalism not only invokes semiotic constructions but also adopts “reconstructed ethnicity” where authenticity takes on a commodity value in order to project and identify itself with a generalised and interchangeable image of “traditional” values to sustain itself invoking the past and reconstructing the present as per the demands of the contemporary times.

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Interestingly, in this volume, we refer to cultural revivalism vis-à-vis to not the minority group but the majority group that ascertained threat to the cultural onslaughts of the external Mughals and British who came to establish their rule on the native Indians or to be precise to the Hindus. Bankim Chandra’s concept of Hinduism and Hindutva was marked by the universal brotherhood, harmony and humanism. The concern was to assimilate Hindu Spirit, with nationalism and patriotism bringing cultural revival. The political philosophy of Savarkar has been a distinct ideological formulation where the homogeneity of the Hindu population living in a particular landscape was focused. Against the popular conception about him adhering to Hindu ethos, Savarkar was an atheist and categorically disapproved of orthodox beliefs in all religions including Hinduism. On the other hand has been Golwalkar whose major originations were anticommunist and anti-socialist ideology. His famous phrase being, “Not socialism but Hinduism”. Consequently, there is a prescription of the Br¯ ahminical cultural nationalism in everyday life including the public and private sphere. It has genesis in the colonial past as an ideological assertion rooted in the cultural opposition to the colonial rule, a weapon advocated by the dominant group involved in the freedom struggle. Contrarily, Deendayal Upadhyaya’s conception of Integral Humanism adopted by Jana Sangh as political doctrine discerned openness to other opposition forces making the Hindu nationalist movement to have an alliance with the prominent Gandhian sarvodaya movement possible. This was considered to be the first major public breakthrough for the Hindu nationalist movement giving a fillip to cultural revivalism for the Hindu right. Radical-Pragmatist Thought Pragmatism is inspired by the present and solves the existing problems and concerns with possible means to achieve the goals. Contemporary neo-pragmatist Posner (2003) views ideals as useless and philosophical theorising as empty inviting efficiency exercise where utility might decide the required. Thus, here the pragmatist’s function is finding the opposite means to accomplish set ends, ignoring and leaving endeavours to evaluate ends critically. Could pragmatism be radical is the obvious question one may puzzle with. The literature on the subject has looked at the question from various standpoints. Pragmatism on face value asserts that methods may not be neutral as critical investigations are infused with value commitments. Pragmatism asks particular kinds of questions

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ignoring others. One of the most acclaimed pragmatist theorists, Dewey said: …all the questions that the human mind has asked are questions that can be answered in terms of the alternatives that the questions themselves present. But in fact intellectual progress usually occurs through sheer abandonment of questions together with both of the alternatives they assume — abandonment that results from their decreasing vitality and a change of urgent interest. We do not solve them: we get over them. (Boydston, 1988)

Dewey inspires to approach problems more radically wherein both means and ends are put to critical inquiry and engages in self-correction by restructuring the established traditions, conventions and ideals that compose the status-quo. Like the idea of End of History and End of Ideology, for Dewey, “The end of democracy is a radical end. For it is an end that has not been adequately realised in any country at any time. It is radical because it requires great change in existing social institutions, economic, legal and cultural” (Dewey, 1937: 298–299). Therefore, pragmatism subjects to current practices to criticism and reconstruction rather than accepting these as given. In Cambridge Companion to Pragmatism, the authors argue that “Pragmatism is anything but banal—it is radical” (Sullivan and Daniel, 2013). This section examines the role of Sir Syed as a liberal thinker, a social reformer and an educational activist in the light of Muslim predicament, British predominance and social reform movements of the nineteenth century. Another thinker Iqbal’s political philosophy is embedded in Islamic ideas and thoughts and examining his ideas makes us to understand how far they could be termed as Islamic or stimulated by modern political thoughts. Despite not being a politician in strict sense of the term, Iqbal demonstrated unprecedented political consciousness while participating in the nationalist movement especially with regard to Muslims about their public sphere and, generation and control of thinking through different institutional mechanism. Such a phenomenon is being observed in order to see multiple subversions as impositions through political process of electorate democracy. Finally, students/readers of Modern Indian Thought need to understand thought of the thinkers of various kinds not through the prism of popular contextual political orientations where appropriation or rejection

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becomes underlining principle, but rather with the academic alignments so that Savarkar and Jinnah or Iqbal and Malaviya or similarly many others are not poised against each other, but rather understood in their locations and larger philosophical indulgence of their engagements.

References Alone, Y. S. (2019). Indian political space and religion: Perspectives and exploring alternatives. In N. kumar (ed.), Politics and religion in India. Routledge. Bhartarya, S. C. (1958). The Indian nationalist movement. Kendra Publications. Boydston, J. A. (1988). The influence of Darwin on philosophy. Reprinted in J. Dewey (ed.), The middle works, Vol. 3, 1899–1924. Campbell, H. (1994). Zapotec renaissance: Ethnic politics and cultural revivalism in Southern Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. Chakraborty, B., & Pandey, R. K. (2009). Modern Indian political thought: Text and context. Sage. Chatterjee, P. (1994). The nation and its fragments: Colonial and postcolonial histories. Princeton University Press. Chatterji, A. P., Hansen, T. B., & Jaffrelo, C. (2019). Majoritarian state: How hindu nationalism is changing India. HarperCollins. Dewey, J. (1937, January 6). Democracy is radical. Common Sense, 10–11. Goldstick, D. (2002). Defining “terrorism”. In H. W. Kushner (ed.), Essential readings on political terrorism. Gordian Knot Books. Golwalkar, M. (1939). We or our nationhood defined. Bharat Publications. Gopal, S., & Iyengar, U. (Eds.). (2003). The essential writings of Jawaharlal Nehru (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press. Heredia, R. C. (2009). Gandhi’s Hindusim and Savarkar’s Hindutva. Economic and Political Weekly, 44(29), 6267. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). (2017). Salient features of modern Indian political thought, Unit 3. For details see http://egyankosh.ac. in/bitstream/123456789/22547/1/Unit-3.pdf MacCannel, D. (1984). Reconstructed ethnicity, tourism and cultural identity in third world communities. Annals of Tourism Research, 11(3), 375391. Mehta, V. R. (1996). Foundations of Indian political thought: An interpretation— from manu to the present day. Manohar. Pantham, T., & Deutsch, K. (Eds.). (1986). Political thought in modern India. Sage. Posner, R. A. (2003). Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy. Harvard University Press. Rathore, A. S., & Mohapatra, S. (2010). Indian political thought: A Reader. Routledge.

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Raychaudhuri, T. (1999). Perceptions, emotions, sensibilities: Essays on India’s colonial past and post-colonial experiences. Oxford University Press. Rescher, N. (1992). Ethical idealism: An Inquiry into the nature and function of ideals. University of California Press. Saucier, G., Akers, L. G., & Shen-Miller, S. (2008). Patterns of Thinking in Militant Extremism. Department of Psychology, University of Oregon. Savarkar, V. D. (1949). Hindu Rashtra Darshan. Maharashtra Parntik Hindusabha. Savarkar, S., & Joshi, G. M. (Eds.). (1967). Historic statements. Popular Prakashan. Singh, M. P., & Roy, H. (Eds.). (2017). Indian political thought: Themes and thinkers. Pearson Education. Sullivan, M., & Solove, D. J. (2013). Radical Pragmatism. In A. Malachowski (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Pragmatism. Cambridge University Press.

PART I

Ideal–Humanist Thought

CHAPTER 2

Rabindranath Tagore Tridib Chakraborti

2.1

Introduction

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) is an extremely exceptional and unique political thinker in the history of mankind. In his multidimensional personality, we find a spectacular synthesis of the qualities of a philosopher, the creative artist, the universal humanist, the educationist, the man of action and a liberator. He was one of the prime leaders of the Indian renaissance in art, music, dance and literature. He used his unique brilliance for half a century in fostering the spiritual and political stimulation of India and devoted his life to the establishment and development of a cultural and educational centre, the Visva Bharati, with international ideals. His poems and songs, popularly known as Rabindrasangeet ; his keenness of paintings and drawings; passion on various novels, short stories, plays, travel diaries and autobiographical works unmistakably reflect his farfetched depth of social and political thinking.

T. Chakraborti (B) Adamas University, Kolkata, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_2

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As a humanist, Tagore never liked the British Raj ruling over his people, although he was caught between their culture and that of his own people. As a lover of Mother India, he composed the music and lyrics for India’s national anthem Jana-Gana-Mana (Thou Art the Ruler of All Minds) and when Bangladesh became independent in 1971, they selected Tagore’s song Amar Sonar Bangla (My Golden Bengal) as its national anthem. He was epitomised as a cultural ambassador of India to the West and widely accredited for poetic proponent of his deep-rooted optimistic views. If Swami Vivekananda was branded the philosophical harbinger of India to America, then Tagore was the precursor and poetic vehicle of his mission to the outside world. Tagore’s life and works have stigmatised him as a cultural icon of the globe. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the major background of the philosophical foundations of Tagore’s social and political thought with special reference to his ideas of nationalism and internationalism.

2.2

Life Sketch

Rabindranath Tagore was the son of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore (1817–1905), and was born in Calcutta on 7 May 1861 at Jorasanko. His grandfather, Dwarkanath Tagore (1794–1846) was a social reformer, wealthy landowner as well as the founder of the Brahmo Samaj . Tagore’s family was a progressive and enlightened family, and the environment in their home remained the hub of social and cultural activity. The ideas that he captivated through his personal experiences of life not only shaped his own world view but also accumulated the ingredients of a splendid synthesis. These long and striking experiences of life naturally had a profound spillover effect in the development of the thinking process of Tagore, which ultimately moulded his social and political consciousness. Though the youngest child of a wealthy family, his early years of childhood were passed in comparative neglect. His mother, Sarada Devi was the only one in the family, who heeded his imaginations, listened to his chatters and always praised his performances. She always encouraged little Rabindranath to read the R¯ am¯ ayan.a and the Mah¯ abh¯ arata. She was perhaps not in the best of health to do anything more, nor at that time it was a tradition in the elite families for a mother to give more attention to her children in their regular day to day wants. This, the then orthodox culture, led Tagore to spend his early childhood under the care of servants, named Brojeshwar, Shyam and Govinda. Rabindranath

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often felt choked under the constant supervision of these servants. Thus, this servant-supervised life gave Tagore an unforgettable experience of his childhood days. While the child elongated craze for the open breathing space, the servant tried to keep him like a caged prisoner by telling the story of R¯ am¯ ayan.a, especially the reference to the Lakshman Rekha that forbade Sita from stepping on that line, which had a deep impact on young Rabi who felt restless under this ‘servocracy’. This constant supervision of the servants did not allow Rabindranath much freedom, which resulted in that he grew up as a dreaming lonely child, standing by the veranda railing and looking contemplatively on the outside world. In his Reminiscences, he wrote: We used to be under the rule of the servants. To save themselves from trouble, they had almost suppressed our right of free movement. But the freedom of not being petted made up even for the harshness of this bondage, for our minds were left clear of the toils of constant coddling, pampering and dressing-up (Tagore, 1933: 8).

This early and resentful experience made a lasting feeling on his life and writing. In fact, the child’s curiosity and thirst for first-hand experience of the world of the men and women beyond the confines of home symbolically turned into the soul’s longing for ‘over-soul’, ‘great beyond’. No conjecture, while writing Dak Ghar, a small play which was published in English as The Post Office dramatised this yearning of the little boy Amal who watched the process of life in the street outside with a wish to participate in it. The village postman’s assurance that he will bring letters from the king kindled a new hope in him. It was only death that ultimately delivered him from the bondage of life (Ahuja, 2010: 198). Rabindranath rarely saw his father and his mother died when he was thirteen. The lack of mother’s affection in his childhood days made him too nostalgic about his mother and that was clearly reflected through his poem Guru. In this poem, he articulates his inability to actually recall the face or the features of his mother. But often an odour or a melody triggered off in him happy moments that he shared with his mother. When he looked at his playthings, he was able to hear his mother’s tune. Perhaps, his mother often sang the same song as she rocked him to sleep in the crib. He recalled this melody as he touched his old toys. In autumn, the Shiuli tree in Bengal blossoms into aromatic tiny flowers, which are usually used for worship. His mother would string the flowers for the morning

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service at the temple. The powerful smell of the Shiuli flowers immediately revived happy memories of his mother. He could remember the quiet tranquil gaze of his mother when he watched at the vast expanse of the clear blue sky. This feeling fluently discloses the deep-seated emotional bonding that the poet had with his mother. It also makes us to cognise the deep impact of her on the poet even at that tender age. Besides this, after failing to flourish in the conventional school system, Rabindranath obtained his early education with tutors at home where he studied a wide group of subjects including: Arts, History, Science, Mathematics, Bengali, Sanskrit, Persian and English, lessons from physical sciences and wrestling, Hindu Scriptures like Upanis.hads , loving verse of Percy Bysshe Shelley and classical poetry, notably that of K¯ alid¯ asa. He always loved freedom and open-air life. Fortunately, in 1873, Rabindranath’s father came back home in connection with the sacred thread ceremony of three boys. Eventually, he took Rabindranath with him to spend a few months in the Himalayas. This, whether wittingly or unwittingly, along with the commanding personality and saintly character of his father, had an extensive influence on his mind and proved to be a turning point in his life on his way to the mountains. During his stay with his father in the Himalaya Mountains, Debendranath taught him Sanskrit, English, Astronomy and the ancient Hindu religious texts. Thus, three principle elements transpired throughout his life: a deep faith for freedom, both personal and national; a knowledge of the greatness of Asia, and specifically India’s impact to the world of the spirit; and poetry voicing both of these. Rabindranath learned from his father’s example to respect the noble teachings of religions other than his own and experienced how men of different castes and creeds can unite in worship and respect each other. In fact, his father trained him in the simple and arduous life in which he believed and opened Tagore’s mind to the beauty of the nature and moral life. Rabindranath spent a few days at Santiniketan where his father had already constructed a garden house for his meditation. This unrestrained freedom in the lap of tranquil nature paved the way for his future greatness as a lover of nature (Ahuja, 2010: 198). Furthermore, at Dalhousie, his father Maharshi, showed him the stars and planets in the sky and talked to him about the spectacular things displayed in this universe, and since then, Rabindranath loved Astronomy. In fact, towards the end of his life, he wrote a book on Astronomy, which gives in very simple language a picture of the whole glorious world of stars and includes several discoveries of sciences (Pradhan, 2002: 6). Tagore

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also showed unique poetic talent, and at a tender age of eight years, he was urged by his brothers and cousins to express himself in poetry. This inspiration, sustained him throughout his formative years. Influence of Vaishnavism The development of Rabindranath Tagore’s thought process was influenced by Vaishnava poetry to a great extent. In his childhood, he came in contact with the Vaishnava literature mainly through the reading of Bengali poets, Chandidas and Vidyapati. The impact of Vaishnava lore and images on Tagore originated from the reading of old Vaishnava poems collected by Akshay Sarkar and Saroda Mitra, and he was deeply influenced by the Vaishnava theory of Lila of God. According to him, God for His Lila has created this world because God cannot want anything; his action cannot be motivated by any reason. He created finite souls so that He may get playmates for this Lila or play. In his Gitanjali, Tagore wrote, “You will play in me that is why I have come to this world” (Pradhan, 2002: 11). While supporting this view, Tagore admitted that; “the Vaishnava religion has boldly declared that God has bound himself to man, and in that consists the greatest glory of human existence” (Tagore, 1979: 96). Tagore was also influenced by the concepts of Vaishnava literature of Viraha or the pangs of separation, the idea of Abhisara and mukti or liberation. To him, mukti stoops not in renunciation of the world but in love. Love teaches us that this world is real since God has created it. His ideas were further moulded by the conception of Radha as illustrated in the Vaishnava literature. In his play, Red Oleanders (Raktakarabi), the character of Nandini denotes the Alhadini Shakti (innate power of bliss) (ibid.: 12), which was an adaptation of Radha. His Bhanusingher Padavali amply illustrates the best impact of Vaishnava religious poetry, which means, he deals with the love legends of Radha and Krishna symbolically interpreted as the soul yearning for the over-soul or God. This recurrent theme in medieval religious poetry covers a wide range of ideas from romance to mysticism, from erotic to ethereal love. With the passage of time, however, this form of poetry lost much of its attraction when people came under the influence of nineteenth century Western literature of Shelley, Keats and other lyricists. Tagore too passed through this stage. One day, while watching the gathering clouds in the rainy season, he burst into lyrical expression, reminiscent, of medieval poetry, and wrote, “The thick groves of flowers vibrate with the melody of

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flute, Casting off all fear and shame, come dear one come”.1 Thus, many of his later writings were deeply shaped by the Vaishnava philosophy and this is clear when Rabindranath wrote: If you ask what gave me boldness when I was young, I should say that one thing was my early acquaintance with the old ‘Vaishnava’ poems of Bengal, full of freedom in meter and expression. I think, I was only twelve when these poems first began to be reprinted. I surreptitiously obtained copies from the desks of my elders… I must admit that the greater part of these lyrics was erotic and not quite suited to a boy just about to reach his teens, but my imagination was completely occupied with the beauty of their forms and the music of their words and their breath, heavily laden with voluptuousness, passed over my mind without distracting it (Chakravarty, 1961: 83).

Impact of Baul Rabindranath’s social and political consciousness was also flavoured by the cult of Bauls and the medieval Indian saints. The writings of these philosophers left an everlasting influence on his mindset. He was so much influenced by the philosophy of Baul singers, especially their language that he wrote about them in an article titled, An Indian Folk Religion in his book Creative Unity. In that article, he wrote: The man of heart to the Baul is like a divine instrument perfectly tuned. It gives expression to infinite truth in the music of life. And the longing for the truth which is in us, which we have not yet realised, breaks out in following Baul song, ‘Where shall I meet him, the Man on My Heart. He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land’ (Tagore, 1995: 79).

Rabindranath was also inspired by the Baul characters, which resulted in that in many of his writings, characters like Dhananjaya Vairagi in the dramas Prayaschitta and ‘Muktadhara’, Thakurdada in ‘Sarodotsav’, ‘Raja’ and Dak Ghar came up. Similarly, the mystic Indian saints like Nanak, Kabir, Rabidas, Rajib, Dadu, etc., also created a deep-rooted influence in the writings of Tagore. He was the first English erudite who was influenced deeply by the Baul philosophy and the same was 1 www.ripublication.com/ijeav1/ijeav2n2_13.pdf. Accessed on 22 October 2010.

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reflected in his global vision, not as a contradiction to the doctrines of the Upanis.hads but in its acceptance of the supreme manifestation in all beings without glorifying institutional religions. The traditional stratification of the Br¯ ahminical and non-Br¯ ahminical, the coexistence of folk with dogmatic religious sects, all intertwined in his literature truly depicted the Indian religious plurality (Das, 2008: 19). Influence of Kalidasa Rabindranath’s social and literary consciousness was greatly moulded by the works of Kalidasa, since the writings of the latter remain not just instinctive and emotional, but pressing and contemporary. During his life long journey in various writings, the concept of nature has taken a huge space, and where the impact of Kalidasa had time and again been reflected clearly. In his Memories (Jiban Smriti), Tagore recollects how the reflection from the Meghaduta had time and again revived in his memory, especially during the rainy days, and left a permanent indentation on his mind. To Tagore, Kalidasa was pro-modern who immortalised love through romantic imagery of the physical world through beautiful language. His verses have connotations similar with those composed later by the English Romantics, who according to Tagore perhaps inherited knowingly or unknowingly from Kalidasa the tendency to emulate in their composition what they view in this world (Chaudhuri, 2010: 5). Tagore himself in his Shakuntala, has portrayed her character in a fashion, which symbolised perfection of nature. The portrayal of love between Dushyanta and Shakuntala through dialogues, although very brief, has been unique in character. While reading Tagore’s essays on Kalidasa, one feels that Tagore has certainly blended the classical style of the Sanskrit court poet with his own, bringing about an admirable fusion of philosophies, reflecting similar works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his own father, Debendranath in the domains of religion and philosophy. The story of the Indian rewriting of humanism would not have been complete without an acknowledgement of how Tagore enlarged it in the field of literature (ibid.). In 1889, Tagore wrote Manasi and where in some poems, we find the impact of Kalidasa on him. He was also greatly influenced by the vivid description of rains by Kalidasa. Many of the songs of Rabindranath on rain (Varsha Mangal ) can be compared with Kalidasa (Pradhan, 2002: 23). In another poem, Tapoban, Tagore gives a vivid description of a

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forest of his liking, which remains quite similar to Kalidasa’s description of Tapoban in Raghuvansa or Shakuntala. Tagore also used Kalidasa’s Meghaduta not only in his poem but also in many short stories and essays in different ways. His different dance-dramas, which centre on the beauty of nature in different seasons, clearly exhibit the direct impact of Kalidasa on Tagore. Impact of Indian Epics Tagore has been influenced by the teachings of the Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a , which constitutes the core of many of his poems. The core concept of Gita has been the idea of a personal God and the ideal of Niskama Karma. He accepts the three yogas of the G¯ıt¯ a as effective ways of realisation of the Supreme Being. Tagore’s understanding of God can be traced to G¯ıt¯ a’s Supreme Person, Purushottama, far above the level of an average person. Purushottama pervades this universe. Influenced by G¯ıt¯ a, Tagore found God existing in every form of life. He discovered God within the life of human beings and said that, “we know God by realising Him in each and all. God manifests himself in human beings and all objects and thus realisation is possible within the soul and in nature” (Tagore, 1979: 20). Like G¯ıt¯ a, the R¯ am¯ ayan.a and the Mah¯ abh¯ arata also influenced Tagore’s concept of themes for lyrics, dramas, poetry, essays and various other writings. His writings like ‘Gandharir Abedan’, ‘Narakbas ’, ‘Karna O Kunti Sambad’, ‘Chitrangada’, ‘Sati’, ‘Biday Abhishap’, Katha O Kahini, etc., are sufficient examples of the direct impact of Mah¯ abh¯ arata (Tagore, 1921: 80). Similarly, ‘Valmiki-Pratibha’, Kal Mrigaya scripts written by Tagore amply demonstrates a direct impact of R¯ am¯ ayan.a. However, one fact remains quite clear that Rabindranath has drawn themes from the various Indian epics, but he assimilated them in his own intellect and exhibited his creativity. Impact of Buddha Rabindranath was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Buddha, particularly by the practical side of Buddha’s teachings. In his quest for realisation of the all-encompassing expansive love, Tagore found the true meaning of Buddha’s preaching (Tagore, 1979: 77). In the preface to The Realization of Life, Tagore wrote:

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To me the verses of the Upanis.hads and the teachings of the Buddha have ever been things of the Spirit, and therefore endowed with boundless vital growth and I have used them, both in my own life and in my preaching, as being instinct with individual meaning for me, as for others, and awaiting for their confirmation my own special testimony, which must have its value because of its individuality (Cited in Pradhan, 2002: 18–19).

Buddha’s Brahama vihara inspired his spiritual outlook. This thought had its optimum handling in Natir Puja, Abhisar, Pujarini, Chandalika, Shyama, Kshanika and a series of speeches delivered by him as the Acharya at Santiniketan. Rabindranath admired the Buddhist philosophy because, “Buddha’s idea of the infinite was not the idea of a spirit of an unbound cosmic activity but the infinite whose meaning is the positive ideal of goodness and love, which cannot be otherwise than human” (Tagore, 1979: 40–41). In October 1922, Rabindranath visited Ceylon and at Colombo, in a speech, he said: “I consider Buddhism to be one of the greatest religious achievements of man. I find a delight in discovering some of its essential similarities, not only to the spiritual thought of ancient India, but to that of other great religions as well” (Das, 2008: 491). Therefore, the impact of Buddhist philosophy on the development of Tagore’s social consciousness cannot be ignored. Influence of Brahmo Samaj The root for the origin of Brahmo Samaj evolved against casteism, untouchability, idol-worship, orthodoxy, narrowness and evil tradition of the Hindu religion. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, based on the philosophy of the Upanis.hads and monotheism of Islam, led this movement. The central theme of the religion has been the worship of ‘One True God’. These ideas of Brahmo Samaj attracted Tagore mainly due to its synthetic, non-conventional and humanist dimensions, as well as its blend of all living religions of the world like Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Rabindranath said: “Brahma-dh¯ arma is a universal religion. Brahmadh¯ arma is the result of India’s deepest sadhana. The whole world has reason to be grateful to India for this” (Tagore, 1936: 29). In fact, in his Religion of Man, Tagore has portrayed the true religion of a man regardless of sect and religious system to which he belongs and amply exhibited to us the deep-rooted influence of Ram Mohan’s ideas on him. Rabindranath was a believer of internationalism and critic of nationalism.

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His idea of internationalism was a direct outcome of Ram Mohan Roy’s idea of universal brotherhood, i.e. brotherhood or inter-dependence of individuals as well as of nations. In his conception of internationalism, there is no hatred against anybody or any nation. Tagore, time and again, has categorically viewed that a narrow conception of nationalism would not bring peace to the world. The fact remains that in the last part of his life, through his Crisis in Civilisation, he repeated the same warning. Besides this, Rabindranath’s research with music was exhaustive. He had the finest collection of exquisite specimens of music and indeed his songs uniquely exhibit a divine amalgamation of the best of music from across several States of India. Tagore was very affectionate of ballads, Nidhubabau’s Tappa songs and songs of the kathaks. During his stay at Shilaidaha, he met the legendary Baul singers of BengalLalan Phakir and Gagan Harkara. Another school of music, Kirtan, also profoundly impacted Tagore besides Brahmasangeet and religious songs based on Ragas. His friendship with Trailokyanath Sanyal inspired him to marvellously blend several spectacular regional songs from several Indian provinces like Sikh bhajans (Gaganer Thale Rabi Chandra Dweepak Jwale), Kannada songs (Baro Asha Kore, Aji Subho Dine), Gujarati bhajan (Jao Re Ananta Dhame) and Mysore songs (Anandaloke Mangalaloke, Eki Labonye Purna Pran) in composing Brahmasangeet. The quintessence of Tagore’s ingenuity is in the creation of the national anthem of India, Jana-Gana-Mana which can infuse the spirit of nationality in all Indians barring all disparities of caste, creed, community, gender and religion. A unique harmonious blend of Indian classical Ragas adds a luminous literary stroke to his compositions which has made them eternal. Influence of Zamindari System on Rabindranath’s Consciousness Tagore was intensely swayed by the liberal humanistic thoughts of nineteenth century Bengali intellectuals such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Keshab Chandra Sen and Swami Vivekananda and inherited a rich legacy from them. The seeds of humanitarianism were sowed in the mind of a young Tagore of 29 years when his father Debendranath sent him to live and supervise the Tagore family’s rural estates in East Bengal and Orissa. His short stint as a Zamindar (landlord) became a life-transforming experience for him when in the rural terrains of Shilaidaha and Shahzadpur (and in the houseboat ‘Padma’), he had the opportunity to learn about the existing socio-economic conditions

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of the peasants living under rigid social orthodoxy and an alien political rule. This experience shaped the reformist in Tagore. He realised that massive social reform and reconstruction must be the principal means for liberating the suffering mass. While travelling all around the vast estate to collect annual rents from the ryots (peasants), Tagore visited villages, conversed with the poor villagers, listened to their problems and also witnessed their abominable conditions. Although at this stage, his outlook towards the impoverished masses was more of a romantic onlooker since he was still not well acquainted with the basic complexities of land relations and the socio-economic causes of helplessness of the peasant class. But he definitely worked hard to understand the prevailing social contradictions through his daily encounters with the rural people. Ideas that had originated in his mind while spending a great part of his youth in the riverside solitude of Shilaidaha became deep-rooted in his consciousness. These ideas transmuted into a highly original and characteristic vision. From a genuine attempt to understand the problems, he gradually came to comprehend the necessity of rural reconstruction as the real solution to India’s problems. Instead of idealising rural life, he started to sense that poverty could be dealt through the spread of basic education, by inducing self-reliance among the peasants, through the application of scientific methods to agriculture, setting up cottage industries and cooperative banks. He came to understand that the greatest enemies of India are not the outsiders but the forces that reside within its borders. In The Future of India, he writes: So long as we, out of personal and collective ignorance, cannot treat our countrymen properly like men, so long as our landlords regard their tenants as a mere part of their property, so long as the strong in our country will consider it the eternal law to trample on the weak, the higher castes despise the lower as worse than beasts, even so long we cannot claim gentlemanly treatment from the English as a matter of right, even so long we shall fail to truly waken the English character, even so long will India continue to be defrauded of her due and humiliated.2

To bring his ideas of rural reconstruction into reality, he later went on to establish Sriniketan under the agricultural scientist, Leonard Elmhirst. He

2 For details, see www.wordsfromsolitude.blogspot.com/.../other-side-of-rabindranathtagore.html. Accessed on 28 February 2019.

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was deeply impressed with the agricultural thinking of Leonard Elmhirst and in 1921, Tagore invited Leonard to run his farm project in the village of Surul near Santiniketan that became the Institute of Rural Reconstruction later named by Tagore as ‘Sriniketan’ of which Leonard was made Director. Rabindranath was profoundly overwhelmed with the personality of Elmhirst, and on 27 November 1921, while introducing him to the people of Santiniketan, in a speech he described him: As a man coming out into the wider world of humanity leaving behind the boundaries of nationhood and of caste and creed. He further added, the way he is going ahead with this work amongst the peasantry of a country strange to him- is a marvel to watch (Das, 2008: 758).

Impact of Upanis.hads Among the philosophies, which had created a deep-rooted impact in the formulation of Rabindranath’s social and political consciousness was the impact of the Upanis.hads . Rabindranath Tagore has bowed to Upanis.hads time and again. The Upanis.hads are based not upon theological reasoning, but on the practice of spiritual life. The teachings of the Upanis.hads and Buddha’s reverberated through the preaching and practices of Tagore (Tagore, 1918: viii). In fact, Tagore’s family at that time was solemnly developing a monotheistic religion based upon the philosophy of the Upanis.hads (Tagore, 1932: 91). Tagore’s work captured the very essence of the Upanis.hads . In his ‘The Religion of Man’, Rabindranath confesses how much he is indebted to the Upanishads, which clairvoyants sacrifice not for the material prosperity but for the attainment of spiritual truth. He further wrote: When I turn back towards the days of youth I feel how I have unknowingly followed the footsteps of my Vedic ancestors; how I have stared at the vastness of the sky and got inspiration to explore the truth; how I have gazed at the white clouds, those coconut trees in the quest to be one with Nature.3

He follows the Upanis.hadic understanding of Br¯ ahamana: Satyam, Jnanam, Anantam (Truth, Knowledge, Infinity), and discovers the 3 www.swaveda.com/articles.php?action=show&id. Accessed on 24 October 2010.

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Supreme Being in and through nature. Tagore says, “The first stage of any realisation was through my feeling of intimacy with nature” (Tagore, 1918: 18). Besides this, his writings like ‘Santiniketan’, ‘Sadhana’, ‘The Religion of Man’, ‘Personality’, ‘Manuser Dharma’ and Sanchaya, etc., also amply demonstrate a direct influence of Upanis.hads . At many stages, Tagore has quoted the shlokas of Upanishads in favour of his belief. He acknowledged the influence of Upanishads on his writing, when he wrote in the preface of Sadhana: “The writer has been brought up in a family where texts of the Upanis.hads are used in daily worship” (Tagore, 1979: vii). He further wrote: To me the verse of the Upanishads and the teachings of the Buddha have ever been things of the spirit, and therefore endowed with boundless vital growth, and I have used them, both in my own life and in my preaching, as being instinct with special meaning for them, both in my own life and in my preaching, as being instinct with special meaning for me (ibid.).

Tagore was also captivated by the concept of Brahm¯ a and Maya. Man and nature are both expressions of Brahm¯ a and are thus one; this made him connect deeply with nature. Tagore comprehended from the Upanis.hads that the self is eternal since it is part of the all-pervading divine consciousness. Rabindranath turned to Upanis.hads in every walk of his life and he strongly felt the need to immortalise the teachings of Upanis.hads by propagating the same to the present age.4 Western Influence on Tagore Rabindranath Tagore wrote almost everything in Bengali but his literary genius was recognised all over the world. He described his own family as ‘a confluence of three cultures: Hindu, Mohammedan and British’. He travelled outside India more than eleven times. During his travel from East to West, the impact of Western and Eastern philosophies had obviously played a major role in the formulation of his writings. The English romantics like Percy B. Shelley, Wordsworth, Dante Alighieri, Goethe, John Keats and others immensely influenced him. He adopted from Shelley the ‘faith in the spirituality of loves’ and Wordsworth influenced 4 For details, see www.swaveda.com/articles.php?action=show&id. Accessed on 24 January 2019.

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him primarily as a Nature poet. The vigorous sanguinity of Browning was reflected in Tagore’s Phalguni, other plays and in many of his poems (Pradhan, 2002: 29). His expression of regards and attraction for the poet John Keats was clearly evinced, when he himself in an essay in 1895 wrote: “of all the English poets known to me, I feel an especial intimacy with Keats … [whose] language is marked by a sincere aesthetic delight” (Majumdar, 2010: 264). Tagore was introduced to the West by English translations of his poetry. European readers were in turn introduced to the mystic voice of India through his poetry. William Butler Yeats and Ezra Pound recognised Tagore’s work as expressions of supreme wisdom, not realisable amidst the chaotic Western way of life. Tagore accomplished what Kipling constantly doubted—marriage of the two worlds, the Orient and the Occident (Pradhan, 2002: 30). Tagore absorbed the achievements of the British culture as well and his work became an integral part of the Western literature. His publication of Gitanjali in English was construed to be the first deliberate step in securing a literary position in the West since he realised that without Western recognition, entire India would never seriously consider the literary views of him as a poet confined to the cultural milieu of Bengal. Yeats’s fulsome introduction to English Gitanjali catapulted Tagore as a religious prophet in the West, very similar to Christ. Yeats observed: Since the Renaissance the writing of European saints — however familiar their metaphor and the general structure of their thought — has ceased to hold our attention. He goes on to mention St. Bernard, the Book of Revelation, a Kempis, John of the Cross and St. Francis in his Introduction. And very significantly, Yeats observes, yet we are not moved because of its strangeness, but because we have met our own image …. (Dutta & Robinson, 1996: 172).

Furthermore, Yeats was so much overwhelmed by the depth of Gitanjali, that he had it printed in 1912, with his own lengthy and sensitive Introduction, where he wrote: I have carried the manuscript of these translations about with me for days, reading it in railway trains, or on the top of omnibuses and in restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would see how much it moved me (Dutta & Robinson, 1996: 172).

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As a novelist, Tagore gave good pictures in Gora and Ghare Baire. In these two novels, the impact of Western ideas on Indian life was clearly reflected. Tagore wrote several plays, such as Valmiki-Pratibha and Mayar Khela, in which music predominates as in the European opera.5 Those suffering the hardships and losses of the First World War treasured Tagore’s work in Europe. Wilfred Owen was among those who found solace in the spirituality of Tagore’s words. Tagore’s works on music had great European and Western influences as he himself mentioned, when he wrote: At seventeen, when I first came to Europe, I came to know of it intimately, but even before that time, I had heard European music in our own household.’ Many scholars explain Tagore’s remark as a means of passionate response and fondness about Western music (Tanim, 2003: 105–107).

Furthermore, during his lifetime, Tagore came in contact with some leading Western intellectuals like Bergson, Gilbert Murray, Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Stopford Brooke, etc. After his interaction with Bertrand Russell, Rabindranath described his views as “the objectivity of art-value”, and conversely, Russell described his conversation with Tagore as that, “he passed into a higher state of consciousness” (Pradhan, 2002: 30). In fact, it was Bergson who created some direct influence on Tagore, among his contemporary intellectuals. Thus, it can be said that Rabindranath was essentially a philosopher of the East and West and his ideas of Asia’s unity, and later of the unity of the world, and his longing for personal freedom were both expressed in his continual and almost compulsive travels to Japan, China, Europe and the United States.

2.3

Tagore’s Important Writings

In July, 1904, in a speech, Tagore presented his concept of swadeshi samaj . In this speech, he put forward that there was a government order relating to distribution of drinking water. The Bengal Government was requested to tackle the sufferance. Tagore showed that for drinking water how one was dependent on the Government and pointed out that the British administrators acted arrogantly at the expense of the people’s 5 Also see www.virtualbangladesh.com/biography/tagore.html. Accessed on 25 January 2019.

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freedom. He even pointed out that “we Indians have had accepted the bonds of subjection under many races and many kings, but the society had always carried on its own duties and never allowed anyone from outside to intervene in its affairs” (Tagore, 1961a: 52). Through this speech, Tagore clearly emphasised that Indian civilisation was exclusively Samaj oriented and not like the State-centric social life as followed by the European civilisation and pointed out that the colonial rule in India failed to differentiate the basic differences between the concept of State and Society. The society, Tagore felt that should maintain autonomy and independent position of its own and unless and until the society sustains its position, it will not be in a position to safeguard the rights and freedom of the individual. In that scenario according to Tagore, “from jol daan (gift of water) to bidya daan (gift of wisdom)”, we are powerlessly reliant on the government and the State. Finally, he raised the question whether we shall recklessly accept the Western concept or not, since it narrows down the position and status of the fundamental freedom of the individual. Thus, the concept of swadeshi samaj was the blueprint of regeneration of India in the context of modern life. Gitanjali or ‘The Song Offerings’ is a reflection of Rabindranath’s consciousness, wisdom and philosophy. The original work, which was published on 14 August 1910, consists of 157 songs. The English version was released by the Indian Society of London in November 1912. Tagore’s Gitanjali expresses the ancient wisdom of the Upanis.hads , the Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a , Ved¯ as and ideas from Buddhism and Jainism of Indian philosophy. The major theme in Gitanjali is devotion to God. He viewed God always with him otherwise his life will become pointless. Gitanjali proclaims that God is neither a notion, nor an embodiment, but an omnipresent force, which has an all-pervasive stimulus in everywhere and conveys its readers into direct contact with the infinite. When Gitanjali was first published in English, the Western countries hailed it for its message of peace and love in a war torn and embittered world. Gitanjali mollifies, relieves and fortifies the soul. Some regarded it as the most valuable and enriching reading ever possible in this world. The rendition of Gitanjali is greeted as a great input to English language and literature from the East. Ghare Baire (At Home and the World) is a 1916 novel by Rabindranath Tagore. This book illustrates the battle Tagore had with himself, between the ideas of Western culture and revolution against the Western culture. In this work, Tagore explains the personal stories of each

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of the three main characters—Nikhilesh, his wife Bimala and the political upstart and friend Sandip who pits the old against the new, west against east, the cogent and the sensitive, conformist and radical, home and the world. The entire work clearly displayed the inner contradiction, liking and disliking among these three characters. This Bengali classic remains to be one of the most contentious and widely debated texts as written by Tagore. This is one of the most combined works of Tagore as it has dealt with a lot of elements. Through this text, Tagore highpoints the pretence of the nationalistic crusade and comments about the contradiction forced upon Indian upper-class women. It also primarily pronounces the annoyance that Tagore experienced being a part of the then nationalist movement in India. Gora was written by Tagore in 1909 just after the Partition of Bengal in 1905. The meaning of word Gora means ‘fair-skinned’. This novel can be treated as a testament of national awareness. It clearly portrayed the then conflict between Brahmo Samaj and traditional Hinduism. Through this writing, he outlined the inner mindset of the prominent characters and highlighted the then social life of Bengal. Tagore through this novel clearly concludes that women should be treated as equals and should be able to blend the orthodox with the progressive in a non-offensive way. In fact, the range of this novel is quite historic and epical. Rabindranath Tagore wrote Amar Shonar Bangla as a protest against the partition of Bengal Province by the British administration in 1905. A romantic rallying cry for the integrity of undivided Bengal, the song remained in craze throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century. Tagore, through this writing tried to inspire the then Indian masses with the spirit of patriotism. Presently, Amar Sonar Bangla is the national anthem of Bangladesh.

2.4

Tagore’s Views on Freedom

The concept of freedom is one of the remarkable concepts of Rabindranath Tagore’s life philosophy. He was a torchbearer of freedom and spontaneity and always implored for liberty of thought and action, and liberty of consciousness. His idea of freedom is a well-knit concept centred around diversity and spread over the whole field of literature, art, music, religion, education, politics, economic and social reform works. He always treasured the free autonomy of the human spirit and for that voiced his reservation against all concentrations of power and felt

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that freedom was the solitary remedy to mechanical unities and thin social creeds. Tagore always expressed utterances at every critical stage of the national struggle and felt that there should be no discrimination among the people of the country on the basis of religion, language or sex. Tagore’s idea of freedom are mainly centred on enlightenment of soul through self-realisation, political freedom accompanied by spiritual freedom, regulation of Almighty in guiding the soul, comprehensive social and cultural growth, fundamental claims of Indian humanity and independence, self-government and freedom of individual and freedom of nation. The entire vision of Tagore’s concept of freedom can be divided under political, social, economic, personal and spiritual headings. According to Tagore, political freedom is birth right of the people as well as the nation and expressed if the people are not socially free and economically self-sufficient, the political freedom is meaningless in a country. Hence, he gave importance to the social freedom of man. Tagore emphasised on social freedom, which is one of the most central ideas of his freedom. The social aspect of freedom is generally revealed in man’s social nature. Indian society is rampant with untouchability, religious intolerance, gender injustice, etc. He believed that all human beings belong to one family and therefore, it is the duty of every individual to fight against these prejudices. Tagore’s writings emphasise on the dignity of man and always focus on the betterment of society. Through his writings, he always raised his voice for the upliftment of the downtrodden and always emphasised for the improvement of women and wanted to give equal status to the women as the men have. He was also against all types of social evils like intoxication, child marriage, enforced widowhood, caste system, untouchability, etc., which were quite prevalent in Indian society. Economic freedom is also one of the important subjects in Tagore’s philosophy. Tagore directly pleaded for economic freedom by exposing the causes of economic maladies. According to him, economic freedom can be sought by terminating exploitation of the poor by the rich and believed that everyone in a society should be able to earn his bread by his own labour. But, for any reason, a person is not able to maintain himself; the community must provide him with necessities of life. Tagore stressed on individual freedom on the ground that man is born free and when a man exercises his free will and judgement, he must enjoy social equality. Finally, with reference to spiritual freedom, Tagore points out that man must enjoy socio-economic and political freedom in order to be qualified for the attainment of spiritual freedom. Man should

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strive to attain the spiritual perfection by constant self-realisation. Tagore always emphasised on the cultivation of the divine power in man, since he believes that the element of divinity is present in every man and asserts that if the divine elements, (i.e. consciousness, free will, reason, etc.) are used in the right manner, man can bring down heaven to this earth. Therefore, freedom, according to him has a spiritual root and his Gitanjali reflects his idea of freedom in the following lines: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action; Into that heaven of freedom, My Father, let my country awake. (Tagore, 2013: 105)

Tagore always pursued freedom, and expressed his desire of selfgovernment for India. He raised fundamental claims of recognising Indian humanity and expressed the British authority to free India. Freedom, to him, is to illumine the soul and an individual to make him feel that he was a component of the great creation of God where freedom pervades. To him, freedom was not merely political emancipation but the blending of the individual with the universe depicted in his song—“my freedom is in this air, in the sky and in this light of universe”. He voiced his deep anguish over the man-made nuclear war that arose out of the tremendous development of science and technologies. Hence, it is essential for man to understand his true existence and freedom. He continued to retain his faith in the human being as is evident from his Russiar Chithi and Africa with their clear preferences for socialism, democracy, freedom and social justice that transcended national boundaries and races.

2.5

Tagore’s Outlook on Nationalism

Rabindranath Tagore provides a unique perspective in our understanding of the idea of nationalism which originated from a faith in Asian values

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of spiritual harmony and moral social set up. He was aware of the approbation of the notion of nationalism and its universal recognition as the only genuine form of political organisation but he himself has not ever been excited to get overjoyed about this concept. He was a worshipper of novelty who has put his faith on imagination over reason, usual over the false and fervidly condemned the mechanical, need-based and target-oriented facet of nationalism which is way apart from the puritan devotion. Tagore always believed that the inherent individuality and creative force of man stands threatened by the cult of nation, which according to him may not be a dignified endeavour for human growth, but surely a manifestation of voracity and jealousy which the professionalism of West has put to the fore. He had deep, earnest and passionate love for India and intense attachment to the land of his birth—the eternal land of the forefathers and the giver of nourishment and strength. His patriotic words permeated the whole of Bengal during the year 1905–1906. He hailed India as ‘the enchanter of the world’s mind’. The Rakhi celebration against the partition of Bengal was originated by Tagore. It was he, who first proposed a boycott of the Calcutta University examination in 1906. After this, he moved away from nationalist movement of Bengal and his succeeding experiences-both national and international events had validated and fortified his confidence about the threat of nationalism. Since 1907, Tagore confined himself to the literary world and in academics. Occasionally, he voiced his political thoughts but refrained himself from active participation in politics. Tagore believed in the spiritual friendship of man. He visualised the dawn of ‘the great federation of men’ through spiritual upliftment and not by mitigating political boundaries of nations and States. The spiritual man alone can stand above narrow nationalism which creates boundaries and is a potential threat to creation of a unifying world. Tagore infused spiritual sensitivity through his literary works and was indeed a harbinger of creating ‘one-world’, negating imperialism and chauvinism. In his writing, Tagore identified three social groups of persons—the Western educated political leaders; the Western educated intellectuals and the Western oriented rulers, mostly, Zamindars (landlords), whose works were to serve their foreign masters. So, he wrote: love of the country was not the concern of these sections of people. He criticised them in most of his writings because they managed to forget to take stock of the warmth of human relationship that existed in India. While, criticising the attitude of these three groups of people, he wrote many articles

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and poems to impress upon them the immediate need of the establishment of living linkage with the common people. To him the political leaders of the period failed to enthuse the people and their flattery of the British rule was out of the tune in search of national identity and exposed the competition among the landlords and political leaders in securing more favour by appeasement. It became visible to him that the spirit of nationalism lay at the source of many international problems and tensions including war. During his 1916–1917 tour of Japan and the USA, the poet raised his voice openly against nationalism. Tagore’s book Nationalism contains some of the lectures delivered by the poet during his tour and these lectures elucidated unmistakably why he was opposed to the cult of nationalism. He condemned nationalism as “a cruel epidemic of evil that is sweeping over the human world of the present age and eating into its moral vitality” (Tagore, 1921: 16). He considered nationalism as an evil because he found that it was concerned only with interest, power, conflict and conquest and had nothing to do with social cooperation, spiritual idealism and man’s higher nature where he was self-sacrificing and creative. He described nationalism as “organised selfishness” (ibid.: 39) which would “never heed the voice of truth and goodness and deplored the fact that though India had no such nationalism in the past decades, it would be influenced through contact with the West. Nationalism, according to Tagore, is not a spontaneous selfexpression of man as social being, where human relationships are naturally regulated, so that men can develop ideals of life in cooperation with one another” (Bhattacharjee, 2011: 25). He condemned nationalism, aggressive commercialism and unquenching thirst for conquest of the West and worked relentlessly for liberation of the cosmopolitan human. In a letter to C.F. Andrews, he expressed his serious resentment about the British action in Punjab massacres of 1919. The cannibalistic culture of the Western powers exploiting the weaker populations of Asia and Africa was vehemently condemned by Tagore. Tagore was always of the opinion that Western nationalism is not based on the Indian principle of social cooperation and spiritual idealism. Rather, it is a political endeavour designed for exploration of the weaker masses globally. He believed in the regeneration of the spirit of the Indian people and guarded us against ruin of our cult and thinking potentialities by encouraging the dangerous anaesthetic nationalism. He repeatedly cautioned us not to undermine our own rich cultural heritage and spiritual values and be led by the Western thought which eventually would

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downgrade us to an illusionary nation-state status superseding the merits of our civilisation. Tagore was one of the few Indians who made federalism the core concept of his national ideology. He said: “If God had so wished, he could have made all Indians speak one language …the unity of India has been and shall always be a unity of diversity”. A country for Tagore is not territorial (mrinmaya), it is ideational (chinmaya). His standard advice to India was—‘form yourself into a nation, and resist any encroachment on it’. As against nationalism, Rabindranath stood for human cooperation and believed that India would play a leading role in promoting this world view. Nationalism, he continued was natural for the Western countries, but not for India. In Europe, the poet argued, the nations had their racial unity from the beginning, but their natural resources were not adequate for the inhabitants. Therefore, their civilisation naturally took the character of political and commercial aggressiveness. But people of various races and religions came to India which was a vast and fertile country rich in resources. It was likely to accommodate a large number of people here and the problem that arose in India was to find out ways and means of peaceful coexistence of different races within the country. In the West, the national policy was annihilation of the aliens (Bhattacharjee, 2011: 25). While referring to the policy of the Americans towards the Red Indians of their country, Tagore said: “You have made violent methods to keep aloof from other races” (ibid.: 98). This was the Western system, whereas the Indian approach was not extermination but reconciliation. In this attempt towards reconciliation, India according to Rabindranath has made a quantity of advancement and wrote; “in spite of our great difficulty, however, India has done something. She has tried to make an adjustment of races, to acknowledge the real differences between them where these exist, and yet seek for some basis of unity” (ibid.: 98–99). This basis of unity has come, Tagore explained, through saints like, Nanak, Kabir, Chaitanya and others. Hence, Tagore was a champion of the ‘people’ and not of the ‘nation’ and called India a land of ‘no-nation’ for the following reasons: A nation, in the sense of the political and economic union of a people, is that aspect which whole population assumes when organised for a mechanised purpose, 2) India has never had a real sense of nationalism. The West solves the problem of race conflict by shutting doors against aliens or reducing them to slavery, 3) In India there is no common birthright.

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In the west the nations there do not have that physical repulsion, one for the other that we have between different castes, 4) The immobility of our social structure atrophies political activity and canalizes it into the blind lane of fragmentariness (Chakravarty, 1961: 35).

Therefore, the point of Tagore was that the perennial problem of India, is mainly, lack of reconciliation between people belonging to different races, which has now become the main problem of the world, namely noncooperation between different nations living within it. “What India has been, the whole world is now” (Bhattacharjee, 2011: 24), said Tagore. The whole world, he pointed out, has now virtually become one country ‘through scientific facility’ and consequently the geographical boundaries between nations have become obsolete. The nations of the world therefore must learn to overcome nationalism and cooperate with one another (Bhattacharjee, 2011: 25). Hence, Rabindranath believed that in bringing about this world unity, India would play a pioneering role because of her experience in bringing about race reconciliation within the country and he thought that nationalism was a matter of human outlook. Tagore criticised Gandhi for his non-co-operation movement because in it, he suspected the generation of a local, parochial limited outlook, antithetical to the cosmopolitan universalism which had been the characteristic theme in Indian history. He opposed in 1921–1922 to the bonfire of foreign clothes as deliberate promotion of hatred. Tagore had never been an admirer of the negative programme and always pleaded for a creative programme. He did not support non-violent movement by the masses in order to attend some immediate political objective and believed that all blind methods are easy methods and therefore could not appreciate the blind force generated by the non-cooperation movements. Therefore, Tagore’s open criticism of nationalism made him enemies at home as well. The pertinent question which cropped up in this context is that why gradually Tagore, in spite of his active initiation of Rakhi celebration against the backdrop of the partition of Bengal, moved away from the nationalist movement of Bengal, ceased to be active in politics and gradually explained his reservation about the threat of nationalism. Initially, propelled by the injustice and irrationality of the act of the British government, Tagore actively initiated and participated in the swadeshi and boycott movements. He wrote patriotic songs, such as Banglar Mati Banglar Jol (Earth of Bengal, Water of Bengal) with fiery

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to bolster the movements that had swung Bengal into a nation with a hope that it would be motivated by education and the Hindu-Muslim unity for the people of Bengal. But as the movement grew in strength and violence spread, Tagore became more and more disillusioned and gradually kept himself aloof from politics, since the nationalist movement simply “destroyed the bondage of nationalism”.6 For Tagore, the view of nationalism and patriotism that the movement was taking on was too narrow. He disengaged with the movement but remained expressive on the issue of independence through his multifarious art and writings, and the core outlook of his belief was that nationalism could not rise above humanity.7 In 1908, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a letter to his friend, A M Bose, and said, “Patriotism can’t be our final spiritual shelter. I will not buy glass for the price of diamonds and I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live”.8 Tagore was indeed a supporter of India’s independence but his priority lay in social upliftment of the people through education and cultural and economic freedom before they aspire for political freedom. Besides this, Tagore’s differences with Gandhi related to latter’s core means, like nationalist campaign of non-cooperation, boycott of British goods and production of home-spun cloth [khadi] and faith in the spinning wheel [charkha], etc., and Gandhi’s idea of nationalism remains another reason to keep Tagore aloof from politics. Besides this, Tagore expressed his serious reservation regarding Gandhi’s idea of noncooperation movement and in a letter to C. F. Andrews, on 5 March 1921, he claimed that “the idea of non-cooperation is political asceticism”. “Our students”, he said, “are bringing their offerings of sacrifice

6 Quayum, M. A. (2013, May 11). Tagore and Nationalism. The Daily Star. https:// www.thedailystar.net/news/tagore-and-nationalism. Accessed on 18 March 2021. 7 Simrin, S. (2019, August 7). Rabindranath Tagore—The poet who knew nationalism could not rise above humanity. The Print. https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/rabind ranath-tagore-the-poet-who-knew-nationalism-could-not-rise-above-humanity/273558/. Accessed on 18 March 2021. 8 Ghosal, A. (2016, December 2). Rabindranath Tagore in 1908: ‘I will never allow patriotism to triumph over humanity as long as I live’. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/national-anthem-flag-in-theatre-rab indranath-tagore-supreme-court-4406145/. Accessed on 18 March 2021.

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to what? Not to a fuller education but to non-education”.9 For him, withdrawing students from the educational structures that existed and offering them no education at all represented “the anarchy of a mere emptiness”, by which he said he was not tempted (ibid.). In non-cooperation movement, Tagore sensed a negative impulse that cannot rejuvenate the country’s impoverished economy and human minds, but rather will sow seeds of communalism and degradation. Tagore’s foremost objection to nationalism was its institutionalisation to meet certain utilitarian objectives, which he as ‘a champion of creation over construction, imagination over reason and the natural over the artificial and the man-made’, had difficulty in accepting.10 In 1925, Tagore wrote an essay, Cult of the Charkha, where he severely criticised the swadeshi movement and Gandhi’s charkha spinning as a means to achieve independence. He saw this exercise as a futile revolt against the British, with no real spiritual or intellectual base.11 For Gandhi, where the charkha symbolised self-reliance and its spinning a routine work for infusing self-realisation, Tagore considered this scheme unrealistic both economically and morally since he believed in self-awakening of a human being through judgement and self-reflection and not through a monotonous activity lacking use of the human brain and brawn. Gandhi’s call for the collective activity of spinning is not, as Rabindranath perceived it, an act born of individual choice and agency. Rabindranath always made a distinction between man’s inner core and his outer worldly existence—the inner self of high moral strengthened by self-abnegation in contrast to an outer acquiring self was eminent in his prayers and petitions made to the outer existing foreigner.12

9 Dutta, K., & Robinson, A. (Eds.). (1997). Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore (p. 260). Cambridge University Press. 10 Quayum, M. A. (2013, May 11). Tagore and Nationalism. The Daily Star. https:// www.thedailystar.net/news/tagore-and-nationalism. Accessed on 18 March 2021. 11 Simrin, S. (2019, August 7). Rabindranath Tagore—The poet who knew nationalism could not rise above humanity. The Print. https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/rabind ranath-tagore-the-poet-who-knew-nationalism-could-not-rise-above-humanity/273558/. Accessed on 18 March 2021. 12 Fraser, B. (2017). The spirit of India: An exploration of Rabindranath Tagore’s and Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas on nationalism. In K. L. Tuteja and Kaustav Chakraborty (Eds.), Tagore and nationalism (Chapter-16, p. 248). Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla and Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd.

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Furthermore, it may have been a psychological reason that Tagore realised the popularity that Gandhi achieved since 1920 through his non-violence movement and captured the mind of the common masses against the British imperialism, which would have been difficult to address through poetry and literary works as weapons advocated by him. Tagore used the spirit of his literature as mobilisation for political and social reform and allowed other nations to be aware and apply international pressure to Britain to be accountable for its actions and tried to expose Britain’s true intentions in India. In spite of these initiatives, unfortunately Gandhi’s style and various means of mass movement appeared more acceptable to the then common masses than Tagore’s way of antipartition agitation. Moreover, Tagore pragmatically realised that his way to develop consciousness among the masses had little importance than Gandhi’s means to generate mass awareness. In fact, Tagore believed in the symbiosis of body and soul, physical and spiritual, wealth and conscience, which has petite importance in Gandhi’s political thinking in the then situation of Indian freedom struggle of India against the British government, which led him ultimately to keep himself aloof from the nationalist movement of Bengal. Having analysed Tagore’s view of nationalism, it is clear to us that like many of his contemporaries; his political vision was by and large structured by his colonial experiences. However, his intellectual and moral concerns were amazingly free from any parochial sentiments. He was a champion of creation over construction, imagination over reason and a practical-idealist, an exclusivist and a multilateral thinker and believed in the symbiosis of body and soul, physical, spiritual, wealth and conscience. Throughout his life, Tagore aspired to redeem modern man from the tyranny of money, matter and machine. As a product of the nineteenth century, he was deeply influenced by the liberal humanistic thought and substantially contributed to the making of modern India.

2.6

Tagore’s Views on Internationalism

Like nationalism, Rabindranath Tagore’s concept of internationalism, remains quite evolutionary. Rabindranath always urged people worldwide to evolve out of restricting themselves to the boundaries of ‘nations’ and spread cooperation among races and cultures. He was an internationalist and at the time when a ceaseless struggle was going on in the World for the assertion of the rights of nations, he championed the binding of

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people and their unity. He warned mankind against the dangers of racesuicide if the mounting competition of race egoism did not end. Hence, the Religion of Man has to manifest itself in human unity and believed that religion must be founded on the basis of love. The central core of Tagore’s religion is service to man. Tagore’s concept of internationalism found reflection in his educational ideas. His education philosophy was completely different and was rather reactive to the then colonial system of education. According to Chinmohan Sehanabis,13 Tagore’s concern for international issues and the evolution of his internationalism can be divided into four categories. The first phase is the period between 1878 and the end of the nineteenth century, when the poet expresses concern regarding the ruthless foreign rule; dominance of racial discrimination and material interest under imperialism; and the conflicts between the ideals of the Western democracy and that of imperialism and shares his Orientcentric views (according to Sehanabis). The second phase belonged to the period between 1901 and 1912–1913 when an anti-Western feeling was voiced by the poet and continued till the dawn of the swadeshi movement. He came to realise the hollowness of the nationalistic chauvinism and sought to review the East–West relationship from the point of view of the Mah¯ abh¯ arata, which portrays India as the mother of all civilisations. Such ideas were reflected in his endeavours to reform the education system in India. In this phase, Tagore tried to develop a national education system shunning bigoted nationalism. His idea of Santiniketan gradually took shape. The ashram school at Santiniketan was founded in 1901 on the basis of the ancient Indian forest schools and was emblematic of the Indian system of education with its emphasis on three basic elements of Indian culture, namely Advaita (non-duality) in the field of knowledge, universal friendship in the field of feeling and fulfilment of one’s duties without expectations or concern for the result. Tagore felt that the national system of education in India should be based on truth and values of our own Indian civilisation, uninfluenced by commercialism, imperialism or chauvinistic nationalism, but solely

13 Sehanabis, C. (1983). Rabindranather Antarjatik Chinta (in Bengali). Navana. Cited in Podder, P. P., & Paul, A. (2015). Education in light of internationalism: View of Rabindranath Tagore. Indian Journal of Educational Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 86–88. https://ccemohali.org/img/Ch%2012%20Podder%20and%20Paul. pdf. Accessed on 22 February 2019.

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influenced by universalism. He fostered an all-round development of an individual’s personality in harmony with the surrounding environment (Podder & Paul, 2015: 87). The years between the beginning of the World War I and 1930, according to Sehanabis, should be regarded as the third phase. In this period, we find a cavernous and restless consciousness in Tagore over the War in general. At this point, he understood that the root of the war lay in the history of the capitalist civilisation. A derisive criticism of nationalistic chauvinism of the imperialists and an awareness of the economic basis of nationalism were also evident in Tagore’s thinking. And the final phase began with his journey (‘pilgrimage’ to quote Tagore) to the Soviet Union and continued till his last days, when a frustration was gripping him on the failure of the Western capitalist civilisation and the rise of fascism. His sharpest poetic criticism of the growing Fascism/Nazism is evident in the last (and shortest) poem of Prantik, written on Christmas Day, 1937 where he writes: All around the serpents hiss and spread their poisonous fumes; sweet words of peace will seem like hollow mockery. Let me, before I take my leave; hail those who are getting ready in homes to battle with the Demon (Tagore, 1961b: 546).

But an un-diminishable buoyancy for humankind led him to see a substitute (although not perfect) in the Soviet Union. The above classification, though helpful to a great extent, has, however, a tendency to treat the development of Tagore’s concept of internationalism as a journey towards the grand finale, i.e. acceptance of trust in the Soviet Union as an alternative system. But that is not the true story. Tagore was very critical on several occasions over the role of the Soviet Union, particularly latter’s role regarding Finland, the horrors of fascism, the devastation of the World War II and the failure of the West, especially Britain to resist such devastating event during that time. After a scathing attack on chauvinistic nationalism, Tagore attempted a positive search for a new refuge in internationalism. But it was not an institutional internationalism, which considered the nation-state as the necessary, cognitive and logical step towards internationalism. To him, materialism had been another point of distinction between the East and the West, where the word ‘materialism’ had been treated as the rule of motionless substances and as such had been posed in opposition to real life force and all human virtues and constructive emotions. From

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another angle, Tagore’s internationalism can be seen as his reactions to different events in the outer world from the perspective of a hospitable, ever-interacting, peaceable, ethical and spiritual orient, i.e. Mah¯ abh¯ aratas Orient. In a bunch of letters to his friend C. F. Andrews, in 1920, he wrote his mind in this regard. “Santiniketan must be saved from the whirlwind of our dusty politics”14 because “I see more clearly everyday… what is the meaning of Santiniketan. The West and the East are to meet in the coming age, and there must be seats made for such meeting. Let Santiniketan send her call through me for this union of spirit”.15 Therefore, Santiniketan, a remote part of the East was to act as the place of union between the East and the West. Like Sri Aurobindo, Tagore was not satisfied with the mechanical organisation of Mankind. He perceived the world as a place for soulful existence of mankind and not as a playground to gain political power. Thus, he fostered unifying the human minds worldwide. Only a free and un-constrained development of the individuality of each nation according to him could alone build and nurture genuine universality. Racial synthesis and cultural camaraderie across nations were the hallmarks of his views on internationalism. In his story Dak Ghar, he glorified awakening of the spirit of inter-dependence and brotherhood transcending all the boundaries of the mind. Tagore sought to create in his educational institution at Santiniketan, a spirit of genuine international collaboration where knowledge would be acquired while leading a friendly community life in the cradle of nature. The pursuit of higher knowledge of the self and its free expression can be fostered only in harmony with nature, he believed.

2.7

Tagore’s Last Testament: Crisis in Civilisation

On 7 May 1941, in his 80th birthday, Tagore delivered a Bengali address, his last piece of writing entitled (Crisis in Civilisation) what was treated to be his last speech. He was not well at the time and was in agony of spirit at the spectacle of the devastating barbarism of the war then raging and fearful of the crisis in civilisation brought about by greed and selfishness and the insolence of might in the West. With his one-time faith in Western 14 Tagore, R. (1924). Letters from Abroad (Tagore’s Letters to Andrews). S. Ganeshan, Triplicane, Letter No. 17. 15 Tagore, R. (1924). Letters from Abroad (Tagore’s Letters to Andrews). S. Ganeshan, Triplicane, Letter No. 19.

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civilisation painfully shattered and in spite of that, he yet preserved to the end his hope of the ultimate triumph of Man’s spirit, and prophesied the coming of a dawn perhaps from the East where the sun rises after the night of arrogant stupidity and unrighteousness (Tagore, 1941: 3). Crisis in Civilisation can truly be branded as Tagore’s last testament. One of the greatest men to have ever lived was bidding goodbye to the world, and was doing so at a time when everything around him looked to be sinking apart. He looked back on his own life, and tried to come to terms with the ‘profound tragedy’ that had beaten the radiant optimism of his early years and expressed his unwavering faith in man, in the opening of a new chapter in history after ‘the cataclysm is over and the atmosphere rendered clean with the spirit of service and sacrifice’ (Gupta, 2005: 5). In this essay, strikingly Tagore expressed a scarce pessimism and resolutely advocated the values of concord and understanding between the East and the West. Although, he expressed his faith on British rulers at one time, but at the end moments of his life, he was highly disgruntled with the Western and Eastern imperial powers’ role and their craze for power. Tagore mentioned what he felt, the true meaning of ‘civilisation’ in his speech. He found the equal Indian term for ‘civilisation’ according to Manu as sadachar that literally means proper conduct of life. Previously, having experienced British education, his feeling was in contrast with the Indian traditions. But, as time passed, he found the unhealthy condition of Indian people and said; “how easily those who accepted the highest truth of civilisation disowned them with impunity whenever questions of national self-interests were involved” (Tagore, 1941: 6). Tagore said: “As I look around, I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilisation strewn like a vast heap of futility” (Tagore, 1941: 16) and expressed his agony. He was primarily thinking of his own country, though not about her alone and expressed that two hundred years of predatory colonial rule had completely shaken India of her dignity, her spirit, her very life. He said: “The wheels of fate will one day oblige Englishmen to give up their Indian empire. But what kind of a country will they leave behind them? What stark, wretched misery?” (ibid.: 16– 17). The poet in fact agonised over how his generation of educated Indians had once put their unquestioning faith in the magnanimity of the Englishman, in his sense of fair play and enlightened liberalism. As that faith, cruelly belied, mocked at him now, Rabindranath’s heart decanted out in sadness and disbelief (Basu, 2018).

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Rabindranath Tagore exotically points out that India has always been open to other civilisations, particularly to Europe. Burke, Macaulay, Shakespeare and Byron had created countless impact on the Indians, who never lost their admiration for the English people even during their struggle for freedom against colonialism and appreciated, however, ‘how easily those who accepted the highest truths of civilisation disowned them with impunity whenever questions of national self-interest were involved’. He expressed his viewpoint, when he said: While I was lost in the contemplation of the world of civilisation, I could never have remotely imagined that the great ideals of humanity would end in such ruthless travesty. But today a glaring example of it scares us in the face, in the utter and contemptuous indifference of a so-called civilised race to the well-being of scores of Indian people (Tagore, 1941: 7).

Tagore’s gratitude of what he had once been inept to imagine results in his ‘gradual loss of faith in the claims of the European nations to civilisation. I had at one time believed that the springs of civilisation would issue out of the heart of Europe’ (ibid.: 12). Unfortunately, he expressed his dismay at the end part of his lifeline, where he viewed “but today I am about to quit the world where that hope has gone bankrupt altogether” (ibid.: 17). Despite that remark, what remains in the end is that Tagore had full faith in the capacity of man to overcome self-interest in order to work for social harmony between different races and religions and said: As I look around I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilisation strewn like a vast heap of futility. And yet I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man. I would rather look forward to the opening of a new chapter in his history after the cataclysm is over and the atmosphere rendered clean with the spirit of service and sacrifice. Perhaps that dawn will come from this horizon, from the East where the sun rises. A day will come when unvanquished Man will retrace his path of conquest, despite all barriers. To win back his lost human heritage (Tagore, 1941: 17–18).

Finally, despite his depression, in his address, Tagore pessimistically said: To-day we witness the perils which attend on the insolence of might; one day shall he borne out the full truth of what the sages have proclaimed: By unrighteousness man prospers, gains what appears desirable, conquers enemies, but perishes at the root (ibid.: 18).

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An interesting point to be mentioned in this context is that what Tagore said in 1941, through his address in Crisis in Civilisation clearly links it to Samuel Huntington’s explosive essay The Clash of Civilisations published in an article in Foreign Affairs of Summer 1993. Although the world environment as viewed by these two personalities remains quite different, both of them expressed the fault lines between civilisations to be the battle lines of the future. Therefore, through this writing, Tagore deeply expressed his reservation on ‘greediness’ which is the root of every war in this entire world, and his alternative vision has become more apt and germane than ever in today’s violent world of vengeance and fanaticism.

2.8

Views on Education

Rabindranath Tagore was an institution by himself as far as education is concerned. As a pioneer leader, his educational model has a matchless compassion and is timeliness for education within multi-racial, multilingual and multi-cultural situations, against the backdrop of the then situation under economic discrepancy and political imbalance. He put emphasis on ‘naturalism’ for framing educational model and tried to introduce a system of education which was profoundly rooted in one’s immediate surroundings but connected to the cultures of the wider world, grounded on congenial learning starting from grassroots level. In Santiniketan, he introduced his philosophy of education flavoured with literature, art, dance, music and drama in the daily life of the school which gradually became organic in nature with classes held in the open air under the trees to provide the students for a spontaneous appreciation of the fluidity of the plant and animal kingdoms, and seasonal changes. Through these means (like dance, drama, music, poetry, etc.), the mind of a student to pursue the education amalgamated with nature and where no burden was exerted upon the student for learning to progress his knowledge power to develop his behaviour and character. Tagore envisioned that nature is the preeminent teacher to the learner, which is practical and real but not artificial and theoretical and flatly discarded the book-centred education for students, since it will destroy his inventive skill. While he repelled the imperfect colonial education system that was executed upon Indian children, he prescribed an alternate schooling system, since the Western mode of education enforced artificial discipline in children, unfamiliar with the roots of Indian culture and compelled them to master several traits without an in-depth understanding of any.

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Moreover, Tagore introduced several festivals in his school learning process like Barsho Shesh and Naba barsho for summer, Barshaa Mangal for monsoon, Sharadotsab for autumn, Basantotsab for spring. Paush Mela (the winter fair) introduced by his father Maharshi Debendranath was also celebrated during the harvest time through interchange of culture and commerce between the rural and the urban. All these programmes were an integral part of Tagore’s education policy, which extended well outside the limits of traditional educational outlook in building a socially awakened citizen of the country.16 In one of his writing titled Tota Kahini (The Parrot’s Tale), he shares the agony of a student in an unjust education system. The tale is a powerful satire of the disapproving formal education system forced upon the students in the then education system of India.17 Tagore’s core concept of education was to holistically develop an individual by allowing nature to orchestrate the human mind and thus, build a spiritually and socially sensitive individual to serve mankind. Through his education system, he cherished a dream that education would bring the world’s best values to the students, allow perfect blend of ideas of the East and the West and amalgamate the rural and the urban, the ancient and the contemporary. His model of education system can be blended as a humane educational system that was in touch with the environment and aimed at the overall development of the personality to craft responsible citizens for India.

2.9

Conclusion

Having analysed the philosophical foundation of Rabindranath Tagore’s social and political consciousness as a background with special reference to his views on nationalism and internationalism as an unyielding thinker, it is clear to us that he was a great visionary of life, society and the world. His writings through poetry, music and speeches are stuffed with statements, which speak of his having such visions. His poetry, religion and music lead to direct encounter with the reality. He was the seeker of 16 Sen, N. D. (2006, March 29). Crisis in civilization, and a Poet’s alternatives: Education as one alternative weapon. Paper presented at an International Seminar on Tagore’s Philosophy of Education, organised by Chicago University Law School, at Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata. Accessed on 22 November 2020. 17 ibid.

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beauty through which he tried to find the truth of life. Prof S. Radhakrishnan describes Tagore’s philosophy not as a product of logical intellect but a sigh of the soul rather than a reasoned account of metaphysics, an atmosphere rather than a system of philosophy (Radhakrishnan, 1961: 4).

2.10

Summary

Rabindranath Tagore is an indisputable manifestation of the Indian strength both in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. He personifies peace and beauty in the world where the forces of racial enmity and religious classification are very brawny. His vision of religion is universal in the sense that he identifies religion with love. Religion, for him, is a principle of unity that binds us together; it is our essential quality, inherent in us. Religion enables us to cultivate and express these qualities in us. Therefore, for Tagore, religion is the desire for unity through joy and sorrow. This desire for unity is the spiritual substance of his religion. This yearning for unity is the desire to discover the rest of the world in oneself, just as a mother discovers herself in her child.18 Finally, in his social philosophy, as well as in his metaphysics, Tagore attempted to synthesise polar opposites. Neither wholly conservative nor wholly liberal, he favoured gradual reform. This evolutionary note is reflected in his views on the economic order, public health, education, social structure, national politics and international affairs. He is a symbol of harmony and ceaselessly insists on the kinship between human beings and nature. He is also a believer in unity in diversity, and explores this unity in diversity to the maximum and his social and political ideas are the combination of his various phases of life experiences.

References Ahuja, S. (2010). Evolution of Tagore’s consciousness. International Journal of Educational Administration, 2(2). Research India Publications. http://www. ripublication.com/ijea.htm. Accessed on 22 October 2010.

18 Tete, J. I. (2005). Rabindranath Tagore’s Vision of Religion. snphilosophers2005.tri pod.com/jyoti.pdf.

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Basu, A. (2018, May 9). The crisis in civilisation that Rabindranath Tagore red-flagged is back upon us. https://thewire.in/culture/the-crisis-in-civili sation-that-rabindranath-tagore-red-flagged-is-back-upon-us. Accessed on 22 October 2020. Bhattacharjee, G. P. (2011, January). Rabindranath and M. N. Roy. New Delhi: World Focus, XXXII (1). Chakravarty, A. (Ed.). (1961). A Tagore Reader. Beacon Press. Chaudhuri, A. (2010, May 13). Tagore on Kalidasa: The arc of history. The Daily Pioneer. www.topix.com/forum/world/india/TDVLM9ED15RK 8V3O5. Accessed on 24 October 2018. Das, S. K. (Ed.). (2008). The English writings of Rabindranath Tagore: A miscellany (Vol. 3). Sahitya Akademi. Dutta, K., & Robinson, A. (1996). Rabindranath Tagore: The myriad-minded man. St. Martin’s Press. Gupta, K. S. (2005). The philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore. Ashgate Publishing Limited. Majumdar, U. (2010). Bangla Kabye Pashchatya Probhab [Western influence on Bengali Poetry] (1375 B.E. Rev. 2nd ed.). Abhi Prakashan, 1389 B.E. Podder, P. P., & Paul, A. (2015). Education in light of internationalism: View of Rabindranath Tagore. Indian Journal of Educational Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 86–88. http://ccemohali.org/img/Ch%2012%20P odder%20and%20Paul.pdf. Accessed on 22 February 2019. Pradhan, G. (2002). Rabindranath Tagore (literary concepts). APH Publishing Corporation. Radhakrishnan, S. (1961). The philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore. Good Companions Publishers. Sehanabis, C. (1983). Rabindranather Antarjatik Chinta (in Bengali). Navana. Sen, N. D. (2006, March 29). Crisis in civilization, and a Poet’s alternatives: Education as one alternative weapon. Paper presented at an International Seminar on Tagore’s Philosophy of Education, organised by Chicago University Law School, at Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata. https://www.parabaas.com/rabindranath/articles/pNa baneeta.html. Accessed on 22 November 2020. Tagore, R. (1912). Where the mind is without fear as poem 35 in the English translation of Gitanjali. Indian Society. https://allpoetry.com/Where-TheMind-Is-Without-Fear (11). Accessed on 22 February 2019. Also see https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45668/gitanjali-35. Accessed on 22 February 2019. Tagore, R. (1918). Preface of Sadhana. Macmillan and Company. Tagore, R. (1921). Nationalism. Macmillan and Company Ltd. Tagore, R. (1924). Letters from Abroad (Tagore’s Letters to Andrews). S. Ganeshan.

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Tagore, R. (1932). The religion of man. George Allen and Unwin. Tagore, R. (1933). Reminiscences. Macmillan and Company. Tagore, R. (1936). Santiniketan (Vol. 2). Visha Bharati. Tagore, R. (1941, May). Crisis in Civilization. Visva-Bharati. Tagore, R. (1961a). Rabindra Rachcmabali (Collected Works of Tagore, in Bengali, Centenary Edition, Vol. III). Govt. of West Bengal. Tagore, R. (1961b). Towards universal man. Asia Publishing House. Tagore, R. (1979). Sadhana. Macmillan and Company. Tagore, R. (1995). Creative Unity. Macmillan and Company. Tagore, R. (2009). Nationalism. Oregan Publishing. Tagore, R. (2013). Gitanjali, The Centenary Bilingual Edition (Nobel Acceptance Speech). Parul Prakashani Pvt. Ltd. Tanim, F. A. (2003, December 22). European and Western influence on Tagore Songs. The Daily Star (Web edition), 3(204). www.thedailystar.net/2003/ 12/22/d3122. Accessed on 25 January 2019. Tete, J. I. (2005). Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of religion. snphilosophers2005. tripod.com/jyoti.pdf

CHAPTER 3

Madan Mohan Malaviya Suratha Kumar Malik

3.1

Introduction

The year 1861, for different reasons, remained memorable in the history and annals of our nation. Among other things, the notable thing is that in this year, our motherland was blessed with some of her most illustrious sons—Rabindranath Tagore, Motilal Nehru, Prafulla Chandra Ray and Madan Mohan Malaviya—who attained high eminence, each in his chosen field of work, fought for the country’s freedom and won respect for her abroad (Parmanand, 1985: 1). Malaviya was born on 25 December 1861 and died on 12 November 1946. He was a great social and educational reformer, a great educationist, an ardent scholar, a silver tongue orator and a great parliamentarian and politician, having four times the president of Indian National Congress, notable for his role in the Indian independence movement and the founder of BHU, its Vice-Chancellor and Rector, a religious leader of secular order who is also known as Mahamana (magnanimous or noble-minded). Regarding the personality and contributions of the towering figure, V. A. Sundaram has rightly

S. K. Malik (B) Department of Political Science, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_3

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mentioned: ‘to write about the great Punditji is not an easy task. It is like, trying to pour all the water of the Ganges into a tea cup’ (Sundaram, 1948: 43). Malaviya was a staunch congressman and a liberal nationalist. Regarding faith and practice, he always emphasised individual liberty and freedom. He wanted the constitutional laws to be based on modern legal codes and jurisprudence mingled with ancient wisdom of India. He always believed in the ‘rule of law’ and advocated that there should be a secular and democratic government after India gets independence from the British rule. As India is a multi-religious diverse country, he also advocated for a federal form of government and the acknowledgement of the demands of the provinces and also to provide importance to their role. As the communists’ method was based on violence and they wanted to arrive at an equal society through forceful overthrow of the capitalist State, he was disdainful of communism. He believed that, if we stand united, caste and class differences will be done away with. Pandit Malaviya was very much concerned about education system of India and therefore to promote scientific modern education mix with Indian knowledge system, under the BHU Act, 1915, he created the Banaras Hindu University and eventually founded it at Varanasi in 1916. From 1919–1938, he was the Vice-Chancellor of BHU. He remained one of the founders of Scouting in India and will remember forever for his role in abolishing the Indian indenture system, especially in the Caribbean. He also launched ‘The Leader’, a highly influential newspaper in English in 1909 which was published from Allahabad. To promote the sanatan dh¯ arma and Hindu ideals and culture, he had edited various magazines and founded different organisations. He set up the ‘Prayaga Hindu Samaj ’, ‘Bharata Dharma Mahamandal ’ and became the member of ‘Hindi Uddharini Pratinidhi Sabha’ in 1884 and edited an English weekly, the ‘Indian Union’ in 1885. Through these organisations and magazines, he voiced and penned on different social, political and cultural issues of the nation. To serve the nation better and to make the country free from the British yoke, he gave up his legal practice in 1913, though he again did it to save 152 accused persons in the case of Chauri-Chaura violence. From 1924 to 1946, he remained the chairman of ‘Hindustan Times’. He gave the slogan ‘Satyameva Jayate’ (Truth alone triumphs) from Mundakopanis.had while addressing as the President of the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1918, in its Delhi session and asserted

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that this should be the slogan of the nation. Malaviya always stood for the cause of the country and for its people, and the chapter tries to explore Madan Mohan Malaviya’s ideal-humanist thought which includes his social-political ideas, educational philosophy, his contribution for the nation and establishing BHU, and his role in India’s freedom struggle and building of the nation.

3.2

Life Sketch

On 25 December 1861, in Prayagraj of Allahabad, Madan Mohan Malaviya was born and after achieving the highest stature with an ideal and spiritual life, he left us for the heavenly abode on 12 November 1946. His father name was Pandit Brij Nath and mother was Moona Devi. In 1879, he completed his matriculation from the Muir Central College, which is now popularly known as Allahabad University. The Principal of Harrison College helped him by providing a scholarship, because his family’s economic condition was not well. That fellowship helps him a lot to complete his BA from University of Calcutta in 1884, and LLB in 1891. After his completion of LLB, he practised in the High Court of Allahabad. He was the editor of newspapers and journals like ‘The Hindustan’, ‘Abhyudaya’, ‘The Indian Union’, ‘Leader’ and ‘Maryada’ and remained the Chairman of Hindustan Times Group till he breathed his last. Since 1886, as an earliest member, he was associated with the Indian National Congress. He had a record of four times Presidentship of the Indian National Congress with unique distinction of political maturity and respect which he commanded. In 1903, he was elected to the Provincial Legislative Council, and declaimed salient speeches on different issues like Bundelkhand Land Alienation, Rowlatt Act, on the Annual Financial Statement and the Excise. Then, in 1909, he was later elected to the Imperial Legislative Council and till 1930, resume to be its member. He earned respect from all sections of the society and even from his opponents due to his high moral fervour, dignity and eloquence in speech and talk during his membership as Legislature for many decades. Though he was a Hindu leader, but his views and ideals on nationalism was inclusive and he always tried to build a nation where all groups, religions and communities will live happily and have a role and responsibility, as he deeply understood the diversity of India and the plurality of its culture. His Hindu nationalism was no way against any minority

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in general, and Muslims in particular. He always included in its fold the Muslims. For example, Malaviya withdrew from the Hindu Mahasabha when the leaders of the organisation start to declare that there should be a Hindu nation and India was the true home of only the Hindus. In 1928, he vehemently opposed the Simon Commission with other leaders like Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai and others, because it was a white commission and no Indian was included as the member of the commission which was sent to India to consider India’s future. He also urged the countrymen to use swadeshi goods and to boycott British goods. For this purpose, he issued a manifesto on 30th May 1932 requesting the Indian masses to support the ‘Buy Indian Movement’ against the ‘Buy British Campaign’ which was sweeping in England. In 1891, at Allahabad District Court, he begins his law practice and in 1893, he shifted to the Allahabad High Court where he earned great admire and respect being one of the best lawyers of the High Court. In 1911, on his 50th birthday, he decided to give up the Law practice when he was at the apex position of his profession. He decided so to serve the nation better and to dedicate his full time for the people of the country. In 1913, he finally left the Bar to pursue his desire to establish a university with world-class standard at Banaras. But he returned to his profession after ten years, against his own vow to defend the accused in the Chauri-Chaura case. As a brilliant lawyer, his skilful defend and eloquent oratory made Justice Grimwood Mears to rise from his chair on three times during his presentation to bow before Mahamana. Justice Grimwood Mears expressed that he has never seen such an excellent argument and shrewdness and it is an opportunity for him to hear such brilliant argument and presentation of Malaviya. In another case, he had fought for the cause of the Sikhs. In 1920, the Sikhs had established the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee for taking control of the Gurudwaras from the Mahants. When the Maharaja of Nabha was deposed, the Sikhs were very unhappy and they sent Jathas or groups of Nabha State to observe saty¯ agraha. They were stopped, imprisoned and ill-treated in prison. Malaviyaji defended several of the accused and got them released. He was a delegate in 1931, for the Second Round Table Conference at London. The famous Poona Pact was signed on 25 September 1932 between Ambedkar (for Depressed classes) and Malaviya (for other Hindus) that not only saved the life of Mahatma Gandhi who was on indefinite fasting over the issue of Communal Award, but also save the unity and integrity of India. The Poona Pact provided more reserved

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seats for the Depressed Classes in the Provisional legislatures within the general electorate and not by creating a separate electorate. Thanks to Malaviya, Dr B. R. Ambedkar and Gandhi for such an agreement and understanding which shaped the unity of India against the British plan of Communal Award. His noble soul departed on 12 November 1946 for heavenly abode. A day before his 153rd birth anniversary, Malaviya was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’ posthumously, on 24 December 2014, for his noble endeavour and service for the nation.

3.3 Role in Freedom Struggle and Views on Social-Political Issues Malaviya was the greatest leaders of his time and had contributed a lot for our freedom struggle and had moulded the values and ideals of modern India. He had held the post of president of the INC for four times in 1909–1910, 1918–1919, 1932 and 1933 which is a rare achievement that shows his political maturity and popularity within the Indian National Congress and the command and respect he earned with his distinctive role in India’s freedom struggle. He was also respected as an educational luminary and was a great leader. Pandey has mentioned that as a member of the Legislative Council in 1903, he conveyed great speeches on the issues of Excise, over the Annual Financial Statement, Bundelkhand and Rowlett Land Alienation Bills, etc. He remained well-known for his wholeheartedly support to Gokhale’s Elementary Education Bill (Pandey, 2013: XXXIII). He advocated modern education in the field of technology and science in order to develop industry and agriculture in the country. In his endeavour, the Indian Industrial Conference was organised in 1905 at Banaras and in 1907 at Allahabad. His dissent report of the Industrial Commission (2016–2018), is a great work which reveals the industrial and economic problems of the country and also exposes the British economic policy towards India. He presided over the All India Unity Conference at Allahabad. He severely criticised the ‘Communal Award’ of Ramsay MacDonald in the Congress Nationalist Party Conference due to its divisive nature to divide the country. He effectively argued for reforms in governance and on a number of social and economic issues during his membership as provincial legislature from 1909 to 1930. For example, he vehemently opposed a bill to curb the freedom of Indian Press and to control it on 4 April 1910. He endorsed the bill moved by

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Shri Gokhale on Elementary Education on 19 March 1912 and suggested to send the same to Select Committee. He also argued for conducting the Indian Civil Service Examination in India for the better interest of the Indians. To abolish the indentured labour system by the British Government, he viewed extensively on 20 March 1916 in the Imperial Council with the following concluding remarks: My Lord, human reason and experience alike show that indentured labour is an unmitigated curse, and the greater the inequality ….the greater is the extent of the evil. And both humanitarian and political considerations, humanitarian far more than political, demand that it should be abolished as early as possible and replaced by free labour…. Indian indentured labourers have too long been denied their birth right as human beings, and it is high time that the yoke of slavery was removed from their necks. (cited in Pandey, 2013: XXXV)

He also defended the Budget debate in the Imperial Legislative Council in defence of granting physical power to Indian Councils and also argued for India’s fiscal autonomy. In 1909, at the Lahore Congress Session, he opined that self-government is our only hope, and strength and the only remedy for our problem. He expressed his opinions on industrial and economic reforms of India in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress, where Mr A. O. Hume was impressed with his speech when he was only 26 years old. He views his concern especially on India’s backwardness due to colonial exploitation, and urge for the development of scientific, technical and commercial education and promotion of industrial finance and Indian handicrafts industries. Malaviya strongly opposed the Communal Award and viewed that ‘if communal award stands, every class and creed in the country will be organised under it as a separate political community to scramble for its own interests in the Legislature in disregard of people as a whole’ (cited in Pandey, 2013: XXXXI). From the side of the caste Hindus and Congress, he signed the Poona Pact (1932) with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar for the unity and integrity of the country. The role of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya during the freedom struggle was highlighted by Professor Iqbal Narain in the ‘foreword’ of the book written by Parmanand in the following words: Among the front-rankers in the independence movement, Pt. Malaviya stood for a movement which would bring about the desired change without chaos and bloodshed. He was a Moderate in this respect. He

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was, however, quick to uphold and enlist support for swadeshi. Still he believed that the government could be made to see reason by persuasive logic and not by boycotting public offices, law courts etc. By the same logic, he welcomed Minto-Morley reforms in which he perceived a move towards wider and greater representation at the level of the councils. Though Mahamana maintained a liberal profile throughout, he was disenchanted with the delaying tactics of the government. He took up the crusade of re-organising the Congress movement, following government’s restrictions on the Congress Party during Civil Disobedience movement in 1932. Undertaking tour of the country, he made efforts to bring peace among the Sikhs who were demanding control of Gurudwaras and thereby tried to ease communal tension. His association with Hindu Mahasabha labelled him at times as a communalist but he severed his links with it in 1936, when the organisation brought Extremists to the fore. (Parmanand, 1985: XIII)

3.4

Views on Education

During his political visits to different parts of the country, Malaviya practically analysed distressful condition of people and the Nation. He perceived that religion, spiritualism and education were being disregarded and neglected in different places of the country. Finding the spiritual vacuum in the Indian society, the missionaries have spread and expanded everywhere. Preach and propagation of Christianity in Indian society is the chief goal of these missionary institutions. Hence, the primary motive was to produce and prepare a group of persons who are technically capable of acting as the interpreter between the Indian masses and the British officers, as Lord Macaulay put it rightly: we must do our best to create a class who are Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and intellect. ‘All these conditions of education alarmed Malaviya who began his social life in 1880 by joining Prayag Hindu Samaj ’ (Chaturvedi, 1984: 35). The birth of INC in 1885 and the All India Muslim Conference in 1886 strikes Malaviya’s mind to think about the future of the country and what he could do for the nation in the midst of all these political happenings. As he was very pessimistic about the British policy of education in India, he always thought about the deplorable conditions of the education system and wanted to do something for higher education of the country. To fulfil his dream of establishing a university of world standard, he got helps from the kings and especially from Annie Besant and others to

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accomplish the noble job. The Maharaja of Darbhanga and Annie Besant incorporated Malaviya’s scheme for the university and Malaviya personally met Lord Harding, the then Governor General and the liberal British officer; Lord Harding provided his consent and had accepted Malaviya’s plan for the Banaras Hindu University in 1911. But Sir Harcourt Butler, the Education Secretary of Lord Harding gave mandate for English as a medium with Hindi which Malaviya accepted, and the dream came true on 4 February 1916 on the day of Vasant Panchami when Lord Harding laid the foundation stone of BHU in an august gathering. Malaviya selected Banaras as the most suitable place for this great university, because Banaras or Kashi remained as the holiest place and the place of learning, wisdom and spirituality since centuries ago. By establishing BHU, he wants to amalgam the best of Indian ancient education system and wisdom from Nalanda and Takshashila with modern Western education of science and technology following the Western leading universities and institutions. BHU became the citadel of knowledge not only in India but in the world. By establishing this world-class institution, Malaviya created history and BHU has produced so many nationalists and patriots who have sacrificed their lives for the service of the country and for the freedom movement. After Calcutta University, BHU remained the second university producing all patriots and great men who have excelled in different directions and have served for the country. The establishment of BHU is the marvellous achievement among Malaviya’s many notable achievements. BHU is now Asia’s largest residential university campus. Great personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Annie Besant, Rabindranath Tagore and others joined hand with Malaviya sprouting national consciousness and feeling of patriotism through education which ultimately helped India to win its freedom. On 19 March 1912, Malaviya had endorsed Gokhale’s Elementary Education Bill and wholeheartedly supported it and also suggested to send it to the select committee. He also viewed his opinion on the bill as some of the Muslim members of the council had worried and anticipated that the bill would hamper the interest of Urdu language. In his opinion, both Urdu and Hindi remained the medium for last couple of decades without any problem and he also strongly argued in favour of universal elementary education, which in his argument is impossible without compulsion. He was a great visionary, because the problem he anticipated regarding universal elementary education with compulsory

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primary education since 100 years ago is still remained a problem in our country after seven decades of India’s independence. Though Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for all campaign) remained a great success in the country, it still needs focus and monitoring in rural areas. Malaviya viewed that to create an equitable and inclusive diverse knowledge society; higher education is the only weapon and basic building block to achieve it. As the civilisation of the world is fast changing and moving forward, we have to focus on science and higher education to develop India and to pace with other countries of the world. He expected that the Indian education system should be based on tolerance and plurality as our country is a multicultural and diverse one. Education should create a great tradition of debate and dialogue with democratic spirit, to which, his dream, Banaras Hindu University inherits these and represents this hallmark of ideas, which are integration, acceptance and realisation of human unity while preserving the unique identity of our own country, culture, traditional knowledge and wisdom. So, Mahamana, through BHU wanted to create the best by blending of the East and West knowledge system, science and technology. Mahamana’s ideas on education were directly opposed to Macaulay’s system of education, where the primary aim of Macaulay’s system was to destroy the Indian education system and the backbone of Indian society. Malaviya has firmly believed in Indian tradition and culture which were much sophisticated and most modern then ultra-modern. Malaviya though born later of Macaulay, but well understood the Macaulay plan for Indian education, so, he always tried to reconstruct the Indian education system and bringing back our ancient, moral and spiritual values with ancient knowledge system and wisdom mixing it with modern science and education of the Western world. His vision and philosophy was implemented and visualised through Banaras Hindu University. In this high time, when higher education in India is facing a great crisis and challenges, Mahamana’ s scheme of higher education and educational philosophy and vision remained significant today. In Malaviya’s views, the prime aim of higher education should be the following: • To foster research and learning in all disciplines and branches of knowledge (Arts and Science). • To promote and advance the scientific research with professional and technical knowledge, with practical instruction and training to help

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and promote the material resources and indigenous industries of our country. • To focus on ethical and value based education through teaching the essence of religion to the youth which will help to build their character, and this is the crying need of the contemporary time as we all know the system of our education has degraded and it has created some educated persons who are greedy, selfish, characterless and without any human values, morality, sympathy, and have no sense of service for the society and for the country. The above purpose of higher education as formulated by Malaviya depicts his great vision on higher education where in one side, he laid emphasis on modern science and technology, agriculture, medicine and metallurgy, etc., and on the other hand, has focused on ancient scriptures of India, i.e. the Ved¯ as, the Upanis.had and other ancient texts like Chanakya’s Artha´s¯ astra, etc. Today, our country tops in corruption index and ranking where corruption became our national character, against which anti-corruption movements are going on in our country. But the root cause is due to lack of value based ethical education. It is solely for the cause of the decline of values which should be provided by true and value based education. Today, in the cut-throat competitive market, students are not following the right means and morale and adopting the wrong way which is due to lack of good education indirectly creating unresponsive and irresponsible citizens. Therefore, Malaviya remained significant today because his educational project always gives emphasis on moral, ethical and value based education with building of character which is a perfect blend of ´ astras with modern science and technology. ancient Hindu texts and Sh¯

3.5 A Dream for Nation-Building: The Banaras Hindu University Malaviya’s contribution and service for the nation, especially for the development of its social and political life, economic regeneration, educational development is indeed great. His altruistic dedication towards the cause of India’s development through education by the foundation of Banaras Hindu University is the greatest example of his selfless devotion for nation-building. He gave up his lucrative practice of law to devote his

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full time to establish an ideal centre of learning which will contribute for the building of the nation and reconstruction of a strong modern India in every aspect. People have criticised his dream and viewed it as a utopia and impracticable (Pandey, 2013: XXXVII). Though finance was a great problem, but his sincerity, integrity and strong endeavour made it possible, where he collect the money starting from the kings to the poor peasants, and from each and every one to complete his project of the citadel of learning. Malaviya always strives to develop modern education to best serve the national spirit and within him, was a continuous and burning desire to make India best and restore its past glory. To give effort to his dream of education, in 1904, he proposes the notion and plan of a university at Mint House of Banaras during a formal meeting. He initially contemplates a university containing the teachings of ancient Indian texts like Ved¯ as , Ved¯ angas , Pur¯ an.as , Itihas, Smr.itis and Dar´sanas in a Sanskrit college, an Ayurveda college, hospital, botanical garden and a college consisting of social and physical sciences, with laboratory, technical education, college for sculpture and dramatic arts and also a college for Indian and foreign languages. The main motto behind the establishing of BHU was to supply educated and skilled manpower to develop the country after independence from the British rule. The notable alumni of BHU have been fulfilling the mandate by laying down developmental projects and infrastructures in the country. Due to the labour and excellence of the alumni of BHU, power, steel, coal and other industries are flourishing. BHU has contributed for the country enormously through many institutions such as IIT, management, medicine and also in other branches of knowledge. Malaviya was the first to institute technical education at Banaras Hindu University, before Subhash Chandra Bose spoke about Planning and Planning Commission in 1939 at Haripura Congress. No other congress leaders have talked about technical education before him. Even Malaviya made important observations during his dissent note to the Industrial Commission (1916–1918). He also advocated technological and science education in different universities and colleges and also argued in favour of establishing an imperial polytechnic and scholarship for students. Even today, BHU remained and maintaining the legacies of Malaviya where its founder remained a great visionary of modern India. He was the soul and heart of the university which produces so many illustrious sons of Mother India who had excelled in different fields of education, research and

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nation-building. Establishing a university like BHU for the reconstruction of nation, remained the highest achievement of the twentieth century as far as the contributions of Malaviya for the country is concerned. From its foundation, the university has been continuously trying for women education, where Malaviya had a vision of women empowerment through education and he realised that women can play a critical role for the development of the country. But the existing social norms were against women which he realised should be immediately addressed. Therefore, in 1929 (14 December), during his convocation address at BHU, he declared to set up a women’s college at BHU. He also argued that women education is much more essential and important than the education for men. The impact of women education on the future generation would be far-reaching, and his ideal womanhood was an amalgamation and perfect synthesis of modernity and tradition where women would be an equal partner in the development of our country and should establish in different positions in various fields. Women like Dr. Sucheta Kriplani, Smt Durgabai Deshmukh, Smt Usha Mittal, Dr. Hemlatha Swaroop and many others have excelled in different fields. The Mahila Mahvidyalaya of BHU not only develop women education but also has created a sense of responsibilities and social-political awareness among women which urged them to participate in the freedom movement of the country where BHU became the important site for India’s independence movement by inspiring them to sacrifice for the cause of nation. Notable among them are Hemlata Jasra, Kunti Nagar, Snehalata, Surjeet Kaur, Damyanti Jasra and Leela Sharma who will be remembered forever for their devotion and contribution for the service of the nation. The Mahila Mahavidyalaya, its staff and students have contributed enormously for the National Defence Fund in the time of Indo-China crisis and during different floods at Varanasi. With its glorious past, BHU is still today maintaining its legacies as far as contributions to education and nation-building is concerned. Malaviya worked day and night tirelessly to provide a firm footing to the national institution, especially during his Vice-Chancellor tenure from 1919 till 1939 and as the Rector from 1939 to 1946. Through the university, he emphasised on the building of character of the educated Indian youths who will serve the national interest. In 1929, during his convocation address, he advised the youth that their education should be utilised for their country and they should want to see their country as free, strong, developed, self-governing and self-sufficient. He expects that

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the educated youth brigade to discharge their duty for their motherland in each and every way, as the highest duty is to sacrifice their lives for the sake of motherland. They should have full sense of responsibility towards achieving the freedom of the country and further national development and reconstruction after the country achieved independence. BHU remained a true tribute to the national spirit and far-sight vision of Mahamana where it became the citadel of knowledge not only in India, but also in the world. For the cause of service to the nation, BHU remains as a monument where it rises above the sectarian interests with comprising the best of East (culture, wisdom, tradition ancient texts) and West (modern science, technology and scientific methods). The alumnus, who became the product of BHU, carries this hologram and the vision of Mahamana with him/her always.

3.6

A Secular Leader

Though misconception has been created where some scholars have marked him as Hindu communal, Malaviya was a firm believer of plurality and religious tolerance. He never viewed religion in a sectarian way and was not against any religion. He was a great leader and nationalist who openly acknowledged his role as a Hindu leader. But, his Hindu nationalism was always inclusive, and accommodates in its project all the minorities. For example, when the leaders of Hindu Mahasabha preach that India should be a Hindu nation and is the true home of only the Hindus, he withdrew from Hindu Mahasabha. Malaviya was the first leader to declare that: India belongs to the Hindus, the Mohammedans, the Sikhs, the Parsis and other. No single community can rub over the rest…Act in such a way that all may unite….Let there be mutual trust. It was exactly in this spirit of brotherhood that Malaviyaji opposed the Communal Award, and even had to oppose Congress, which maintained a neutral position on the subject. He toured the northern part of the country and explained to the nation about the danger of Communal Award, which according to him was dividing the nation. Ultimately, the Congress could see his point and rejected the Communal Award. The Constitution of India also endorsed Malaviyaji’s views. (Maini et al., 2011: XI)

His opinion regarding the four Varna systems was that, the Hindu nation is divided into four Varn.as who are assigned different duties. All

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Varn.as are brothers and like different parts of the same body, and they cannot harm any other Varn.a. To eradicate the evils of caste system and its barriers in temple and other public places, he worked tirelessly. For Dalits ’ entry into the Kalaram temple, he along with the Dalit leader P. N. Rajbhoj, have organised a rally of 200 Dalits in the day of Ratha Yatra (car festival). Madan Mohan Malaviya was also expelled from the Br¯ ahmin community for expressing his views on caste discrimination and Br¯ ahminical patriarchy. He left us on 12 November 1946 at the age of 84, but due to his contribution to the nation, we still love and remember him as the great son of India who was a great educationist, social reformer, founder of BHU and was a towering personality. Many important and prominent places of the country were named after him. In his honour, a postage stamp has also been issued other than setting up Madan Mohan Malaviya Engineering College, Gorakhpur (UP) and the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) at Jaipur. He lives in the heart of the millions for his missionary work and noble deeds. He was a true secular leader, and that has reflected in his speech on the founding day of the BHU.

3.7

Views on Nation and Nationalism

For Malaviya, Hindu/Indus valley civilisation was considered as Indian nation. Malaviya was well aware of the problem of communalism in the country and therefore, visualised that to win freedom for India, it is necessary to have inter-communal unity where all the communities should be united for the overall development of the nation. He also desired that in independent India, in its future, should be envisaged a Constitution with laws where nobody be afraid of and every religion should be treated equally. Malaviya never favoured a rigid and sectarian view of life and never opposed any idea because it comes from other culture or country. He always preferred to choose the best out of everything and that is the essence of his original thinking.

3.8

Madan Mohan Malaviya as an Ideal-Humanist

Though Mahamana was a Hindu sanatani leader, he was secular and idealist in his vision and ideals. His Hindu nationalism was inclusive and was never against any religion and was not associated with narrow sectarian view. Influenced by his secular, idealist and humanist vision,

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Many Muslim and Christian groups had invited him to preside over their meetings. His personality and secular vision is clearly reflected in his speeches and work and it reaches in the climax when he withdrew himself from the Hindu Mahasabha when they later announced that India is the true home of only Hindus. Madan Mohan Malaviya was also expelled from the Br¯ ahmin community for expressing his views on caste discrimination and Br¯ ahmanical patriarchy. He was a Hindu nationalist who worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. Towards fulfilling the idealist-humanist mission of Malaviya, Banaras Hindu University later has set up two very important interdisciplinary centres namely—‘Malaviya Centre for Human Values and Ethics’ and ‘Centre for Inter-cultural Studies’ to study and maintain the legacies of Mahamana and to continue his mission alive. A much worthy and true son of ‘Mother India’, Malaviya devoted and sacrificed his whole life for development of the nation through cultivating human values and ideals. As a prolific scholar, statesman, journalist, social reformer, educationist, a great parliamentarian and an idealist secular leader, his sacrifice for the reconstruction of modern India has been immense and varied.

3.9

Conclusion

Malaviya was a great nationalist and his vision of nationalism was different from the Western idea of nationalism. His views on nationalism are based on geographical territoriality with cultural unity and political entity of Indian sub-continent which is quite different from Western notion of nationalism which is primarily based on racial and linguistic lines. Dr. Vishwanath Pandey considers that Malaviya should be recognised as a great nationalist leader for his contribution to freedom struggle and for the building of the nation. He argued against the categorisation of Malaviya as a ‘Hindu Nationalist’ by some of the scholars. He also raised questions regarding the tendency of categorising Indian nationalists either as ‘nationalists’ or ‘Hindu nationalists’ by prominent scholars like Ashis Nandy, T. N. Madan, Rajeev Bhargava and Bipin Chandra which is more arbitrary and simplistic and ignores the blurred line between the two category and obscures the plurality and diversity of opinions and ideology of Indian nationalists. Malaviya’s personality and character was greatly influenced by his secular grandfather, though he grew up in a deeply religious family. He was a liberal in true sense who advised the people not to attack each

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other’s religion and to treat and respect all religions equally. His speeches also illustrate his anti-colonial outlook and his orientation for the service of the nation. His role in the non-cooperation movement, his stand as a member in the Indian legislature and the four-time Congress president, his endeavours in the field of education and his effort to promote industry and technology is highly commendable. For his untiring effort and selfless service for the country and for the people, posthumously, he was conferred with India’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’.

3.10

Summary

To encapsulate Malaviya’s prodigious and monumental disposition, in the summary section of the chapter, it can be said that the chapter highlights many achievements of Malaviya, among which the foundation of BHU remained monumental. Malaviya was an outstanding leader and had a multifarious personality. Professor Iqbal Narain, the then ViceChancellor of Banaras Hindu University, describes Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya as a social reformer, great patriot, an ardent journalist, a great educationist with vision, an outstanding statesman and a great parliamentarian. Malaviya was an idealist who dreamed for a free and strong India in all aspects. He accomplished a splendid role during India’s independence movement and eventually founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916. Malaviya is the founder of one of Asia’s biggest residential Universities: the Banaras Hindu University. The man served as the president of Congress committee for as much as four times. He was the chairman of the board for Hindustan Times and also launched its Hindi edition. He was an avid writer and journalist; he launched multiple Hindi and English language magazines and newspapers. Devanagari was introduced in the British-Indian courts because of Malaviya’s efforts with the British government. This is still considered as one of his greatest achievements. He was a Hindu nationalist who worked immensely for Hindu-Muslim unity. He also popularised the term ‘Satyameva Jayate’. Though he did not coin it, the phrase originally belongs to the Mundaka Upanis.had. He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Mahatma Gandhi and the second President of India; S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karma Yogi’.

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References Chaturvedi, S. (1984). Madan Mohan Malaviya. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Dwivedi, B. N. (2010, December). Malaviya’s vision on science and technology: Celebrating his 150th birth anniversary. Current Science, 99(11), 1492–1493. Maini, Dr. S. K., Pandey, V., & Chandramouli, K. (2011). Visionary of Modern India—Madan Mohan Malaviya. Roli Books. Pandey, V. (Ed.). (2013). Mahamanna Madan Mohan Malaviya: Commemorative Volume. Published by Ministry of Culture, Government of India on behalf of Banaras Hindu University. Parmanand. (1985). Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya: (An Historical Biography), Vol. 1, Mahamana Granthamala No. 2. Malaviya Adhyan Sansthan. Sundaram, V. A. (1948). Mahamana Malaviyaji: From the Torchbearers. Benares Hindu University Press.

CHAPTER 4

Swami Vivekananda Projit Kumar Palit

4.1

Introduction

British imperialism and Indian nationalism were expanding rapidly in the nineteenthcentury India. Western education influenced too much on Indian society in that period. Due to Western education, Indians understood liberty, equality, democracy and fraternity. In Impacts of Bengal renaissance, the different socio-religious and cultural movements commenced in various parts of India (Palit, 2013: 11). So, several leaders led the different socio-religious and cultural movements in India. Vivekananda was born as a political philosopher and a patriotic monk and his message was to make a new emerging India. Vivekananda was not influenced by the Bengal renaissance, rather, he was inspired more by the ancient Indian wisdom and culture. Vivekananda was one of the most significant spiritual leaders in the modern world. According to Vivekananda, “Jiva is Shiva” is basically the source of infinite strength

P. K. Palit (B) Assam University, Silchar, India e-mail: [email protected] Department of History, Assam University, Silchar, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_4

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of a life. He was against all superstitions of belief, dogma and ritual. He did not distinguish any differences of caste, creed, class, race, region or religion (ibid.: 5-6). He was a great lover of humanity. According to Vivekananda, Spiritual knowledge is the path of individual divinity and freedom of soul. Vivekananda emphasises the faith of inner Self, potentiality of Self, freedom of Self, equality of Self and Divinity of Self. According to him, “Man is divine” and Divinity is inborn and essential of the individual. Vivekananda made synthesis of Indian yogas, harmony of religions, harmony of culture and harmony of the East and the West. Swami Vivekananda was an icon of international harmony. According to him, good human beings should be engaging in spiritual activity for reaching the highest truth of self of the Brahma. He said “I belong as much to India as to the world” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 2016: 91). According to him, “I have a message for the world, which I will deliver without fear and care for the future. To the reformers I will point out that I am a greater reformer than any one of them. They want to reform only little bits. I want root-and-branch reform” (Nirvedananda, 2001: 5). According to Swami Lokeswarananda, “India is indebted to Swamiji because he gave her a sense of identity. What he (Swami Vivekananda) teaches is Truth, Truth which is as much applicable to an individual, as to a nation” (Vivekananda, 2013: 15). In Kashmir, Muslim boatman carried Swamiji by his Shikara or boat. Swamiji was very happy for his service and he met the Muslim boatman family. He told them that he wanted to worship his little daughter as a mother Goddess Durga. Muslim boatman accepted Swamiji’s proposal. Swamiji had worshipped boatman’s little Muslim daughter as a mother Goddess (Uma-Durga) and he began the Kamuri puja as a part of Durga puja (Gambhirananda, 2011: 140). Both the father and daughter were so much humble to Swamiji for his great work. When Swamiji was leaving Kashmir (Baramulla), the little Muslim daughter brought a basket of apple on her head for Swamiji’s use in the passage. According to Vivekananda, “For our own motherland a junction of the two great systems, Hinduism and Islam—Vedanta brain and Islam body—is the only hope” (CWSV, Vol. 6: 416). Wisdom of harmony, pride in the past, gave real strength to India’s nationalist movement. According to Vivekananda, Lord Buddha preached his idea in public language in Pali. Vivekananda stated that Ramanuja, Chaitanya, Nanak and Kabir used the local language to preach their religion and they were a wonderful success in their life. He said that Indian people are very close by culture, but by language, they are much different (Vivekananda, 2009:

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120). Vivekananda liked the Sanskrit language because this language is a symbol of Indian great culture. But he loved to deliver his lecture by using public language (Banhatti, 1963: 273). He respected all the languages equally. Swamiji spoke of “spiritual humanism”, which is manifesting itself through several neo-humanistic movements and the current interest in meditation, Zen, etc., all over the world. According to Swami Vivekananda, each person must respect another religion like that of his/her own religion. He pointed out the various weaknesses of the Western culture and he discussed how Indian culture overcomes all Western weaknesses. According to Swami Vivekananda, Hindu religion is a collective knowledge of Truth. Modern science challenged Swamiji’s thought in Europe. According to Vivekananda, the religion is the “consciousness of science”. According to him, religion and science are not contradictory to each other but are complementary. Religion is bonded with supreme Freedom and supreme Knowledge and supreme Happiness (Swami Samarpanananda, 2013, Volume 4 Issue, 4 January-March, 40– 46). Rabindranath Tagore spoke to his French friend Romain Rolland, “If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative” (RKMC: 58–59). So, he was a symbol of the national soul.

4.2

Life Sketch

Swami Vivekananda or Narendranath Datta was born at Shimla Pally in Calcutta on Monday, 12 January 1863 CE (Nikhilanada: 1). He inherited the rational mind of his father Vishwanath Dutta and the devotional mind of his mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi (Badrinath, 2006: 2). Even as a boy, Narendra was very naughty, self-willed and of a notorious nature. On the other hand, he was very generous, loving and enthusiastic. The Datta family was a rich, respectable and renowned family at Shimla Pally. Narendranath enrolled at Metropolitan Institution in 1871 CE (Banhatti, 1995: 2). In 1877 CE, his family shifted from Calcutta to Raipur and he left the Metropolitan Institution. In 1879 CE, after his family’s return to Calcutta, he was the only student to receive first-division marks from the Presidency College entrance examination. But after one year, he took admission at the General Assembly’s Institution (now known as the Scottish Church College) (Sen, 2003: 21). He was an avid reader in a wide range of subjects, including philosophy, religion, history, social science,

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art and literature (Chakrabarti, 2001: 628–631). He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884 CE from Calcutta University (Sen, 2003: 104–105). He had a vast knowledge about the evolutionism of Herbert Spencer and he corresponded with him (Prabhananda, 2003: 233). He translated his book “Education” (1861) into Bengali language (Chattopadhyaya, 1999: 31). In this time, Narendranath’s mind was gradually changed about God and he was in a crisis himself about God. He joined the Brahmo Samaj to examine his eternal question about God. In the beginning, he was impressed to see the various social works of the Brahmo Samaj (Swami Nikhilanada: 9). He took an active part in the prayers and devotional songs of the Brahmo Samaj regularly but he was not satisfied. Professor William Hastie explained the word “trance” in the poem “The Excursion” of William Wordsworth (Michelis, 2005: 19–90, 97– 100) in their class at the General Assembly’s Institution. Hastie suggested his students visit Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar to understand the true meaning of trance. In November 1881 CE, Narendranath and other students went to Dakshineshwar’s Kali Temple to meet Sri Ramakrishna. Later, Narendranath was much closer to Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna initiated Narendranath into spiritual life. According to William Hastie; “Narendra is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but have not yet come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even among philosophical students in German universities; He is bound to make his mark in life”. After the sudden death of his father in 1884 CE, the Datta family faced a financial crisis and all creditors were demanding the repayment of loans. His relatives were not supporting them. Moreover, they threatened them to evict the family from their ancestral home. He failed to find work for his family. He went to Ramakrishna and requested Ramakrishna to pray to Goddess Kali for their financial welfare but Ramakrishna told Narendranath to pray himself in front of Goddess Kali. He could not ask for wealth, money for his family but instead, he asked for conscience and reclusion. That day, he was marked with spiritual awakening and a way of ascetic life has started. Shri Ramakrishna left his physical body on 16 August 1886 CE. After the demise of Ramakrishna, fifteen of his disciples including Narendranath took vows of monkhood and formed a monastic brotherhood which later on came to be known as the Ramakrishna Math. Narendranath emerged as Vivekananda that is “the bliss of discerning wisdom” (Rolland, 1929: 201–214). In July 1890 CE, Vivekananda decided to tour the whole of India on foot which came to

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be known as ‘Parivrajak’. These travels gave him first-hand knowledge of the socio-economic condition of the people. During his travels, he saw the real India, how common people faced in their daily life and their sufferings, etc. (Rolland, 2008: 7). The World Parliament of Religion of 1893 held in Chicago, America was a turning point in Vivekananda’s life. On 11 September 1893 CE, he came upon the stage and stunned everyone by saying “My brothers and sisters of America” (Michelis, 2005: 110). For this, he received a standing ovation from the audience. He described the principles of Ved¯ anta, their spiritual significance in Chicago, America. He stayed around two and a half years in America itself and founded the Vedanta Society of New York. He also travelled to the United Kingdom to preach the philosophies, spiritualism and principles of Ved¯ anta. He established the Ramakrishna Math and Mission Belur Math on 1 May 1897 ¯shrama in CE (Banhatti, 1995: 33–34). He also founded the Advaita A´ Mayavati, near Almora on 19 March 1899 (Kraemer, 1960: 151). He composed the famous arati song, Khandana Bhava Bandhana (Banhatti, 1995: 35–36). Swami Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi on 4 July 1902 (Sen, 2006: 27). He was cremated on a sandalwood pyre on the banks of Ganga in Belur (Virajananda, 2006: 645–662).

4.3

Ideal Indian Society

Swami Vivekananda was not a social reformer or social scientist but he had vast knowledge about society. According to him, Indian society has integrated four basic elements, i.e. the spiritualistic object, materialistic object, idealistic object and realistic object. All are complementary to each other like the wick, oil and the flame. But within society, two factors are more important—one is love and another is individual adjustment. Both are operated by like-minded people who try to come close to each other. It is an invisible force for bonding many individuals in a group or a community. All personal emotions, aspirations and ambitions become crystallised to a common point, i.e. community or group. Individuality is the basic component of society. Individual man is the wealth of any society. According to Vivekananda: Two attempts have been made in the world to find social life. The one was upon religion or spirituality or transcendentalism, and the other was upon social necessity or materialism or realism. The one looks beyond the horizon of the little material world.... While the other is content to stand

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on things of the world and expects to find a firm footing there. (CWSV, Vol. 3: 156)

In marriage, and many other affairs in the West, each individual can assert that he or she will abide by personal predilection and not be dictated to by others. The Hindu demands that the individual shall bow down to the needs of society, and society shall regulate his personal life. As a result of these two attitudes, the West has granted freedom to society, so that society has grown and become dynamic, whereas the Hindu society has become cramped in every way. According to Vivekananda, the Western man is born in individualistic condition, but the Hindu is socialistic— entirely socialistic situation (CWSV, Vol. 8: 62). Life differs in the East and the West, because the goals are different. In the West, the goal is individual independence, in India; the goal is mukti (Salvation). In India, the emphasis on spirituality and renunciation has produced a type of culture that is different from that in the West. The West goes on multiplying its wants, while the East tries to remain satisfied with what little it can get. In the West, happiness and laughter are on the surface; but inside it is all sorrow. In the East, darkness is outside, but full of satisfaction is inside. In the West, the need for satisfying wants gives rise to material prosperity; in the East, renunciation leads to poverty. One must have personal experience of its inner work to understand a society. But it is more dangerous to do superficial studies about a society. Western people are misled to understand about a society. In Indian society, there are two obstacles—one is orthodox and the other is the challenge of modern European society. Of these two, Swamiji loves the old Indian orthodox society because Indian people have human value and faith. Indian people have strength while the Europeanised man has no backbone and personal value (CWSV, Vol. 3: 151). All these factors are important for the formation of an ideal society. He observed that: The West is groaning under the tyranny of the Shylocks, and the East is groaning under the tyranny of the priests, each must keep the other in check. Do not think that one alone is to help the world. (CWSV, Vol. 3: 158)

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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

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Humanism and Universalism

Humanism is another dimension of human development which is directed to the all-round development of humanity and human divinity. Vivekananda identifies an inclusive sense of humanism. According to him, it is an internal dimension of human development of a human being. It is deeply linked with mental peace, inner satisfaction, happiness and fulfilment of life of a man. He synthesises the human development idea with service of Nara-Narayana (Man-God). Individual divinity of man is the true sense of supremacy of God (Narayana). So, he emphasises the service to mankind. Service is worship for Nara-Narayana (ManGod). According to Vivekananda, true humanism is the true vision of God in the society. Ultimately, human development restores harmony among all sections of people in society. Humanism binds every one with his family. So, man can do the best possible means to everyone in the society. Vivekananda has argued a kind of humanism which is more profound, more significant and more dimensional. He incorporates all segments like society and education, religion and aesthetics, spiritualism and mysticism with humanism. So, his humanism is holistic in nature and it is an essence of the divinity of excellence. He gives importance to the inner cultivation of man. Human development trains the human being to achieve his or her “value system”. European culture comes from the early Greek. It has made very distinctive types of human culture in West. Greek humanism was narrow because it excluded the slaves. After Greek, Roman humanism was too much influence in West. It was also broader than Greek, but did not extend to the slaves (Radhakrishnan, 1969: 381–382). Both cultures were secular and non-religious. Later came, Christianity; they were preaching their own humanism, based on its narrow theology, first to the people of the Roman Empire and, later, to the people of Europe as a whole. But Christian humanism was exclusively limited to the believers with its own narrow creed and dogma and it did not extend to non-Christians (Sengupta, 2010: 193–195). The Protestants and Catholics were fighting with each other for thirty years in Germany. Man killed man in the name of a common God and religion. Twenty million people sacrificed their lives in the civil war of Germany. Western humanism received the most serious shock from the violent war in Germany. Due to this traumatic experience of Germany,

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Europeans lost their faith from God to man (Toynbee, 1979: 180– 200). This modern Western humanism strengthened the physical sciences and technology and it developed melioristic hopes all over the world. It steadily gained strength and prestige for three hundred years, up to 1914 CE (Khurana, 1998: 135). During the First World War, thousands of people lost their lives in Europe. Western man lost his peace and trust on others. This situation created the more devastating Second World War. These traumatic experiences finished the foundations of the human faith in the whole West. People of the West already lost their faith in God during the Thirty Years War in Germany. They shattered their faith even in humanism. After the Second World War, Western man has left faith and loyalty to a God or man. Ethical and moral values have lost Western people due to the devastation of the two World Wars. A pessimistic attitude has developed in Western society and it has led them to choose a crude materialism for their existence. This system has generated inner tensions, privations and psychical problems of Western people. In this context, Western humans faced a new challenge, in the form of the Bolshevik Revolution and the hope of a new human civilisation led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), promising peace and plenty around the world. New Marxist humanism successfully achieved mass developments during its first four decades. This new Marxist humanism was creating the severe inner tensions within the individual man and woman of the USSR and it has increased in crime, drunkenness and other psychic distortions in Marxist world. Not only that, it has created the powerful conflicts between one Marxist State and another (Sengupta, 2010: 194–195). Marxist humanism was unsuccessful in ensuring human fulfilment in the West. Socrates was only one great Greek who understood the Ideal of ¯ truth. He realised himself as the infinite and immortal Atman but the Greeks knew only the socio-political dimension of man, so they could not understand him. It was something beyond their understanding. But the greatness of Socrates was something deep, something subtle. It is a great tragedy that the Athenian State could not appreciate the high spiritual dimension of Socrates, and therefore, he was condemned to death. He was described by the judges as a corrupter of the Athenian youth. But the socio-political philosophy of the Greeks could not grasp the excellence of that character. This is not only the example of Socrates but also we refer to Jesus Christ. Jesus also gave a tremendous message of man’s

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spiritual inwardness. But the socio-political philosophy of the Jews of the time could not comprehend it and condemned him to death. The Athenians and the Jews could understand and appreciate the socio-political excellence of character, but not anything higher than that. So, it is true that modern man has better physical bodies and health than in the past ages and he is also immensely nourished mentally and intellectually compared to his predecessors. But we find modern man getting increasingly alienated both from himself and from others. He is unhappy, tensed, peaceless, given often to inflicting violence on others or suicide on himself. Swami Vivekananda realised the above tragic situation in his time. He emphasised changing the direction of human life from sensuality to spirituality. He preached Ved¯ antic humanism, explored the infinite divine within man and it realised man in his life a created (Ranganathananda, 2005: 52). Upanis.hads and the Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ great wisdom of Ved¯ antic humanism. Buddha, Shankaracharya, Sri Chaitanya, Sri Ramakrishna and many other luminous sages reinterpreted the great wisdom but they never thought or taught in narrow terms of sects or creeds or races or nationalities. Vivekananda expounded the Ved¯ antic humanism in India and in the West, in the context of modern thought and modern needs and he also gave the inspiring message about the human excellence: Teach yourselves, teach everyone, his real nature; call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity. (CWSV, Vol. 3: 193)

4.5

Views on Freedom

Freedom is a significant object of an individual. It is the status of the individual position in Society. Freedom has deeply connected individual spirituality in society. According to Vivekananda, “… Freedom is the first condition of growth” (CWSV, Vol. 2: 115). He believed that every individual has a spiritual life and also a material life in society. Human beings have full autonomy to realise both lives. This realisation of life has attracted the person to live in society. According to Westerner’s scholar, the doctrine of karma has directly denied freedom in the East. So, there is no concept of individual freedom in India. Vivekananda opposed the

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notion of Westerner’s view about the doctrine of karma. According to Vivekananda, the principle of karma cannot determine the individual’s fate completely. It always depends on individual work and performs spiritual actions. “Karmic law, the individual can rise above the chain of karmic cause and effect, thus preventing it from becoming a vicious cycle”. Vivekananda also challenged Advaita philosophy about individual freedom. According to Advaita scholar, surrender is the basic object for liberation. There is no scope of individual freedom in Advaita philosophy. Those who surrender themselves to the Supreme alone can achieve individual liberation. But Vivekananda interprets Advaita philosophy in a new way. According to him, if any man performs moral and spiritual duty, he or she will get liberation. It is clearly mentioned in Advaita philosophy. Performance of spiritual actions is a necessary pre-requisite requirement for earning liberty. Vivekananda states that human beings are not yet individuals but they are struggling towards individuality and that is the Infinite. It is the real nature of human beings. Man alone lives in the soul and that soul or life links with the whole universe. The fear of death is the only obstacle to win the realisation of the universe of life. The apparent man is merely struggling to win this realisation or individuality but it is not easy for any one. Vivekananda further observes that people want to taste sugar; they do not want to become sugar. Egoism is not individuality. It is true that the soul has taken shelter in the human body but it cannot become absolutely himself. Western people believe that the human body is everything; they reject the existence of the soul. Western people want the external comfort and glamour of human beings in their society. They believe man is born free but he is bound by social rules. Their concern is only individual freedom. But unlimited individual freedom can harm others. Vivekananda opposed the unlimited freedom of individuals as it always harmed others. According to him: ….it is our natural right to be allowed to use our own body, intelligence, or wealth according to our will, without doing any harm to others ; and all the members of a society ought to have the same opportunity for obtaining wealth, education or knowledge. (CWSV, Vol. 5: 146)

Swamiji has not only emphasised physical, social and political freedom, but he needs the spiritual freedom which purifies the mind of human beings. As he said, “One may gain political and social independence, but

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if one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 419). Freedom is also the basis of all virtues, such as love. “Love cannot come through fear, its basis is freedom” (CWSV, Vol. 2, 322). Hindu believes only in the inner upliftment of the mind without caring for external gain or achievement. Both are partially defective in their own nature. Swamiji explains it in a unique language: When the Aryans reached India, they found the climate so hot that they could not work incessantly, so they began to think; thus they became introspective and developed religion. They discovered that there was no limit to the power of mind; they therefore sought to master that; and through it they learnt that there was something infinite coiled up in the frame we call man, which was seeking to become kinetic. To evolve this became their chief aim. Another branch of the Aryans went into the smaller and more picturesque country of Greece, where the climate and natural conditions were more favourable; so their activity turned outwards, and they developed the external arts and outward liberty. The Greek sought political liberty. The Hindu has always sought spiritual liberty. Both are one -sided. The Indian cares not enough for national protection or patriotism, he will defend only his religion; while with the Greek and in Europe (where the Greek civilization finds its continuation) the country comes first. To care only for spiritual liberty and not for social liberty is a defect, but the opposite is a still greater defect. Liberty of both soul and body is to be striven for. (CWSV, Vol. 6: 86)

Thousands of years ago, Indian sages gave a beautiful definition for freedom or liberation in Chandogyaupanisad (VI. IX. 4). “Aitadatmyam idamsarvam tatsatyam sa-atmatattvamasi shvetaketu”—this whole manifested universe has this [Reality] as its Self; that is the Truth; that is ¯ the Atman [the Self]; and thou art that, O Shvetaketu. It is supreme liberation or freedom which never changes, that never dies and it traced the faith in one’s self. Tat Tvam Asi is the profound truth about liberation of man, the truth of the infinite possibilities lying behind him, just as e = mc2 is the truth that modern physics conveys about the infinite energy possibilities lying behind any lump of matter. In this connection, man has to achieve a meaningful fourfold life of dh¯ arma, ¯ artha, k¯ ama and moks.ha. The first three states should be achieved before proceeding to the last state, i.e. moks.ha or supreme liberation. Highest achievement should be the goal of everyone but it is not possible to practise moks.ha without

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achieving the first three-fold state in life. Only then, the person is fit for moks.ha path or supreme reality. But Buddha invited all people to follow the path of liberation due to his great heart for all. As a result of it, thousands and thousands of monks formed big monasteries all over the land and strived to attain liberation. The Buddhist monks (followers of Lord Buddha) acknowledged that nothing is more desirable in life than moks.ha. Swamiji did not accept Buddha’s opinion about moks.ha and he says: If the whole nation practices and follows the path of moks.ha that is well and good; but is that possible? When, in the heyday of Buddhistic supremacy, thousands of Sannyasins lived in every monastery, then it was that the country was just on the verge of its ruin! (CWSV, Vol. 5: 448)

Toleration always helps to develop freedom in the society and it also enriches respect for each other in the society. Swamiji tells us elaborately: “Liberty of thought and action is the only condition of life, of growth and well-being. Where it does not exist, the man, the race, the nation must go down……..My whole ambition in life is to set in motion a machinery which will bring noble ideas to the door of everybody, and then let men and women settle their own fate” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 29).

4.6

Ideas on Poverty and Human Development

Human development increases happiness and joyfulness of every moment in a society. So, income is not the only measure of human development. Longevity, literacy and standard of living are basic indicators of quantitative as well as qualitative aspects of human development. Poverty is another parameter of the standard of living of an individual. Human growth is unending choices for individuals. But poverty is always rejected as unending choices of individuals. Poverty is not just relative to individuals, it is also an absolute means for individuals. Poverty is a failure parameter for individuals; it cannot help anyone to achieve the capabilities of happiness. According to Amartya Sen; “the lack of capabilities is absolute. However, capabilities are not fixed over time or over societies” (Sen, 1985: 312). Development is not an unending process but nobody believes it. So individual grows himself with new directions, new requirements and new aspirations. All the parameters are challenging a person to achieve a happy and healthy living. The dimensions of such happiness

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may vary from person to person. These dimensions are: a good education or skill; a good income, self-respect; security; social status and good family. Human development allows people to get the best output of life and create good living conditions (Rao, 1995: 15). The conceptual framework of human development has been revised several times and it makes it more refined as a measuring tool for human development. These improvements indicate, no doubt, an overall concern for human development, resulting in appreciable changes being made in people’s lives. The major hurdle of human development is poverty. Only the welfare economy reduces poverty and it is also to end the poverty of people. There are a number of views and methods about poverty and preventing of the poverty in the global market. But there are two major traditional views about the significance of poverty which are absolute poverty and relative poverty. Only the capabilities of people remove poverty (Sen, 1999) and it strengthens human development. Ignorance of life creates a multi-dimensional nuanced picture of poverty (Sugden, 1993). Human development paradigm has expanded the existing understandings of both poverty and development. Swami Vivekananda says “Onward forever! Sympathy for the poor, the downtrodden, even unto death — this is our motto” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 29–30). The merits of this approach have been recognised by UNO. The capabilities approach (Sen, 1999), combining elements of philosophy and economics, has become the principal alternative to previously dominant economic frameworks and discards the measurement of poverty based solely on income and the assumed maximisation of utility (Laderchi et al., 2003). Instead, poverty is understood from a broadly humanist perspective as the deprivation of one or more rudimentary capabilities (Sen, 1999: 87). These capabilities are essential for individuals to achieve minimum functioning within their society (Banerjee et al., 2006: 1) and subsequently access freedom to live the lives they value (Laderchi et al., 2003). If inequality is the basic nature of society, it is our duty to pay more attention to the weaker section and poorer portion of society. Nature could not provide the weaker section the adequate stuff to proclaim their strength and supremacy. So our help necessarily is put on the needy section as a mark in the process to equality in society. Swamiji’s conception of human deployment emphasises both the spiritual, mental and the bodily aspects as he focuses on food or the necessities of life and asset of yogas for a sound body, courage and freedom

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of compassion without selfish motive for spiritual development. Swamiji tells us that: If there is inequality in nature, still there must be equal chance for all — or if greater for some and for some less — the weaker should be given more chance than the strong. In other words, a Br¯ ahmin is not so much in need of education as a Chandala. ….The poor, the downtrodden, the ignorant, let these be your God. (CWSV, Vol. 6: 319)

4.7

Social and Political Thought

Swami Vivekananda was not a political thinker like Plato, Rousseau, John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx, and had nothing to do with politics. But his thoughts provide a deep insight into the social and political situations of their country and also provide a solution to contemporary problems. Vivekananda acted as a beacon light and inspired his countrymen to work out their moral, social, economic, political and spiritual freedom. Vivekananda’s soul was lit with the luminous vision of Mother India as a deity. His writings were the visible expression of the divine mother of India. Vivekananda preached the gospel of love, which he found to be the basis of all systems of political thought—a theme generally neglected and ignored by all classical and modern theorists. Vivekananda wanted to integrate both the spiritualistic and materialistic ideas with man and society. According to him, there was no antithesis between the two; both were complementary to each other. But religion was subordinated to the secular needs of man in the West. The Western society aimed only at the political and social development of man. God and Religion were less important in the West. But Vivekananda considered Religion as the fountainhead of social stability and spirituality. Swami Vivekananda believed that the revival of Indian society can be achieved only on the lines of spiritual regeneration. After returning from the West, he again and again said that Spirituality is the central cord, the predominant theme of Indian social and political life. Social thoughts of Swami Vivekananda are rooted in Indian society and it is developed through spiritual and social values of India. Social and political problems are essentially idealistic in nature in society. According to him, it is spiritual socialism (Palit, 2013: 227). According to Swami Vivekananda, “Man is the highest being that exists and that this is the greatest world. We can have no conception of God higher than man, so our God is man and man is God” (CWSV, Vol. 7:

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30). Swami Vivekananda travelled widely within India and outside India. So he had been exposed to different concepts of socialism all over the West. But his soul was always in pain and anguish about the crippling poverty of India. Everywhere in India, he saw that the poor and the so-called lowly had been oppressed and downtrodden over the years by rulers and richer people. The autocracy of the priesthood, the despotism of caste and the terrible demarcations created the unsolvable barriers to the progress of the Indian nation. Swamiji does not believe in socialism as it has been considered as a good system for human progress. According to Swamiji, the ideal state is the judicial combination of all the traits of human beings so that each and every quality gets a chance to flourish. Swamiji says: I am a socialist not because I think it is a perfect system, but half a loaf is better than no bread. If it is possible to form a state in which the knowledge of the priest period, the culture of the military, the distributive spirit of the commercial, and the ideal of equality of the last can all be kept intact, minus their evils, it will be an ideal state. (CWSV, Vol. 6: 381)

According to Swamiji, there is no ideal society in the world. Society is good at a certain stage but it cannot be perfect, for it is in a constant flux. So it is impossible to exist in any ideal society in the world. Social rules and practices change from time to time and also it is necessary for the betterment of the society. According to Swamiji, our motto is not to “Reform” but to “Move on”. Adaptability is an important parameter for the development of any society. In fact, it is the principle which underlies the unfoldment of life. Swami Vivekananda was the first sannyasi who gave much importance to the Indian masses. He found that the neglecting of the masses is one of the major causes for degradation of Indian society. To quote his words: I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for. They pay for our education, they build our temples, but in return they get kicks. If we want to regenerate India, we must work for them. (CWSV, Vol. 5: 152)

He believes that service to man must be regarded as service to God. He gives new ideas about the poor using a Bengali term “Daridra Narayana” which means to see God in the poor man and also the weak

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person. Vivekananda does not believe in any type of God who cannot give bread to anyone. He believes that India is to progress if the poor people are fed and education should be spread to all and the evil of priest craft should be removed (CWSV, Vol. 4: 362). According to him, man is not an economic animal and also he is not a tool making animal. Man is finite outside but infinite inside (CWSV, Vol. 4: 342). Any social, economic and religious attack on weak and poor men is evil in society. According to Swami Vivekananda: Teach yourselves, teach everyone, his real nature; call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity. (ibid.: 355)

Man being essentially pure and divine. Man should deserve equal opportunity in society. This concept leads to the universal brotherhood in the world. Vivekananda revolted against the social system where a few exploited the many. He said, “Priest power and foreign rule have trodden them down, for centuries and at last the poor of India have forgotten that they are human beings” (CWSV, Vol. 4: 362). Liberty, according to him, was the growth of human beings. It should not be doing harm to others and should give the same opportunity for obtaining wealth, education and knowledge. He says, “Just as man has liberty to think and speak, so he must have liberty in food, in dress, in marriage and in everything so long as he does not injure others” (ibid.: 363). Swami Vivekananda’s teachings are highly spiritualistic and idealistic but he is not against material development. He wants the improvement of the living conditions of the people of India, but he has warned against making material comforts and a high standard of living. Material values do not help to grow the spiritual values of a man (Palit, 2013: 228–230). Swami Vivekananda was not against the caste system, but he stood up against untouchability and the allied social evils. He said: I must frankly tell you that I am neither a caste breaker nor a mere social reformer. I have nothing to do directly with your caste. You like your caste but that should be no reason why you hate another man of another caste. It is love and love alone that I preach and I base my teachings on the great Ved¯ anta truth of the sameness and omnipresence of the soul of the universe. (ibid.: Vol. 4: 245)

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´ udras . “The first three According to him, this period is the age of the S¯ have had their day. Now it is time for the last. They must have it. None can resist it” (CWSV, Vol. 3: 245–246) and he continues: “The other systems have been tried and found wanting. Let this one be tried. A redistribution of pain and pleasure is better than always the same person having pains and pleasures” (ibid.: Vol. 3: 318). Vivekananda ´ udras play an important role in present society. Swami said that the S¯ Vivekananda envisioned a classless society in India. Vivekananda never makes any distinction between man and woman. He preached the principles of Ved¯ anta where everybody is one. Vivekananda was against the views of orthodox Hindus about women. They are always disregarded and suppressed in the women’s class. Vivekananda said: Women in statesmanship, managing territories, governing countries, even making war, have proved themselves equal to man—if not superior. In India I have no doubt of that. Whenever they have had opportunity, they have proved that they have as much ability as men, with this advantage— that they seldom degenerate. They keep to the moral standard, which is innate in their nature. And thus the governors and rulers of their State prove—at least in India—far superior to men….Even in the present day, we see women in India managing vast estates with great ability. (CWSV, Vol. 9: 191, Cambridge Lecture)

The patriarchy had to organise many religious rituals and functions in the household but no such ceremony would be complete without women participation. According to Vivekananda: The ideal of womanhood centre in the Arian race of India, the most ancient in the world’s history. In that race men and women were priests, sabatimini (sahadharmini)’ or coreligionists, as the Ved¯ as call them. There every family had its hearth or altar, on which, at the time of the wedding, the marriage fire was kindled, which was kept alive, until either spouse died, when the funeral pile was lighted from its spark. Husband and wife together offered their sacrifices, and this idea was carried so far that a man could not even pray alone, because it was held that he was only half a being, for that reason no unmarried man could become a priest. (CWSV, Vol. 2: 504)

Swamiji felt that there were contradictions between the Pur¯ an.as and the Ved¯ as about women rites. According to the Pur¯ an.as , women are not

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equal to men, but the Ved¯ as, have given equal rights to men and women. Vivekananda stated “some of the most beautiful portions of the Ved¯ as , the Hindu bible, were written by women, but that there was no other bible in this world in which they had any part” (CWSV, Vol. 9: 464). Vivekananda pointed out that Sri Ramakrishna also needed the awakening of youths— male and female for the development of India. Sexual equality between men and women is a pre-requisite for the balanced social development of a country. Vivekananda said: You often note, when people are discussing what man and woman can do, always the same mistake is made. Women are as courageous as men. Each is equally good in his or her way. What man can bring up a child with such patience, endurance, and love as the woman can? The one has developed the power of doing; the other, the power of suffering. If women cannot act, neither can men suffer. The whole universe is one of perfect balance. (CWSV, Vol. 2: 25–26)

4.8

¯ Neo-Vedanta

Ved¯ anta means the end of Ved¯ as . Ultimate objective of Ved¯ anta is to explore the knowledge of the Br¯ ahamana and ¯ ¯ the Atman. The Br¯ ahamana is absolute truth and the Atman is the individual soul. Ved¯ anta has tried to interlink with ¯ Br¯ ahamana and Atman.Neo-Ved¯ anta is a different form of the Ved¯ anta. The eighth century CE, Shankaracharya was relooking at the Advaita Ved¯ anta with new knowledge and ideas. Shankaracharya swallowed up Buddhism intellectually and spiritually in the eighth century CE. He built up neo-Ved¯ anta in India. Due to Shankaracharya’s neo-Ved¯ anta, Buddhism was decaying from India. Again neo-Ved¯ anta was developed in Bengal by Ram Mohan Roy through Brahmo Samaj in the nineteenth century. Keshab Chandra Sen was an important leader of Brahmo Samaj in the nineteenth century Bengal. Keshab Chandra Sen studied the Advaita Ved¯ anta deeply. He reformed the neo-Ved¯ anta which differed from other Brahmo Samaj leaders like Ram Mohan Roy. Keshab Chandra Sen’s neo-Ved¯ anta was a progress idea in nineteen century Bengal. But Vivekananda’s neo- Ved¯ anta is an alternative idea from others. Vivekananda’s neo-Ved¯ anta is different from Shankara and Brahmo Samaj . His neo-Ved¯ anta is a comprehensive account of the history of Advaita Ved¯ anta. He has included the

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historical perspective of the Advaita Ved¯ anta and the pluralistic approach of society in Bengal. Several socio-historical factors of nineteen century Bengal were reflected in his neo-Ved¯ anta. Vivekananda’s neo-Ved¯ anta was transformed with classical Advaita Ved¯ anta and religious thought of the nineteenth century Bengal. But it is true that Keshab Chandra Sen’s neo-Ved¯ anta was much influenced to Vivekananda. Vivekananda evaluated all thoughts of neo-Ved¯ anta in the nineteenth century. Ramakrishna and Keshab Chandra Sen both were religious icons in Bengal. But it is a fact that both were using different methods of neo-Ved¯ antic teachings and both leaders maintained distance from each other for practising neo-Ved¯ antic. Ramakrishna discovered the power of Kali Goddesses. According to him, Mother Kali manifested the world with her lila. According to Ramakrishna, Ved¯ antic ideas did not need any modification religiously or socially. Ramakrishna believed Ved¯ antic teachings are thought of religious harmony. Ramakrishna believed to trust only the image of Kali that is the way of salvation of man. Hinduism has a strong potential from other religions. Hinduism has practised with its long religious experiences and uniform knowledge. According to Ramakrishna, Brahmo Samaj artificially demarcated between one aspect of God and His multiplicity images. He expressed that religious reforms of Brahmo Samaj created difficulty to understand the path of salvation. He also rejected the Western thought of knowledge of God. He believed that sanatan dh¯ arma (eternal religion) is very strong internally, but externally, it is more flexible. So sanatan dh¯ arma easily accommodated other religious experiences and practices. Ramakrishna accepted world religious thoughts to reform his religious faith. He worshipped himself Jesus Christ and practised Islam the basis of his experiential approach. According to Ramakrishna, all religions are the same, only the rites and rituals performed to worship God differ (Halbfass, 1998: 227). Diverse religious worship and practices created different communities and ideas of God. Ramakrishna illustrated the unity of God through worshipping Kali idol. Ramakrishna’s tantric Advaita or his neo-Ved¯ anta was expanded by Vivekananda. Vivekananda recognised Ramakrishna’s idea of Br¯ ahamana. It is an evolutionary soul of God. According to Ramakrishna, Br¯ ahamana is an active God who is manifested in all things and beings of the universe (Smith, 1976: 95). Vivekananda believed that idol worship is the core of the path of salvation. He reforms the idol worship with the idea of bhakti marga and evolves the neo-Ved¯ anta as a form of Practical Ved¯ anta. Vivekananda emphasises the self-awareness of man

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but it has replicated in everyday life. It is the route of practical Ved¯ anta. Vivekananda’s notion is to link the man with God and man to man within Hinduism and also other religions. His neo-Ved¯ anta based on seva or social service. It is totally different from Hindu theology in the nineteenth century Bengal. He accepted Western evolutionary thinking and Indian wisdom. He reorganised the Ved¯ antic schools by spiritual philosophy. His neo-Ved¯ antic thoughts recognised universally. He merged every world religious thought with his neo-Ved¯ antic. Vivekananda claims that only neo-Ved¯ anta accepts all religious diversity, tolerance and harmony (King, 1999: 135–136). Vivekananda successfully established neo-Ved¯ anta in the West by his lecture in Parliament of Religion of Chicago in 1893 CE. His Chicago lecture was an excellent form of neo-Ved¯ anta in the nineteenth century. His Chicago lecture had a tremendous impact in America and also Europe. He gave message of one single holistic existence of God—ekamevaadvitiyam by his Chicago lecture. Vivekananda’s neo-Ved¯ anta acknowledged philosophy of aparà and parà of Mundaka Upanis.had. According to Vivekananda, aparà is inferior material sciences and parà is the science of spirituality. Both knowledge is required to develop a peace and tolerance in society.

4.9

Spiritual Nationalism

Swami Vivekananda, throughout his life, propagated the concept of nationalism and national integration of India in tune with the idea of universal brotherhood (Pailt, 2013: 11). He was accepted as one of the prophets of the new age, not because of his acceptance of the principal tenets of traditional Hinduism (Shattuck, 1999: 93–94). His spiritual humanism was separate from modern secular humanism and it fitted well with the search of the Indian identity. Swami Nirvedananda rightly pointed out that: His (Vivekananda’s) message is not for the hour, but for the age, not for the nation only, but for humanity. So far as India is concerned, his message is not meant for little bits of social or religious reforms, but for a complete rejuvenation of her national life in all its phases. (Nirvedananda, 2001: 5–6)

It is impressive that during the long history of India, about five thousand years, India has never gone outside her boundaries to conquer and enslave

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and exploit other nations, even when she had the political and military power to do so (Krishna Periyar, 2015: 109–110). Universal peace and toleration derives only from a universal vision. Vivekananda said, “We create God in our image, it is we who create Him to be our master, it is not God who makes us His servants. When we know that we are one with God, that we and He are friends, then comes equality” (CWSV, Vol. 7: 29). Vivekananda pointed out that this is the supreme national objective of India of her long history from earliest times to the modern period. Swami Vivekananda gave the true foundations of this culture and clearly defined and strengthened the sense of unity as a nation (Trivedi, 2009: 74). According to K. M. Pannikar: This new Shankaracharya may well be claimed to be a unifier of Hindu ideology. Travelling all over lndia he not only aroused a sense of Hindu feeling but taught the doctrine of universal Ved¯ anta as the background of new Hindu reformation...... It is Vivekananda who first gave the Hindu movement its sense of Nationalism and provided most of the movement with a common all- India outlook. (Panikkar 1965: 53–54)

Vivekananda said; “a sannyasin (monk) never belongs to any religion, for his is a life of independent thought which draws from all religions, his is a life of realisation, not merely of theory or belief, much less of dogma” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 260). He is a spiritual guide not only to monks but also to householders. Vivekananda represented in a sense the old India, but his message was emerging as a new India.

4.10

Views on Internationalism

Man cannot live with intolerance and destructive nation. Tolerance and humanity are the basic elements of any State. According to Vivekananda, Man should be practising the Ved¯ antic principles. Ved¯ antic principles are tolerance, equality, humanity and social unity. Ved¯ anta has directed man to profess the harmony between the individual and social life. Ved¯ anta has controlled individual freedom which made a good quality family and nation. Only universal peace and toleration have given a universal vision. According to Vivekananda, Man has successfully developed a uniformly peaceful attitude to others by following the Ved¯ antic value. According to Romain Rolland, Vivekananda harmonised people into a magnificent synthesis of Ved¯ anta, which helped all hopes to grow

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and flourish according to their own proper nature. There was to be no other dogma but the divinity inherent in man and his capacity for indefinite evolution (Rolland, 1981: 38–39). Yatra Visvam Bhavatyekanidam (Mahanarayana Upanishad, Chapter 2, Verse 3) meaning where the world makes a home in a single nest, is the motto of Indian spiritualism. This tune of Indian spiritualism was expanded peacefully to the whole World in various religious forms like Buddhism, Hinduism. India was powerful in political and military power but India has not expanded her boundaries to other nations by war from early times to still today. Indian spiritualism was given distinct political harmony with several Indian political States and other countries from early times to modern ages. India has never crossed outside her boundaries to conquer, enslave and exploit other countries, even India had the political and military power to do so. The most significant example of the third century before Christ in India, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, announced peace and tolerance in his State policy. The Mauryan ruler Ashoka successfully defeated the Kalinga State by bloody war about 260 BCE (Basham, 1983: 39). According to the 13 Rock Edict, Ashoka killed one lakh men and animals in the Kalinga war. After the Kalinga war, Ashoka was mentally very shocked and unhappy. He took the Buddhist religion and he announced that he did not participate in any war. He also declared to stop the killing of animals and birds in his kingdom. He was the first king in the world who announced that non-violence was State policy in his Kingdom. Numerous rock and pillar inscriptions mentioned how King Ashoka peacefully extended his spiritual power to Asia and Europe by non-violence. His dh¯ arma-bheri or truth and justice policy deeply influenced the whole of South East Asia and East Asia. He acknowledged inter-religious relations, not any political power in universal fields (ibid.: 42). Ashoka’s non-violence policy deeply impacted Indian culture. India always welcomes all foreign racial and religious groups and refugees from other countries. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which means “the World is one family” (Maha Upanishad VI. 71–73). This Upanis.had ´sloka is engraved in the entrance hall of the Parliament of India. India has given shelter to various communities like Shaka, Hun, Pathan, Moghuls, Jews, Christians, the Zoroastrians (Ranganathananda, 2005: 33). Violence, crime and delinquency, even juvenile delinquency are gradually increasing in Whole world. Whole world is looking for Ved¯ antic principles. Only Ved¯ antic values give tolerance, equality, humanity and social unity to individuals. Individuality

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and universality are interlinked with each other. Man is individual and at the same time universal. So the good nature of individuality is more important for a moral society. Noble individual makes an honest nation. Ideal divinity can change human society. It has inspired the people to know the potential divine of each soul. The humanism idea came from the “adhyatmavidya” or the signs of spiritual possibilities in India. Vivekananda says, “Each soul is potentially divine and the aim is to realise this divinity” (CWSV, Vol. 5: 300). He also says: Toleration is one of the most important instruments, which always helps to develop the spiritualism and humanism in India .In the West faith in religion was always accompanied by intolerance, fanaticism, violence and war. This is the opposite of what has become the characteristic feature of Indian culture for thousands of years, due to her scientific approach to the subject of religion. (CWSV, Vol. 3: 114)

According to Vivekananda, Ved¯ antic knowledgeable people cannot coexist with any predatory attitude or behaviour; it cannot co-exist also with any intolerant attitude and behaviour. Indian spiritualism successfully developed a uniformly peaceful attitude with man and society. Only Indian spiritualism gives universal peace and tolerance to the world. Swami Vivekananda did not believe in any doctrines and dogmas, or sects, or churches, or temples. According to him, spirituality is the central point of humanity, tolerance and non-violence. So spirituality makes man a more humane, more tolerant and a more powerful mind. Spirituality is a great teacher of mankind. It is the power of light in the World. Most of the religious teachers have taught special religions, which bear their names; but Swami Vivekananda was a great teacher of the nineteenth century, who did not claim anything. He acknowledged every religion because he had realised that all religions of world are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion. Vivekananda was given lecture based on Indian wisdom at Chicago in 1893 CE: If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity, and charity are not the exclusive possession of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be

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written, in spite of resistance: ‘help and not fight’, ‘Assimilation and not destruction’, ‘Harmony and Peace and not Dissension’. He works without any motive, neither for money, nor for fame, nor for anything else; and when a man can do that, he will be a Buddha, and out of him will come the power to work in such a manner as will transform the world. This man represents the very highest ideal of Karma-Yoga. (CWSV, Vol. 1: 118)

4.11

Conclusion

Vivekananda represents a transition period in India between pre- and post-Oriental Renaissance who rekindled the light of Ved¯ antic thought with Indian society. He is a dignified, potential and rational citizen in the world. Service to others is the basic criteria of human beings. According to Swami Vivekananda, an individual is not to be considered as an ordinary human being but potentially as powerful as the divine. So man can naturally feel the divine during service to others. According to Vivekananda, an individual being is “the son of the immortal” (Am¸rtasyaputr¯ ah). Each and every human being—even the fallen—is respectable, powerful and eternal like the divine. According to Vivekananda, as each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divine within by controlling nature externally and internally. According to Advaita Ved¯ anta, each and every object is part of the universe, including the human being; it is a manifestation of Brahman. So, one should think under all circumstances, both good and bad, that he or she is coming from Br¯ ahamana. Vivekananda has brought out the Ved¯ anta in its practical form from solitary cave where it was practised years after years. Swami Vivekananda has played a universal role for upliftment of mankind through teaching Ved¯ anta. He has taught Ved¯ anta in our daily life. It is a significant effort for transforming human knowledge. But Swamiji wants people not only to do exchange with his fellow beings but to channelise the centre of service towards man. Vivekananda says that Work is worship and any Seva or Service is more than worshipping any idol. So service is the highest religion in the world (CWSV, Vol. 6: 288).

4.12

Summary

Swami Vivekananda is undoubtedly one of the greatest masterminds of the modern era. Though he is an Indian by birth, he belongs to the universe. He is a universal soul and his ideals and principles belong to

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the world and they are universalism in nature and thought. He is wellknown for his positivism and if one wants to know about India and its religious richness, it becomes indispensable to know more of Vivekananda and his preaching. Being a spiritual genius of high command over intellect and power, Vivekananda has crammed immense labour and achievement into his short life, from 1863 to 1902. He is an illustrious and the most powerful patron-saint of modern India. Swami Vivekananda had a deep feeling in the core of his heart equally for the poor and the rich, for the illiterate and the educated, the householders and the monks. He harboured highest sense of respect for all the religious people, be it Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian or any other religion. He had learned from his master that every religion (dh¯ arma) leads to the same goal (Jata Mat Tata Path), that is, every religion leads to the God—the highest truth of the Self, the Br¯ ahamana. The social philosophy of Vivekananda is an outcome of traditional Indian culture and wisdom. The traditional view of social life can be best understood by a reference to the three-fold discipline—(i) the fourfold object of life, that is, Purus.¯ arthas or cardinal values, (ii) the fourfold order of the society, that is, varn.a system and (iii) the fourfold succession of the stages of life, that is, ¯ as´hrama system. The ancient Indian thinkers visualised human life as a whole that includes both material and spiritual aspects. It is true that man cannot live by the soul or spirit alone. An individual who is economically starved and emotionally strained cannot realise the ultimate goal of his or her life. Satisfaction of physical needs and psychological pleasures is a necessary condition to the spiritual growth of the individual. It is also true that man cannot live by bread alone. Hence, the quality of human life requires a perfect synthesis and balance between material and spiritual aspects of practical life of people.

References Badrinath, C. (2006). Swami Vivekananda: The Living Vedanta. Penguin Books. Banerjee, A. V., Bénabou, R., & Mookherjee, D. (Eds.). (2006). Understanding poverty. Oxford University Press. Banhatti, G. S. (1963). The Quintessence of Vivekananda, Pune, India: Suvichar Prakashan Mandal, ASIN B0007JQX3M. Banhatti, G. S. (1995). Life and philosophy of Swami Vivekananda. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Basham, A. L. (Ed.). (1983). Cultural history of India. Oxford University Press.

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Bhuyan, P. R. (2003). Swami Vivekananda: Messiah of resurgent India. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Bose, S. C. (1935). The Indian struggle: 1920–34. Wishart & Co., Ltd. Chakrabarti, T. K. (2001). Swami Vivekananda. In R. L. Arrington (Ed.), A companion to the philosophers. Wiley-Blackwell. Chattopadhyaya, R. (1999). Swami Vivekananda in India: A corrective biography. Motilal Banarsidass. De Michelis, E. (2005). A history of modern Yoga: Patañjali and Western esotericism. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. Gambhirananda, S. (Ed.). (2006). Chandogya Upanisad: With commentary of Shankaracarya. Advaita Ashrama. Fukuda-Parr, S., & Shiva Kumar, A. K. (2003). Readings in human development: Concepts, measures and policies for a development paradigm. Oxford University Press. Gambhirananda, S. (2011). Yuganayak Vivekananda (Vol. 3). Udbodhan Karyalaya. Halbfass, W. (1998). India and Europe: An essay in understanding. University of New York. Jena, K. N., Semwal, M. M., & Chatterjee, R. (2009). Religion and human development. In Bottom up approaches and inclusive development. King, R. (1999). Orientalism and religion: Post-colonial theory, India and the mystic east. Kearney, R. (2013). Anatheism: Returning to God after God. Columbia University Press. Khurana, K. L. (1998). Modern Europe (1789–1956 A.D). Lakshmi Narain Agarwal. Kraemer, H. (1960). Cultural response of Hindu India. World cultures and world religions. Westminster Press, ASIN B0007DLYAK. Krishna Periyar, K. (2015). Selected speeches and writings of Swami Vivekananda—An analytical study (Unpublished Thesis). Periyar Maniammai University, Tanjavur Laderchi, C. R., Saith, R., & Stewart, F. (2003). Does it matter that we do not agree on the definition of poverty? A comparison of four approaches. Oxford Development Studies, 31(3), 243–274. Lokeshwarananda, S. (1988). The Perennial Vivekananda: A selection. Sahitya Akademi. Lokeswarananda, S. (1993). Katha Upanishad. The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. Nirvedananda, S. (2001). Swami Vivekananda on India and her problems. Advaita Ashrama. Palit, P. K., & Kamalasthananda, S. (Eds.). (2017). The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and its relevance. Kaveri Books.

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Palit, P. K. (2013). Vivekananda and national integration. Delta Book World. Panikkar, K. M. (1965). The determining period of Indian History. BharatiyaVidya Bhavn. Prabhananda, S. (2003). Profiles of famous educators: Swami Vivekananda. Prospects, XXXIII (2), 231–245. Prabuddha, B. (1917). Vol. XXII. No 247, 248, February & March, Calcutta. Radhakrishnan, S. (1949). Gautam the Buddha. Hind Kitabs Limited. Radhakrishnan, S. (1969). Eastern religions and western thought. Oxford University Press. Ranganathananda, S. (1986). National integration through love and service. Bombay. Ranganathananda, S. (1990). Swami Vivekananda and human excellence: Harvard University lecture. Advaita Ashrama. Ranganathananda, S. (2005). Swami Vivekananda: His humanism (Moscow University Lecture). Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama. Rao, T. V. (1995). Human resources development: Experiences, interventions, strategies. Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd. Rolland, R. (1929). The river re-enters the sea. In The life of Ramakrishna. Hollywood, California: Vedanta Press. Rolland, R. (1981). The life of Vivekananda and Universal Gospel. Rolland, R. (2008). The life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel. Advaita Ashrama. Russell, B. (1953). The impact of science on society. Simon & Schuster. Sen, A. (1985). Commodities and capabilities. Amsterdam. Sen, A. (1992). Missing women. British Medical Journal, 304(6827). Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press. Sen, A. (2000). A decade of human development. Journal of Human Development, 1(1), 17–23. Sen, A. (2003). Swami Vivekananda. In N. Gupta (Ed.), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-564565-0. Sen, A. (2006). Indispensable Vivekananda: Anthology for our times, Orient Blackswan, ISBN 978-81-7824-130-2. Sen, A., & Gupta, N. (Eds.). (2003). Swami Vivekananda. Oxford University Press. Sengupta, K. (2010). Human development: Multi-dimensional Approaches to human Well-being. Mittal Publications. Shattuck, C. T. (1999). The modern period ii: Forces of change. In Hinduism. London: Routledge. Smith, B. L. (Ed.). (1976). Hinduism: New essays in the history of religions. E.J. Brills Srinivasan, T. N. (1994). Human development: A new paradigm or reinvention of the wheel? The American Economic Review, 84, 238–243.

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Stavig, G. (2010). Western admirers of Ramakrishna and his disciples. Advaita Ashrama. Sugden, R. (1993). ‘Welfare, resources, and capabilities: A review of inequality reexamined’ by Amartya Sen. Journal of Economic Literature, 31, 1947–1962. Swami Vivekananda: The Friend of All (2009). Calcutta: Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, pp. 58–59. Tapasyananda, S. (1990). The nationalistic and religious lectures of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama. Toynbee, A. (1979). An historian’s approach to religion. Oxford University Press. Trivedi, R. (2009). Social change in Indian society with reference to the contribution of Swami Vivekananda (Unpublished Thesis). The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Virajananda, S. (1918). The life of the Swami Vivekananda, 4, Prabuddha Bharata Office, Advaita Ashrama. Retrieved 21 December 2012. Vivekananda, S. (1964). Letters of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama. Vivekananda, S. (2009). To the Youth of India. Advaita Ashrama. Vivekananda, S. The complete works of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama. Vol. 1, 1965. Vol. 2, 1963. Vol. 3, 1964. Vol. 4, 1966. Vol. 5, 1964. Vol. 5, 12th ed., 2016 Vol. 6, 1963. Vol. 7, 1964. Vol. 8, 1970. Vivekananda, S. (2013). Words of Inspiration. Calcutta: Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture.

CHAPTER 5

Sri Aurobindo Ghose Budh Bahadur Lama

5.1

Introduction

Sri Aurobindo Ghose is widely known as one of the great Indian political thinkers. His ideas on nationalism, passive resistance, philosophy of education and spiritualism are prominent. He has also gained popularity through his nationalistic, philosophical and spiritual thoughts. It is said that Aurobindo remained a thoughtful prophet who endeavoured to convert the concept of humanity into a larger framework of analysis in the twentieth century. He believed that the political and religious freedoms can be realised only when we accept the belief of the kingdom of heaven that rests within us. In fact, Aurobindo possesses the yogic qualities that have been reflected in his integral philosophy. It has been observed that it would be a mistake if someone attempts to separate Aurobindo’s philosophy from his political thought. Sri Aurobindo once said that the metaphysical and cosmic understanding cannot be separated from the social and political reality of humanity. They are very much attached to each other. Sri Aurobindo was not only an influential

B. B. Lama (B) Sikkim Central University, Gangtok, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_5

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leader but also a spiritual reformer. He introduced his visions on human progress and spiritual evolution. His understanding of the interrelationship between cosmic awareness and human social reality is commendable and therefore, we are accustomed to call him as an Indian nationalist, an ideal-humanist and a great spiritual yogi. Sri Aurobindo as a nationalist, believed in the final victory of the Indian national movement. He wrote ‘The Doctrine of Passive Resistance’ during his early years, and published in the pages of ‘Bande Mataram’. He discusses the way of achieving national independence at large in ‘The Doctrine of Passive Resistance’ for which he was commonly identified by a leader of revolutionary extremism and an eminent character of the Congress Extremist group. His writing consists of not only the techniques of boycott of British goods, schools and administrative agencies, but also reproduced a philosophy of self-development through national education, swadeshi industries and so on. Sri Aurobindo was an encouragement to the national freedom fighters in the early years of the twentieth century. He changed the Congress organisation into a nationalist organisation and believed that political liberty as a basic liberty constitutes the strong base of a country. He also believed that acquisition of political liberty from the British rulers could not be compromised for anything. Sri Aurobindo called the people for boycotting the government services, court and academic institutions for practising passive resistance against the government’s business and accepting the swadeshi goods against the foreign products to strengthen the anti-partition movement. He went against the decision of the British government in regard to the partition of Bengal in 1905. Sri Aurobindo wanted to throw out the British administration by creating favourable conditions through swadeshi and anti-partition movement. He asked the people to sacrifice everything for the sake of the country. For Aurobindo, the nationalist movement raised out of the partition of Bengal was a divinely inspired and guided movement. He said that this nationalist movement was not guided by any political self-interest, but it was a religious mission which the people were trying to fulfil. It was because of him that the nationalist movement acquired a new image and gained much momentum. Further, Sri Aurobindo has also described the nature of the Supermind, the necessity of its descent and the dynamic consequences of the descent or the solutions of the problems of mankind, in his voluminous writings like, ‘Arya’, started in 1914, ‘The Life Divine’, ‘Synthesis

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of Yoga’, ‘The Ideal of Human Unity’, ‘The Human Cycle’, ‘Foundations of Indian Culture’, ‘Essays on the Gita’, ‘The Secret of the Veda’, ‘The Upanishads’, ‘Future Poetry’, ‘The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth’ and ‘Savitri’.

5.2

Life Sketch

Sri Aurobindo Ghose was born on 15 August 1872 in a Bengali family that was associated with the village of Konnagar in the Hooghly district of the present-day West Bengal. His father Dr. Krishna Dhun Ghose was a Civil Surgeon and had completed his advanced medical training in England. His children were sent to Western schools. He took Aurobindo to England at the age when he was 8 years old. Aurobindo lived in England for 14 years. He was an outstanding student and in 1890 he received an open scholarship for classic and joined King’s College, Cambridge where he was a brilliant undergraduate student in classics. Besides English, he mastered Latin and Greek and learnt French, German and Spanish languages. In 1893, he returned to India and took active interest in Indian politics. He joined as Professor of English at Baroda College in Gujarat. Here he learnt Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Sanskrit languages simultaneously. It was during this period that he began his intellectual and spiritual activities. His first series of political articles entitled ‘New Lamps for Old’ was written in 1893 from Baroda at the age of 22. These articles highlighted Aurobindo’s maturity of thought and expression to hold the importance of awakening the masses. In fact, the freedom movement was to move out from the drawing rooms and conference halls of the elite to the hearts of the masses (Singh, 1990: 122–129). Aurobindo made significant contributions to the development of the Indian National Congress (INC) during his stay in Baroda where an Englishman Allan Octavian Hume founded the INC in 1885. With Aurobindo’s initiation and revolutionary thought, the Congress got divided into two main groups which came to be known as the ‘Moderates’ and the ‘Extremists’. With their great ability and integrity, Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and M. G. Ranade formed the group of the ‘Moderates’ while Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Sri Aurobindo himself created the ‘Extremist pole’. Aurobindo with his intellectual capacity, dedication to the spirituality of Mother India, and command over the English language, emerged as the most powerful and effective spokesman

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of the radical wing of the freedom movement. Aurobindo believed that it would have been impractical to imagine that the British administration in India was concerned about the goodness of the Indian people. He observed the British administrators with ‘parochial heart’ and a highly ‘commercial mind’ who were neither ‘high souled’ nor ‘sincere’. Therefore, Sri Aurobindo promoted boycott of British goods, schools and the whole administration. These activities of Aurobindo eventually led him to hostility with British authorities. The Viceroy, Lord Minto claimed that ‘Aurobindo is the most dangerous man we now have to reckon with’ (Das, 1964: 45). Aurobindo became an active freedom fighter after joining the INC. He paid high respect to the courage of Ram Mohan Roy for being an Indian and for translating the great works into nationalistic languages. Likewise, Aurobindo was also affected by the nationalistic thoughts of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the late nineteenth century, Bankim wrote a song called ‘Bande Mataram’ and presented it to Indian nationalism. This type of assertive and aggressive nationalism gave him more energy and stimulation. Therefore, Aurobindo started the Bengali daily ‘Yugantar’ and English daily ‘Bande Mataram’ to express his revolutionary ideas publicly. Aurobindo was not satisfied with the ideas of Moderates of the INC who believed in liberal and reformation action of the government. He had been recognised as one of the most dangerous leaders by the British government. As a revolutionary freedom fighter, Aurobindo had been sent to jail in 1908 for the Alipore Bomb Case. During this time, he turned to yoga and meditation and studied religious, philosophical and spiritual literature which changed him a lot. Accordingly, he became a great philosopher and prophet. He spent his remaining 40 years in his Ashram in Pondicherry. He brought changes in himself and kept himself involved in several educational and social activities. He set up an international ashram and international centre of education and social activities in the French territory of Pondicherry where he lived till his death, i.e. 5 December 1950. During his stay, Aurobindo practised yogic discipline and published a philosophical journal, ‘Arya’ where he ordered his famous contributions, namely, ‘The Ideal of Human Unity’, ‘The Life Divine’ and ‘Synthesis of Yoga’.

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Philosophical and Spiritual Aspects

In today’s world, the independence of matter to explain mind and soul has been placed to ambiguity. Therefore, a liberal movement was set up to get rid of from the obsession of physical science. In fact, the emphasis has been shifted towards psychology and soul factors accompanied by the material world. It is argued that when a man starts to be primarily intellectual and sceptical, he sets up an individualist society and abandons signs and symbols. These symbols are the expressions of what he knows and the spiritual experiences that have shaped his life. In other words, human society is nothing but an attempt to express the purpose of life, which is to become a ‘cosmic man’ in the physical and metaphysical world. Man and cosmos are terms of the same secret reality. It expresses the four Varn.as and their honour, taking into consideration their functions and accordingly developed the caste system based on the four functions—(i) birth, (ii) economic function, (iii) religious and (iv) ritual confirmations, family custom, etc. At first, caste was based on one’s qualities but later caste became hereditary due to the manoeuvrings of the Br¯ ahmins . The philosophical aspect of Sri Aurobindo is based on three basic concepts of his philosophy—Sacchid¯ ananda or supreme reality, super-mind or the truth consciousness, and Evolution. According to Aurobindo, Ved¯ antic doctrine is centred on the notion that ‘all this is Brahm¯ a ’. The world where we live is created by Brahm¯ a and Brahm¯ a is the idea behind humanity. We as a human being though born in the world of matter, have the tendency to become true personification of the idea of humanity. Human being holds in the mind the means for realising Communion or spiritual union with Brahma. If a man can control his senses through his mind, then he will see Brahma directing this material world from behind matter. To Aurobindo, the purpose of man’s existence is self-realisation or spiritual perfection that means man’s ability to transcend the level of matter to that of mind. He further said that Brahm¯ a, i.e. the Mind behind all minds and communion with Brahm¯ a can be realised only by such transcendence. According to Aurobindo, Brahm¯ a, as the fundamental idea of humanity, binds all human beings organically, and they all share their freedom equally. No discrimination takes place in Brahm¯ a and every human being equally enjoys happiness. Happiness here refers to the omnipresent reality that is regarded as the basis of the universe.

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According to Aurobindo, Super-mind is a bridge between the Absolute (Brahm¯ a ) or Super-consciousness and the Mind (ordinary consciousness). It is also known as fullest spiritual consciousness. Super-mind holds the self-determining truth of the divine consciousness. To be in the dominion of the Super-mind, human being must possess the divine power of knowing all qualities. The human mind with its cognitive ability integrates reality through abstraction. The human mind participates in the Super-mind in a limited manner. The human mind simply understands the truth of universal existence for realistic purposes. Aurobindo understands the existence of reality through the process of evolution. He says evolution is the means through which consciousness generate itself because the nature of evolution has to do with the man and the world. Here, he talks about evolution in terms of spiritual context. Spiritual evolution for Aurobindo is pressure that comes from the above and an impulse from the below which collectively lead to a gradual unfolding of the Absolute, i.e. Brahm¯ a . It is because of this unfolding nature of Brahm¯ a that evolution is possible in all levels of being. Human being alone can participate in the process of spiritual evolution consciously whereby even the lowest dimensions of life, body and sub-consciousness are accepted by the presence of higher light, knowledge, power, force, happiness and it leads to the Super-mind. For Aurobindo, yoga is regarded as the tool that helps one to bring about the spiritual and political transformation. Therefore, Aurobindo considers evolution, yoga and social change are intimately connected in terms of both material and spiritual transformation in human being as well as in human society. It has been noticed that Aurobindo was very critical about the concept of independent mind or rational quality as the laws of life of human being. It is because of the fact that these laws of the life are highly dominated by Western liberalism and philosophy. He disagrees with that philosophy which expresses human being as a distinct individual who exists in isolation or independently as stated by Western liberal thinkers. For Aurobindo, man is neither a simple reflection of matter nor a mere soul animal. Man is spiritual and evolutionary being, and therefore, conscious forces are necessary for the spirit’s evolutionary and progressive manifestation in worldly existence (Pantham & Deutsch, 2015: 196). Aurobindo believed that man has heading towards perfection and ‘Life Divine’. Spiritual evolution for Sri Aurobindo meant a spiritual change leading towards the achievement of total liberation of soul, mind,

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heart and action (Bali, 1993: 139). As a result, Sri Aurobindo took a position between a materialist refutation of spirit and the spiritualist refutation of matter. Aurobindo believed in transformation and evolution. In fact, he says that the divine rises up from the pure existence through the cooperation of consciousness, force and delight and the innovative means of Super-mind into cosmic creature. Human being ascends from matter through the developing life, soul and mind and the illuminating medium of Super-mind towards the divine being. The divine life is viewed as the culmination of the evolutionary process (ibid.: 139). Aurobindo adopted the common theory of progressive demonstration of reality and social evolution, i.e. human evolution in both individual and society. The intellectual life therefore developing in man is not, certainly, a general possession. In actual appearance, it would seem as if it were only developed to the fullest in individuals and as if there were great numbers and even the majority in whom it is either a small and ill-organised part of their normal nature or not evolved at all or latent and not easily made active (Banerjee, 2004: 73).

5.4

The Ideal of Human Unity

According to Aurobindo, today the ideal of human unity is pretty much enigmatically advancing towards the front of our supreme consciousness. The rise of an ideal in human thought is consistently the characteristic, and an intention in Nature, however not always of an intention to accomplish. Sometimes, it indicates only an attempt which is predetermined to temporary failure. Nature is always slow and patient in her techniques. She tempts humanity, her thinking instrument, and tests how far it is prepared for the harmony she has envisioned. She permits and prompts man to attempt and fail, with the goal that he may learn and succeed better some other time. Still the ideal, having once advanced towards the front of thought, should surely be endeavoured, and this ideal of human unity is probably going to figure generally among the determining forces of the future, particularly the scientific discoveries which have made our earth so little that its vastest realms appear to be presently close to the areas of a single country. But this very commodity of the material circumstances may bring about the failure of the ideal; for when material conditions favour an extraordinary change, however the heart and mind of the race are not actually prepared—particularly the heart —failure maybe predicted, unless

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indeed men are wise in time and acknowledge the internal change alongside the external rearrangement. However, at present the human intellect has been so much mechanised by physical science that it is probably going to endeavour the transformation it is starting to visualise, essentially or exclusively through mechanical means, through social and political changes. It should be recalled that a more prominent social or political unity is not necessarily a boon in itself; it is only worth pursuing in so far, as it provides a means and a framework for a better, richer, happier and more puissant individual and collective life. However, until now, the experience of humankind has not leaned towards the view that colossal conglomerations firmly united and strictly organised are favourable for a rich and puissant human existence. It would rather seem that collective life is more at ease with itself, more genial, varied and productive when it can concentrate itself in small spaces and simpler organisms (Ghosh, 1950: 280–281). If we consider the past of humanity so far as it is known to us, we find that the fascinating times of human life, the scenes in which it has been most luxuriously resided and has left behind it the most precious natural products, were precisely those ages and countries in which humanity was able to organise itself in little independent centres acting intimately upon one another, however not intertwined into a single unity. Present-day Europe owes two-thirds of its civilisation to three such supreme moments of human history, the religious life of the congeries of tribes which called itself Israel and, subsequently, of the little nation of the Jews, the diverse life of the small Greek city states, the similar, though more confined imaginative and scholarly existence of medieval Italy. Nor was any age in Asia so rich in energy, so well worth living in, as productive of the best and most enduring fruits as that chivalrous time of India when she was divided into small kingdoms, a significant number of them no larger than a modern district. Her most brilliant exercises, her generally overwhelming and enduring work, that if we had to make a choice, we should keep at the penance of all else, belonged to that period. The subsequent best came a while later in larger, yet at the same time similarly small countries and kingdoms like those of the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras. In comparison, she received little from the greater empires that rose and fell within her borders, the Moghul, the Gupta or the Maurya—little indeed except political and administrative organisation, some fine art and literature and a certain amount of lasting work in other kinds, not always of the best quality.

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Their impulse was rather towards elaborate organisation than original, stimulating and creative (Ghosh, 1950: 282). However, in this system of the small city state or of regional cultures, there was consistently an imperfection which compelled tendency towards large organisations. The deformity was a trait of impermanence, often of disorder, particularly of helplessness against the invasion of larger organisations, even of an insufficient capacity for widespread material well-being. Hence, this earlier form of collective life would in general vanish and give place to the organisation of nations, kingdoms and empires. Furthermore, here we notice, first, that it is group of smaller countries which have had the most extraordinary life and not the huge States and colossal Empires. Collective life diffusing itself in too vast spaces appears to lose power and efficiency. Europe has lived in England, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, the small States of Germany—all her later civilisation and progress developed itself there, not in the huge mass of the Holy Roman or the Russian Empire. We see a similar phenomenon in the social and political field when we compare the intense life and activity of Europe in its many countries acting luxuriously upon one another, rapidly progressing by quick creative steps and sometimes by bounds, with the great masses of Asia, her long periods of immobility in which wars and insurgencies appear to be little, temporary and generally unproductive episodes, her centuries of religious, philosophic and artistic reveries, her inclination towards an increasing isolation and a final stagnancy of the outward life (Ghosh, 1950: 283). Furthermore, we note that, in this organisation of countries and kingdoms those which have had the most energetic life have acquired it by a kind of artificial concentration of the vitality into some head, centre or capital, London, Paris and Rome. By this device Nature, while obtaining the advantages of a larger organisation and more perfect unity, preserves to some extent that equally precious power of fruitful concentration in a small space and into a closely packed activity which she had possessed in her more primitive system of the city state or petty kingdom. However, this benefit was purchased by the condemnation of the rest of the organisation, the district and the provincial town, the village to a dull, negligible and drowsy life in strange contrast with the vital intensity of the metropolis. The Roman Empire is the noteworthy illustration of an organisation of unity which transcended the limits of the nation, and its advantages and disadvantages are there perfectly embodied. The advantages are admirable organisation, harmony, widespread security, order and

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material prosperity; the disadvantage is that the individual, the city, the region sacrifice their autonomous life and become mechanical pieces of a machine; life loses its colour, lavishness, variety, freedom and victorious impulse towards creation. The organisation is extraordinary and honourable, the individual dwindles and is overpowered and overshadowed; and at last, by the littleness and weakness of the individual, the colossal living being unavoidably and gradually loses even its incredible conservative vitality and dies of an increasing stagnation. Indeed, even while outwardly whole and untouched, the structure has become rotten and starts to break and disintegrate at the primary shock from outside. Such organisations, such periods are massively useful for preservation, even as the Roman Empire served to consolidate the gains of the rich centuries that preceded it. But they arrest life and growth (Ghosh, 1950: 284). We see, then, at that point, what is probably going to occur if there were a social, administrative and political unification of humankind, for example, some have started to dream of nowadays. A tremendous organisation would be required under which both individual and regional life would be squashed, overshadowed, denied of their necessary freedom like a plant without rain and wind, and this would mean for humanity, after maybe one first explosion of fulfilled and joyous activity, a long period of mere conservation, increasing stagnancy and ultimately decay. However, the unity of humankind is obviously a part of Nature’s eventual scheme and must come about. Yet, the unity of mankind is evidently a part of Nature’s eventual scheme and must come about. Only it must be under other conditions and with safeguards which will keep the race intact in the roots of its vitality, richly diverse in its oneness. In the present world, human beings do not know where they are going with practically no objective. This kind of ignorance can be revised when they are conscious that their true self does not rest on science and technology. But it can come exclusively by living in the spirit. Aurobindo wants to manifest how precious societies have failed to provide the conditions which will enable individual to fully realise his/her deeper and more spiritual potentialities (Pantham & Deutsch, 2015: 201). Ideal society binds itself with freedom which permits and assists each individual to develop his/her spiritual potential without any restrictions. In fact, individual has the capacity to transform him/her into a self-aware spiritual unity of being and a spiritual conscious community. This interchange of character of individual would be the deep root of understanding (Ghosh,

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1970: 1041). In Aurobindo’s ideal society, there is no need of coercive legal machinery for the implementation of good upon human being. His ideal society has the capacity to transcend the differences of good and evil. The fundamental principle of Aurobindo’s ethics is to access the conditions for the spiritual transformation of individual and encourage the evolutionary process that will create the spiritualisation of the race and then arrival of the ‘Ideal of Human Unity’. Subsequently, the law of the community and the purpose of individual are to seek its own self-development within the context of a spiritualised polity based on the soul power of brotherhood that is grounded in a supra-mental realm of divine consciousness. In such an ‘integrated society’, there is an intimate concern to find the heavenly in a comprehensive appreciation for education, administration, security and the productive economy (Pantham & Deutsch, 2015: 206).

5.5

Doctrine of Passive Resistance

In the social and political thought of Sri Aurobindo, swaraj appears to be the opening of real life and boycott as one of its important technique to realise a real life, i.e. Life Divine. To realise spiritual evolution or to be the part of Brahm¯ a , Aurobindo had taken the political way for India’s freedom (political freedom) without which the people of India and the country itself could not go ahead towards its spiritual destination. Here, his first priority is to attain political freedom from foreign rule for the country as a whole because he had an opinion that political freedom will serve as the way in of achieving the spiritual freedom. He believed that India has the spiritual excellence and could be the spiritual guide for all other spiritually backward nations. Boycott is in fact regarded as an exceptional tool to realise political freedom from foreign rule. It is in this situation, the question of passive as well as active resistances arise. They are the two important tools of the boycott movement. Passive resistance is an approach advocated by the Moderate Congress leaders, while active resistance as the ‘mantra’ is worshipped by the nationalist leaders. In this context, it is important to quote Karan Singh: Sri Aurobindo had no hesitation in using violent means to achieve his country’s freedom from foreign oppression. In fact, his writings make it clear that in the light of the massive upheaval of public protest as the consequence of the partition, he desired the national movement to be

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not merely an affair of secret societies and underground activities but a broad, open, extensive movement which would motivate and arrange the vast Indian masses in an overwhelming rise towards liberation and selfdetermination. This is how the nation could achieve its liberty through the method of passive resistance. In his writings, Aurobindo frequently calls it defensive resistance. (Singh, 1963)

Sri Aurobindo accepted the passive resistance as the only effective means to form the strong strength of the nation against the powerful central foreign authority. This organised strength would be guided by the principle of self-development and self-help. It can extract the control of our national life from the hold of an alien bureaucracy and develop a free popular government, or a self-governed India, liberated from the foreign control.1 Aurobindo did not believe in the idea that the active resistance is a more effective tool than the passive resistance in the realm of Indian politics (Ghosh, 1970: 116). He got motivated by the people who used the passive resistance to break the oppressive governmental laws and accordingly adopted necessary steps for its deterrence. For instance, the non-conformists in England refused to pay education tax or as Americans did by drowning the tea at the famous Boston dockyard. The British administrators in India never considered the lives of Indians valuable at all. They made the lives of common Indians more vulnerable economically in particular and socially and politically in general. The foreign administrators pushed the common Indians to the extreme poverty and nastiness and had slaughtered at any time whenever appeared necessary for the continuations of the British government in India. They were scared of the Indian subjects who could unite together strongly in protest to the foreign rule at any time. They in fact realised it as a mark of ending call of the British rule in India. Aurobindo was also in support of employing passive resistance as an important political tool in the national freedom movement of India. He pointed out three important provisions of it—(i) passive resistance intends to make a governmental law impractical by common and structured disobedience. So the first provision aims at breaking the unfair coercive laws by showing peaceful demonstration

1 ‘The Doctrine of Passive Resistance’ is authored by Sri Aurobindo Ghose. It is based on a series of articles by Aurobindo, published in April 1907 in the Daily ‘Bande Mataram’. These articles were written when Bengal was burning with indignation after its partition on 16 October 1905.

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(ibid.: 147). (ii) The second provision of passive resistance is to resist the unfair coercive laws with a sense of obligation towards our Motherland. It shows as a fundamental duty of both Moderates and Extremists to the nation (ibid.: 148). (iii) The third provision of passive resistance is extremely significant according to Aurobindo in the context of contemporary Indian politics. Here, Sri Aurobindo described the value of social boycott and advocated the passive resistance movement, for its immediate success. He said that we have to boycott not only the foreign goods, but also the persons who used foreign goods. Just by putting ban on foreign goods, we cannot prevent its uses in India. For preventing foreign goods, we need to convince those users not to use foreign goods. If we ban the users of foreign goods in India, they will have no choice but to export all of them. So, to stop the users of foreign goods totally, we have to socially boycott those guilty and rich Indian users of foreign goods from attending any social ceremony, rituals and meetings. Any kind of gatherings or programmes with those users of foreign goods should be strictly banned. This is how Aurobindo finds that the third provision of passive resistance is much more important than others (ibid.: 149). However, Aurobindo had shown the necessity of active resistance too in many occasions as the immediate means of attaining Indian freedom. Whenever the practice of passive resistance appears as a sign of weakness against the foreign rule on the Indian counterparts, the acceptance of active violence or open revolt process stands mandatory.

5.6

Freedom and Nationalism

For Sri Aurobindo, freedom of India was not a mere political ideal but a spiritual necessity without which India would perish and humanity would lose a spiritual guide. India is the spiritual guide of mankind. The freedom of India is necessary for ending all kinds of oppression, slavery and imperialism. India will be ahead of an international society full of peace and bliss. He argues that when liberty is considered as a device to satisfy one’s natural impulses without taking into account the similar impulses of others, it poses a difficulty for all, because the liberty of one clash with liberty of another. According to Aurobindo, liberty means the freedom to obey the law of our being, to grow to our national self-fulfilment, to find out naturally and freely our harmony with our environment. He says that perfect freedom is the inner freedom. It is spiritual or inner freedom which alone can be perfect—it is fulfilled in the freedom of the human

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soul; the deepest meaning of freedom is the power to expand and grow towards perfection by the laws of one’s nature or Dh¯ arma which is not merely the fulfilment of mental and emotional but is also the flowering of the divine (Ghosh, 1913: 44–45). India was a spiritual and geographical entity that can lead humanity to spiritual perfection. India during British rule was not internally free. As a result, nationalism appeared as a moral endeavour of a spiritual sadhana (meditation of higher stage towards perfection). Aurobindo argues that nationalism is not a mere political programme; nationalism is a religion that has come from God. Nationalism for Aurobindo is a religious activity and it is a religion as an active type of thoughtful life. The nationalist movement which is very often termed as political movement is really a religious movement and the instruments which it uses are the instruments of spirit. Its doctrine is a teaching of faith, hope, love and knowledge. It is a religious aspiration and a moral attitude (Pantham & Deutsch, 2015: 198). For Aurobindo, the independence of India was really important for fulfilling her goal as humanity in the world. To complete this task, India needed a true freedom called swaraj which is regarded as a necessary condition to reach to the destiny. Swaraj cannot be recognised by political freedom alone. It is the fulfilment of ancient life of India under modern conditions, the return of the Satya Yuga 2 of national greatness, the continuation of India’s great role of teacher and guide, self-liberation of the people for the fulfilment of the Ved¯ antic ideal in politics; this is the true swaraj for India. Aurobindo recognised that nationalism is a blending creed. He found out that populism was a very strong element of nationalism. He knew that the political movement for national freedom assumed the religious character. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the first important Indian thinker who introduced the religious dimension into politics. In this task, he was followed by Swami Vivekananda. However, Ram Mohan became active to break the trend but could not stand firmly in front of Aurobindo. With Aurobindo, Indian politics got mixed up with the religion and the religious dimension became an integral part of the political scene of the country. 2 The Satya Yuga also called Satyug in Hinduism, is the first of the four Yugas, the ‘Yuga (Age or Era) of Truth’, when humanity is governed by Gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and humanity will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Golden Age’.

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5.7 Idea of Economic Reconstruction and Boycott Sri Aurobindo strongly advocated swadeshi economy and accordingly supported the idea of ‘boycott’. The idea of boycott was introduced in the national movement first by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Though Tilak and other nationalists attempted to exclude only British-prepared goods at the beginning but later they allowed those people who wanted at least in Bengal and Maharashtra, to make a comprehensive movement that meant the boycott of all foreign-made goods or goods made with a foreign collaboration. For Aurobindo, boycott was a powerful instrument in the fight against colonialism. It served at least three purposes—(i) it stopped the drainage of the native capital to the colonising State; (ii) it protected the indigenous enterprises against already powerful foreign enterprises which in the open competition could have killed them a premature death and (iii) it marked an expression of movement towards self-sufficiency and independence. Though Aurobindo favoured the safeguard of indigenous industry, he was very definite that the indigenous businessmen should not treat it a granted licence to continue with supply of inferior quality of goods. If it happened, it was misuse of the national or patriotic sentiments which cannot continue for a long time and the entire argument of boycott and swadeshi would meet an unwanted death. He said that businessmen should not forget that in boycott, nation is persuaded to buy even an inferior quality of product in the place of superior foreign goods in the hope that the businessmen would improve the methods, processes and quality of the product and would be able to compete with the foreign enterprises. He held it to be the duty of the native businessmen without which they lose the right of safeguards in the name of patriotism (Singh & Roy, 2011: 119). He was also critical of infighting among the native businessmen for monopoly supply of goods to the people. This tendency according to him was against the spirit of swadeshi. He suggested that the native entrepreneurs rather should join hands together to increase the supply by increasing the productivity. According to Aurobindo, successful boycott thus needed broadly two things—(i) organisation of the national industry with a view to improve the quality of existing product; and (ii) opening up new lines of enterprises. He held that though this task belonged to the producers, even

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leaders of the movements could contribute to it by organising vital formation both for the businessmen and the consumers such as suggesting which business was needed in the interests of the nation, what were the chances of earning profit for businessmen and the quality of the goods, their prices, source of supply, etc., for consumers. The second condition for the success of boycott was the unbroken, genuine and sufficient supply of swadeshi goods. The unbroken and sufficient supply of goods was essential to strengthen the confidence of the people in swadeshi. Moreover, there must be a supply agency which can bring the goods to the market and to the door of the people, because it is not possible for everyone to get swadeshi goods or to purchase them (Singh & Roy, 2011: 120).

5.8

Education and Universalism

The current scene of India compels everyone to consider education as the fundamental basis of regeneration. One can say that it is only through the education, individuals can realise their potentialities. So, to develop the capability of individuals, education or educational system always occupies a vital place in the society. Unfortunately, India’s educational system is still under the process of experimentation and therefore, it continues fighting with a long-standing negligence and difficulties. Further, it would be meaningless to expect something miraculous in the performance of Indian education system unless we do not have any comprehensive framework to bring radical and revolutionary changes in this system. Sri Aurobindo firmly believed that the question is not between modernism and ancient times, but between an imported civilisation and the greater possibilities of the Indian mind and nature, not between the present and the past, but between the present and the future. He, therefore, spoke not of a return to the fifth century but an initiation of the centuries to come, not a degeneration but a break forward away from a present artificial falsity to India’s own greater innate potentialities, which are demanded by the soul of India (Maheshwari, 2016). In the wider aim of the general uplifting of humanity towards its divine possibilities and transformation, education has an important role, because the early years of life are so important in the formation of the character, and a poor or misguided education can be so destructive in the actualisation of an individual’s divine potentialities. Sri Aurobindo established various guiding principles for a new form of education, which was known as the Free Progress System. In addition, we

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can find in his writings and talks many other guidelines and suggestions that can be readily applied in the present educational setting.3 Sri Aurobindo in this regard, talked about integral education. According to him, integral education means education from within. So, he developed three basic principles of integral education. They are as follows: i. Role of the Educator: The first principle of integral education is— ‘nothing can be taught’. Sri Aurobindo believed that the role of the educator in the teaching and learning process is vital. Accordingly, he has pointed out that a true teacher or educator never instructs or teaches the pupil; rather, the role of a true mentor is to encourage and guide the pupils for self-learning. Therefore, the prime role of a true mentor is similar to a facilitator. He/she inspires them for the quest of knowledge and assists them to find it in their own way. Pure knowledge is internal which comes from self-realisation and self-experience and it is not possible to achieve it from external and outside information/sources. The outside resources are only meant to awake and stimulate the individual for self and inner learning through self-realisation, intuition and introspection. The outside environment only provides an opportunity to develop the hidden and inner potentialities of the individual, where the field experiences help to manifest the latent talents and qualities. Therefore, all these outer environment and facilities should be arranged in accordance with the inner nature of the student and in harmonious balance to different aspects of development. ii. Unique talent of individual: The second principle of integral education as per Aurobindo’s view is quite interconnected with the first one. According to Sri Aurobindo, an individual must be free from any sort of restraint to acquire true knowledge from within. He emphasised that ‘the mind has to be consulted in its own growth’; it means that knowledge should not be burdened or imposed on the students and nor should it target to develop any specific aspects, ideas, pre-arranged career or particular qualities. Mind has to be growing naturally in its own way without any outside pressure.

3 Sri Aurobindo Centre for Advanced Research (SACAR). Address, 39, Vanniar Street, Vaithikuppam, Puducherry. http://www.sacar.in/pdf/Integral%20Education.pdf.

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Every individual has some inner qualities or divine given talent or natural potentialities which need to be nurtured for the allround and complete development of personality. Hence, it is the responsibility of the educator to assist the learner to recognise these inner predispositions, natural talents and innate interests and abilities and to help the students for the perfect development of these aspects and inner domains. To put any outside pressure either from parents, family, teachers, society, may distract the learner and alienate his/her natural abilities and finally from his/her own self which may lead in a wrong direction and hamper his/her life, opportunities and potentialities. iii. Relevance of Individual’s surroundings: According to Sri Aurobindo, ‘to work from the near to the far’ is the third basic principle of integral education. Other than putting the importance on the development of the soul and individual nature, it also emphasises on immediate surroundings, heredity, ethnic customs and nationality of a person which plays a major role for the development of the outer nature. Aurobindo believed that factors like heredity, immediate surroundings, nationality, ethnic customs, experiences, importance of soul and its past development which help the individual in shaping or developing his/her outer nature cannot be ignored in the process of acquiring true knowledge. Education should consider these factors and educationists should also work in the individual’s own context and use these materials. Therefore, education should be based on learning from ‘near to far’, ‘known to unknown’ and ‘simple to complex’. Individual should be guided by the facts and experiences which are known, accomplished and secured to further extension of knowledge that exist in reach yet are at this point undiscovered or unrealised. Furthermore, Sri Aurobindo prescribes five major aspects of integral education. They are the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic and the spiritual which make education complete, complementary to each other and will be continued till the end of life. It is not only for the evolution of the individual alone, but also for the nation and finally for the humanity. So the ultimate aim of education is the evolution of total humanity. In this scheme of evolution, the principle of growth is unity in diversity. This unity again, maintains and helps the evolution of diversity.

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Education for Humanity Sri Aurobindo expresses that the ultimate aim of the education is to evolve the universal mind and the soul of humanity within the individual. In this process of evolution, unity in diversity would be considered as the principle of growth. In fact, an intermediate power, the mind of the nation and the soul of the people would be taking into account to sustain the principle of unity in diversity. This can be the base for the national system of education. He further argues that the education at the national level would not be a machine-made fabric, but a true building or a living evocation of the powers of the mind and spirit of the human being. To Aurobindo, one favourable factor, which is likely to help humanity, is the contemporary dissatisfaction that has arisen with materialism, on the one hand, and on the other hand, with asceticism, which has been negating the meaning and purposefulness of the material world. In other words, Sri Aurobindo attempts to express that both materialism and spiritualism are complementary as well as supplementary to each other. Materialism in the process of experimentation is able to create new discoveries. These discoveries are needed to explore the spiritual domain of the individuals. In fact, there has been the experimentation of how spiritual domain neglects the material world and vice versa. Therefore, it caused the human life miserable in the economic and political fields. Mental Education In the context of mental education, the processes and methods can best be determined by understanding the mind. Mind focuses mainly on the activities of understanding and accordingly, the human understanding leads to the discovery of ideas and things which are interconnected. In this regard, Sri Aurobindo talks about mental education which trains the mind of the students to attain, to assimilate and to integrate the broadest and multifaceted and understated ideas. According to Sri Aurobindo, the following steps are to be followed to train the mind: power of concentration needs to be developed; broader or wider outlook or thinking is needed; proper arrangement of ideas is required; regulation in individual’s thought; peace in mind to be developed; and perfect calm and open mind to stimuli are needed. Education for Creativity The teacher must develop the habit of presenting the subject-matter to the student in a very lively and interesting manner in order to create his/her interest on the subject. The teacher must promote the children’s reaction differently on the various activities. Some students may have powerful attraction towards creative

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activities in various fields of knowledge like arts, music, dance, etc. So, they must have freedom of choice and freedom to pursue any activities of their choice. Some students may not show any interest in the activities but the teacher needs to extend constant motivation to them. Vital Education Vital education seeks to train the emotions, desires and impulses of an individual in three directions: to determine its actual role and to substitute its egoistic and ignorant propensity so as to develop the dominant by disposition and capacity to help higher principles of the spiritual composition; to transfer its understanding; and to determine and surpass the dichotomies and inconsistencies in the character. The traditional approaches of dealing with the vital were coercion, suppression, self-denial and self-discipline. However, these approaches have limited scope in finding out the consequences. The correct training of the vital is very understated and difficult which needs strength, endless determination and a stubborn motivation. At first, the influences of the minds have to be established, sublimated and enhanced. Secondly, the minds are to be revealed and likewise developed. Thirdly, these minds need to be trained in order to reject vulgarism and roughness and to enjoy the better sense of taste and advanced aesthetic knowledge. Lastly, there has to be a profound and intense opinion of the wants, desires, determinations, envies, etc. Vital education is significantly assisted by strain on different types of fine arts and crafts. In this context, Sri Aurobindo has said that the first use of art is only aesthetic, the second is intellectual and the third is the spiritual. He has even detailed that music, art and poetry are a flawless education for the soul. They have the capacity to make and keep its actions purified, profound and harmonious. In vital education, the primary work is to advance the will of the individual and to inspire the use of the will. Physical Education On the subject of physical education, it must be mentioned that the physical is our base, and even the highest spiritual values are to be expressed through the life that is embodied here. All education related to human body must be consistent, detailed and methodological. The teaching of the physique has three primary aspects: control and discipline of functions of the body; a systematic and harmonious progress of all the parts and activities of the body; and alteration of faults and irregularities, if available. Hence, physical education should be framed on the basis of knowledge of the human physique and structure

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and functions of the human body. And the construction of the performances of the body should be in harmonious with that knowledge. The child should be made familiar since the early stage with the right positions, attitudes and movements. Similarly, training should be given in regard to the choice of food. The child must be taught to eat as per his hunger but not as per to satisfy his greed and excess. The child should also be made aware with the perception for cleanliness and hygienic conducts. However, the integral education faces a critic that arises from the proper synthesis between freedom and discipline. Although education is a creative process so, coercion and creativity cannot go together. As we all know freedom plays a very important role in education, so, to attain the ideal condition would be positively possible only when discipline becomes the child of freedom and discipline is transformed into self-discipline.

5.9

Conclusion

Aurobindo was an extraordinary person. His contribution for struggle of India’s independence is unforgettable. In his message on 15 August 1947, he said that 15 August is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a new age, but we can also make it by our own life and acts as a free nation, an important date in a new age opening to the whole world for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity. Several scholars opined that writings of Aurobindo are significant not only because he was a great leader but because they are instilled with the spirit of high patriotic passion. His speeches had power of influencing people and leaders during the struggle for India’s independence (Varma, 1960). To sum up, Aurobindo emerged as distinctive player in spreading political thought in India. It is said that none of the intellectuals had explored the nature of freedom more profoundly and passionately than Aurobindo. Aurobindo looked at the concept of freedom from the perspective of an innovator. In his public speeches and writings, Sri Aurobindo emphasised on the importance of freedom not only for India’s sake but for humankind as a whole. His concept of freedom had extended to hold the whole world, and he had come to see clearly the importance of coordinating freedom with those of equality. Sri Aurobindo has gained special position not only in the Indian history, but in the international field. He was a multi-dimensional

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man having a generous personality. His deep knowledge in Western and Eastern cultures assisted him to assimilate for the development of human potential and growth. He wrote effective texts that represent the crystallisation of the new and rising soul of India and give a spiritual message for humankind.

5.10

Summary

An ardent lover of mankind, a self-realised saint, an outstanding political prophet, an eminent poet, a seer of high order, a significant interpreter of Indian history, culture and philosophical idealism, a great metaphysician, a renowned patriot, Sri Aurobindo was a dedicated and divine soul (Padhy, 2014: 56). Sri Aurobindo emerged as a notable figure in the spread of political thought in India. He is considered to have explored the nature of freedom more deeply and passionately than any other intellectual. In his writing, ‘The Longing to be Free’, he eloquently showed how his intellectual ideas and outstanding opinions inspired the masses. He approached the concept of freedom from the standpoint of a visionary political leader. In his public speeches and writings, Sri Aurobindo emphasised on the need of independence not only for India but for humanity as a whole. His concept of freedom had grown to encompass the entire globe, and he had realised the significance of coordinating the claims of freedom with those of equality and association. Furthermore, he desired not just a free India, but also a regenerated India, without which there would be nothing but bondage. He wanted freedom, but freedom was meaningless unless it was accompanied by religious and cultural regeneration of the nation. Regeneration does not come through imitation, but rather through a return to the roots. Sri Aurobindo holds a unique place not only in Indian history, but also in international history. He was a multifaceted man with a generous personality. His extensive knowledge of both Western and Eastern cultures helped him in assimilation for the advancement of human potential and growth.

References Bali, D. R. (1993). Modern Indian thought (4th ed.). South Asia Books. Banerjee, S. P. (2004). Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Avishkar Publishers. Das, M. N. (1964). India under Morley and Minto. George Allen & Unwin. Ghosh, A. (1913). The ideal of Karmayogin. Sri Aurobindo Ashram Press.

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Ghosh, A. (1950). The ideal of human unity. Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Ghosh, A. (1970). Sri Aurobindo birth centenary library. Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Maheshwari, V. K. (2016). Sri Aurobindo: Integral education. Available at http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=2311 Padhy, K. S. (2014). Indian political though. PHI Learning Private Ltd. Pantham, T., & Deutsch, K. L. (Eds.). (2015). Political thought in modern India. Sage publication. Singh, K. (1963). Prophet of Indian nationalism: A study of the political thought of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (1893–1910). Allen & Unwin. Singh, K. (1990). Aurobindo: The revolutionary. India International Centre Quarterly, 17 (3–4). The Calcutta Psyche (Winter 1990/1991), Published by: India International Centre, pp. 122–129. Available at http://www.jstor.org/ stable/23002456 Singh, M. P., & Roy, H. (Eds.). (2011). Indian political thought: Themes and thinkers. Pearson Education. Varma, V. P. (1960). The political philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Motilal Banarsidass.

CHAPTER 6

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad M. J. Vinod

6.1

Introduction

The chapter is divided into eight sections. Section 6.1 is the introduction followed by Sect. 6.2 which focuses on the life of Maulana Azad with special emphasis on his early life, education and career. The writings of Azad especially with reference to the ‘Al-Hilal ’ and ‘Al-Balagh’ weekly are highlighted. Section 6.3 is titled: From Islamic Revivalism to Universal Humanism and analyses his understanding of Islamic theology and Islamic revivalism, and how he perceived the obligations of Indian Muslims during the India’s freedom struggle. He postulated an equation between Islam and Indian nationalism. The chapter also discusses his views on Pan-Islamism and the Khilafat movement. Section 6.4 analyses the Maulana’s views on the partition of the country. In this context, his arguments on Hindu-Muslim unity and the two-nation theory are adumbrated upon. He perceived partition as an attack on Hindu-Muslim unity. The reasons for his staunch opposition to partition are discussed in this

M. J. Vinod (B) Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, Christ University, Bangalore, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_6

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section. He was an outspoken critic of Jinnah and the two-nation theory. He blamed both the Congress and the Muslim League for this monumental blunder. Section 6.5 focuses on the Maulana’s views on secularism and socialism. The section brings out the reasons why the Maulana emphasised on multi-culturalism and inter-faith harmony and dialogue. It also looks at the reasons why he preferred a secular democratic polity than a theocratic one. In the process, he brought together secularism and nationalism. The ideological differences between Nehru, Gandhi and Maulana Azad are brought out in Sect. 6.6. Nehru and Maulana had major differences over the course of events ultimately leading to the partition. Some of the reasons are explained in this section. Though they had major differences, they respected and admired one another. Section 6.7 analyses Azad’s views on education especially in his capacity as independent India’s first Education Minister. His views on the language policy are also discussed. He was a votary of modern education and free enquiry. Azad advocated universal primary, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of fourteen. The Maulana was responsible for establishing many prestigious institutions, many of which remain his legacy. Section 6.8 deals with the Maulana’s views on women’s rights. He argued that women ought to enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men across all sectors of society. This includes economic participation and decision-making. In other words, women have to live with dignity and freedom from want and fear. That is what makes gender equality meaningful. No society can claim to be truly democratic without gender equality. Section 6.9 is the concluding section which encapsulates the overall contribution of Maulana Azad in a synoptic form.

6.2

Life Sketch

Abul Kalam Azad was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia), lived in Kolkata and rose to become the youngest President of the Indian National Congress (INC). Born on 11 November 1888 in a deeply orthodox Muslim family, he had his initial formal education in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. His mother was the daughter of a rich Arabian lady and his father a Bengali Muslim from Herat in Afghanistan. His forefathers came to India from Heart in Babar’s times. Among his ancestors were well-known scholars and administrators. His father Muhammad Khairuddin had migrated after the Revolt of 1857 and Azad came as an infant to Calcutta in 1890. His mother passed away when he was very young. He was educated by his

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father and private tutors. His father had faith in old ways of life and had no faith in Western modern education. He feared that modern education could destroy religious faith. This meant that Azad was taught Persian and Arabic followed by philosophy, geometry and mathematics in Arabic. In addition, he was also initiated into a course on Islamic theology. His father was a learned scholar and a master of theology. He was well-known in the Islamic world for a ten-volume Arabic work that was published from Egypt. Azad had received his early education in Al-Azhar University in Cairo. This helped him to develop a base knowledge and understanding of the reform movements in the Islamic world outside India. Subsequently, Maulana Azad was influenced by the writings of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, who stressed upon the importance of modern education, with emphasis on modern science, philosophy and literature. He later picked up the English language. His natural inclination for writing led him to start the monthly ‘Nairang-e-Alam’ in 1899 and later a weekly called ‘Al-Misbah’ in 1900. Both carried articles on contemporary issues of the time. The release of the first issue of ‘Al-Hilal ’ weekly on 1 June 1912, was a landmark event. Its popularity spread like wild fire and had a circulation of 30,000 copies. The weekly offered stubborn opposition to the communal politics of the Muslim League. Azad acquired fame through his journalistic writings. The publication of his newspaper ‘Al-Hilal ’ marked a turning point in the history of Urdu journalism. It focused on developments in the Arab world as well as the religio-cultural debates of his times had created a revolutionary stir among the masses. He used this forum to spread the message of patriotism and nationalism and was an editor par excellence. Many considered him to be a revolutionary journalist. Hence, he had to face a variety of strictures under the Defence of India Act, which he stoically endured. It was after the ‘Al-Hilal ’ was banned in 1914 under the Press Act that he started the ‘Al-Balagh’ weekly. He weathered the storm and restarted the ‘Al-Hilal ’ in 1927. His early career from 1906 to 1920 was influenced by religious teachings. Post-1920 he shifted from being a revivalist Muslim to embracing Indian secular nationalism. In 1920, he met Tilak and Gandhi which was a turning point in his political life. This was the time when Gandhi had launched the Khilafat movement. His writings on Islam especially had left a lasting impression on the minds and actions of the average Muslim. The older conservative Muslim leaders in particular were critical of his opinions and approach. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his ‘The Discovery of India’ that “Azad was a

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strange mix of medieval scholasticism, eighteenth century rationalism and a modern outlook. Azad attacked this stronghold of conservatism and anti-nationalism not directly but by spreading ideas which undermined the Aligarh tradition” (Nehru, 1969: 348). In this sense, Azad had created a sensation and furor among Muslim intellectual circles. Azad himself was a prolific writer in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. He wrote ‘India Wins Freedom’ originally in Urdu. He was one of the architects of the India’s freedom struggle and after independence of new India. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952 and 1957 and played an important role in shaping independent India’s national policies, especially in the field of education. In 1992, he was posthumously awarded the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. He was a man who always dreamed about a new world of hope for India.

6.3

From Islamic Revivalism to Universal Humanism

Maulana Azad’s engagement with Islam began very early in life. He was trained as a Maulana—an orthodox scholar of Islamic law and religion and was an outstanding intellectual of modern India and by training a fundamentalist (Ahmed, 2017: 184–185). Later he attempted to provide an Islamic programme of unity and participation of the Muslim community in the national movement. His commentary on the Qur’¯ an is considered to be one of the best. He was keen to ensure that the Muslims get to read the Qur’¯ an in a language that they could understand. Azad’s greatest gift was to postulate an equation between Islam and Indian nationalism, on the one hand, and between Islam and universal principles, on the other (Islam, 2016). He tried to work out a synthesis between reformist and orthodox philosophies. Hence, he asked the question whether Islamic doctrine is so rigid that it leaves no room for intellectual creativity. He was convinced that education, liberalism and faith in progress were pre-requisites for creativity and Muslim empowerment, as opposed to dogmatism. He interpreted the scriptures from a rationalist perspective. Azad was, however, a staunch Pan-Islamist, though he would have opposed the Pan-Islamism of the contemporary times as propounded by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Azad was particularly active in the short-lived Khilafat movement (1919–1924) which defended the Ottoman Sultan as the Caliph. He criticised liberal Muslims who did

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not stand by him in support of the Caliphate. He asked Muslims to bear in mind that there was ‘only one sword in the defence of the religion of Allah and that was in the hands of the falling Ottoman Caliph’ (Ahmed, 2017). The Maulana had personal contacts with prominent Muslim scholars and clerics in the countries like Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Iran and Iraq. Among Indian Muslims, he was one of the most well-known in these countries. The end of the Khilafat institution marked the end of the romantic phase of Muslim politics. It also perhaps showed the futility of spiritualised politics and Pan-Islamism as an instrument for the liberation of the country. This brought Maulana Azad closer to Indian nationalism. He contended that Islam fosters nationalism eschewing communal and racial prejudices. Islam came to be perceived as a liberating force. Needless to say, Azad’s subsequent closeness to the Congress leadership made him relatively unpopular among the upper-class Muslims. The Turkish revolution was an eye-opener given the clash of perceptions between feudal modes of thinking and modern influences. Perhaps the Khilafat movement itself had no solid basis in social and economic conditions. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk dismantled the core reflected in his abolition of the Sultanate and Khilafat and the building of a secular State. Turkey was intensely nationalist with little regard for other Islamic countries. This raised fundamental questions in the mind of the Indian Muslims, especially the Muslim middle class. Maulana Azad is often held accountable for Islamic revivalism in India. Critics like Ayesha Jalal have argued that Azad’s revivalist and PanIslamist thinking influenced Muslim separatism and continue to influence the protagonists of the contemporary Islamic State, especially the growth of Wahhabism. At one point, he perhaps justified the loss of human lives for jihad by citing the tradition of Prophet Abraham who offered his only son for sacrifice. This is a matter of interpretation, discussion and debate. Perhaps, present-day Islamic enthusiasts need to learn much from Azad’s insights. Azad had his own reservations about conformism and conservatism. His brand of Islam was much more accommodative than the combative version of Islam in the present times. On one occasion, he comments that it was good that he did not get into Madrasa type of religious training and education, which he perceived as outdated, defective and focused on irrelevant subjects, defective way of reading and

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calligraphy.1 What is required according to him is new knowledge, new curiosity and new enthusiasm. Maulana Azad recognised the unity of the ‘human’ and the ‘divine’ as part of his idea of oneness of God and unity of mankind. In that sense ‘truth’ is one and the same for all. The mistake according to him is the propensity to equate ‘particular forms of truth’ with ‘the truth’ itself. He argued that the core teaching of Islam is ‘mercy’ and ‘forgiveness’. Tolerance and dialogue are the need of the hour he constantly said. The universal path is not the monopoly of any particular religion. He drew a comparison between the Sufi tradition of ‘unity of existence’ and the concept of ‘pantheism’ in the Upanis.hads . Though Nehru had some differences with Azad on some political issues, he praised him for his emphasis on religious tolerance and universalism. To quote: He represented and he always reminded me of what I have read in history about great men of several hundred years ago, say if I think of European history, the great men of the Renaissance or in the later period, of the encyclopaedists who preceded the French Revolution, men of intellect, men of action. He reminds me also of what might be called the qualities of golden days the graciousness of them….He was a very peculiar and special representative in a high degree of that great composite culture which has gradually grown in India. (quoted in Yusuf, 1992: 371)2

All human beings, according to Azad, irrespective of religion are creatures of God. He had deep conviction in the unity of all religions. Azad’s Islamic universalism led him to oppose both Muslim and Hindu fundamentalism in a genuinely democratic and plural society like India.

6.4

Maulana and Partition

For Maulana, patriotism is an Islamic duty, as the Prophet had said that the love of one’s country is part of one’s faith. He considered it his duty to free his country from foreign slavery. Azad’s weekly ‘Al-Hilal ’ exhorted young Muslims to fight for the cause of the country’s independence. He 1 Irfan Habib, ‘The Forgotten Inheritance of Maulana Azad’, 22 February 2014. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-forgotten-inheritance-of-azad/art icle5,714,121.ece 2 Quoted in K. M. Yusuf, ‘Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’ in Verinder Grover (1992). Political Thinkers of India, Vol. 17 (p. 371). New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications.

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was imprisoned several times during the course of the India’s freedom struggle and emerged as a fierce critic of the British government’s Divide and Rule policy. In fact, Maulana made his debut in politics when the British partitioned Bengal on religious grounds in 1905. Though the Muslim middle class had stood by the partition of Bengal, Maulana Azad rejected it. He considered it as an attack on Hindu-Muslim unity. It may be recalled that the movement against the division of Bengal was led by Aurobindo Ghose. Maulana Azad had met him on a few occasions and was even influenced by some of his revolutionary thought and ideas. Subsequently, Maulana Azad also criticised the separatist policies of the Muslim League and made sincere efforts to reconcile its differences with the Congress. Under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, he became a strong advocate of non-violence and swadeshi. He promoted swadeshi products for the cause of swaraj . He came into contact with leading freedom fighters like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Chittaranjan Das, Subhash Chandra Bose and others. He became the youngest President of the Congress Party at one of the most crucial phases of the history of the Congress Party and the country. The Muslim League championed the alternative version of Indian nationalism. He was not in favour of constructing Indian nationalism as an exclusive compulsory Hindu identity or exclusive separatist Muslim identity. This he argued would result in misery to the masses rather than liberation.3 On three issues he never wavered—opposition to British rule, opposition to the partition of India and the need for Hindu-Muslim unity. Maulana Azad opposed partition till his last breath and was passionately committed to India’s freedom. He was influenced by the fervour of anti-imperialism and joined India’s freedom struggle. He continuously endeavoured to prevent the division of the country on the religious grounds. He dedicated his life to the preservation of a united India. He realised that Hindu-Muslim unity was necessary to free India from the British yoke. In his Presidential Address before the Ramgarh Congress Session in 1923, he said:

3 Muhammad Tajuddin, ‘Nation, Nationalism and Islam: Maulana Azad and Beyond’, Mainstream, Vol. XLIX: 47, November 12, 2011. https://www.mainstreamweekly.net/ article3125.html.

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Even if an angel descends from the clouds today settle on the Qutub Minar of Delhi and proclaim that India will attain swaraj provided HinduMuslim unity is renounced, then I would renounce swaraj and not sacrifice Hindu-Muslim unity, because if swaraj is delayed, it is a loss to India, but if Hindu-Muslim unity is lost, it is a loss to humanity. (Engineer, 2011)

These words are as relevant today as they were then. Asghar Ali Engineer, an Indian reformist writer and social activist, rightly observes that Azad’s commitment to Hindu-Muslim unity was not just a result of both political and religious conviction. At the Agra Session of the Khilafat conference on 25 August 1921, he had referred to Hindu-Muslim unity as an essential pre-requisite for the reconstruction of the country. To quote: If the Muslims of India would like to perform their best religious and Islamic duties … they must recognise that it is obligatory for the Muslims to be together with their Hindu brethren…and it is my belief that the Muslims in India cannot perform their best duties, until in conformity with the injunctions of Islam, in all honesty they establish unity and cooperation with the Hindus. This spirit is based on the imperative spirit of Islam. (Khan, 1992: 209)4

He was influenced by the Qur Ↄ¯ anic injunction of ‘conjoining the good and forbidding the evil’.5 Hence, Maulana Azad opposed Jinnah’s demand for one-third representation for Muslims in Parliament, when the Nehru Committee Report came up for discussion in the Congress session in 1928. Perhaps history would have been different if Nehru had accepted Azad’s advice to give two Cabinet seats to the Muslim League in 1937 in the United Provinces. It may be recalled that the Muslim league had lost in those elections very badly and the Congress had come to power over much of India. Ramachandra Guha argues that ironically electoral defeat actually helped the Muslim League, for they were able to now portray the Congress in office as an essentially Hindu party (Guha, 2012: 292). Within a few 4 Quoted in Rasheedudin Khan, ‘Portrait of a Great Patriot: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958)’ in Verinder Grover (1992) Political Thinkers of India, Vol. 17 (pp. 209– 209). New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications. 5 http://ummid.com/news/2015/November/03.11.2015/glimpses-into-a-nationalistmuslim.html.

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years, in 1940, the Muslim League committed itself to the formation of a separate homeland for the Muslims, to be named Pakistan as they came around to the argument that Hindus and Muslims could no longer live together. Azad considered liberating India as a pious duty. Hence, on one occasion, he observed that liberty is the natural and God-given gift of man, and therefore, one is duty-bound to liberate the country from the yoke of subjugation and slavery. He opposed partition on religious grounds and renounced Muslim separatism as advocated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League. He argued that with 17% in UP, 12% in Bihar and 9% in Madras, the Muslims will be weaker than they are in the Hindu majority provinces. In a way he predicted that even if Pakistan was created on this basis, it would be divided along religious, regional and sectarian lines. In fact, he opined that the Urdu-speaking Muslims of India leaving for East or West Pakistan would be marginalised by the local people once Pakistan was created, and this is what exactly happened if one looks at the plight of the Mohajirs in Pakistan today. In a sense he had predicted the secession of East Pakistan from the main body politic, which actually happened in 1971. Not only that, he stands vindicated on the rising ethnic tensions among the Balochs, Sindhis, Punjabis and Urdu-speaking people of Pakistan. In his book ‘India Wins Freedom’, he opined that partition was ‘one of the greatest frauds on the people’ (Azad, 1957: 184). He observed that the two-nation theory offered no solution to the problem of one another’s minorities, but only leads to retribution and reprisals by introducing a system of being held mutual hostage. During the India’s freedom struggle, he spent almost ten years in jail. Probably one of the greatest puzzles about Maulana Azad was that he kept silent at the Congress Working Committee meeting on 2 June 1947, when the Mountbatten Plan for partition was ratified. Later, he blamed both the Congress and the Muslim League for the partition. Partition he contended would not only be bad for India but also for the Muslims of India. Hence, he argued in his book ‘India Wins Freedom’ that ‘it is one of the greatest frauds on the people to suggest that religion can unite areas that are geographically, economically, linguistically and culturally different. Azad’s plea fell on deaf ears leading to the partition and the tragic bloodbath. By March 1947, it seemed as if the mainstream Congress leaders like Nehru, Patel and others had reconciled to the inevitability of partition. Even at this stage, Azad opposed it saying “Nehru asked me to give up my opposition to partition”. Azad further

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argued that “Never has my opposition to partition been as strong as it is today…. My only hope now is on you. If you acquiesce, I am afraid, India is lost” (Gandhi, 1990: 247). He always felt that the partition of India was a fundamental mistake, especially the manner in which the religious differences were incited. He contended that it was a colossal blunder committed by the leadership of the Muslim League. In this sense, it was the death-knell to a meaningful and dignified life. He never opposed partition only as a Congress leader. Rather, he could visualise its far reaching and disastrous consequences. Azad was an outspoken critic of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the twonation theory. He exposed the hypocrisy of Jinnah, by using religion as the basis. Partition, he believed was harmful not only for India as a whole but also for Muslims in particular. He was of the firm opinion that partition would create more problems than it solves. He argued that there was no legitimate reason to believe that in a free and democratic India, the rights and interests of the Muslims will not be secure. In undivided India, the Muslims were a majority in five provinces, though they were a minority in seven. Hence, in a united undivided independent India Azad argued that there would be absolutely no reason why they should feel oppressed by the feeling of being a minority. One should not be surprised that Jinnah compromised on his fixation with the two-nation theory and argued in favour of a secular polity, in his first speech before the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Maulana Azad even had reservations on the use of the term ‘Pakistan’, as it gave the impression that some States are ‘pure’ and others are ‘impure’. Such a divide is inherently un-Islamic. Michael Brecher has argued that Nehru played a crucial role in the decision to partition the country. To quote: “For those who have been in opposition most of their political lives, the prize of power is tempting. The Congress leaders had already tasted its fruits in the Interim Government and were naturally reluctant to part with it at the moment of triumph” (Brecher, 1959: 121). Azad had his own views on why Nehru condoned partition. He argued that Nehru was also impulsive and amenable to personal influence. Needless to say, Lord Mountbatten convinced the Congress leadership and Nehru in particular that partition was the only way out and that there could be no peace without partition. Maulana Azad contested each one of these arguments and perceptions. With reference to these arguments, Maulana Azad argued that he did not believe in ‘divorce before marriage’.

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Secularism and Socialism

Many writers call Abul Kalam as a living example of secularism.6 He prioritised patriotism to religion and politics and found it difficult to go along with the communal agenda of the Muslim League and opposed the two-nation theory. He opposed Jinnah’s demand for one-third representation for Muslims in Parliament when the Nehru Committee Report came for discussion before the Congress session in 1928 (Engineer, 2011: 16–30). He was a strong opponent of communal electorates. He emphasised on multi-culturalism and inter-faith harmony and dialogue. As a distinguished member of the Constituent Assembly, he made a fervent appeal for the inclusion of secularism in the Constitution along with religious freedom and political equality. Theoretically, he favoured a secular democratic polity rather than a religious one. He broke off the shackles of religious theology and had to deal with the challenge posed by Muslim separatism as opposed to composite nationalism and cultural syncretism. Azad’s evolution from a Pan-Islamic outlook to being a secular nationalist is noteworthy. Subhash C. Kashyap argues that Azad’s writings reflected a synthesis of his political nationalist philosophy and his religious philosophy based on secularism.7 It is well-known that the social vision of the Indian national movement encompassed a secular society and a secular State. Bipin Chandra argues that Gandhiji along with people like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad too defined and lived secularism in the same manner as the national movement. He argued that the Congress and the State should show equal respect to all religions. Gandhiji used to argue that “the State should show neutrality in respect to all religions” (Chandra, 2015: 172). Even the Karachi Resolution of 1931 declared that in independent India, every citizen shall enjoy freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practice his/her religion. It further mentioned that all citizens will be equal before the law, irrespective of caste, creed or sex. The Maulana brought together secularism with nationalism. He often said that he was proud to be part of a unified India. Communalism has been an enemy of Indian nationalism and secularism. Hence, religious 6 http://www.oneindia.com/india/maulana-azad-opposed-partition-till-last-breath-exp erts-2021920.html. 7 Subhash C. Kashyap, http://www.ummid.com/making_of_legend/azad_shaping_the_ india_education_policy.html.

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fanaticism and fundamentalism ought to be eschewed. He considered secular nationalism an antidote to religious fanaticism. Former President Zakir Husain aptly summed up Maulana’s contribution in the following words: The greatest service which the Maulana did was to teach people of every religion that there are two aspects of religion. One separates and creates hatred. This is the false aspect. The other, the true spirit of religion brings people together in creating understanding. It lies in the spirit of service, in sacrificing self for others. It implies belief in unity, in the essential unity of things. (quoted in Ian Henderson Douglas, 1989: 286)

As a distinguished member of the Constituent Assembly, he vehemently argued against communal electorates and was a staunch advocate of secularism as conceptualised in the context of Indian State and society. The arguments, extended by regressive Maulvis, were contested with an emphasis on religious freedom and equality for all Indians. It is no surprise that he was called a nationalist Muslim. He showed how it is possible to be a Muslim and a nationalist with a secular outlook at one and the same time.

6.6 Ideological Differences: Maulana, Gandhi and Nehru As soon as Maulana Azad met Gandhi in 1920, he realised that there was perhaps no leader better suited than Gandhiji to lead the freedom movement. Azad turned out to be a loyal and life-long companion of Gandhi. The Mahatma had played an important role in resolving differences between conflicting interests and ensuring that Azad was elected President of the Congress at the young age of thirty-five. Unlike Gandhi, Azad did not believe in non-violence as an article of faith, but only as a matter of policy. He was, however, opposed to the use of violence in religion. Nehru and Azad were visionaries and nationalists in their own right. Hence, they often agreed to disagree on a variety of issues. At one point in his book ‘India Wins Freedom’, he writes that he erred in backing Nehru as the Prime Minister and that Sardar Patel would have made a better Prime Minister. It is well recorded in history that Gandhi had persuaded Sardar Patel to withdraw from the contest for Presidentship of

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the Congress twice in favour of Nehru—once in 1928 and the second occasion in 1945. Maulana Azad often spoke of two mistakes he had made. One was to have proposed Nehru’s name for the post of Congress President in April 1946. To quote him “this was the greatest blunder of my political life”. The second mistake he said was not to have proposed Sardar Patel’s name when Azad decided not to stand for the post himself. In retrospect, he felt that Patel would have ensured that the Cabinet Mission Plan was successfully implemented, without providing any scope for Jinnah to sabotage the Plan, which he did under Nehru.8 Before he died, Maulana Azad insisted that thirty pages of his autobiography which had some critical contents should be released only thirty years after his death, and some of them pertained to his differences with Nehru. However, being a critic of Nehru does not necessarily mean he was an open admirer of Sardar Patel too. They had differences over their respective world views, the trajectory of the Indian freedom struggle, matters pertaining to the Indian Constitution, integration of the Princely States, differences over economic policy and foreign policy. However, despite these differences, they were able to have a working relationship. Let us not forget that he was a natural choice in Nehru’s Cabinet and a close confidante and advisor to Nehru. Nehru and Maulana had major differences over the course of events ultimately leading to the partition. He often warned Nehru that many of his political acts were unwise and could alienate Jinnah and lead to partition (Grover, 1992: 209).9 A. G. Noorani argues that some of Azad’s principal criticisms of Nehru are factually wrong. He was very much privy to the surrender terms offered to the Muslim League in 1937, and when he was Congress President in 1946 he espoused its dishonest criticism and interpretation of the grouping formula of the Muslim League, of which Gandhi was the first and most dogged advocate. Azad was critical of Nehru for sinking the Cabinet Mission Plan proposed on 16 May 1946. The Plan had considered the advisability and rationale for partition and had rejected it, especially the proposal for a Pakistani State separated by 700 miles. In this context, Azad opines

8 Hari Desai, ‘Maulana Azad Foresaw Disaster of Pakistan’, 19 June 2017. https:// www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/Maulana-Azad-foresaw-disaster-of-Pakistan. 9 https://www.dawn.com/news/553160/maulana-azad-and-partition.

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that Nehru’s press conference in Bombay changed the course of history. During this press conference, Nehru said that he, Gandhi, Azad and Patel were not bound by the Cabinet Mission’s confederation plan. Azad considered this to be a fateful question-and-answer session which signified the withdrawal of the Congress Party from the Cabinet Mission Plan. What followed of course was unprecedented mayhem and violence. In spite of certain differences, Nehru and Azad were good friends and had great respect for each other. When Maulana passed away, Nehru described him in the following words: A great man and a man of luminaries, intelligence and intellect with an amazing capacity to pierce through a problem to its cause. The word ‘luminous’ is perhaps the best word I can use about his mind. When we miss and part with such a companion, friend, colleague, comrade, leader and teacher, there is inevitably a tremendous void created in our life and activity.

While they respected each other’s differences, Nehru and Azad also learned to live with them.

6.7

Azad’s Ideas on Education

When the Interim Government was formed in 1947, Maulana Azad was included as Member of Education and Arts. After independence, as India’s first Education Minister, he laid down the broad parameters of India’s educational system. He was a strong votary of modern education and the spirit of free enquiry. He perceived education as a medium for moulding the character of the younger generation. Mohammed Anwar Alam categorises Azad’s contribution to education in three phases. From 1900 to 1920, he focused on the Islamic system of learning, including the role of Madrasa education, such as the establishment of the Madrasa Islamia in Ranchi by him. From 1920 to 1946, he emphasised the expansion of its scope to the country as a whole and from 1947 to 1958 which was the golden phase in his capacity as the Education Minister of the country. From a young age, he was influenced by the views of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan about the need for mainstream education. Maulana Azad’s vision to transform education in India included the following:

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• Equalising educational opportunities in Indian society. He advocated universal primary, free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of fourteen and wanted primary education to be imparted in the mother tongue. He used to say that it is the ‘birthright’ of every individual to get basic education. • Maulana Azad emphasised the importance of the three-language formula, Hindi being the medium of instruction including State language, and English as the second important language. English was necessary for educational advantages at the national and international level. • Removal of illiteracy nationwide by promoting elementary and vocational education, including education for women. • Need for social education for adult illiterates. • Need for technical and scientific education depending on the needs of the nation. • Need to enrich the cultural life of the country. He was the first to stress the importance of a National Education Policy. The wealth of the nation, Azad used to say is not in the country’s banks but in the primary schools. He was in favour of a common educational structure of 10+2+3 throughout India, ‘neighborhood schools’ and a common school system. As a votary of adult education, he saw its links with social education. In a convocation address at the Aligarh Muslim University in February 1949, he said: I think you will agree that the educational sector for a secular and democratic State must be secular. It must provide for all citizens of the State the same type of education without any distinction. It should have its own intellectual flavour and its own national character. It should have as its aim the ideal of human progress and prosperity…. Without discrimination or distinction in favour of any community or group. (Desai, 2017)10

Azad realised that promoting education was tantamount to strengthen democracy. He realised the importance of mass education in the context of the introduction of universal adult franchise in the country. Hence, on one occasion, he commented that education is the birth right of every 10 Hari Desai, ‘Maulana Azad Foresaw Disaster of Pakistan’, 19 June 2017. https:// www.asian-voice.com/Opinion/Columnists/Maulana-Azad-foresaw-disaster-of-Pakistan.

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citizen of the country and that the Union and State government must share the responsibility for the promotion of education. Maulana Azad drew up several programmes for the promotion of Hindi as the national language of the country. Though he was in favour of Hindi, he did not want it be enforced. In terms of medium of instruction, he strongly wanted early education of the child to be imparted in the mother tongue. The Maulana was responsible for establishing prestigious institutions like the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in 1950, the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1953, the Sahitya Akademi in 1954, the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1954 and the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956. He was keen to strengthen the ‘cultural content’ of India’s educational system, by also promoting research in eastern learning and education. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, for example, promotes Hindustani and Carnatic music in a variety of ways including honouring renowned vocalists and instrumentalists. During his tenure a variety of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were established in various parts of the country like Bombay, Madras, Kanpur and Delhi. He had the foresight to visualise the importance of technical education for India’s progress and development. While inaugurating the Kharagpur Institute of Technology on 18 August 1951, Maulana Azad said: One of the first decisions I took on assuming charge is that we must so improve the facilities for higher technical education in the country that we could ourselves meet most of our needs. The large number of our young men who have been going abroad for higher training could have received such training in the country itself. Indeed, I look and still look forward to the day when the facilities for technical education in India will be of such a level that people from abroad will come to India for higher scientific and technical training.11

He always argued that universities not only have academic functions but also have a social responsibility. Overall he stood for liberal, modern and universal education. The imprint of Azad’s thoughts was felt in almost every field of education.

11 https://www.dawn.com/news/553160/maulana-azad-and-partition.

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Maulana on Women’s Rights

Maulana Azad had a deep commitment to women’s rights and was in favour of gender equality and the education of women. ‘Gender’ is a socio-cultural term which reflects power relationship between men and women, where the former are considered superior to the latter. Hence, it is a man-made phenomenon and subject’s women to exploitation and harassment of various types. Muslim theologians generally preferred a traditional role for women in social life. Maulana Azad was an exception. He intensely followed the gender equality debates in various Arab countries especially in Egypt. He translated the well-known work ‘AlMir’¯ at al-Muslimah’ written more than 1300 years ago into Arabic. It is necessary, he believed for women to enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society which includes economic participation and decision-making. In other words, women have to live with dignity and with freedom from want and fear. That is what makes gender equality a reality. In the present context since the world is rapidly changing, the opportunities for women have increased multifold to participate in the social, economic and political life of the country, though many barriers remain. In this sense, the message provided by Maulana Azad remains increasingly relevant. Perhaps the root cause of gender inequality in India lies in the patriarchy system which sometimes finds sanctity in various religious beliefs. Poverty and lack of education has added to the problem. Maulana Azad perceived gender inequality as a global challenge. No country can claim to be a true democracy without gender equality.

6.9

Conclusion

Apart from being a great writer, humanist and politician, Azad had been a major figure in twentieth century Indian history. He was an educationist and an intellectual, besides leading a religious and scholastic life. He used the gift of his writing skills and public orations to create a national awakening as well as to empower the masses. He was first and last an educationist, an institution in himself and spearheaded the cause of secularism, national integration, and communal harmony. Azad was a votary of religious diversity and respect for pluralism. He also considered it his personal, religious and national duty to liberate the country from colonial rule. Azad opposed partition and

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at no stage of his public career did he compromise on this. Partition he contended would be harmful not only to Muslims but to the whole country. For him the vivisection of the sub-continent was a public calamity and a personal tragedy which could have been avoided. He had a passionate commitment to the freedom of India and was proud of being an Indian and turned out to be a true representative of Indian culture. On his death, Acharya J. B. Kripalani described him as ‘one of the architects of modern India’. He was a true patriot and secular leader of India and a man ahead of his times. Many of his thoughts and ideas remain as relevant as they were during his time. Azad was a strange mix of medieval scholasticism, eighteenth century rationalism and a modern outlook. He stood for universal humanism, Indian nationalism, Hindu-Muslim unity and harmony. Even as a religious scholar he had the courage to speak out his mind with conviction and without fear. The present generation can draw inspiration from his life and works.

6.10

Summary

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a well-known Islamic scholar, writer, thinker and freedom fighter who promoted the idea of ‘universal humanism’. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952 and 1957 and played an important role in shaping many of independent India’s national policies, especially in the field of education. He was a multi-faceted personality with a progressive outlook.

References Ahmed, T. (2017, May 31). Global Islamism, Jihadism and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, my defence lawyer. First Post. https://www.firstpost.com/india/glo bal-islamism-jihadism-and-maulana-abul-kalam-azad-my-defence-lawyer-298 1062.html Azad, M. A. K. (1957). India wins freedom. Orient Longman. Brecher, M. (1959). Nehru: A political biography. Oxford University Press. Chandra, B. (2015). The writings of Bipin Chandra: The making of modern India from Marx to Gandhi. Orient Blackswan. Engineer, A. A. (2011, November 16–30). Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: His passion for freedom and communal harmony. Secular Perspective. Gandhi, R. (1990). Understanding the Muslim mind. Penguin Books.

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Grover, V. (1992). Political thinkers of India (Vol. 17). Deep & Deep Publications. Guha, R. (Ed.). (2012). Makers of modern India. Penguin Books. Henderson, D. I. (1989). Abul Kalam Azad: An intellectual and religious biography. Oxford University Press. Islam, M. (2016, November 17). The Great Akbar of independence struggle. The Hindu. Kumar, R. (1991). Life and works of Abul Kalam Azad. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. Nehru, J. (1969). Discovery of India. Signet Press. Sarkar, S. (1983). Modern India, 1885–1947 . Macmillan.

PART II

Militant–Extremist Thought

CHAPTER 7

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Sangeeta

7.1

Introduction

Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, often considered to as the ‘Father of Indian National Movement’, was perhaps the first among equals when it came to define Indian nationalism. Modern Indian patriotism is a distinct offspring of Tilak’s efforts. Even though other great leaders have extolled the virtues of universalism, it is Tilak’s idea that has taken root in popular culture. He was a social reformer, a freedom fighter, national leader, a statesman, an educator and a scholar. His powerful assertion ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it!’ still reverberates in every nook and corner of the country. He was the first leader to propound the ideal of ‘sampoorna swarajya’ and a man of dignity and self-respect, of indomitable spirit and courage. He was bold, steadfast and consistent in his approach to different problems that confronted the Indian society. Born just one year before the Indian War of Independence of 1857, Tilak was to carry forward and fortify with steadfast devotion and rare

Sangeeta (B) Department of Political Science, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_7

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courage of the struggle against the British Empire and by the time he died in 1920, the work was only half accomplished. The inspired, determined and mobilised nation could no longer be thrown back to its knees. If he rejected the constitutionalism of the Moderates, if he frowned upon the social reforms, it was because he clearly understood the imperatives of real politics and while he considered reformism as costly distraction, he looked upon the constitutionalism as momentous self-deception. Tilak steered both social progressivism and political gradualism because both appeared to him to be irrelevant to the immediate task of inspiring and mobilising people for swaraj (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 142). Here it is worth mentioning that a pen-portrait by British journalist Henry Nevinson perfectly captures his charming personality as: I recognise in him the personal attraction that the Extremists always have, the freedom from hesitation and half-measures, the delight of conflict, the reckless disregard of the self. When to this attraction, his own people could add his personal and intimate acquaintance with all classes among them down to the poorest villagers and his steady maintenance of all that they hold most dear in religious belief and customary observances, I could not wonder at his influence among them. (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 142–143)

7.2

Life Sketch

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23 July 1856 in Ratnagiri (City in Maharashtra) to a Marathi Chitpavan Br¯ ahmin family. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen years old. Tilak married Tapibai (Née Bal) just a few months before his father’s death. He received a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877. He was one of the first Indians to graduate from college. He dropped out of his M.A. programme in the middle of his studies to join the L.L.B programme instead, and in 1879, he obtained his L.L.B degree from Government Law College. After graduating, Tilak began teaching Mathematics at a private school in Pune. Later, due to ideological differences with his new school’s colleagues, he withdrew and became a journalist. Tilak was actively involved in public affairs. He stated: Religion and practical life are not different. To take Sanyas (renunciation) is not to abandon life. The real spirit is to make the country, your family

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and work together instead of working only for your own. The step beyond is to serve humanity and the next step is to serve God. (Brown, 1970: 76)

In 1881, he started two weekly newspapers, ‘Mahratta’ (in English) and ‘Kesari’ (in Marathi). With a few of his college friends, including Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi and Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, he founded the Deccan Education Society (DES) in 1884. Their aim was to improve the quality of education for young Indians. The Deccan Education Society was founded to create a new system that conveys nationalist ideas to young Indians with an emphasis on Indian culture. In 1885, the Society founded the New English School for secondary education and Fergusson College for post-secondary education. At Fergusson College, Tilak was an instructor of Mathematics. He launched a mass movement for independence with a focus on religious and cultural revival. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, he started participating in the annual conferences of the Indian National Congress (INC). In 1890, Tilak left the Society to get involved in political works. Between 1891 to 1898, the political situation of Maharashtra worsened. People there were suffering with famine and plague. During this time, situation worsened because of insensitive attitude of British government. Tilak criticised this inconsiderate response from government. During this time only, because of inspiration from Tilak, people started celebrating Ganapati and Shivaji festivals1 on the large scale. Such festivals played a great role in uniting people on the basis of their age-old customs and traditions. Tilak was arrested by government in 1897 on the charge of causing disaffection among people against British government and was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment. All these made him very popular among the people and his popularity rose day by day. He along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal formed a trio (popularly called Lal-Bal-Pal) which in the backdrop of the partition of Bengal, popularised a four-fold programme of action, 1 For national awakening, Tilak initiated Ganesh Utsav and Shivaji Utsav in 1894. Shivaji Utsav started on Fort Raigad in 1894. In 1896, Ganesh Utsav attained national importance. These festivals were ostensibly socio-religious but there was a political motive behind them. This was to rouse the masses and promote among them feelings of brotherhood and fellowship. The cult of Ganapati and Shivaji gave to the Maratha people a renewed sense of patriotism, and the capacity of political self-assertiveness. He revived the concept of swarajya which was used to designate the polity of Shivaji.

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i.e. swaraj (self-government), swadeshi (resort to the use of indigenous goods), bahishkar (boycott of foreign goods) and rastriya shiksha (national education). His slogan—‘Swaraj is my birth right and I will have it ’—captured the minds of the people and transformed the popular mood, rendering the Moderates irrelevant. His campaign to have the Indian National Congress resort to passive resistance led to the split in the party and he, along with his Extremist colleagues and followers, left the Congress. ‘Where Moderates like Gokhale asked young men to serve, Tilak asked them to protest and if necessary, go to prison. In this regard, the sarcasm and sharpness of Tilak’s writings are in contrast with Gokhale’s understated reasonableness’ (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 145). The infuriated British government was looking for opportunity to politically eliminate Tilak. In the wake of revolutionary activities in Bengal and Maharashtra, he was charged with sedition and with intensifying racial animosity between Indians and the British. He was convicted in July 1908 for a Rs. 1000 fine and six years transportation and deported to Burma, where he wrote a major and still influential work on the meanings of the Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a . In 1914, he was released from prison (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 144–145). Tilak later re-united with his fellow nationalists and re-joined the Indian National Congress during the Lucknow Pact of 1916. In 1916– 1918, he also collaborated with G. S. Khaparde and Annie Besant to establish the All India Home Rule League along the lines of the Irish Home Rule Movement. After years of attempting to reconcile the Moderate and radical factions, he gave up and focused on the Home Rule League, which advocated for self-rule. Tilak travelled from village to village to seek support from farmers and residents to join the movement for self-rule. He also played a leading role in bringing about the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between Congress and Muslim League. In 1918–1919, he was in England contesting a case against Valentine Chirol, a British Journalist, who had sought to defame him in his writings. Tilak used this opportunity to advance the cause of Indian self-rule. He interacted with British politicians and established cordial contacts with the British Labour Party. He also gave evidence on behalf of the Indian Home Rule League before the Joint Select Committee of the Parliament on the Reforms Bill. He was denied a passport to travel to France to lead a delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, but he addressed a note to the President of the

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country stating that a self-governing India can be a bastion of liberty in Asia (Inamdar, 2012: 112). During Tilak’s absence from India, Gandhi had emerged as the leader of the people, now seething with discontent against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre2 and the repressions in the Punjab. At the 1919 Amritsar Congress, Tilak was able to get a resolution adopted in favour of responsive cooperation with the government in regard to the new Reforms Act. He also supported Gandhi’s Non-cooperation movement to undermine the powers of the British bureaucracy. Tilak was also an early advocate of the swadeshi movement against Britain’s economic domination (Inamdar, 2012: 112). On 1 August 1920, he passed away leaving behind a rich and powerful legacy of service and sacrifice. Mahatma Gandhi rightly observed, ‘No man preached the gospel of swaraj with consistency and insistence of Lokmanya’ (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 145–146). Like his father, Tilak was a great scholar of Sanskrit and Mathematics. He studied classical literature in metaphysics, religion, astronomy and other allied fields. One of his well-known works is the ‘Orion or the Antiquity of the Vedas ’. In this book, he argued that R a was composed in . igved¯ as early as 4500 B.C. This argument based on his astronomical calculations made him extremely popular both in the East and the West. His second immortal work was ‘The Arctic Home of Vedas ’. In this book, based on his astronomical and geological data, he argued that the Aryans were probably the original inhabitants of the far northern reaches of the Asiatic continent. However, his greatest work was the ‘Geeta Rahasya’. It is a philosophical enquiry into the teachings of the G¯ıt¯ a. While interpreting the G¯ıt¯ a, he laid stress on the concept of Karma Yoga (the way of work or the performance of duties in a spirit of selflessness), instead of renunciation as its central message. Despite his belief in the Ved¯ antic philosophy, Tilak recognised the significance of religion in the ordinary sense of the term. Symbolism and popular rituals were acceptable to him because he felt that these helped in 2 The Jallianwala Bagh massacre or Amritsar massacre took place on 13 April 1919 when a crowd of non-violent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, were fired upon by troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer. The civilians had assembled to participate in the annual Baisakhi celebrations, a religious and cultural festival for Punjabi people and also to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. Coming from outside the city, they may have been unaware of the imposition of martial law.

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forging a sense of unity and social togetherness. He once said, ‘I regard India as my Motherland and my Goddess, the people in India are my kith and kin, and loyal and steadfast work for their political and social emancipation is my highest religion and duty’ (Minor, 1986). Although Tilak was neither a political scientist nor a political philosopher, he, along with his associates—Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal, was responsible for bringing a new type of political thinking and action in Congress. He analysed the national movement and its objective and nature of Indian National Congress. He believed that the traditional tactics of the party had to be abandoned in order to make it really national and democratic.

7.3

Concept of Swaraj

Tilak was not a political philosopher in the academic sense. He was rather a practical politician whose main task was the political emancipation of India. His political philosophy was rooted in the Indian tradition. However, his philosophy did not reject all that was Western. He was inspired by the ancient Indian spiritual and philosophical works. Thus, he imparted a spiritual connotation to his notion of swaraj . He believed that swaraj was more than a political or economic concept; it was more than a law and order mechanism; it was more than an economic order providing the luxuries of life. To him, swaraj was full self-government— political, economic and spiritual. Thus, swaraj was something more than mere home rule (that meant a political arrangement of self-rule without serving British connection). Beyond that, swaraj also implied enlightened self-control of the individuals inspiring detached performance of their duties. In keeping with the political thought of the Ved¯ as , the R¯ am¯ ayan.a the ´ Mah¯ abh¯ arata, Kaut.ilya’s Artha´s¯ astra, Sukran¯ ıti and Kamandaka Nitisara, Tilak asserted that it was the duty of the King to promote the welfare of the people. After tracing the term ‘swarajyam’ (self-rule) to the Ved¯ as , he pointed out that since the people have the essence of God in them, they have the right to remove oppressive rulers. He believed in the divine right of the people to hold their rulers accountable to themselves (Inamdar, 2012: 114). Tilak recognised four connotations of the term swarajya (self-government). First, it means that the ruler and the people are of the same country, religion or race. Second, it refers to a wellgoverned State or a system of rule of law. Third, it means a government

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promoting the well-being of the people. The fourth connotation, for which Tilak had its strongest preference, was that of a government elected by and responsible to the people. Tilak supported right of the people to participate in the government of their country. He endorsed the slogan which Dadabhai Naoroji had given at the Calcutta Congress of 1906, namely that the thrust of swaraj or self-government cannot be assuaged by good government (surajya). According to Tilak, a democratic government, by its very nature, is bound to promote the people’s welfare. He opined that the ideal of democratic polity would be better served if political science were to be re-designated as Rajn¯ıti´sh¯ astra (theory of political morality). He maintained that as Indians were suffering from the harmful effects of British rule and had become aware of the advantages of democracy, the time was ripe for Indian nationalism and swarajya (Inamdar, 2012: 114). Swarajya, for Tilak, had not only a political connotation (i.e. Home Rule) but also a moral/spiritual connotation (i.e. self-control and inner freedom). At the Lucknow Congress of 1916, Tilak raised a famous slogan—‘swarajya is the birth right of Indians’. In the same year, he and Annie Besant started Home Rule League.

7.4

Militant Nationalism

In words of N. R. Inamdar: Tilak’s conception of Indian nationalism was an amalgam of diverse strands of thought: pride in the legacy of ancient India; appreciation of the role of British rule in bringing about political and administrative unification of the country; appreciation of Western learning and science; recognition of economic exploitation by foreign rulers; and the recognition of the need to form a national political movement of the people across the barriers of race, caste, religion and sex. Tilak thought of nationalism as operating at two levels: the regional and the national. He believed that a regional historical hero or a regional religious symbol could concretise the national sentiment in the people. As he matured as a national leader, the countrywide strand of his idea of Indian nationalism engulfed and assimilated the regional stand. (Inamdar, 2012: 115)

Tilak was a devout Indian nationalist, although he benefited greatly from Western education. He appreciated the liberal values of constitutional government, rule of law, individual freedom, freedom of press, scientific progress and freedom of political expression and organisation.

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He praised Indian Councils Act 1892 that provided indirect election of representatives from local bodies and economic associations. This, he believed, will help in arousing political consciousness among the people of India and also that swarajya would be the inevitable consequence of such a development. He believed that British rule has benefitted Indian system by introducing political and legal order, administrative stability, agricultural advancement, trade, commerce, mining and educational institution. These have for the benefit of India and Indians. However, during the partition of Bengal (1905–1908) his perception about nature and objective of British rule had changed drastically. Tilak’s conception of nationalism was a combination of the Ved¯ anta ideal of the spiritual unity of mankind and the Western notions of nationalism as propounded by Mazzini, Burke, Mill and Wilson. He was alive to and influenced by the development of nationalism in the four phases in the world at large. In the first phase (namely the classical phase), nationalism in Britain and France was associated with historical continuity, linguistic, racial and religious unity and the unity of political aspiration. In the second phase, ushered in by the French Revolution, national sovereignty was identified with popular sovereignty. In the wake of the French Revolution, several nation-states emerged in Europe from out of the bewildering variety of people with diverse languages and traditions. In this phase, the unity of political aspiration came to be regarded as the overriding feature of nationalism. Renan, Fichte and Herder were some of the proponents of this view. In the fourth phase (i.e. at the close of First World War), the political map of Eastern Europe and West Asia underwent metamorphosis in the wake of Wilson’s famous principle of national self-determination (Inamdar, 2012: 116). To Tilak, a feeling of oneness among the people and the pride in their country’s heritage were the vital forces of nationalism. He believed that nationalism can be developed by fostering among the people the feeling that they have common interests to be pursued and realised through united political action. This idealistic and romantic conception of nationalism did inspire and unite the de-spirited and divided people of India. The base of nationalism, Tilak knew, was both objective and subjective. The objective factors such as common language, territory and religion contribute to the psychological or subjective feeling of oneness among a people. These subjective and psychological feelings are indeed of fundamental importance for nationalism. Tilak believed that nationalism can be promoted and strengthened if the peoples’ psychological bonds are

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given symbolic expression of an objective, visible or concrete type, namely flags, insignia and the celebration of social and religious festivals (Inamdar, 2012: 116). This faith of Tilak and his desire to unite people only enthused him to refer to Shivaji and Akbar in his speeches. All this led to revival of celebration of Ganapati festival and Shivaji festival with new enthusiasm. According to Tilak, feeling of oneness and solidarity among the people arising mainly from their common heritage was the vital force of nationalism. The psychological bond of unity may be dormant at times. In such a situation people would have to be mobilised. Both real and mythical factors were to play an equally significant role in this process. Tilak believed that religion, which had powerful emotional appeal, should be harnessed to reawaken the dormant spirit of nationalism. Tilak was a revivalist in the sense that he wanted to revive all that was good and noble in India’s past culture and civilisation. He never wanted to have a complete break with the past. He wanted to bring to the front the message of the Ved¯ as and the G¯ıt¯ a for providing spiritual energy and moral enthusiasm to the nation. A recovery of the healthy and vital traditions of the old culture of India was essential. He said, ‘A true nationalist desire to build a nation on old foundations. Reform on utter disrespect for the old does not appeal to him as constructive work. We do not want to anglicise our institutions and so denationalise them in the name of social and political reforms’. He pointed out that the Shivaji and the Ganapati festivals had been encouraged because they served to link contemporary events and movements with historical traditions (Gnaneshwari, 2017: 1522). He recognised the tremendous symbolic significance of historical and religious festivals, flags and slogans in arousing a spirit of nationalism. Tilak made very effective use of such symbols. He believed that these factors were more effective than economic factors in mobilising people. Thus, Tilak propagated the use of symbols in the form of the Ganapati and Shivaji festivals which subsequently acquired tremendous emotional appeal.

7.5

Non-violent Passive Resistance

Tilak was a powerful nationalist leader who did not believe in Moderates methodology of reform and their perception of social transformation. He believed that caste system that existed in society was nothing but a functional division of labour contributing to social harmony. He had

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firm faith in organic theory of society and for him such division was a part of our social customs and traditions that was necessary for social unity. His Extremist’s philosophy created a rift between him and his followers (popularly called Extremists) on the one side and Moderates led by Gokhale and Ranade on the other. Moderates considered Extremists methods of boycott of foreign goods, law-courts and educational institution, non-payment of land revenue to the British government as unconstitutional because our country was not governed according to any Constitution. He believed that the difference between the two political parties—Liberals and Conservatives in Britain was mainly pertaining to British domestic issues only but as far as matters concerning colonies were concerned, both had similar stance. Their objective was exploitation of colonies and hence, would never support granting right to self-government to any colony including India. Tilak, as previously stated, was not opposed to British rule in India from the very beginning. During the peasant struggle against the famine in 1896–1897, he had full faith in the laws and regulations of the colonial government but was critical about the way governmental bureaucracy was functioning. His passive resistance started during 1905–1908 while opposing partition of Bengal. He, along with Aurobindo, led his famous three-fold programme of passive resistance programme. It included: (i) boycott, (ii) swadeshi and (iii) national education. i. Boycott: Economic exploitation of India was one of the primary motives of British imperialism. They framed policies that aided in the destruction of Indian industries, crafts, trade and commerce while permitting unrestricted flow of foreign goods into our country solely for this purpose. Tilak argued that it was meaningless to expect the British rulers to protect our industry and commerce. Self-help was the only solution and tools to achieve this were—‘boycott’ and ‘swadeshi’. Boycott was a negative tool that meant a firm determination on the part of the Indians not to use foreign goods. Also it implied not to assist alien bureaucracy to carry on the administration of the country. It helped the cause of Indian nationalism as it directly attacked primary motive of the imperialists, i.e. exploitation. Besides this, it will also help Indian industries; trade and craft to develop and prosper.

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In 1902, while addressing in Poona, Tilak said that every Indian was a part of the British administration in India. The people themselves were responsible for the smooth functioning of the British administration. Though downtrodden and neglected, poor and backward, illiterate and uneducated, deprived and neglected, they must be conscious of their power to paralyse the administration if they so desired. It was they who managed the rail-road and the telegraph, it was they who made settlements and collected revenues, it was, in fact, they who did everything for the administration though in a subordinate capacity. They must divert their energy towards liberation of the nation; concentrate their attention for its freedom (Padhy, 2014: 127). ii. Swadeshi: Swadeshi initially began as a primary economic counterpart to the programme of economic boycott. It was a positive part of the boycott movement whose success depended upon the success of boycott movement. The more the people resolved to boycott foreign goods, the more would be the demand for swadeshi goods. The movement exhorted the people to use indigenous products. It also urged the educated Indians to enter in the field of production instead of pursuing bureaucratic positions. iii. National Education: Tilak strongly believed that the Western education introduced in India by Lord Macaulay was not for any betterment of India and Indians as it was purely intended to benefit colonial rulers. Above all, it posed a great challenge to India’s culture, tradition and civilisation and created a barrier between the youths and their glorious heritage. As a result, the newly educated youths were Indians by blood but intellectually and culturally closer to the West with an abiding loyalty to the British throne. The objective of Britishers, while introducing Western Education was to create a group of people appreciating Western culture, admiring their history and developmental endeavour and achievements and was capable to take up jobs under colonial rulers, and they were successful to a large extent in their objective. Criticising such type of education, Tilak advocated the establishment of schools and colleges throughout the country so that inexpensive and wholesome education could be provided to the young people. National education soon became integral part of the nationalistic programme for

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India of twentieth century. Tilak believed that Western education did not provided students any information about the true condition of our country. He said that reading and writing alone did not constitute education. Education can be considered right when it throws light on the past events, incidents and the experience of our ancestors. Thus, they intended to provide students a picture of the greatness of our past, past achievements and glories. Under the programme of national education, schools and colleges were to be exclusively managed by Indians. Tilak believed that secular education alone is not sufficient to develop personality of participants even though religion has a salutary influence on human personality. It builds morality and courage. A new syllabus was hence prepared, and it included both technical and industrial education along with religious education and information about our glorious past while providing lessons on patriotism. Tilak believed that establishing national schools and colleges would go a long way towards meeting the needs of Indians. The medium of instruction in these colleges was to be the mother tongue only. English was included as optional language and not as compulsory medium of education. While writing about Tilak’s method, Gandhiji wrote in ‘Young India’ on 23 July 1921 that: Of all the men of modern times, he captivated most the imagination of his people. He breathed into us the spirit of swaraj . No one perhaps realised the evil of the existing system of government as Mr Tilak did. And in all humility I claim to deliver his message to the country as truly as the best of his disciples. But I am conscious that my method is not Mr Tilak’s method. (Inamdar, 2012: 119)

On 2 January 1907, in his celebrated speech on Tenets of the New Party, Tilak stated the goal of the Extremists as follows: The point is to have the entire controls in our hands. I want to have the key of my house, and not merely one stranger turned out of it. Self- government is our goal; we want a control over our administrative machinery. We do not want to become clerks....At present we are clerks and willing instruments of our own oppression in the hands of an alien government. (Inamdar, 2012: 119)

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Tilak went on to formulate the method of passive resistance in the following words: What the New Party wants you to do is to realise the fact that your future rests entirely in your own hands. If you mean to be free you can be free; if you do not mean to be free, you will fall and be forever fallen. So many of you need not like arms; but if you have not the power of active resistance, have you not the power of self-denial and self-abstinence in such a way as not to assist this foreign government to rule over you? This is boycott and this is meant when we say, boycott is a political weapon. We shall not give them assistance to collect revenue and keep peace. We shall not assist them in fighting beyond the frontiers or outside India with Indian blood and money. We shall not assist them in carrying on the administration of justice. We shall have our own courts, and when the time comes we shall not pay taxes. Can you do that by your united efforts? If you can, you are free from tomorrow. (Inamdar, 2012: 119)

7.6 National Dignity and National Reconstruction Tilak was a great nationalist leader who strongly believed that it would be better to die in peace than to live in humiliation. Inspired and encouraged by Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a , Tilak said that the people should be action-oriented. They must work, work for the betterment and welfare of society, for its moral progress and reawakening. At the same time, they should not expect any reward for their work or service. But to start a struggle, it is essential that people should stand united together. To Tilak, the unity of India was the Bharat-Dh¯ arma, which was spiritually based and spiritually dedicated way of life. But, unfortunately, this along with heritage and common cause had been ruined by the spirit of orthodoxy, which had divided the people on the basis of caste. The result was compartmentalisation of the society. The varn.a¯ as´hrama dh¯ arma stood for harmony, cooperation and unity, and Tilak wanted to reawaken this spirit through religious education. Besides this, he wanted to unite people through Ganapati and Shivaji festivals. When they recognised one common deity, one common historical tradition, one common past heritage, they would develop, undoubtedly, a moral power, a moral strength to overcome all social evils like disunity and divisiveness and to reconstruct a social order that would bring good to one and all and make them happy and prosperous. He hoped that they should be united,

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united among themselves, united with their tradition and united to face the future by the common ideals they held. This united effort would certainly help them to remove the social evils. He believed that the spirit of national revival, the restoration of national self-respect, which is an essential pre-requisite for self-rule (swaraj ), was dependent on the restoration of national unity and mutual respect (Padhy, 2014: 122). Here we can take a quote from Tilak’s Speeches. He said: There are certain factors which, if properly developed and cultivated, would ´ astras eventually lead to one nationality. The Hindus are governed by the Sh¯ held sacred all over the country; they have the same history, they live in the same land, they are under the same government which is a new factor contributed by the British rule. The task of an Indian patriot is not easy; he should not be daunted by difficulties, for the development of character consisted in conquering difficulties which are after all of human creation. There is no conflict between Ved¯ antic ideals and patriotic ideals. Progress means adapting to the changed circumstances at each time. Society being a living organisation, it was unnatural if it could not adapt itself to altered circumstances. The social organisation in India is not surely dead, it is probably slumbering and sleep is no death, and there is sure to be a waking sooner or later. Patriotism in India involves nationality and wielding of races. The limits should be widened, the ideal of a composite patriotism should be attained and the goal of the Indians should be to become worthy members of the British Empire having the same rights and privileges as the other members, helping each other and cooperating with each other, towards the same goal and for the glorification of one Empire. (Speeches of Bal Gangadhar Tilak)

7.7

Social Reforms

During the end of nineteenth century, most of the philosophers and national leaders were talking about the necessity of social reforms in India. But Tilak, on the other hand, had a different viewpoint on this issue. While Ranade, Gokhale, Agarkar, Bhandarkar and others were in favour of adopting extreme measures to reform the society and remake India in the image of the West, Tilak took a cautious view in this matter. He believed that any reform if has to be brought in, it can happen only if it comes from the hearts of the people rather than being imposed on them.

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He was not opposed to social reforms but had doubts about the intentions and methodology of the advocates of reforms. His main points of contention were as follows: • Any reform driven by Western rationalistic secular worldview cannot have a correct perspective of our social institutions and practices. As he put it, ‘We do not want to anglicise our institutions and so to denationalise them in the name of social and political reforms’. • People seeking liberation from an alien government should refrain from seeking their support in solving social problems. It is morally wrong and socially enervating to try to cleanse our social system through the support of a foreign government rather than our own judgement and determination. • Education and not legislation is the proper method of eradicating social evils (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 148–149). Reforms must grow from within and no amount of force or pressure would help in implementing them as long as people themselves did not want them. Reforms have to be based upon their value system and not on the Western values. Tilak wanted to reawaken India and shape her future in the light of her past glories. He believed that progress could be possible only with a self-governing people. To bring about meaningful changes, it would not be enough to change the forms and abusive social practices like sati, female infanticide, caste system, etc. which were the direct products of the ‘spirit of orthodoxy’ that perverted the social order and never allowed any changes. To bring any change, it is essential that true spirit of the Indians must be reawakened. He believed that India could not be reawakened merely by removing philosophical controversies or disputations. This could be possible only when people would change their attitudes and approaches. Changes in the forms of institutions would not reawaken India. For this, he tried to educate people through his writings in newspapers and by organising various festivals. He inculcated a new spirit in the minds of the people by educating them through religion and history, associating them with Gods and heroes, glorifying their past heritage and making them feel proud of it (Padhy, 2014: 120–121).

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7.8

Economic Ideas of Tilak

Although Tilak’s main concerns were culture, religion, swaraj and nationalism but we find some references of economic issues also in his works. He wrote several articles in his vernacular journal, ‘Kesari’ on issues like land revenue, land tenure system, governmental expenditure on war and high salary paid to British officials. He accepted Dadabhai Naoroji’s ‘Economic Drain Theory’ and criticised the British government for ruthlessly exploiting the resources of India. He wrote that the foreign enterprises and investment in India has created a delusion of prosperity, while the truth was otherwise. British rule had impoverished the country. Their reckless policies destroyed the indigenous industries, trade and commerce. The colonial rulers allowed a free inflow of European products. This resulted in the destruction of Indian handicraft industries. He was aware of the fact that colonial rulers cannot be expected to protect indigenous industries. He started his programmes of ‘swadeshi’ and ‘boycott’ to protect and promote indigenous industries. Tilak was equally concerned about deteriorating condition of rural India. He shared R. C. Dutt’s anxiety over the deteriorating rural situation that was aggravating because of recurring famines and growing indebtedness of the farmers. For this, he believed that it is the duty of the government to look into the problems of poor peasants in rural India and provide solution. Since this was not happening, he played a key role in organising peasants and workers against the economic policies of the British government. But he was clear that economic factors played a subsidiary role in uniting the people against an oppressive regime; the real sources of unity are moral, spiritual and to strengthen these, Tilak also advocated the importance of national education and national press.

7.9

Rights and Revolution

Tilak never believed in Moderates approach of Congress. After partition of Bengal, along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, Tilak seized the opportunity of disillusionment against the British and denounced the ‘political mendicancy’ of the Moderates. He regarded the peaceful and constitutional methods of protest as ‘useless’, and propounded the path of direct action. The conflict of ideology between the Moderates and Extremists within the Congress led the split in it in 1907 during the Surat Session. The Trio of Lal-Bal-Pal, along with Aurobindo Ghose,

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became popular as ‘Extremists’, though they preferred to call themselves ‘nationalists’ (Davar, 2017). He espoused swadeshi and boycott as the most effective means to undermine the British Empire. Swadeshi is the positive expression of people’s love for their Motherland and their determination to build their own political, economic, legal and educational institutions, whereas boycott is the expression of non-cooperation with imperial government in all walks of life. Tilak stated that revolutionary methods advocated and used by a section of India’s political class were imprudent, but not unethical, in the current circumstances (Ray & Mishra, 2012: 149). Nehru recalls in ‘The Discovery of India’: With the coming of age of the National Congress, which had been founded in 1885, a new type of leadership appeared, more aggressive and defiant and representing the much larger numbers of the lower middle classes as well as students and young men. The powerful agitation against the partition of Bengal had thrown up many able and aggressive leaders there of this type, but the real symbol of the new age was Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra. The old leadership was represented also by a Maratha, a very able and a young man, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Revolutionary slogans were in the air, tempers ran high and conflict was inevitable. To avoid this, the old patriarch of the Congress, Dadabhai Naoroji, universally respected and regarded as the father of the country, was brought out of his retirement. The respite was brief and in 1907 the clash came, resulting apparently in a victory for the old Moderate section. But there was no doubt that the vast majority of politically-minded people in India favoured Tilak and his group. (Davar, 2017)

On 24 June 1903, an arrest warrant was served on Tilak in Bombay. The historic trial of Tilak on charges of sedition began on 13 July. He was convicted and deported to Mandalay, Burma, where he was to spend the next 11 years of his life.

7.10 Views Against Caste System and Untouchability Although Tilak had a strong faith in the sanatan dh¯ arma, he was not an orthodox. He knew that Indian society was ridden with evils and one such evil was caste system in India. He never believed in existing caste based division. On the problem of untouchability, he once wrote, ‘I would not

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recognise even God if he said that untouchability was ordained by him’ (Davar, 2017). He was in favour of introducing social reforms in the evil ridden Indian society. In 1907, he said that the Hindu religion never allowed or sanctioned caste system in India. The Hindu scriptures never supported the gradation of castes and no caste can claim its superiority over another. Through religious events such as the Ganapati festival, he attempted to alleviate the problem of untouchability. The lower caste people were allowed to take their statues of the God Ganesha in procession along with the statues, belonging to the higher castes which abridged the social division in the Indian society. The Ganapati festival was instrumental in bringing people together culturally irrespective of their caste and creed, to inject the spirit of nationalism and awareness among the people for the sake of nation’s well-being. On 25 March 1918, in Bombay, he addressed the first meeting of the depressed classes, saying that all Indians are children of the same Motherland; there could be no spiritual or moral defence of untouchability and reiterated that ‘if God were to tolerate untouchability, I would not recognise him as God at all’.

7.11

Conclusion

Bal Gangadhar Tilak died on 1 August 1920 at the age of 64. He was suffering from Pneumonia. His death was universally condoled. More than two lakh people joined his funeral procession, which was nearly a mile and a half long. Throughout his role as leader of national movement, he advocated four pillars of the edifice of a new India. These were the boycott, swadeshi, national education and swaraj , all of which are still relevant today. An Extremist leader, he along with others stood for swaraj , swadh¯ arma and swadeshi i.e. national rule, national religion and national identity. Although his critics never believed that he was in favour of social reform but this was not correct. Reformers like Ranade, Gokhale, Bhandarkar, Agarkar and others, who were in favour of adopting extreme measures to reform the society and remake India in the image of West, believed that Tilak was not only an orthodox but also a spokesman for backwardness. But Tilak believed that once society was reformed and restructured, the society would be free from the evils. And for this he had his own plans and proposals. He was a practical but not an armchair reformer. As a social

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reformer and a political activist, he did not make any compromise with his principles and values. Lokmanya Tilak was a great Sanskrit scholar and an apostle of HinduMuslim unity. He was a man of principles who lived up to them. What he professed, he practised wholeheartedly and honestly. He was a magnificent, unquestionable and daring leader who, in terms of personality, was unrivalled in Indian history. He gave politics a new dimension, a new image, by making it more practical and action-oriented. His reformation was highly appreciated and acclaimed. He worked tirelessly to ennoble, elevate and purify public life. He was a Karma Yogi, a symbol of selfsacrifice. Work and duty were forms of worship for him. To him, hard work was a ticket to heaven. He had a lot of faith in himself, in his leadership, and in his ability to deliver goods.

7.12

Summary

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on 23 July 1856 in a Marathi Chitpavan Br¯ ahmin family at Ratnagiri in the State of Maharashtra. His father, Gangadhar Tilak was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen years old. Tilak earned his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877. He dropped out of his M.A. programme in the middle of his studies to join L.L.B programme instead, and he graduated from Government Law College in 1879 with an L.L.B degree. He began publishing two weekly newspapers in 1881, ‘Maratha’ in English and ‘Kesari’ in Marathi. With a few of his college friends, he founded the Deccan Education Society in 1884. In 1885, the Society founded the New English School for secondary education, as well as Fergusson College for post-secondary education. At Fergusson College, Tilak taught Mathematics. Tilak began his mass movement towards independence by an emphasis on a religious and cultural revivalism. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, he started participating in the annual conferences of the Indian National Congress. In 1890, Tilak left the society to get involved in political works. When the situation in Maharashtra deteriorated between 1891 and 1898, Tilak criticised the British government for its inconsiderate response. He was arrested by government in 1897 on the charge of causing disaffection among people against British government and was sentenced to 18 months rigorous imprisonment.

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All these made him very popular among the people. He along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal formed a trio (popularly called Lal-Bal-Pal) which in the backdrop of the partition of Bengal popularised a four-fold programme of action, i.e. swaraj (self-government), swadeshi (use of indigenous goods), bahishkar (boycott of foreign goods) and rastriya shiksha (national education). His slogan—‘Swaraj is my birth right and I will have it ’—captured the minds of the people and transformed the popular mood making the Moderates irrelevant. His campaign to have the Indian National Congress resort to passive resistance led to the split in the party and he along with his Extremist colleagues and followers parted from the Congress. Later, Tilak re-united with his fellow nationalists and re-joined the Indian National Congress in 1916. He also played a leading role in bringing about the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between Congress and Muslim League. Tilak was also an early advocate of the swadeshi movement against Britain’s economic domination. On 1 August 1920, he passed away leaving behind a rich and powerful legacy of service and sacrifice. During his short life-time he emerged as a powerful nationalist leader who did not had any faith in Moderates methodology of reform and their perception about social reform. He believed that caste system that was existing in society was nothing but a functional division of labour contributing to social harmony. He, along with Aurobindo, led his famous three-fold programme of passive resistance programme. It included: (1) boycott, (2) swadeshi and (3) national education. Tilak was a revivalist in the sense that he wanted to revive all that was good and noble in India’s past culture and civilisation. He never wanted to have a complete break with the past. He wanted to bring to the front the message of the Ved¯ as and the G¯ıt¯ a for providing spiritual energy and moral enthusiasm to the nation.

References Brown, D. M. (1970). The nationalist movement: Indian political thought from Ranade to Bhave. University of California Press. Davar, P. (2017, July 24). Remembering Tilak: The father of India’s revolution. Deccan Chronicle. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/ 240717/remembering-tilak-the-father-of-indias-revolution.html Gnaneshwari, G. (2017). Balagangadhar Tilak and his philosophy of nationalism. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR), 3(1), 1521–1524.

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Inamdar, N. R. (2012). The political thought of Lokmanya Tilak. In T. Pantham (Ed.), Political thought in modern India. Sage. Minor, R. N. (1986). Modern Indian interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita. State University of New York Press. Padhy, K. S. (2014). Indian political thought. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Ray, B. N., & Mishra, R. K. (2012). Indian political thought. Kaveri Books.

CHAPTER 8

Bipin Chandra Pal Ashu J

8.1

Introduction

Today, India is a strong and progressive nation and stands virtuous among the important countries of the world. Thus, the modern generation knows how this has been achieved from a state of colonialism. The story of India’s struggle from servitude to magnitude is replete with the sacrifices of our brave and great patriarchal leaders. The year 1857 is inscribed in the golden letters on the pages of the Indian history. The British misrule was evident everywhere with poverty, sickness and death. There atrocities and injustice were on the increase and when the people could bear it no more a revolution was born. In 1857, all Indian rose together and acknowledged war against British rule and the entire nation was charged with patriotism and thus, the first war of independence was

Ashu J (B) Academic Counselor, IGNOU Centre, Sri Aurobindo College, University of Delhi, Delhi, Delhi 110017, India e-mail: [email protected] Department of History, University of Delhi, Delhi, India Department of Education in Social Sciences, NCERT, Delhi, India

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_8

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born. The India National Congress (INC) was established in 1885, it was a well-lit political organisation uniting the rich and poor of all castes and religions intended on breaking the shuttle of slavery to free the Motherland. The workers and leaders of the Congress were manufacturing all the possible exertions to achieve freedom uniting people all over the country to hasten their struggle against British. A young zealot of Punjab jumped into the freedom play in 1888, this great patriotic freedom fighter was Lala Lajpat Rai, who came to be known as Punjab Kesari (The Lion of Punjab). At the age of 23, Lala Lajpat Rai took part in the Allahabad conference of the Congress; certain incidence and circumstance brought him under the influence of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and he joined Garam Dal (Hard Liners). He vehemently criticised Lord Curzon over the division of Bengal. Lajpat Rai organised rallies in and around the Punjab and spoke strongly against the British. Lala Lajpat Rai and Gopal Krishna Gokhale were sent to India by Congress in 1905 where they strongly opposed the partition of Bengal. Internal conflicts were growing within the Congress, finally 1907 saw the final spilt because of the diversity of viewpoints and British exploited this situation. The revolt against British was spreading all over India; people were demanding better political and economic rights. In Maharashtra, the rebellious articles of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Kesari and Maratha and inflammatory speech against the foreign rules were awaking the ignorant masses. By now Tilak had gained individual recognition throughout India, people trusted and respected him. During the plague and epidemic in Maharashtra, he visited the people and challenged policies of the British. He was jailed many times, Tilak knew it very well that the struggle for the independence would be won only with the full cooperation and dedication of each and every Indian because British rulers had become very tough and thus Tilak declared that, ‘freedom is my birth right and I will have it ’. Tilak accepted Indian and boycotted foreign rules and goods. He believed in attaining independence through the revolutionary concept of national education. The division of Bengal further inflamed the revolt and Tilak described these revolts as unfortunate and openly opposed the British policies. He organised Shivaji Jayanti and Ganesh festivals all over India and successfully united all the countrymen against the British and along with Annie Besant, he launched the Home Rule Movement.

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Revolt against the British rule was raging throughout the length and breadth of India, one young revolutionary of Bengal was popularly talked about, his name was Bipin Chandra Pal. Born to well to do Hindu family, Bipin Chandra Pal was charged with patriotism and social welfare from his student days. After taking part in the Congress convention of 1886, he got fully involved in the freedom struggle and because of the similarity of ideas he joined Garam Dal of Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai. India’s struggle for freedom took a very decisive turn due to the partition of Bengal. Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal got an opportunity to work together towards swadeshi and self-rule. Bipin Chandra Pal always fought for the rights and better wages for farmers and poor labourers. He was not only a freedom fighter but also a revolutionary writer, speaker and a dedicated social reformer. Through his weekly publication ‘New India’ and the daily newspaper, ‘Bande Mataram’, he propagated nationalism and indigenous patronage, opposed the British and explained to the people that freedom can only be attainted through bravery, sacrifices and self-help. He toured Bengal, Assam, United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) and South India where he preached his ideas of bravery, sacrifices and self-help. He re-joined the Congress in 1916 and busied himself with the home rule scheme of Tilak. The immortal sons of the Mother India Lal, Bal and Pal came from different States. Their mother tongue was different, but their aim was same namely freedom of Mother India which became a reality. It is sad indeed they did not live to see fruit of their labour. Today we are free and happy for this freedom and happiness, futhermore, we must live in a perfect harmony casting aside dogmas of caste, religion and language. This would be a stirring tribute to these dedicate freedom fighters. Nonetheless, this chapter will primarily focuses on sketching out some the important aspects of the Bipin Chandra Pal which others have not touched so far. The aim of this chapter is to provide a concise understanding of Pal’s ideology explicitly relating his very first concept of swaraj and nationalism. Apart from that, it also tries to put forth an improved depiction on his idea of passive resistance which ease the idea of freedom among inherent Indians. Moreover, an effort has also been made in this chapter to investigate the characteristic features of his contribution to the swadeshi movement. However, apart from looking into Pal’s idea towards free and independent India, an effort has been made to draw upon a sketch on his life which emphasise on his struggle

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and his family. Furthermore, about his sociological and philosophical ideas which connected to India’s freedom struggle for independence.

8.2

Life Sketch

Bipin Chandra Pal (1858–1932) was an eminent orator, politician and journalist. He was also one of the three famous patriots, known as the trilogy of Lal-Bal-Pal. The other two being Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Born in the wealthy Hindu family on 7 November 1858 at Poil village in the Sylhet district of present-day Bangladesh to Narayani Devi, he was a staunch radical in both public and private life and still remembered as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thought in India’. His father Ramchandra Pal was a small landowner and a scholar in Persian language. His father was a man of strong character, highly disciplinarian and was a firm believer of edicts of Chanakya. However, he treated Pal fondly till the age of five, subjected him to follow discipline for the next ten years and treated him as an equal and a friend when he became sixteen. His recalcitrant spirit exposed itself when he was reading in the Presidency College, while yet in his teens, but by joining the Brahmo Samaj tends to be a much of displeasure for his father. Such an approach of joining Brahmo Samaj discomforted his father and this association was the most unfortunate that led to his complete detachment from his father. Being not having any sort of conversation with his father for a long term, not only his father stopped remittance to him, but also disinherited him by a will. Pal struggled a lot during the initial phases of his life. He had to give up his studies to seek employment opportunities. With his father’s death Pal’s youth came to an erupt end. Near or far, rebel or reconciled, Bipin felt that he was always under the protection of his father. It was in the same year 1886, that he made his first appearance on the platform of the INC at the Madras Session. Bipin Chandra Pal was married twice, first in 1881 and second after the death of his first wife, in 1891. He had one son named Niranjan Pal who was the founder of Bombay Talkies. While talking about his education, he received his school education in Sylhet. Later, he went to the Presidency College for graduation but left in midway. He worked as the Headmaster of a high school for several years at different schools. Between 1890 and 1891, he served as a librarian and secretary for the Calcutta Public Library, West Bengal.

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Pal is well-known for his contribution to the freedom struggle of India. He was associated with INC and as a founder of Brahmo Samaj in 1886. During his work with INC, he played an important role in Congress as a member of INC. At the 1887 Madras Session of the Congress, Pal made a strong plea for repealing the Arms Act. These strong pleas at various sessions gradually made Pal the member of the trio which later popularly known as Lal, Bal and Pal. He wrote several important books, few of them includes: The Soul of India: A Constructive Study of Indian Thoughts and Ideals, R¯añg¯ım¯at¯a Victoria, Jail Journey, Indian Nationalism, Nationality and Empire: A Running Study of Some Current Indian Problems, Swaraj and the Present Situation, The Basis of Social Reform, etc. Moreover, he served as an Assistant Editor of ‘Bengali Public Opinion’ and as an Editor of the ‘Democrat’ and the ‘Independent’. His book, Jail Journey, was written when he was sentenced to jail for a period of six months for not putting forward the evidence that he possessed in the ‘Bande Mataram Sedition Case’ against Sri Aurobindo. Pal was remarkably well acquainted with literacy competency due to his extensive reading habit. He began his career as a school master and later as librarian in Public Library, Calcutta. From where he came in contact with Keshav Chandra Sen and others including B. K. Goswami, Shivnath Shastri, S. N. Banerjee are among others. During this time, he was inspired by the approach of Extremist patriotism of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sri Aurobindo. To pursue his studies in comparative theology, he travelled England in 1898. However, he could not complete the same and reached back to India in order to preach the idea of swadeshi movement by himself due to the differences in the viewpoint with other leaders of the movement. When the colonial government proclaimed their proposal of partition of Bengal in December 1903, Bipin Chandra Pal endured to be the one who erected the ground-breaking political philosophy of young Bengal and prospered in appropriating Madras or South India to that revolutionary credo. It is not thus, astonishing that early Tamil revolutionary nationalists like Chidambaram Pillai, Mahakavi Bharathi, Subramaniya Siva, V. V. S. Aiyar among others who came under the revolutionary incantation of Bipin Chandra Pal in the first decade of twentieth century. Being a journalist and editor of several journals and newspapers such as Democrat, Independent, etc., Pal used his profession in disseminating patriotic feeling along with social awareness among the youth. He revolted against the ill and evil practices of Hinduism through his own

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principle and attitude of ‘never say die’. He believed in equal opportunity and quality of life for both men and women in all spheres of life. Therefore, he joined Brahmo Samaj and also encouraged widow marriages and female education. The period which roofed his life from 1858 to 1932 was also a period of inordinate shift in the social, political and religious life where he was encircled by a large number of people and as Lord Ronaldshay mentioned about him as, “his pen played an inconsiderable part in the political and social ferments that have stirred the waters of Indian life” (Dundas, 2005). India lost Bipin Chandra PalPal, Bipin Chandra, one of its most ardent patriot on 20 May 1932. Being a highly sensitive person, Pal’s mind rapidly responded to the influences of the movements of his time. His contribution to the building up of the Indian nationalism had been freely acknowledged by all his contemporaries. For instance, Aurobindo Ghose regarded him as “one of the mightiest prophets of nationalism” and Binoy Kumar Sarkar regarding him as “the father of revolutionary thought in Bengal”. Nevertheless, Pal maintained an idea which not only remained in the dominion of religion but also in the sphere of politics of entitlement of the Indian prodigy to live its peculiar life which has to be recognised. He contended that the political philosophy of the Moderates was extraneous in charisma and spirit. At several levels as a writer, activist, thinker and politician, Pal played a very critical role in India’s struggle for freedom. As Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru said about him: “[He was] a great man who wrought on a high level on both devout and radical planes”.

8.3 British Rule, Economy, Culture and Patriotism The extreme poverty of the people paved way for the increase in the series of famines that resulted in low economy level in Indian economy during the second half of the nineteenth century. Pal termed his economic formulation as New Economics, which was not based on class consciousness or class-war. His focus was a mixed model of economy by fixing a minimum standard of living for both the poor and rich. Few will deny that the growth of industrialism in the West was directly responsible for the growth of poverty in India. It was later realised by the common masses that most of the better paid jobs were reserved for the Englishmen and noble, and it was one of the reasons of the decline in the Indian colonial economy. It led to the emergence of two trends between the

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traditional intelligentsia. First, those who maintained their aversion to modern ideas and second, those who supported British rule in order to maintain their traditionally dominant position in the society. It is significant that these two opposite trends emerged in different places of social and political ideas of Pal who belonged to the traditional cognoscenti. Pal once candidly confessed that he was a sincere well-wisher of the British government. However, Pal stood for a harmonious blend of modernity and tradition as well as suggested Sanskrit and Hindustani as compulsory subjects in Civil Service Examinations from the point of view of race-fusion and national integration. Like many educated Indians, Pal as a student of Presidency College imbibed a secular, rational, modern, democratic and nationalist political outlook. Rousseau, Paine, John Stuart Mill and W. S. Caine became his political guide. Whereas, Mazzini, Garibaldi became his political heroes. He felt the humiliation of foreign rule and developed the capacity to study the adverse effects of it. Pal wanted that Indian leaders must seriously think that whether the pursuit of modern European methods of industrial development would be conducive to country’s social well-being and moral uplift, or, whether by so doing. They would only be importing the problems of European industrialism and mistaking these as perfect solutions of the problem. Modern European industrialism meant the employment of machineries to produce commodities. Pal’s viewed that the most obvious thing to this European industrialism is that it has all through been seeking to produce commodity at the cost of the humanity of the labouring population. The solution is that India’s future lies not in the irrational attempts to imitate or emulate modern European industrialism, but rather put up a tough fight against it. The determining factors in the ‘New Economic Menace’ were the ample material and cheap labour. These two things (i.e., ample raw materials and cheap labour) tempted British capital to colonise India. Pal said that Indians could not possibly destroy their own raw materials, and so it was not possible to remove the first cause of this temptation. But Indians could very largely, if not wholly, remove the second temptation. Furthermore, he added that this could only be achieved by organising themselves into trade union bodies, collectively demand for relatively equal wages and same working hours as that of British labour. Bipin Chandra had definite views on the method of reinvestment. He advocated that the Indian citizens were taxed on their earnings, when the British capitalists amassed huge profits from their investments in India. In relations to this he emphasised that these excess profits through taxation

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must be used against the public exchequer. Therefore, the money generated could be utilised to improve sanitations, enough money to spend on the education of our people and enough money to help them to the fullest stature of their manhood. The keynote strategy that Pal formulated out of such alliance with British labour and the equalisation of wages as well as regularisation of excess profits was that it would have a far-reaching effect upon existing inter-national relations. It would also help to remove the most powerful cause of the existing racial conflict. Pal was of the opinion that the degradation of man degraded the ‘deity’ who resided in him. The bondage of man hurt the freedom of God. This was India’s philosophy of life, and whatever would contribute to the uplift of Indians was to be viewed as a sacred duty. Another magnificent idea visualised by Bipin Chandra Pal was the ‘Composite Culture’ and ‘Composite Patriotism’. Dr. Amales Tripathi observes that Bipin Chandra, being a member of the Brahmo Samaj , could not easily accept the philosophy of Hindu nationalism and coined a new term Composite Patriotism. Bipin Chandra’s concept of Composite Patriotism had a wide range of implications especially in a country like India where various cultures and religions moved together. A single community or religion if given a place of stewardship would hamper the healthy growth of nationalism. The only remedy lay in Composite Patriotism. Pal emphasised that the work of nation-building must be conducted not along one single line, but with the five great world cultures of the Hindus, Parsis, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians. Against the ‘Divide and Rule’ policy of the Britishers, Pal urged all sections of the society to remain vigilant and united. He wanted India to have a secured place among the nations of the world. Pal pointed out that one community should not try to superimpose its ideology upon the other. India must absorb the best characteristics of the different world cultures and combine those all into a new culture. Pal observed that this Composite Culture could help in the formation of a base for unity between the different communities. Communalism proved to be an important cause of the failure of the swadeshi movement. On communal problem, Bipin Chandra pinpointed: We hear the Hindu-Mohammedan problem….. In the days of my youth, we had no Hindu-Mohammedan problem in any part of India. Our religions were different, our social customs did not agree; but both the Hindus

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and the Mohammedans fully respected the conscientious scruples of the two communities. (Pal, 1922)

With his advocacy of Composite Patriotism, Bipin Chandra tried to bridge the gulf between the two major sections of the Indian society during the swadeshi age. Pal felt that both the Hindus and the Muslims should assist in the realisation of the national ideal without subjugating their own identity. Pal’s idea of Composite Patriotism could have been a possible alternative to the two-nation theory of the Muslim League. Subsequently, Pal was non-violent in this approach and he denounced revolutionary activities. He highlighted that ever since the discovery of the so-called bomb conspiracy in Calcutta in 1908, various means have been tried to stamp out this new form of criminal propaganda in the country, but practically with little or no success. Such conspiracies were inspired by Western revolutionary creed. He observed that the people cannot ignore the vital differences that exists between the social conditions and the national characters of Europe and India. The European anarchist is, mostly, a city-man or a city-woman. City life is more favourable to the formation of secret associations than village life. In the city no one cares to cultivate any intimate acquaintances with his or her neighbours. Hardly anyone consciously keep watch over one another’s movements or activities. Pal pointed out that in Indian villages everybody lived an open life. Everybody knew everything about his or her neighbours’ position and affairs and their thoughts and activities. In this respect, Indian rural life was different from whatever rural life was in England or America. In Pal’s view, the criminals found their way into revolutionary propaganda and activities. Mazzini had to face this problem in the Carbonari. No wonder he denounced the secret propaganda. The only solution to such a problem was the dispassionate study of this criminal propaganda. Pal emphasised on the increasing keenness of the struggle for existence and the consequent increase in the number of the educated or halfeducated unemployed in the country were mainly responsible for these criminal activities. In his opinion, this criminality was not merely due to hunger and poverty. Large percentage of them was boys and students. They had practically had no family burden. The increase in such political unrest had been given a fillip by the constant economic problems. Pal remarked on the situation as a menace offered by labour class and also due to the constrains of constant unemployment among people.

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8.4

Nationalism and Swaraj

Pal’s nationalist propaganda made the enemies of India’s freedom immensely uneasy. Henry Smith Williams mentions of him as “the chief purveyor of seditious ideas who promulgated the doctrine of swaraj or complete political independence” (Williams, 1904). India’s urge for independence was indeed necessary for the better governance. Pal also accepted an organic idea of the nation and he believed that the nation is not a product of a mechanical contract, while it is not an artificial agglomeration of separate individuals, but the unity can be the only source to get independence. Therefore, Pal also accepted the very first notion of sacrificing the self-interest or the individual interest against the unity of people. Pal vastly stood up for the champions of spiritual nationalism. However, he never pledged to the doctrine of mere acquisition of political rights, but his idea was a sort of having one family and one nation. He felt that country was witnessing a spiritual enlightenment and to regard it as either economic or political movements is to be misunderstood it all together (Pal, 1954: 206). For Pal nationalism was seen as a politics to a game of chess. Pal’s policy for nationalism was restricted within the brackets of two essentially known ideas. Firstly, the nationhood can be obtained through religion meaning the attitude of judging things from the perspective of life itself and secondly, emphasised only in cultivation of moral virtues. For Pal nationalism was defined to be as ‘the individuality of people’. He noted that the philosophy of nationalism in Europe was associated with the individualistic inspirations. For instance, like the case of French Revolution where Pal intended to spread an individualistic inspiration to native Indian. Therefore, he found higher philosophy of nationalism in Hindu polity and culture. This sometime understood as a single hand phenomenon to the caste structure but eventually Pal never bifurcated any sort of religious disciplines in his life. He treated all religion within one bracket, but he believed to a greater extent in Hindu polity and culture which could elevate human and identify them with the universe. It denotes that such kind of approach seems to have put him retrograde from the nationalist spirit on longer term. The worship of all Gods as the manifestation of nation was the message of the new nationalism. This is what even the colonial government was doing with respect to the colonial laws, where, the law was governed according to the Manusmr.iti for Hindu and Shar¯ıCah for Muslim community, where one can feel as a kind of milieu to the Pal’s ideas of nationalism. However, this

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concept of religious nationalism became prevalent because it appears to be a home-grown ideal and not as something derived from the alien culture of Europe. Soon after with the spread of spiritual movements, the nationalistic movement in India appeared as a spiritual movement and it was claimed that the fundamental concept of the Ved¯ anta philosophy—that is, the unity of all life—was the world idea of new Indian nation. However, Bipin Chandra Pal planned to utilise this enthusiasm of the ‘mother worshippers’ and the idealism of the neo-Ved¯ antism for the services of the new religion of nationalism. This spirit of nationalism was forbidding the Islam in India and the unity of common culture in India was totally controlled by the new situation prevailing in the Hindu philosophy. Therefore, Pal highlighted that: The need of the situation was the formation of the cultural alliances; and the new cultural evolution in India commenced now to follow this line. The problem was no longer a problem of assimilation of similars, but the more complex and different problems of alliance between dissimilars. (Pal, 1922)

The spirit of nationalism led to the emergence of new ethical dimension that altered the unity between Hindu and Muslim community. Both the community became creditors and debtors of each other that facilitated in the emergence of new nationhood in India. This emergence of new dimension resulted in the structural changes in the old foundation of religious and cultural unity along with old federal ideas into a broadened form of new socio-cultural and political unity. As stated by Pal, “distinctive Indian culture, which is at once larger than Hindu or Islam or Christian culture” (Pal, 1924). However, Pal never forgets to express his world idea at the platform when he spoke about nationalism and nation-state. To him, nationhood appeared as the cradle of international brotherhood. Thus, he became one of the enthusiastic participants in ‘The International Congress of Brotherhood’ held at London in September 1919, with the delegates from France, Britain, Canada, USA and other countries. He also arranged similar kind of conference in India along with Rabindranath Tagore, however, Tagore was not able to join the conference dur to illness. Bipin Chandra Pal was very much influenced by Fichte and Hegel model of nationalism. These Fichtean-Hegelian physiognomies of nation

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were considerable noticeable firmly in the writings of Pal. He considered himself as national and a nationalist. Abiding force of his idea of nationalism, Pal believed in universal fellowship and mankind. However, his imagination of Indian nationhood was still far from realisation. One of the key elements of his nationalism was the preferment of inter-national concord and goodwill, since included under Article 51 of our Constitution. But, the Indian nationhood of his imagination is still far more realisation. This meant that, he wanted to make all obligatory for us to hardback to what he said about amalgamated character of Indian nationalism. It is witnessed from his numerous writings that he valued national integration or national consolidation in enhancing the national life. In fact, even in the contemporary period, our thinking enables us to comprehend much of the evasions which are passing under the name of nationalism. He alleged that the new political movement that was taking silhouette at the commencement of the twentieth century was the consequence of the government’s policy. People began to mislay confidence in the philosophy of the benevolent and providential atmosphere of British rule, because they found that the government had not satisfied many of its aptitudes. The typical sensible methods of protest such as prayers, petitions and protests through papers never benefit anyone at all. This disbelief was further heightened by the partition of Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon, in the teeth of people’s antagonism. The speech ‘New Movement’ was an all-inclusivly the survey of this varying political scene and its significances. He pointed out that the loss of conviction in the foreign government and its supervision gave place to the faith in the ‘Genius of the Nation’, ‘in God’ and in ‘the Eternal Destiny of the Indian people’ (Pal, 1954: 137). Therefore, this new movement was not merely political or economic but also spiritual in character (Pal, 1954: 137). Pal wanted to adapt Mazzini’s new concept of nationalism to the distinctive social setting, coined in Indian institutions, crystallised in traditions and supported by sanctified authorities. He always emphasised on the composite basis of nationalism which is peculiar to India. He pointed out that there was always a cultural oneness and unity in India. This soul or personality of India had been flowing since eternity through the various minor and subordinate Indian cultures pursued by different denominations. Historical epochs characterised by conflicts with other social or national groups, led frequently to new combinations with the advent of Islam in India. The unity of common culture in India, which was

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Hindu, faced a new situation. The need of the situation was the formation of a cultural alliance. The problem was no longer a problem of cultural assimilation of similars, but the complex and different problem of alliance between dissimilars. In the new national evolution in India, the old foundations of religious or religio-cultural unity were broadened into those of a socio-cultural and politico-cultural unity. The budding composite nationalism received a deeper meaning and a larger application in this process when a new dimension of ethnic unity took shape. This continuous process of permutation and combination of various cultures took Christianity also in its stride and gave birth to a distinctive Indian culture which is at once larger than Hindu or Islam or Christian culture. Bipin Chandra Pal rightly pointed out that many Europeans often failed to understand the real character of Indian nationalism. His concept of nationalism was considerably influenced by Fichte, Hegel and Mazzini. Both Aurobindo and Bipin Chandra Pal were champions of a revitalised, resurrected new India. But the Fichtean-Hegelian characterisation of the nation is, however, elucidated far more in the writings of Aurobindo than of Bipin Chandra Pal. Bipin Chandra was convinced that true nationalism should converge on internationalism. Proud as he was to consider himself a nationalist, he believed that nationalism should be radiated by the highest consideration of mankind and universal fellowship. Lord Ronaldshay was right to observe that: … a man need not be a politician to be a Nationalist in the sense in which the word is defined by Mr B. C. Pal and the nationalism of a man who is not a politician is a thing of greater significance than that of the man who is… (Ronaldshay, 1925)

The simmering discontent of the elite classes due to the non-fulfilment of their aspirations, together with the unsympathetic attitude of the authorities towards the people and finally the economic drain, brought about a complete change in the attitude of the people towards the British government. The culmination of these forces gave rise to the Extremist challenge in nationalist politics. Pal denounced the personality cult. He warned the people that they would realise one day that their dreaming and talking would be entirely different. Having discarded the personality cult, Pal maintained;

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Sell all thou hast and follow me is the new cult. I regret my inability to accept pontifical authority in politics after I have discarded it in religion. If this be the new gospel of swaraj , I am afraid, some people will find it difficult, if not impossible, to agree with those who proclaim or accept this gospel. I for one have no option but to part company with them. Conscience demands this practical protest against a tendency which I believe to be fatal to our future. (Pal, 1922)

Bipin Chandra Pal was a Moderate leader during the early phase of his political career. Moderate leaders usually believed in a step-by-step approach towards attaining freedom rather than immediate fulfilment of this goal. They also believed that India should have a self-government and become democratic. Pal’s attitude towards the British Raj was evident from his speech at the Madras Congress of 1887, where he said: …. I utter the barest truth when I say that I am loyal to the British government. It is not the language of dissimulation. I hate dissimulation. It is not the language of false diplomacy. I hate that diplomacy which is not based on truth. (Pal, 1907)

Furthermore, Pal asserted that his loyalty towards the British government was identical with loyalty towards his own people and his own country. This attitude of Pal continued till the partition of Bengal. The way the sentiments of the people of Bengal were brushed aside, by Curzon’s partition of Bengal, made Bipin Chandra an ardent Extremist. Bipin Chandra Pal believed that swaraj was the ultimate goal of nationalist. The word ‘swaraj’ was itself taken from early Vedic tradition, which was not merely a political idea but it was a moral impression, wherein the individual having realised his identity as universal, not only free from all oppression but also to establish a perfect supremacy with all else in the world. The goal of this new movement was, according to him, swaraj , and in his speeches the ‘Gospel of Swaraj ’ and ‘Swaraj: Its Ways and Means ’, he explained at length that swaraj meant the right of selftaxation, the right of financial control and the right of the people to impose protective and prohibitive tariffs on foreign imports (Pal, 1954: 163). The means to achieve this goal were passive resistance and selfreliance, both followed within the limits of the law. According to him, passive resistance was not an inactive but non-aggressive resistance (Pal, 1954: 216). Swaraj, as Pal elucidated, was not based on the Western perception of man in the political community of merely freedom. The

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ends of the Indian State were noticeably different for the reason that they were associated to the Indian theory of right ordering. Therefore, unified widespread action suitably led into proper channels and brings about swaraj . However, it was deliberately uneasy to identify the concept of swaraj because of its nature, therefore, making it a complex term to understand and categorisation of terms, whether swaraj is merely an idea of moderation or madness. The sarcasm of the circumstances was that neither the thoughtful Englishmen, nor our older political leaders did care to go deep into the significance of the idea of swaraj introduced by Pal in our political dominion. Pal and his school of thought could only aggravate uncharitable observations from both these digs. Pal sustained to hold upward his fundamental philosophies even in the face of all these hindrances. These psycho-political hitches have comportment on the choice of the President of the Congress Session in 1906 held at Calcutta. At this movement, the question regarding the next President of the Congress was under dilemma between Tialk and Dadabhai Naoroji. It was not unforeseen of Pal who like to see Tilak governing over the sessions. For him, it was Tilak with whom he had distinctiveness of views and who in ensuing days revealed in Pal an allied personality. But he never demurred to Dadabhai Naoroji being designated for the Presidentship, for he constantly held Naoroji in the highest reverence. Pal over susceptible Dadabhai, “with unpleasant consequences in case he accepted the Presidentship” (Deogirikar, 1964: 117) is a height of irrationality. Pal was not once used to espouse undemocratic strategies to contest his political adversaries. He did not have any consociate with Tilak till the middle of 1906. Though both Tilak and Pal had different sets of political approaches for several years, Despite of that the position of Dadabhai in the affair is thus recorded by Pal himself as: Dadabhai, though in full intellectual sympathy with the propaganda of the new party, was rather anxious about what the authorities might do to fight this openly defiant policy. About the middle of the year he wrote to me to say that while he fully agreed with our views, he felt it would be wise to keep on the old cover of what we called mendicancy, because if we went in for a propaganda of pure and powerful self-help and self-reliance and condemned the older methods of prayers and petitions, he was afraid that the government might find some excuse or other to put it down by

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force. Knowing his private opinions, we had no reason to fear any open opposition from Dadabhai. (Recollections of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1924)

In September 1905, Pal penned in his paper that, supporting Shyamaji Krishna Varma’s ideas of India’s political freedom on Irish-model, entirely free from British control (Shyamaji Krishna Varma’s Letter, 1909). From this point of view, the idea of dogmatic freedom was patently different from that of Dadabhai Naoroji who had earlier pleaded in 1904 for “self-government like that of the colonies under British paramountcy” (Masani, 1939: 139). When Dadabhai declared, “self-government or swaraj like that of the United Kingdom or the Colonies” in 1906 at Calcutta Congress Session (INC, 1906: 26). As a tenacious devotee in Free India, Pal came frontward to troupe the die in his own temperament. Illustration may be cited from his Madras speeches, which are the most demonstrative appearance of his thought during the period. In those speeches, among other things, he made obstinate efforts to clarify his idea of the political characteristic of swaraj. He contended in contradiction of the colonial form of self-government, as it was then prevailing, on three grounds. First, England would not extravagance corresponding with a non-white country such as India as it would do with white countries like Australia, Canada and other white colonies. Second, surplus populations were being sent from England to the colonies, which were mainly for their shared economic curiosity and mistreatments and also for solidification of white-race suzerainty over rest of the world. While, India was not party of this type of migration of people due to its status as non-white country according to such system. Third, adversely for India’s curiosity, England would request the rheostat of the pucker of the nation. Considering the idea of self-government formulated by the British was ideal for the people of India, however, such efforts made by the government were not fulfilling the demands of the native people. Therefore, it was neither a practical scheme, nor was self-government within the Empire upto nationalist ambitions as it would mean British over-lordship in India modifiable, steering the heart and audacity of Indian political life. According to Pal, the only rational construal of Dadabhai’s exclamation was, therefore, a free Indian State like that of a free United Kingdom. Pal thus pinpointed that, “A Free India could become an ally of Britain, but not a partner in Empire” (Pal, 1907: 54). In addition to the exciting forcefulness of his dialogues, it was essentially his idea of swaraj , virtually scheming a sovereign independent which

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elevated restlessness in the old school of our frontrunner and an exaggerated uproar among the British officialdom. The Times, London concerned Pal’s Madras speech as one of the most solemn happen stances to the British spot in India since he was “the brightest and most persuasive of the chiefs” of the new nationalist movement and jagged out that his actions called for “the grave deliberation of thoughtful Englishmen” (The Times, London). Bipin Chandra Pal has no demurral towards self-government of colonial type. If some of its flaws, conspicuously the feature of white-race bias, could be tarnished out a rational extent and India was treated as an equal companion in the British Empire, he would find a demurral to admit it as correspondent to his idea of swaraj or Independence. What Pal was concerned about political liberties and freedom of the Indian people. The ultimate deliberation was to look for the possible ways to safeguard this entity, be that colonial self-government, independence or an equal partnership with the British Empire. Thus, for Pal the difference between the so-called Extremists and Moderates was significantly one of repartee and nor of grain.

8.5

The Concept of Passive Resistance

For Bipin Chandra Pal, passive resistance means: An abiding force that shall keep ourselves within the bounds of law in asserting the will of the nation against the great political wrong — why political — against the great wrong economically, politically, morally and even spiritually that the domination of one people over another universally inflicts. (Pal, 1907: 87)

Like Tilak, Pal also encouraged a policy of passive resistance and not the adoption of violent means. For a while it seems to be as equal to that of non-violence ideology of Gandhi, but it was a kind of resistance to boost disarmed and disorganised condition of the people any violent rising could easily be checked and controlled by the government. Pal believed in the efficacy of the method of passive resistance, where, he noted that; “if we may not oppose physical force of passive resistance, we may yet make the administration in India absolutely impossible by simply tasking our hands off the machine of the State” (Chakrabarty, 2009: 145). The main idea and focus of Pal were to not cooperate with the government which will serve as the basic theory, like Aurobindo and Talik, because of

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the fact that existence of the government depended increasingly on the cooperation of the people. Therefore, it felt necessary that through this kind of passive resistance the government would cease to work or to exist the very first day when people start withdrawing their utmost cooperation from the activities of the government itself. This led to another pertinent issue about their helplessness and to extend people should withdrawing their cooperation from the activities of the government. Pal tactically accomplished to elucidate it by the fact that people were the spell of this misapprehension which prohibited them from distinguishing the realism of the Indian scenario. The people had been hypnotised to believe that in spite of their numbers, they were weak, and their rulers were robust, that they were inept to succeed their own concerns and were uncivilised. They were led into the credence that Englishmen are in India on a task to civilising the Indians and to train them in the art of Western autonomous self-government. It was concealed from them that Englishmen are on their assignment of manipulation. This eventually facilitated Indian to develop a sense of faith in the liberal instincts of the British people that they came to look upon the British rulers as more than human and little less, if less at all, than God. Pal beseeched for the constraint over the functions of the government and he encouraged a policy of laissez-faire. This policy was a vital part of the substantial theory of freedom and Pal reasoned that the Indian Moderates, who appealed to be the liberals, were not accurately so, for the reason that disparate most liberals of the Western countries, they not only whispered in laissez-faire but in its place sought to upsurge the controls and functions of the State. In 1907, Pal also articulated that Curzon was a healthier Viceroy for India than Ripon. However, his cognitive was that while Ripon gratified educated Indians with political concerns, Curzon, by his detested policies had been clever to eradicate the delusion of the aids of a foreign rule and through them so disgruntled that they necessitated self-government with greater fortitude than before. Like that of Tilak and Aurobindo, Pal apprehended that the illiberal policy of the government was accountable for the ‘rank and harmful fruit of terrorism’. He criticised the dogma of the administration as well as the devices of terrorists. The study of Pal’s idea of boycott or passive resistance indicates nonentity in it that should have confounded anybody. But he anticipated a boycott to be guided by the uppermost social and moral responsibilities,

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whose superlative concerned should always to protect or advanced social well-being. In order to facilitate this notion of protecting well-being, he himself came forward to set an example, when in 1907 he refuses to give evidence or take the oath in the court in the case of prosecution of Sri Aurobindo as the editor of ‘Bande Mataram’. This kind of examples helped in providing a better understanding of how the passive resistance world was and this kind was inimical to social well-being came fruitful for the preservation of peace and order and impaired that the very eternity of legislation, which is for all intent, a moral authority. However, due to this incident, he was jailed for six months where he wrote the ‘Jail Journey’. Nevertheless, his spirit for the swadeshi movement never came to an end. Soon after, ‘Sandhya’, a Bengali newspaper, could not understand the real meaning of Pal’s stand but pigeonholed it as a bold defiance of the “Feringhis”, though it rightly called him “a genius priest of the boycott” (Report on Native Paper in Bengal, 1907: 873). Doctrine of passive resistance organised the spiritual and moral forces of the people in order to bring a pressure of the popular will to bear upon the administration of the country, thereby, to gradually workout a predominant Constitution within the government. It was no doubt a skirmish between the government and the people, but a meditation between a civic government and a civic people. However, the situation of the passive resistance was that the government counterattack the grieves of the people lawfully. They also made them suffer for the persistence of what was considered to be a public good. Even in the exercise of autocratic authority, the primary rights of the people upon which all governments are formed and from which all State Constitutions descend their fundamental occupations. Those were not implemented and people were deprived of such benefits. In fact, such kind of government and Constitutions were never formed. Pal understood that people will be hindered with swadeshi movement, henceforth, in order to get the people being unhindered from the swadeshi movement in the sectors including economic, industrial and educational, Pal desired the government to implement policy of laissezfaire. Not in the least thereby he did not anticipate a free hand of the capitalist to exploit and to make profit, for, much prior then many of the leaders, he deliberately asked Congress to cartel the force of labour as in contradiction of the capitalist. As we all know, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Similarly, there was a limitation to this movement as well where people cannot be anticipated to withhold for

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withdrawal their claim upon the government for the need of liberalising of their economic or to provide their diverse amenities. It is surely too much to expect of popular resistance to hold on to peaceful and moral passive resistance against marshal injustice. But, as Pal himself judiciously summed up during the concluding years of his life: The problem before us then was pre-eminently psychological problem. People then were completely under the hypnotic spell which the British government had casted over them. They looked up to governments for everything that they wanted. There were no initiatives, no self-confidence, no national consciousness in them. The problem then was how to change this soul-killing mentality to break this fatal hypnotic spell. Our new nationalism proclaimed, therefore, the gospel of absolute self-reliance and self-help. (Pal, 1926)

8.6

Socialism, Philosophies and the Idea of Empire

Pal divided his philosophies broadly into two categories, namely historical philosophy and political philosophy. As a political philosopher, Pal recognised divine fortitude in history. While on the other hand, Pal also verbalised the stimulated anxiety of the so-called divine democracy as his political philosophy. For him, there inclines to be gigantic differences and similarity in both the philosophies, where, historical philosophy was a kind of total in the regulative idea, on contrary, he viewed the strategical work of Chaitanya as one of the proponents of the political philosophy. Pal believed that there is an intrinsic meaning and superlative persistence in history. At the same time, his political philosophy encompassed the theory of divine democracy has its origin in the Ved¯ antic perception of unity of presence. Fascinatingly, we can see that Pal was very much influenced with the notion of both history and politics, therefore, his philosophies revolved largely within the walls of history further creating a sphere for political thought within the history itself. Notwithstanding, Pal’s recognition was of a United State of India and this consciousness for his can be attained through the historical and political theory i.e. the divine democracy, where he said: The ideal of Swaraj that has revealed itself to us is the ideal of divine democracy. It is the ideal of democracy higher than the fighting, the

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pushing, the materialistic, I was going to say, the cruel democracies of Europe and America. There is a higher message still. Men are Gods; and the equality of the Indian democracy is the equality of the divine possibilities and the divine destiny of every individual being, be he a Hindu or Mohammedan, Buddhist or Christian. It is on account of this general training of the Indian people in the past, whether they be Hindu or Mohammedan, it is on account of this spiritual emphasis of the Hindu character and the generality also of the Indian character that we have had the supreme privilege of seeing before us the revelation of a democratic ideal, superior to that which has as yet been revealed to the general consciousness of European humanity. (Pal, 1925: 95–96)

For his understanding of Darwinian evolutionism, Spencerian agnosticism and Human scepticism, Pal was very much understood as to how to prophet of Vedic and Pur¯ an.ic dogma that history is the turf of inhabitation (Isha Vasyam) or playground (Lila) of the divine being. In his book, ‘The Soul of India: a Constructive Study of Indian Thoughts and Ideals’, he declared, Krishna to be as the soul of India. For him, Krishna was meant to the history and fruition. Pal renounced the medieval propensity to non-concrete the ideal from the real, the spiritual from the material and the individual from his environment. He was in favour of pushing equal accent on the unbiased and along with the idiosyncratic and universal. As a political thinker, Pal disparaged Leo Tolstoy in an article entitled ‘Civic Freedom and Individual Perfection’, published on 22 April 1905 in ‘Swadeshi and Swaraj ’. He spoke in contradiction of the individualistic ideas of Tolstoy as the latter tended to regard the individual as ethically independent of the social and civic institutions of his country. Pal reflected in his view to the old social and political philosophy of India as, “rendering to which the individual attained execution not through the annulment of civic and social commitments but through voluntary and blissful realisation of his duties to the society” (Pal, 2002: 27). In 1911, Pal also formulated the notion of ‘Imperial Federation’, where he alleged that this federation imperialism in India would indulge as an unrestricted and equal companion and not as a dependent. Pal has a strong sensitive add on to the perception of federation. Pal had a stout emotive attachment to the idea of federation. He thought that the Hindu religion had been a federation of countless religions. It was India’s pre-arranged role in the economy of world political fruition “to lead humanity into this universal federation” (Pal, 2002: 115). He also beseeched for eliminating the persuasion that Indian nationalism and

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British imperialism are resistant. Therefore, we can see a slow but marvellous variation in the political ideas of Pal. He was also predictable about the restrictions of the prevailing imperial systems but he was an enthusiast of the perception of ever-increasing amalgamation constructed on an organic and hefty formulary of social connotation. The edification of a federal Empire would be the prolong to this universal humanity. Due to multiple reasons like the rejuvenescence of China, the development of Japan as a contestant for world supremacy and the rise of Pan-Islamism modelled new perils for India, Pal discouraged the Imperial Federation. Pal contested to demonstration that, “there was no illogicality flanked by his earlier extreme nationalism and the innovative theory of imperial federation. In the first stage, it was indispensable to reinforce the underpinning of the nation, in the second; the pressure had to be rested on settlement and amalgamation” (Roy, 1971: 199–200). What Pal, as one of the innovators of our nationalist crusade, assumed about the dogma of socialism, which is now so much trembling our political environment, makes captivating reading. At the time of his stay in England during 1909, he wrote to Karmayogin from London. Socialism represents the protest of European democracy against the existing economic arrangements of European society. It became an urge for a more equitable distribution of economic privileges than what obtains at contemporary period. Contesting is the base of the existing economic structure in Europe, and individualism is the essential philosophy of this competitive economic provision. In this sense and to this extent only, socialism emphasises on a response against the extreme individualistic philosophy of the French elucidation. To a greater extent anti-individualistic and socialism were no longer was synonym for nationalism during this period. Socialism is an apprehension of the limitations of individualism in one department of life only, namely the economic. Nationalism recognises these limitations in every section of life. Socialism is a concept in economics, nationalism is a fact in sociology and it is a hither generalisation. He was apparently inclined towards socialism, however, deprived of being a socialist. He saw nationalism as a complex ideal in comparison with socialism. For him, nationalism was more like economic in nature, whereas socialism as solitary with one facet of life. He thought that problem pertaining to equal circulation of wealth, curbing of monopolistic tendencies, a high standard of social sanctuary can only be unravelled using socialist economics. He wrote in his ‘The New Economic Menace to India’, screening the catastrophe of capitalism was, in fact, an

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artefact of his intimate connection with British socialist ideology. Pal went deeper into the theory and practice of socialism where he eventually faced stumbling-blocks. He said: The central demand of socialism has been that neither land nor ‘works’, by which is meant large organisation for national industries, should be owned by private profiteers, but should be claimed for the nation by the State which represents the life and authority of the totality of a people. (Pal, 1920: 115)

He noticed that during the First World War, British liberal politicians were using socialist policy of State-control of industrial undertaking in India for the endurance of capitalist interests (Pal, 1920: 118–119). It was a bizarre assortment of socialism of which his instantaneous dint was that “State socialism was absolutely fatal to the evolution of real democracy under a despotic administration” (Pal, 1927). Steadily he came to understand that State socialism tends to mean a single-hold of the State on which the complete economy and addiction of the people on the State for their living and cannot be advantageous for society. State Socialism, he said: has for nearly a century past been the cry of modern democratic politics in matters of the larger State-life of every people …The inevitable result of State socialism is to weaken and gradually destroy individual initiative in regard to the affairs of a people. (Municipal, 1928: 11)

Pal assumed, capitalism must be followed by socialistic philosophy of life and this must in its own turn pave way to the communistic menace. He was equipped to facilitate the helpfulness of collectivism, as discoursed by socialist dogma, which seemed to him a lucid method to treat economic disparities and to embrace capitalistic manipulations and returns. But the delinquent, as he saw it, was that extreme commending of socialism may valour in the long run in making the stage for a communist take-over in Indian politics. He, therefore, was putative towards socialism with reserved seat and desired to confine it to the peripheral level of economic rebuilding. Even then, he favoured socialism of the Fabian type, which attracted to him because of its knowledgeable and liberal tactic. In the larger cluster of socialists, by which he meant left annexed British labour, he found; “little difference between … Socialism and popular Communism. Both are hunger-born and envy-driven. They cannot appeal to the

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intellect, the conscience and much less to the real social idealism of the cultured man” (Pal, 1931a). In the decisive scrutiny, Pal did not deliberate socialism a very privileged canon, as its shortcomings overshadowed its virtues. So, he went on to say: The socialist movement has not as yet sound a principle or formula of reconciliation between the conflicting interests of capital and labour. Neither capital nor labour can in themselves find this principle or formula. Reconciliation between conflicting interests can only be found in some higher plane of life, wherein both stands as organs or instruments of the self-fulfilment of it. Both capital and labour are instruments and organs of the economic self-fulfilment of every country or nation. What the situation demands is a higher synthesis which will find a rational basis of honest and honourable cooperation between both, not only in their own interests, but equally in the interest of society, of which both the labourer and the capitalist are limbs and organs. The country represents this society, and the first step towards a settlement of the new class war in Europe, and indeed all the world over, is to acclaim the rights of the country or the nation as absolutely superior to the rights of particular groups or parties, representing particular interests. (Pal, 1931b)

Pal’s main intension was to rise above socialism, he searched for even more rational and humanistic political philosophy and his conquest for the same came back to his unique idea of social order and supposed that a higher amalgamation could be stretched through the spirit of nationalism. However, his idea was criticised by several contemporary political thinkers. But this was well-thought-out to a merely as a product of response and protest of the nineteenth century where socialism extremely confronted by more enhanced and alternate political ideas. What Pal concluded to be the lucid way after going over a protracted hodgepodge of the socialist line of thinking? Nonetheless, Pal’s concern was the upliftment of the common working class. He wanted to redraw the whole concept of economic structure “which must be able to provide healthy food in sufficient quantity for every man, woman and child in India… The instrument and methods of production must be so constructed and regulated that every worker shall have ample leisure for the cultivation of the intellect, the understanding and the aesthetic facilities” (Pal, 1909).

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Role in Swadeshi Movement

Together with his steel pen and trumpet voice, Pal went deep into the swadeshi movement as well as freedom struggle and became a symbol of patriotism. Bipin Chandra rightly realised that a change was required in the methods that had been adopted in the mass upsurge during the swadeshi period. He observed: The conflict of opinions and ideals between the governing body and the governed, and the clash of interests between the members of the ruling race and the children of the soil…. have become most serious and acute today. The natural self-assertiveness of the educated classes and the repressive tendencies of modern British imperialism have worked together to kill the old idealism of the British administrators in India….. (Pal, 1910)

The policy of prayers, petitions and protests needed to be replaced with bold assertiveness. Bipin Chandra voiced that the people of India required immediate reforms in the existing rules. The reforms meant the renouncement of the right of the foreign despotism to establish the rule of law. He felt that unless self-government was granted to the people, the British government would not be able to administer their own affairs. Furthermore, Bipin Chandra was a herald of Composite Culture in national life. He cautioned the Hindus by telling them that they should not forget that the failure to understand the natural differences of various views might hit the very root of the spirit of Hindu culture. The fundamental unity underlined all forms of diversities and differences in Hinduism. Bipin Chandra furnished a comparative analysis of Hindu culture and European philosophy of nationalism. Citing Mazzini’s definition of nationality as the individuality of a people, he pointed out that the Hindu idea would prefer to call nationality as the personality of a people and thereby presented an ideal of nationality much superior to the popular European view. Furthermore, Pal pointed out that giving undue importance to individuality would lead to economic competition, enfeeble the spirit of cooperation in the community and set up the doctrine of the survival of the fittest. It would mean in the long run a serious menace to the society. This conceit of individualism accentuated the survival theory as the predominating principle of the evolution of the human society. In his view, the Hindu culture would never give a supporting attitude towards individualism, which European culture propagated.

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Pal believed Hindu culture would not allow individualism to be its keynote. However, there could be a possibility of a magnificent growth of ‘Super Social State’, in which the individual was free from any social obligation. It would have the fullest possible scope and freedom to live and grow as a law unto himself. To quote Bipin Chandra: I would, therefore, describe nationality rather as the personality of a people than, following Mazzini’s lead, define it as their individuality. The real value of the ideal of nationality offered a much larger and broader formula of human association than any idea of tribe or race. (Pal, 1910)

Bipin Chandra maintained that swaraj was a gift of India’s ancient philosophical and theological literature. In Upanis.hads , the individual self stands in conscious union with the Universal or the Supreme Self. When the self sees and knows whatever is as its own self, it attains swaraj; so says the ‘Chandogya Upanis.had’. This state of swaraj was attained, we read in the Ved¯ as , by the sage Bamadewa. The philosophy of nationalism was thus visualised by India’s ancient seers. Humanity and Divinity were indeed one, and that word ‘Narayana’ indicated both the divinity and the individual human being. Bipin Chandra Pal visualised a large arena of human relationships. He indicated that the course of modern historic evolution unmistakably seemed to be pointing to such a higher category from nationalism to internationalism and it was evident in the growing cry of the history and culture of the twentieth century. In his opinion, modern imperialism significantly contributed to the evolution of the modern colonial policy. The new type of Empire was not autocratic, like the old type, but essentially democratic. Bipin Chandra reiterated that whatever view one might hold in politics or religion, all mankind should together be united. He foresaw a powerful Indian nation entering, and on terms of perfect equality with others, the federation of modern humanity. He was of the view that nationalism should be essentially Indian, and should have perfect command over the past achievements, and at the same time, it would have an eye upon the future. The ‘swadeshi movement’ in Bengal prefigured a new age in the history of India. Swadeshi was branded as one of the chief arrangements of partisanship and ‘swadeshism’ which eventually converted as a structure of New India. It was a forcefully spiritual movement and designed at the deliverance of India in every sense and for every Indian. With ardent nationwide

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demands for the embargo of British goods, administration, schools and courts derived to a be rousing pleas for implementation of swadeshi in all domains of life, home-grown productions, national edification, language, literature and most importantly swaraj or political freedom grow into the life and breath of the nation. The swadeshi movement was neither a political movement nor an economic movement, but it was a movement for entire manumission of every Indian in all strides of life ranging from political, economic, social, cultural and even spiritual. Interestingly, nation never cried for the notion of ‘Bande Mataram’ all the way in that milieu and in that fitting together and terrified itself into the swadeshi movement with such agitated energy, impulsiveness, passion and energetic eagerness if that crusade had not incorporated all aspects of national life. For every sense of the world, this was a movement of ‘Total Revolution’, the kind of unrest which Jayaprakash Narayan sought to engender after the nuisance of substitute of Indira Gandhi in 1975. ‘Bande Mataram’ became a slogan which was on the lips of each and every revolutionary and freedom fighter after the partition of Bengal. ‘Swadeshi’, ‘British Boycott ’ and ‘Bande Mataram’ all these slogans developed to be vital, dynamic and vivacious inter-changeable mottos for all freedom fighters in India at that time. During the swadeshi days, he was an enthusiastic clairvoyant of Indian nationalism. With the other two members, Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak from the Lal-Bal-Pal team, Bipin Chandra Pal shared out a number of Extremist plans like sweltering Western clothes, boycotting goods made by the British and lockouts in the British owned productions and industrial anxieties to get the memorandum across to the foreign rulers of India. Pal was one of the three famous leaders called Lal-Bal-Pal who comprised the Extremist wing of the INC. It was these three leaders who started the first popular assault against British colonial policies in the 1905 partition of Bengal. Before entering of Mahatma Gandhi into the fray of Indian politics, Bipin Chandra Pal realised the optimistic upshot of the British Kingdom but at the same time uphill India’s federal values. Furthermore, Bipin Chandra Pal became a priest of a vigorous new patriotic mawkishness during the swadeshi days. Pal’s inspiration for freedom arises universally from a sense of bandage. He emphasised on the self-held and self-reliance which later became the spirit of swadeshi movement. He especially boycotted not only British made goods but also the services and spread a new spirit which eventually demanded new methods of agitating the old orders must change yielding place to the

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new. According to the Pal, for him the new method was the passive resistance which eventually meant an unorganised willpower to refuse and to render any intended and honorary service to the government. This method was intended to boycott all types of British trade and commerce and this sense further paved way for self-governance and self-reliance which ultimately altered the mind of public for a strong sense of aversion to all official connection and a way of opening Indian-owned industries, commercial and education sector to emerge out of it. Swadeshi movement also served as an encouragement of indigenous products and by buying these in preference to foreign products given at a sacrifice became an organic pledging part of this new boycott crusades. He was the first person to open up reprimanded Gandhi and his followers because they were sought to reinstate the current government with no government or by the priestly tyranny of Gandhi. However, it was when his alliance with Pan-Islamism during the Khilafat movement that he was cast off from the INC till his death in 1932. This new spirit of swadeshi movement demanded a new mode which eventually fostered an absolute mental detachment from the foreign government and eventually required: (a) the conception in the public mind about the stout sense of loathing to all official assembly; and (b) the foundation of innumerable ways and means in our own commercial, educational, industrial and social life and to discover the virtues of the people against which they were confronting the government. Thus, swadeshi movement became a sort of reassurance of indigenous product by buying these in penchant to foreign goods event at a detriment, led to an organic complement of this new boycott crusade. In 1906, Pal explained his idea of boycott in a speech delivered to general public: You will have observed the word ‘boycott’ is attached to the word ‘movement’. The word ‘boycott’ is left severely alone and the only qualification which the authors of this Resolution have attached to the word ‘boycott’ is that it shall move from point to point, move from city to city, move from division to division, move…from province to province. You will see that the omission of British goods in relation to boycott was intentional. As a statement of fact, it was necessary, because in Bengal we have not only tried to boycott British goods, but also…all honorary association with the government also. That is meaning of boycott which will move from point to point until God knows where. I originally opposed the introduction of the term ‘boycott’ in our politics and political life, but in the course…we found… that the thing was exceedingly useful not only economically but politically

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as well…I ask you in the name of God, in the name of your nation, in the name of the future emancipation and realisation of the highest destinies of your people to lend your support to this movement…until the whole of India is ablaze, not with the fire that ruins and kills, but with the fire that brings plenty, patriotism and progress. (Pal, 1907)

The so-called new movement of Pal was thought to be much more than simply a boycott. Pal felt that as a result of this swadeshi and boycott movement, our faces have turned now to the ravenous, the naked, the persistent and long misery of million people and in it we have seen new strength. Bipin Chandra Pal factually and metaphorically supported the message of boycott movement and swadeshi movement from time to time and from region to region. For Pal swadeshi movement was a way of uniting the India towards a self-governing and a self-reliance nation. His main idea was not to have freedom from the British government, but it was intended to have freedom from extravagant exploitation of the East India Company which induces Indian market under their control in length and breadth. In January 1907, he went for a long tour to the new province of East Bengal above and beyond Allahabad and Benaras in the United Provinces (now in Uttar Pradesh), Cuttack in Orissa, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry in present-day Andhra Pradesh and lastly Madras City. His fervent articulateness and power of speech was clearly visible in crowd with a sense of affection and making them feel as one nation and one motto.

8.8

Conclusion

Bipin Chandra Pal was one of the architects of Bengal’s renaissance; he stalked the country like a colossal in the quarter of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century. Through, the spoken and the written word, a long life of sacrifice and suffering, an unrelenting adherence to the ideas he possessed, and he awakened the country with a rare clarity of vision to a consciousness of inner strength. He proved himself to be an overwhelming asset to the national and as a publicist par excellence. The life of Bipin Chandra Pal undoubtedly tells us of a fascinating realistic version of a political pilgrim’s progress. He definitely represented one of several political and cultural trends which emphasised on his distinctiveness as an ideologue. His contribution to the building up of the Indian nationalism has been undoubtedly great. Pal led the country

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like a colossus. Through his written and spoken words, Bipin Chandra Pal left a deep impact on our nationalistic politics. His contribution to the building up of the Indian nationalism has been acknowledged by his distinguished contemporary political thinkers. With his political views Pal gave a dynamic emphasis to nationalist politics especially in the last decade of the nineteenth century and first two decades of the twentieth century. A stormy petrel of Indian politics he tried to galvanise the society which was lying dormant. He saw the light of the day on 7 November 1858, when the volcanic eruptions of the 1857 in India, were mellowing into a softer glow. The surroundings naturally had its impact on the mind of young Bipin Chandra Pal. He was perhaps one of the first among our nationalist leaders who persistently fought to banish exploitation and inequalities, pleaded for the common men, peasants and working classes and demanded a thorough reconstruction of our economic structure. In his views, the economic reconstruction must be able to provide healthy food in sufficient quantity for every man, woman and child in India. The hope of freedom lay dormant when Bipin Chandra Pal was born. He always emphasised on the composite basis of nationalism which is peculiar to India. He pointed out that there was always a cultural oneness and unity in India. This soul or personality of India had been flowing since eternity through the various minor and subordinate Indian cultures pursued by different denominations. Historical epochs characterised by conflicts with other social or national groups led frequently to new combinations with the advent of Islam in India. The unity of common culture in India, which was Hindu, faced a new situation. The need of the situation was the formation of a cultural alliance. The problem was no longer a problem of cultural acclimatisation of analogous, but the multifaceted and unalike delinquent of coalition between divergent. Pal was a man who served the nation for about half a century, who really invested his heart, soul and imagination almost on each plausible issue upsetting the nation in its social, religious, political and economic affairs. His hallucination was very instantaneously ascended in height above to the zenith of politer opinions and initiated himself into the ultimately an unfamiliar person among the very people whom he assisted. Nevertheless, in his personal life this protagonist of a hundred political battles is certainly an isolated figure. The bequest of Pal’s ideology is noticeable among those who played a protuberant role in Indian politics in the succeeding cohort. Amal Home highlighted that Bipin Chandra

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Pal was a chief political thinker and whatever he said came to reality. H. M. Hyndman found in him as a man of the most pacific turn of thought, whereas Sir Bampfylde Fuller of Bengal partition fame called him a political philosopher. Mr A. Fenner Brockway wrote a wide-ranging account of his interview with Pal, in which, giving his imprint about Pal as a new spirit of India incarnate. Additionally, Brockway highlighted that Pal knew the pulse and soul of every Indian. He found in Pal the first prophet of the new nationalist school and was charmed by his philosophic method of treating the subject and the clarity with which he described the development of awakening in India. All national newspaper paid a wideranging tribute in his memory as a condolence for his demise on 20 May 1932. For instance, The Times, London, which remained also a hostile critic of Pal, however, exhibited unforeseen restraint and abstemiousness in writing a one-column epitaphic of him. Pal accepted the peoples’ judgement. He was one of the vastest clairvoyants of Indian nationalism as Aurobindo called him, but he was humbled by an impatient audience. Pal never underestimated the great mass upsurge that would be generated by the Gandhiji’s non-cooperation movement, but at the same time he foresaw that the movement would ultimately not remain a peaceful non-violent, non-cooperation movement. In 1923, as the Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee (BPCC), Subhash Chandra Bose wrote that, “if Pal was really desirous of becoming a member of BPCC, then there were many people including Bose himself, who would be glad to make room for him”. In fact, Subhas Chandra Bose was much influenced by Bipin Chandra in building up his philosophy of nationalism. Pal continued to fight as a lone fighter for the realisation of his cherished ideals. He would never compromise with his own ideas and views which he continued to do till he joined eternity on 20 May 1932. Those who push the pen powerfully are said to be shy of the platform. This is not all axiomatic because there are numerous examples of those who wielded their tongue and pen with equal power could be easily cited. In the case of Bipin Chandra Pal, perhaps his tongue was more effective and sharper than his pen. But this diversity could be easily dismissed as that between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Politically, Pal was never the part of one who tilled a solitary undulation. Pal remained dedicated with his politics accompanied with an irrelevance, if not optimistic negligence, of social glitches and wholeheartedly fused himself into the hectic political movements to liberate our

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country from the foreign servitude, to leave his smear on our national life as a preceptor of a new nationalism and as an innovator of some of the modern political ideas. Pal led a devoted life and remained very much close with his faith and his unbending adherence to truth as he saw it. He lived his whole life in poverty and free from any personal determination. In him, we find a sense of great diverse and rare attribute towards life. He was a firm realist although his levelheadedness was escorted by deep religious beliefs and yearnings. He begins his life as a nationalist and ended as a promoter of federalism and internationalism. He was a robust man who stood alone and fought for unity and toleration. Pal was a fearless and an independent person. He also lived for several years in political isolation due to his moderate view towards the colonial power. Furthermore, he was uninhabited by most of his erstwhile colleagues and friends.

8.9

Summary

The life of Bipin Chandra Pal undoubtedly tells us of a fascinating realistic version of a political pilgrim’s progress. He definitely represented one of several political and cultural trends which emphasised on his distinctiveness as an ideologue. His contribution to the building up of the Indian nationalism has been undoubtedly great. Pal led the country like a colossus. Through his written and spoken words, Bipin Chandra Pal left a deep impact on our nationalistic politics. His contribution to the building up of the Indian nationalism has been acknowledged by his distinguished contemporary political thinkers. Pal’s political views were dynamic in nature with a focus on nationalist politics particularly during the last decade of the nineteenth century and first two decades of the twentieth century. He was perhaps one of the first among our nationalist leaders who persistently fought against the colonial government for the betterment of the men, women and children of India. The instruments adopted by Pal can be seen as the way that served as a backbone pillar in the independence of Indian economy and the cultural unity among different religious institution. Thus, it is significant to note that Bipin Chandra Pal’s book ‘The New Economic Menace to India’ found a place in Lenin’s personal library. As he remarked that every contemporary imperialism was principally capitalism, was relevant in the context of British capitalism. It represents the zeal of a man to work for the nation and for its people in order to facilitate a good quality of life, education and equality among all.

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References Aiyar, C. P. R. (1968). Biographical vistas: Sketches of some eminent Indians. Asia Publishing House. Aurobindo, S. (1922). Ideal and progress: Essays ideal and progress. Arya Publishing House. Brockway, A. F. (1911, March 17). The truth about India. Interview with B. C. Pal. Labour Leader, London. Chakrabarty, B. (2009). Modern Indian political thought: Text and context. Sage. Deogirikar, T. R. (1964). Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Publication Division. Dundas, L. J. L. (2005). The heart of Aryavarta. Anza Publishing. Home, A. (1958, November 6). Bipin Chandra Pal: Politician, orator and journalist. Amrita Bazar Patrika. Hyndman, H. M. (1919). The awakening of Asia. Cassell and Company Ltd. Indian National Congress. (1906). The report of the Twenty Second Indian National Congress. Masani, R. P. (1939). Dadabhai Naoroji: The grand old man of India. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Municipal, C. (1928). Civic service. The Calcutta Municipal Gazette. Nehru, J. (1949). An autobiography. The Bodley Head. Nehru, M. (1921). The struggle for India. Akra Publishing House. Pal, B. C. (1907). Speeches of Bipin Chandra Pal. Ganesh & Co. Pal, B. C. (1909). Indian nationalism: Ideas and methods. Pal, B. C. (1910). The spirit of Indian nationalism. Hind Nationalist Agency. Pal, B. C. (1920). The new economic menace to India. University of California Libraries. Pal, B. C. (1922). Cultural nationalism. Standard Bearer, p. 508. Pal, B. C. (1924, July 24). Condition of a constructive programme. Pal, B. C. (1925). His life and utterances. Ganesan & Co. Pal, B. C. (1926). Congress-Swaraj politics. In The Englishman. The Englishman. Pal, B. C. (1927, July 21). Congress Babel: Great curse of short-sightedness. Pal, B. C. (1931a). General election pointers: Country decision againt party system. In The Englishman. Pal, B. C. (1931b). India and the nationalist government. In The Englishman. Pal, B. C. (1932). Memories of my life and times. Modern Book Agency. Pal, B. C. (1933). Bengal Vaishnavism. Modern Book Agency. Pal, B. C. (1954). Swadeshi & Swaraj: The rise of new patriotism [A selection from the writings and speeches during 1902–1907]. Yugayatri Prakashak. Pal, B. C. (2002). Nationality and empire: A running study of some current Indian problems. Low Prices Publications. Recollections of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. (1924, August 8). The Bengalee. Report on Native Papers in Bengal. (1907). Week ending.

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Ronaldshay, L. (1925). The heart of Aryavarta: Study of the psychology of Indian unrest. Constable & Co., Ltd. Roy, M. N. (1971). India in transition. Nachiketa Publications. Shyamaji Krishna Varma’s Letter. (1909, March 10). The Times. Times, T. (1932). Bipin Chandra Pal. The Times. Williams, H. S. (1904). The historians’ history of the world. The Outlook Company.

CHAPTER 9

Lala Lajpat Rai Urmil Vats

9.1

Introduction

Lala Lajpat Rai, known as a Sher-e-Punjab, is remembered as the foremost national leader and hero of the freedom movement in Punjab. He was one of the three Extremists of the earliest period of the nationalist movement, the other two being Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. He was not a philosopher or a political theorist but a social reformer or an emancipator of the human race, whose life is a record of selfless suffering, persecution and prosecution for the country’s sake. He was one of the builders of modern India. He was known throughout the country for his undaunted spirit of patriotism and his fearless fight for the cause of Indian freedom. He was decidedly the greatest man produced by the Punjab after Ranjit Singh. He occupies a pre-eminent position in the galaxy of the fighters for independence. A man of utter sincerity and courage, he hated hypocrisy and wanted action. He was one of the early trailblazers on the path to freedom for the

U. Vats (B) Department of Political Science, Shyama Prasad Mukherji College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_9

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¯ Indians. Through the Arya Sam¯ aj and the Servants of the People Society, he provided significant social and humanitarian service. In 1920, he was called to chair a special historic Calcutta Session of the Congress. Lajpat Rai envisioned a broad conception of national emancipation. He was a prominent social leader who had learned the value of social reform and ¯ national education from the Arya Sam¯ aj . Because of his long residence in the United States, he also had an excellent opportunity to study the dominant trends in international politics and economics. He was perhaps the first eminent Indian writer and leader to discuss the problems of socialism, Bolshevism, capitalism and labour organisation. This made him a pioneer of socialist propaganda in India. Although Lajpat Rai was not a competent theoretician in the fields of political science, economics and sociology, but his knowledge of Indian politics and economics was encyclopaedic. His books, ‘Young India: An Interpretation and a History of the Nationalist Movement from Within’, ‘England’s Debt to India’ and ‘Unhappy India’, are full of information. It is true that the journalistic touch is evident in several of Lajpat Rai’s writings but in his book, ‘The Problem of National Education in India’; he occasionally rises to philosophical heights. His book, ‘Young India’, also at several places, rises to the level of a philosophy of modern Indian politics. His books are characterised by clarity and lucidity, and they bear the imprint of concrete experiences of nearly over four decades of social and political life, and enriching the Indian political literature. Lajpat Rai who popularly known as ’Punjab Kesari’ was also associated with activities of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company in their early stages in 1894. He sustained serious injuries by the police when leading a non-violent protest against the Simon Commission in 1928 at Lahore and died less than three weeks later. His deportation in 1907 and his martyrdom in 1928, both are epoch-making events in the history of modern Indian nationalism. His death anniversary (17 November) is one of several days celebrated as Martyr’s Day in India.

9.2

Life Sketch

Lajpat Rai was born in Dhudike (now in Moga district, Punjab) on 28 January 1865. Rai had his initial education in Government Higher Secondary School, Rewari (now in Haryana) in the late 1870s and early 1880s, where his father, Radha Krishan, was an Urdu teacher. Rai was influenced by Hinduism and pursued a career of reforming Indian

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policy through politics and writing. When studying Law in Kolkata, he continued to practise Hinduism. He became a firm believer in the idea that Hinduism, rather than nationality, was the pivotal point upon which an Indian lifestyle must be based. He believed that Hinduism led to peaceful practices for humanity, and that by combining nationalist ideas with this peaceful religious system, a secular nation could be created. His association with Hindu Mahasabha leaders drew criticism from the Bharat Sabha, as the Mahasabha was non-secular and did not follow the system established by the Indian National Congress (INC). This emphasis on Hindu practices in the sub-continent would ultimately lend him to the continuation of peaceful movements to create successful demonstrations for Indian independence. In 1885, the All India National Congress was formed to voice public grievances through constitutional methods. Lajpat Rai took interest in its working and attended the fourth and fifth annual conferences as a delegate from the Punjab. He expressed his disagreement on the question of separate Muslim representation in the legislative councils. Consequently, for the next fourteen years he did not take part in the Congress activities as the Congress had no programme for dealing with the political, social ¯ and economic problems of the country. As against the Congress, the Arya Sam¯ aj appeared to him a much more important forum for work. He started the practice of law and very shortly earned distinction as a lawyer and also as a public figure in Punjab. ¯ He was a lover of Arya Sam¯ aj and was editor of ‘Arya Gazette’, which he setup during his student time. After studying Law at the Government College in Lahore, Lajpat Rai practised at Hissar and Lahore, where he helped to establish the nationalistic Dayananda Anglo-Vedic School and became a follower of Day¯ananda Saraswati, the founder of the reformist ¯ Hindu Society, Arya Sam¯ aj (Society of Noble People). Throughout his ¯ political career he played a prominent role in the social reform and Arya Sam¯ aj movement in the Punjab and became the role model for a large number of young people, who came committed to the cause of the nation. ¯ Though being initiated into public life by his friends of the Arya Sam¯ aj , Lajpat Rai was inspired by the ideas of Tilak and Gokhale. The Servants of India Society founded by Gokhale attracted his attention and he established a Society as Servants of the People Society. Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the Society to recruit and train national missionaries for the service of the Motherland. Its members were entrusted with work of educational, cultural, economic and political advancement of the

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country. Under his leadership, the Society worked in close collaboration with the Indian National Congress. It rendered very valuable service in the various fields of social life. It worked to bring about cordial relations between different communities. The Society produced many social and political leaders in the country. The writings of Rai include the following: • • • • • • •

The Story of My Deportation (1908) Arya Samaj (1915) The United States of America: A Hindu’s Impression (1916) Young India (1916) England’s Debt to India (1917) Unhappy India (1928) Autobiographical Writings.

‘Young India’ was written shortly after First World War broke out in Europe. Lajpat Rai was travelling in the United States at the time of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. Rai wrote the book to express his people’s desire to help the British in their fight against the Germans, who had ruled India since the mid-1700s. The Indian people’s perspective is wellrepresented in this book, as they were involving in large numbers as volunteers for the war before they even realised it. In India, Rai wants to get the help of Americans against British. The idea of complete sovereign rule is carried out in this book. Rai was a popular leader during the battle for independence. His contribution was significant in changing the West’s perception of Indians. He demonstrated in his writings that they are much better than the stereotype, and they are the capable to govern themselves. His efforts to inform the leaders about what is happening in India and why it is so important for India to become a free State.

9.3

Nationalism

In 1907, when Rai joined the Indian National Congress and began participating in the movement in Punjab he was expelled to Mandalay (Burma) without hearing but due to a lack of sufficient proofs, he got the permission to come back. There, his promoters wanted to secure his presidency election of the party session, but he refused due to his components favouring collaboration with the British, and the party went

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bust. Rai founded the National College at the Bradlaugh Hall in Lahore where he completed his graduation along with Bhagat Singh. He was elected as President of the Indian National Congress at the 1920 Calcutta Session. In 1927, he initiated several welfare non-profit institutions in Lahore and after partition of India; they were shut down in various parts of the country. Lajpat Rai was a nationalist of the first order and gave utmost priority to severing the cause of the Motherland. He was a staunch nationalist, but did not subscribe to the concept of aggressive revolutionary nationalism. He also criticised vague and indeterminate cosmopolitanism as pure selfishness. He advocated the nineteenth century nationalist doctrine that every nation was free to decide its ideals and its course of action, and that any interference from outside was a violation of this right, and thus unjust and unnatural. He advocated for the Indians to lay the groundwork for a strong independent political life. He was a staunch supporter of every nation’s right to self-determination without intervention from the outside world. He said that without the consent of the governed, no government could be legitimate or justified. Lajpat Rai while analysing the cause of the India’s subjugation by the British, in his literary work ‘Young India’, emphatically stated that India was not conquered by the British sword, but by their subtle and unscrupulous diplomatic machinations. He regarded India’s first independence war, in 1857, as both political and national. It was not a mutiny as some British writers and historians have depicted it, but a true national revolution. Nationalism was nurtured by the blood and sacrifice of the martyrs, and Indian nationalism was a deep and powerful force as millions of people were prepared to sacrifice their lives for the cause of the Motherland. Indian nationalism became more forceful and effective when the British autocratic rule and their policy of violence repression provoked terrorist and violent activities in Indian politics. For the solution of the problems of the Indians, he advocated the introduction of Parliamentary democracy and strongly refuted the British charge that the Indians were not fit for managing representative institutions. He gave top priority to liberty as it was the spiritual heritage of everyman and the fulfilment of his life-long endeavours. He was asserted in his book ‘England’s Debt to India’ that the Indians should attain self-government or Home Rule for the speedy resolution of their political problems. The British imperial autocracy should come to end. The

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rights and obligations of Englishmen and Indians should be adjudicated impartially. Lajpat Rai put responsibility on the British for the poverty, hunger and miseries of the Indian people. Prior to Lajpat Rai, Dadabhai Naoroji and R. C. Dutt had also accused the British policy of continuous economic exploitation and destruction of indigenous trade, industry and agriculture for India’s poverty and hunger. The huge amounts of money collected from India were spent on maintaining the huge British bureaucracy and a large army, as well as to enrich the mother country at the expense of India. He was concerned about India’s overall development, and his ideas were explicit in his Presidential speech to the Congress Session of 1920. He highlighted the need for the education, social and economic development of the masses. According to him, if India has to become a great nation, the Indians must develop a high sense of public duty and a high standard of public morality—the two most fundamental qualities that are conspicuously lacking in today’s political life. He emphasised that true patriotism entails the individual’s selfish interests being subordinated to the interests of the society or nation. He was of the opinion that the nation was superior to the State. Because the nation determines the form of the State, it also has the right to change the form of the State in its corporate capacity.

9.4 Perspective on Social Justice and National Integration In 1907, Rai visited the United States, along with Sikh communities. He visited to Tuskegee University in Alabama. During his journey to the United States of America, he established in New York Home Rule League, as well as the journals ‘Young India’ and ‘Hindustan Information Services Association’. Rai petitioned in front of the Senate of the American Parliament for seeking the moral support from the international community in order to obtain India’s freedom, and he kept the actual scene of ground reality of British Raj in India. At the Hindu Mahasabha’s Calcutta Session in 1925, Lajpat Rai, as President, laid down a programme and policy for the Sabha. These were the following:

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• To organise Hindu Mahasabha across the country • To assist Hindus who are in need of assistance due to communal riots • Reconversion of Hindus who were forced to convert to Islam • To set up gymnasiums for the use of Hindu young men and women • To organise Seva Samitis • To popularise Hindi • To request the trustees of Hindu temples to allow halls attached to the temples where people can gather to discuss social and religious issues • To foster positive feelings among Hindu agriculturists and nonagriculturists • To encourage Hindu boys to pursue careers in industry • To celebrate Hindu festivals in a way that promotes brotherly feelings among the various sections of Hindus • To improve the lives of Hindu women In October 1917, the Senate of the United States of America debated a 32-page petition that had been prepared overnight. Lala took part in the popularisation of socialist ideas after his return from the United States on 20 February 1920. It is worth noting that the famous British socialist Sidney Webb wrote the preface to his book, ‘Arya Samaj’. He was opposed to the expansion of capitalist and landlord power. He did not advocate doctrinal socialism, but he did assert unequivocally that the present Constitution of society was incorrect, unjust, and perhaps even more barbaric than it had been in primitive times.

9.5

Social Reforms and Political Evolution

Lala Lajpat Rai started taking interest in national politics and formally joined the Congress in 1888 at the fourth session of the Congress, held in Allahabad. From that day, he remained associated with the organisation in different capacities for next forty years. In the ninth session of the Congress, which was held at Lahore in 1893; Lajpat Rai participated actively and met Bal Gangadhar Tilak for the first time. There they became close friends. Lajpat Rai introduced and was successful in passing a resolution on education and industry. As a militant nationalist, he condemned the attitude of Congress leaders approaching the government for their rights. He demanded militancy in the political programme.

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Along with Gokhale, he was chosen to represent India in England in 1905. Lajpat Rai was a great patriot, nationalist and humanist. He worked to bring various sections of the Congress together. He made an impassioned call for Hindu-Muslim unity. He was opposed to separate representation for Muslims on communal basis as it was against nationalism. Lajpat Rai came out with a strong criticism of the Congress for accepting the Morley-Minto Reforms. He believed that Hindus and Muslims should live together and work together for the common welfare and nationalist goals. Lajpat Rai left the Swaraj Party in August 1926 because of its policy of cooperation with the British. He believed that without Indian cooperation, British rule in India would be impossible. He advocated for a clear policy for achieving freedom through peaceful means. Though he admired the courage of young revolutionaries, yet he never advocated violence. In 1929, the Simon Commission visited to India with the aim to discuss constitutional reforms. The Indian leaders were enraged by the fact that the Commission was made up entirely of British delegates. The Simon Commission’s visit led to protest movements and demonstrations throughout India. On 30 October 1928, Lajpat Rai spearheaded a massive protest movement in Lahore. He was brutally assaulted and abused by a British sergeant and died as a result of his injuries after only a few weeks. Lajpat Rai’s death prompted the country’s youth in general, and the youth of Punjab in particular, to resort to violence in order to end the repressive imperial rule by the British. Lajpat Rai was a fiery orator and a forceful writer. For nearly two decades, he provided undisputed leadership to the Punjab as well as to the whole country. He was a prolific writer and wrote several books and pamphlets. His three papers—‘The Punjabi’, ‘The Vande Mataram’ (in Urdu) and ‘The People’ (in English) created awareness among the people about India’s various problems and succeeded in spreading the message of swaraj . He wrote small biographies of Sri Krishna, Ashoka, Shiviji, Swami Day¯ananda, Mazzini and Garibaldi, the people whom he greatly admired for their courage, valour and significant contributions.

9.6

Conclusion

A great leader of modern India, a ‘dangerous revolutionary’, a man of strong determination and iron will, Lajpat Rai rendered significant contri¯ butions to the mankind through the Arya Sam¯ aj . His deportation in 1907 and his death in 1928 were the epoch-making events in the history

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of Indian nationalism. He was an eminent social reformer and a dedicated worker who was committed to the cause of the nation and its people. He was a pioneer in spreading socialist ideas in India, having knowledge of socialism, capitalism, Bolshevism and labour organisation. He was neither a political theorist nor a philosopher in the traditional sense. However, he was well-versed in sociology, political science, economics and other subjects. His knowledge of these subjects was encyclopaedic. His contributions to India were outstanding, and he accomplished an splendid job by joining India’s freedom struggle. Lala Lajpat Rai, better known as ‘Lion of Punjab’, did for the Punjab what Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak did for Bengal and Maharashtra, respectively. A patriot, an educationist, a social worker, a religious reformer, an effective journalist and a leading member of the ¯ Lahore Bar, he was the leader of the Arya Sam¯ aj movement in the Punjab and did a very good job by providing relief to the people from the rut of anachronistic rituals. An effective public speaker, a powerful leader of militant nationalist, he had the capacity for rousing the indignation of the masses and producing thrilling effect upon their minds.

9.7

Summary

Lala Lajpat Rai who was born in 1865 in the State of Punjab was rightly called as the ‘Lion of Punjab’. He was a prolific writer, a staunch nationalist and a great social reformer. He was the pillar of nationalism in India and fought for independence of India and promoted the swadeshi movement. He was the founder of the Servants of the People Society and the Indian Home Rule League. He had opposed the writings of Syed Ahmed Khan and joined the Congress in 1888 but in 1922 he left the Congress out of disgust. He was unhappy with the existing conditions of the Indian society and criticised the society based on caste system. He was heavily influenced by Hinduism and reformed many Indian policies. He encouraged people’s participation in the management of the industries against exploitation and asked the Hindus to be more tolerant and universalist. In 1928, a commission was built by British government and in this nobody was Indian. Lala Lajpat Rai began the peaceful agitation against this commission. The British police proclaimed a lathi charge in cruelty manner in which Rai attacked and wounded. In such circumstances, Rai felt and said about British Raj that this incident would be the last nail in

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coffin. Such a noble soul died on 17 November 1928, and his death was commemorated on Martyrs Day.

References Bradlaugh Hall’s Demise. (2011, April 17). Pakistan Today. Retrieved on October 2011. Head Office: Servants of the People Society. Retrieved in May 2014. Hope, A. G. (1968). America and Swaraj: The US role in Indian independence. Public Affairs Press. Jones, K. W. (1976). Arya Dharam: Hindu consciousness in nineteenth century. California Press. Lajpat Rai, L. (1916). Young India. B.W Huebsch. Retrieved in January 2015. Lajpat Rai, L. (1917). England’s debt to India: A historical narrative of Britain’s fiscal policy in India. University of Michigan Library. Lajpat Rai, L. (1921a). The call to young India. S. Ganesh & Co. Lajpat Rai, L. (1921b). India’s will to freedom: Writings and speeches on the present situation. S. Ganesh & Co. Lajpat Rai, L. (1965). Young India: An interpretation and a history of the nationalist movement from within. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. Lajpat Rai, L. (2018). The political future of India. Palala Press. Lajpat Rai, L. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Available at www.britannica.com Mittal, S. K. & Habib, I. (1979, October). Towards independence and socialist republic: Naujawan Bharat Sabha. Social Scientist, 8(3). Purushottam, N. (1977). Lal Lajpat Rai: The man and his ideas. Manohar Book Service. Sharma, U., & Sharma, S. K. (2004). Indian political thought. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. Tidrick, K. (2006). Gandhi: A political and spiritual life. Bloomsbury Academic.

PART III

Cultural–Revivalist Thought

CHAPTER 10

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Sourav Naskar

10.1

Introduction

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was undoubtedly a notable figure and a versatile genius in Indian history and the literature. During the time of the Renaissance, his compositions were so influential that the youth of Bengal got attracted to these and obviously his way of writings had a tremendous impact upon the psyche of the youth. He composed essays, novels, and commentaries that were original in nature and quite divergent from conventional literary style. The historical novels in Bengali literature first came into existence with the hand of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. Bankim Chandra expanded his literary career highlighting all aspects of human life. His satirical short stories and some composition on history gave him immense popularity in the literary world. He used history, sociology, science, philosophy, and religion as subject matters of the literature. As an editor of the journal ‘Bangadarsan,’ he expressed his ideas on Hinduism, patriotism, and nation-state. Actually, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay can never be defined from the literary angle

S. Naskar (B) Department of History, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_10

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only. He was such a legendary literary personality who apart from his literary contributions was a religious and cultural revivalist, creator of a new political consciousness, exponent of major social changes, and also a representative of Western-educated intelligentsia. He looked upon the positive aspects of English civilisation but never denied the importance of Sanskrit language and other vernacular languages. Bankim had his own way of explanation of Hinduism and Hindutva. For the betterment of his ideas and thoughts, he went to Keshab Chandra Sen and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the then legendary Bengal Renaissance personalities who by their thoughts and deeds thrust a tremendous impact on social, religious, and intellectual world of Bengal. When it comes to the context of nationalism, it can definitely be said that Bankim Chandra’s idea of nationalism was never parochial in nature. On the other hand, he looked upon Hinduism as a panacea of all social, mental, cultural, and religious fundamentalism. Bankim’s idea of Hinduism had a universal orientation and approach. However, his patriotism is often questioned as whether he had a broad outlook or not, but Bankim’s thinking of national regeneration was based upon humanism. He was fully aware of India’s social strata which were prevalent from a very long time. He talked about Hinduism where every religion and community merges and assimilates themselves and extends the path for a strong and united nation-state which will in turn establish universal love, faith, and humanity.

10.2

Life Sketch

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 26 June 1838, in a Br¯ ahmin family which was very orthodox in nature. His village name was Kanthalpara. It was in North 24 Parganas presently Naihati. His father’s name was Jadav Chandra Chattopadhyay and his mother’s name was Durga Debi Chattopadhyay. Bankim’s father was a Civil Servant (Deputy Collector) and posted in Midnapore and his mother was a housewife. He had three brothers-Shyama Charan Chattopadhyay, Sanjeeb Chandra Chattopadhyay and Purna Chandra Chattopadhyay. One of his elder brothers, Sanjeeb Chandra Chattopadhyay was a novelist and writer also. From his family priest, Biswambhar Bhattacharya, Bankim received his early education. Bankim got married when he was just eleven years old and his wife was five years old. However, after the death of his first wife in 1859, he was remarried to Rajalakshmi Devi. He got admission in Hooghly Mohsin College in 1849 from where he received his

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secondary and higher secondary education continuously for seven years (Bagal, 1953: 14). At that time, secondary and higher secondary education was taught in colleges. From there, he went to Presidency College on 12 July of 1856 to complete his graduation in Law (ibid.: 15). However, before completing his graduation in Law, he took admission in Calcutta University in 1857 to achieve B.A. Degree. He was awarded Bachelor of Arts in 1858 (the three years Degree Course for B.A. was introduced from 1861). 13 candidates appeared for the Degree but Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Jadunath Basu were awarded for the Degree. So, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was one of the first graduates of Calcutta University. After completing his graduation, he joined in the government service and got recruitment as Deputy Collector on 6 August 1858. He continued his service for 33 years and was retired on 14 September 1891 (Bagal, 1953: 16). However, he completed his unfinished Bachelor of Law Degree from Presidency College in 1869 and achieved First Class Third position in that Bachelor of Law examination (ibid.). During leisure time, he used to compose literary works. Bankim, at the outset, did not get immense popularity. As a writer, he faced a lot of criticism when he started his literary career. With the march of time, Bankim developed his literary genius and was considered as a bright star in the literary sky of Bengal as well as India. There were some aspects behind the success of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He was greatly influenced by the literary writings of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ishwar Chandra Gupta, and Ram Mohan Roy. He also studied nineteenth century European literature, history, politics, sociology, and economics. He was touched by the concept of Utilitarianism and the great ideals of French Revolution (Equality, Fraternity and Liberty). European Renaissance, Reformation, and Humanism also had a profound impact upon Bankim’s mind. At the outset, he tried to publish his literary works in newspapers and periodicals of that time. The rise of Neo-Hinduism influenced his mind and character and took his thinking toward nation-state. Bankim got the inspiration from Bengali middle-class intelligentsia who appreciated vehemently the fruits of English criticised, Utilitarianism, Western education, and the progress of Western science and technology (Bhattacharya, 2017: 28). Bankim first published his literary writings in Ishwar Chandra Gupta’s newspaper ‘Sangbad Prabhakar’ which was a weekly magazine. A series of poems designated as ‘Lalita O Manas’ were published in this weekly

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magazine in 1858. At the beginning, Bankim did not try to write novels. He concentrated on composing literary verses. He did not get the kind of appreciation from the literary world, initially. He changed his track and directions thereupon. He tried to compose novels. His first novel was ‘Rajmohan’s Wife: A Novel,’ written in English in 1864. He was criticised sharply for that novel (Bhattacharya, 2017: 794). He, then, decided to write in Bengali. His decision proved fascinating when ‘Durgeshnondini’ came into existence in 1865. It was a romantic novel which got immense reputation and appreciation from the literary world. He then published ‘Kapalkundala’ (1866) which was also a major novel and got immense popularity. It is said that the novel had been composed on the plot of Shakespeare’s Miranda. He continued to flourish his literary talent when ‘Mrinalini’ (1869) came to public. Though at the outset it was romantic in nature, as the novel progressed, it depicted the different aspects of cultural renaissance in Bengal. One of his greatest initiatives was the publication of ‘Bangadarshan’ (1872). It was a monthly literary magazine where Bankim serially published novels, discourses, religious thinking humorous compositions, miscellaneous essays, critical writings, literary reviews, stories, and other literary works. The ‘Vishabriksha’ (The Poison Tree) was published in 1873, serially in this monthly magazine, and created immense impact not only upon the Bengali Intelligentsia but to the world learned society also. The Times Newspaper of London remarked, ‘…you ought to read the Poison Tree of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’ (Lemon et al., 1885: 2). When Bankim was writing his novel ‘Chandrasekhar’ (1877), he took help from history to create the historical plot and characterisation of this novel. Next, he published ‘Rajani’ (1877) which was autobiographical in nature and is said to be written on the similarity with Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s ‘The Last Days at Pompeii’ (1834) (Bhattacharya, 2017: 118). Bankim categorically criticised existing corruption and lacunae of the society through his novel ‘Krishnakanter Uil ’ (Krishnakanta’s Will) (1878). He was criticised for being Westernised in the outlook of his compositions (Bhattacharya, 2013: 33).Next his historical novel ‘Rajsingha’ was published in 1881. The great novel ‘Anandamath’ (The Abbey of Bliss) was published in 1882. The novel ‘Anandamath’ was published in the monthly magazine ‘Bangadarsan’ serially. Next, Bankim Chandra composed ‘Devi Chaudhurani’ (1884) where the women forces of India had been depicted courageously. His novel ‘Sitaram’ (1886) was interesting in the sense that it depicted a fascinating depiction of

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confrontation between the soldiers of the Muslim ruler (Nawab) and his Hindu soldiers. However, the message of this novel was quite vague because the tenants of Sitaram became disappointed with the activities of the Zamindar against the Muslim Nawab. The purpose of the fight between the forces of Zamindar and the forces of Nawab seemed irrelevant to the tenants at last (Kopf, 1979: 104). Following, his death in 1894 his interpretation on Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a (the sacred Hindu scripture which is found in the Epic Mah¯ abh¯ arata) was published. It was actually the unfinished commentary on the Hindu holy book—G¯ıt¯ a. Bankim in his last part of his life thought that the core values of the Hindus were being destroyed by Western civilisation. He predicted that without the reformation and regeneration in Hinduism the land will be destroyed by the Western civilisation very soon. He vehemently expressed the importance of reform in Hinduism (Haldar, 1977: 236). Bankim who was very logical all through his life, became attracted to metaphysics in the last part of his life. He believed in the immortality of the soul and its reincarnation. To be factual, Bankim’s contribution in the field of Bengali literature was immense. Before his arrival, the literary compositions were Sanskrit versed centric, he used the prose style widely and made it epoch-making too.

10.3 Bankim Chandra, Keshab Chandra Sen, and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa: A Comparison It will be relevant to point out Keshab Chandra Sen’s view on Hinduism as both Keshab Chandra Sen and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay belonged to the Renaissance period of Bengal. Keshab Chandra Sen established ‘Nabo Bidhan’ or ‘New Dispensation’ which tried to explain Hinduism as a universal religion. Keshab Chandra tried to break the fence of religious bigotry and fundamentalism in Hinduism and tried to link it within the broader framework of Western approach of liberalism (Dutta & Dutta, 1977: 38). Bankim Chandra also dreamt of Hinduism which will represent the core aspects of human values. Like Keshab Chandra, Bankim appreciated the liberal aspects of Western civilisation and announced to incorporate those values within the broader framework of Hinduism which will be dynamic in nature and meaningful in reality. Bankim had deep respect to Keshab Chandra Sen. He thought that the way Keshab was trying to present Hinduism would strengthen the Hinduism in the long run. Bankim had deep respect to ‘Brahmoism’ as preached by Keshab

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Chandra Sen. Bankim thought that the core concept of Hinduism was laid in Brahmoism also. Regarding spiritualism, he emphasised on the reality and rationality of human beings. On the other hand, the meeting between Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Bankim Chandra did not find asymmetry in thought as Bankim was not agreed with the religiosity of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ramakrishna emphasised on the pure bhakti (devotion). He preached that the panacea of the entire crisis in life and society lay upon the extent of devotion. But, Bankim was rationalistic in approach and did not find a solution in Ramakrishna’s idealistic approach to life. Bankim felt the necessity of Hindu resurrection to solve the larger problems of life. Ramakrishna’s insight into niskama karma (motiveless work) seemed fruitless to Bankim Chandra (Gupta, 1942: 321). Bankim disagreed with Ramakrishna’s great saying of ‘gold is clay, clay is gold’ (Nikhilananda & Mukherjee, 2011: 39).

10.4

Patriotism and Nationalism

Bankim Chandra’s patriotism consisted of the facts and sources from History. He pointed out two aspects that were creating hindrances in national regeneration. He was of the view that firstly, the Indians by nature lacked the desire to be independent. The Indians were quite metaphysical in nature. Secondly, the lack of unity among the Hindus was a great adverse to liberty and creation of a Hindu nation (Gordon, 1974: 15–37). He categorically highlighted the example of Alexander, the Great. Though Alexander defeated Porus, he did not get the ultimate victory due to the unity and strength of the Magadha Empire. Bankim tried to uphold the message that the Hindus must be united in order to make a nation-state which would have the passion and ambition to consolidate the interest of the indigenous Hindus. Though Bankim Chandra in many cases recognised the British rule as a tool of progress for the Indians, in various ways he criticised the colonial rule also for showing indifference and defiance to the native people of India. When the Indigo planters faced oppression by the English authority and found it difficult to get justice, Bankim through his literary works such as ‘Bangadesher Krisak’ (The Peasants of Bengal), ‘Bangala Sasaner Fol’ (The Fruits of Government in Bengal), categorically highlighted the weaknesses of the colonial government. In later years, while Bankim Chandra was composing ‘Mrinalini’ (1869), he tried to raise the feeling of Patriotism, under the guise of

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romanticism. It was said that the Hindu Mela (1867–1869) got lots of inspiration from the theme in ‘Mrinalini.’ Bankim pointed out four aspects that were highly necessary for the formation of a nation. These were—unity, courage, organisational power, and perseverance. When he was writing ‘Kamalakanter Daptar’ (1875) he drew the image of the ‘Mother India’ which was the imagery of Maa Durga (The Hindu Goddess Durga). He says that the Mother will protect her son with her divine power and energy. In 1896, the annual session of the Indian National Congress in Calcutta began with the song ‘Bande Mataram’. In the decade of 1880, the song was included in the novel ‘Anandamath’. Bankim’s ‘Anandamath’ was the inspiration to many Congress leaders, prominent of them were Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sri Aurobindo. Bankim always championed the idea of a nation-state which would carry forward the Hindu culture derived from Pur¯ an.as , G¯ıt¯ a, Mah¯ abh¯ arata, Vedic literature, and Indian philosophy.

10.5

Views on Hindutva

Bankim looked upon Hindutva as a consciousness, related to the ‘nationbuilding’ which was the panacea for all cultural, social, economic, political, and ethnicity centric problems. Bankim criticised European nationalism for being destructive, selfish, and ruthless in nature. Bankim dreamt that the Hindu nationalism would merge itself within the broader milieu of universal love. He looked upon Hinduism as a basis of morality. He wished that Hinduism would speak for Humanity in general (Clark, 1961: 439). He emphasised upon the religion and social morality as the basic foundation of a country. Bankim used to uphold the idea of ‘n¯ıti’ (ethics) for a nation-state. He mentioned that religion was nothing but a ‘practice’ (Anusilan) of some good rituals by which one’s own physical, mental, social, and cultural improvements were shaped. He firmly believed that in Hinduism, one could find the idea of ‘salvation’ truly (Chattopadhyay, 2003: 84). Bankim urged for the reformation in Hinduism also, to make it more practical and dynamic. Bankim hoped that Hinduism should be the national creed of our country. He pointed out that the religious unity and spiritual fellowship among the Hindus all over India should be the basis of nationalism which would override barriers of language and distance. Bankim’s Hindutva was rational and cosmopolitan in nature (Poddar, 1970: 30–42). Bankim Chandra envisioned that a society devoid of religiosity was destined to

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destruction. He observed that no other religion could take the place of Hinduism. He reiterated that Hinduism must be protected for its uniqueness (Chattopadhyay, 1954: 778). He criticised the other religions in this regard. He slammed Islam for its invading nature and attitude to conversionism. Bankim was of the view that the Christians had done nothing without occupying some low caste Hindu villages and the Buddhism had tried to dethrone Hinduism but was dethroned by itself and sought some foreign nations for its further prosperity (ibid.). Bankim regarded that Brahmoism was nothing but an offshoot of Hinduism. He explained that despite repeated attempts no other religions had been able to occupy and replace Hinduism. Bankim was emphatic that society could not move upon without Hinduism (Chattopadhyay, 1954: 778). However, he did not spare Hinduism for its too much ´ astras (scriptures). Bankim dependence on illogical rituals and age old Sh¯ perceived the rituals were the stigmas to Hindu religion. He observed that the ‘polluted Hinduism’ was doing nothing good to the society except demeaning it gradually. He elucidated that the real Hinduism must come out from the ‘pseudo-Hinduism’ which was found in fictional literatures, imaginary history, fictional science, eulogies, and mere scriptures having no rational values. He categorically mentioned: Where humanity is recognised and the physical, social and mental development is possible that is religion. Every religion bears this same message but Hinduism, apart from carrying these messages, also bears the completeness of human progress and the message of salvation through the meaningful work for the society and civilization. It is the truth of Hinduism. (ibid.)

What Bankim Chandra preached about Hindutva was actually a note of ‘Assertive Hinduism’ (Bose, 1974: 4). It was free from blind imitation of the past. Bankim highlighted the synthesis of the Hindu spirit with the Western concept of nationalism, mixed with the ideologies of Utilitarianism and Positivism. Bankim’s interpretation of Hinduism was based upon the application of the Western methodology of religion. He advocated for Hinduism, co-relating it with universal essence (ibid.: 5– 6). While speaking on nationalism and patriotism, Bankim through his ‘Dharma Tattwa’ found out that India should not follow the aggressive Patriotism of the West rather India should a balance between patriotism and universalism. According to Bankim, ‘If that happens, future India

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will be able to occupy the foremost place in the comity of nations’ (ibid.: 103). His concept of Hindutva was free from all kinds of superstitions. There was a time when the sea voyage of Hindus was not permissible. Bankim in a letter to Benoy Krishna Deb fully supported the sea voyages for Hindus. Thus, Bankim Chandra stood up with courage to build up an image of rational and dynamic Hindutva (ibid.: 109). Apart from advocacy for liberal Hindutva, Bankim did not deny the importance of the core aspects of Hinduism like polytheism. Defending the attack of foreigners regarding polytheism, Bankim said that to worship the different forces of nature was to unite with the one and absolute God. He continued further that God was manifested through different forms of nature that the Hindus used to worship. Regarding Chitta Suddhi (Purity of Mind), Bankim said that the love of God, love of the world, and mental peace were the most dominating features of Hindu minds. He pointed out, ‘Hindu dh¯ arma was very liberal.’ He cried out to eradicate the boundaries of caste and build a strong nation (Bagal, 1954: 778). He openly put a protesting voice to prevent the idolatry prevalent in Hindu society at that time. Bankim Chandra recognised that Hinduism had a universal appeal. To quote R. C. Dutt: Bankim sought to create harmony out of disharmony, bring in liberality in an atmosphere of illiberality, lighten up the darkness of ignorance by the pure knowledge of Hinduism, show the path of progress in a decadent society and replace lifeless ritualism by the life-giving power of the ancient faith (cited in Bose, 1974: 116)

10.6 Hinduism: From Bankim’s Literary Illustration Bankim Chandra was not a Hindu monk or sage who propagated Hinduism among the masses. In ‘Bangadarsan’ (Bengali literary magazine), Bankim got the opportunity to explain his views on Hinduism. He wanted vehemently that a platform was needed for objective literary criticism. He chose ‘Bangadarshan’ for that particular purpose. But, in the long run, ‘Bangadarshan’ did not exist long. It had existed only for four years (1872–1876). Bankim Chandra concentrated his view on Hinduism in the last part of his literary career. He explained ‘true Hinduism’ in his writings. From the late nineteenth century, he categorically emphasised the values,

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ideals, and civilisation of ancient India. In the novel ‘Anandamath’ and ‘Debi Chudhurani,’ Bankim tried to uphold his opinion regarding Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation-state) and the sacred Hindu scripture G¯ıt¯ a. There is a debate that what Bankim preached about Hinduism was actually a ‘Neo-Hinduism’ which was the original and core thinking of Bankim’s intellectual intuition. He tried to explain the Hindu-Muslim relation from the past. In doing so, Bankim reconstructed the facts and general themes of his historical writings. For example, the novel ‘Anandamath’ depicted the sufferings of Hindus by the Muslim ruler along with the colonial government. It had been written on the context and plot of Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion that took place against the colonial rule in the late eighteenth century. Bankim used the facts in his own way while composing his literary contributions. He aptly made historical changes, reconstructed Bengal society and explained Hindu-Muslim relationship from the past (Bagal, 1954: 597–598). He doubted the originality of Muslim blood in India. To him, the Hindus were converted in Islam during the Muslim rule in India. He did not recognise the fact that in Bengal the Hindus and Muslims had been living together with mutual respect and tolerance from the long past. Bankim Chandra believed in Hindu regeneration along with the Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation-state) to protect the interest of the Hindus. His novels, based on the facts of historical events, truly wanted to promote and arouse the Hindu patriotism and Hindu nationalism. Through his various novels Bankim upheld the idea that the Muslims (Muslim rule visà-vis Nawab’s rule) must be defeated by the Hindu forces and ultimately the Hindu nation will be established where the rights and opportunities for Hindus will remain intact. In his novels like, ‘Rajsingha’ (1882), ‘Sitaram’ (1887), or in ‘Devi Chaudhurani’ (1884) and ‘Anandamath’ (1882), he set this tone. His slogans for ‘Matribhumi,’ ‘Swaraj,’ and ‘Janmabhumi’ clearly indicated the idea for the indigenous and Hindu nation-state. These slogans highlighted the notion of regeneration of Hinduism. The Indian National Congress (INC), at the outset, did not agree with Bankim’s thought on nationalism. But realising Bankim’s immense popularity among the youth, the Indian National Congress (INC) had to review its outlook on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. During the partition of Bengal, Bankim’s literary writings had immense popularity among the young generation. ‘Bande Mataram’ became the catchy slogan. The youth highly appreciated Bankim’s thought regarding Motherland.

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In ‘Dharma Tattwa’ (The Theory of Religion) written in 1884, Bankim Chandra emphasised upon the concept of anushilan (methods of culture). This anushilan was meant to challenge the Western perspective of culture. He regarded that the concept of ‘anushilan’ was highly associated with bhakti (devotion). According to Bankim, this bhakti was manifested in different forms of wisdom and duty. In ‘Dharma Tattwa,’ he explained that a person could attain devotion (bhakti) only when he was keeping complete faith toward the manifestations of God in all forms (Raychaudhuri, 2002: 126). Bankim was of the view that the West had devoted all their devotion toward materialistic progress and thenceforth was able to gain the fruits in science and technology. However, he opined that true knowledge could be achieved only ´ astras (scripthrough the extensive knowledge of Hindu scriptures and Sh¯ tures) where salvation of soul through the practice of truth had been explained. That is why, Bankim regarded, India was superior (Raychaudhuri, 2002: 126–130). However he advocated a synthesis between East and West. He utmost believed that India would retain her superiority in the field of spiritual consciousness. He appealed to the intelligentsia and the learned society to come forward and spread the fruits of great Indian culture and extend the process of cultural regeneration. He reiterated that the intelligentsia would have to lead in this regard and the rest would have to follow the suits. Bankim Chandra, for this purpose, emphasised upon the use of vernacular language in study. He regarded that the use of vernacular language would extend the feelings of pride and unity among the masses. He viewed that the rural people thenceforth would be able to connect them with the process of national and cultural regeneration. Bankim also viewed Hinduism as a religion of nation which could shape the meaning of religion to the masses and even to poor and ignorant (Chatterjee, 1993: 75). The Core of Hinduism Bankim Chandra categorically recognises the obsolete ideas in Hinduism as ‘demons’ and ‘tangled jungle of ghosts.’ He advocates for coming out of these ideas. He also favors the eradication of mere beliefs which do not have any significance in the way of life. He repeatedly emphasises upon making of delicate difference among social policy, domestic morality, unwritten law, general culture, and religion. Bankim sees religion as a system of social culture. He time and again favors building of common

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religious belief that has been evolved itself since the Vedic era. However, Bankim Chandra lays a tone of caution, as building of common religious belief is not an easy task due to its variation from region to region and province to province. Despite divergence in belief, Bankim Chandra throws light on fundamental principles and commonality as the basis of Hinduism. Bankim opines that the age old superstitions and prevalent etiquettes in Hinduism have been the greatest barrier for the development of Hinduism. The higher fundamental principles in Hinduism have been covered by the irrational thinking patterns and absurd social norms. The term purity should not be confined to some social rules. It must be enlightened by the application of enlightened intellect. Age old beliefs must be reformed through the process of coherent and comprehensive reformation. Bankim Chandra asserts that in the age of progress, the reformed and purified Hinduism has the capacity of standing forth as the noblest social culture and individual religious belief. He simultaneously expresses his thought that without the progress of Hinduism, the progress of India is impossible. He questions—how an archaic social culture can sustain without regeneration? The culture and belief pattern which were suited to 3000 years ago may not suit in the age progress. As far as Hinduism is concerned, Bankim Chandra sees re-ignition as the need of the hour. The venerable ideas of Hinduism must not be clouded with the ‘imposing authority’ of the ‘old names.’ The removal of ‘darkness’ is the essential to find out the hidden truth out of the antiquated jargons prevalent from ancient times. Bankim Chandra sees that the hoary and hollow ideas must be replaced with truth. Bankim says that we must respect the past but we cannot make injustice to our new way of life. He continues further that we have to be accustomed with new art of interpretation which will find out eternal truth and make it conducive to the necessities of life (cited in Sen, 2003: 82–84).

10.7 Anandamath and the Image of Hindu Goddess Mahendra was the landlord as well as Zamindar. He left his Zamindari along with his wife and daughter to find a new livelihood. He met the Guru of ‘Anandamath’ named Satyananda. Mahendra used his wealth for acquiring arms and ammunition for ‘Anandamath’ (the heavenly or blessed place). Satyananda was the main founder of ‘Anadamath’ which used to oppose the injustice against the Hindus. Satyananda followed

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the orders and instructions of his Guru (unknown) and set up the aims and objectives for ‘Anandamath.’ Bhavanada was another character who sacrificed his life for the sake of Motherland. Jivananda the most trusted disciple of Satyanada made a clear impact in the novel. He till the last breath of his life fought against the British and led an ascetic life after the establishment of ‘Anandamath’ with his lover Shanti. At an earlier stage, Shanti was denied access to ‘Anadamath.’ Later on, she joined in Ashrama in disguise and fought the war as a male. Ultimately her identity was revealed. But she was not driven from the Ashrama and fought the war along with her lover Mahendra. The composition of Anandamath was a great moment in the history of Indian literature. This novel upheld the idea of the Hindu nation which by the time merged with the images of the Hindu Goddess. The novel at the same time depicted the Hindu-Muslim relationships which were going through under tense circumstances. At the beginning we cannot understand the background but as the story moves on, it becomes clear to us that the plot is highly linked with the incidents of Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion of 1770 A.D. This was the time when the imagination of a nation was not in a structured form and the linkage of the image of Hindu Goddess with the Bharat Mata (Mother India) was undoubtedly a revolutionary one. Anandamath deals with the historical background of the ‘dual form of government’ as introduced by the East India Company in 1765. The Company was controlling the administration in real from back of the curtain by instating a puppet Muslim Administrator (Nawab). The company hiked revenues without considering the conditions of the peasants. The Nawab was working in favour of East India Company and the atrocities were so immense that the peasants were at a loss and faced deep economic crisis. The oppression was so havoc that three successive droughts prompted a massive famine which came as disastrous in 1770. One-third of the populations were wiped out due to severe starvation which resulted to a maximum number of deaths. The innocent and honest villagers had no way without accepting robbery and dacoity (an act of violent robbery by a gang of armed people) as the livelihood. Sometimes, Hindu Sannyasis (Monks) and Muslim fakirs helped the common villagers and also dacoits by providing leadership and organisational support. Their rebellion was against the Nawab’ s army, which got continuous support from the East India Company’s logistic and military supply and ultimately, the rebellion forced East India Company to change the administrative

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structure and revenue policy against the native Indian peasants. After that, Warren Hastings was appointed as Governor-General of India and he sent troops to suppress the rebellion which restricted the rebels to carry on their armed struggle. The Nawab was dethroned. East India Company took a reformed administrative control. A new revenue policy was implemented. Now, the landlord got the right to raise and collect the rent and at the same time he had full right to evict tenants if they became unable to submit the revenue in proper time and the ‘dual form of the government’ was abolished. Bankim had mentioned emphatically about the tenant’s wretched condition due to the new colonial system in his literary works. In Anandamath, Bankim Chandra depicted the Nawab, the puppet administrator, responsible not only for widespread oppression, devastation, and starvation, but also for the calculated and total destruction of the Hindu community who lost their dignity, honor, power, and position owing to Nawab’s oppressive rule. The fact is that, the novel creates a split between the Nawab administered system and victims of the famine. The administrators were Muslims and the wretched people were identified as Hindus. Some criticise Bankim vehemently for not referring to Muslim Peasants who had equally suffered due to the catastrophe. However, the criticism does not find merit as Bankim categorically mentioned the wretched condition of the peasant community as a whole where he gave the examples of Rama Kaivarta who belonged to a low caste Hindu and Rahim Sheikh who belonged to a common Muslim family. Agrarian distress was then depicted beyond any class, caste, or community. The characters of Bankim Chandra’s revolutionary novel, ‘Anandamath,’ emphatically mention that the famine was the specific misfortune for Hindus which had been aggravated by the Muslim rulers. Apart from criticising the Muslim Nawabs, Bankim was equally and emphatically vocal against the colonial oppression. It categorically highlighted patriotic holiness or purity where the Hindus could easily merge with the subtle message that the Hindus were in danger. The need of the hour was to protect the unity and purity of Hindu blood and religion. Finally, it frames the construction of Hindu Nationhood which came as an idea in the literary world of late eighteenth century India, with the hand of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. So obviously, Bankim Chandra possessed credit to highlight the concept of nationhood where the Hindus were relentlessly working to protect their ‘Motherland’ not only from the Nawab’s rule but also from the

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colonial regime also. If we follow Satyananda, the fictional Hindu character, says, ‘We do not want power for ourselves. We want to exterminate all the Muslims on this land as they are enemies of God’ (Das, 1996: 28). The Muslim intellectuals had been very vocal and critical against the contents and characterisation of the novel, ‘Anandamath’ but that is another angle of the discourse, the fact is that the hymn ‘Bande Mataram’ in ‘Anandammath’ novel had been taken as the national anthem and the anthem was sung at Congress sessions also. Rabindranath Tagore gave music and sang it also (Majumdar, 1961: 422).

10.8

Bankim’s Ideas on Nation-state

After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the East India Company’s rule came to an end, and India was begun to be ruled directly by Britain through the Queen Victoria’s proclamation of 1 November 1858. The Secretary of State for India, Lord Stanley, was looking after the Indian affairs in the name of the British monarchy. From then various reforms and welfare activities were undertaken by the British administration to remove the frustrations of the Indian people against the British Empire. The British Indian Association which was founded by Raja Radhakanta Deb and Debendranath Tagore on 29 October 1851 was upholding the demands of India and Indian people, to the British for further reforms. This British Indian Association became a center of political activities of the Indians also. Many important personalities like Peary Chand Mitra, Ramgopal Ghosh, and Krishnadas Pal became its prominent members. The organisation demanded reforms in agricultural and revenue sectors, reforms in the judicial system, development of indigenous manufacturing, and recruitment of Indians to the British higher administrative posts. When Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the Deputy Collector of Khulna in 1883, he took the membership of the said organisation. He was deeply pained at the atrocities of the British administration upon the poor peasants of Khulna and he decided to raise the issue in the forum of British Indian association (Bagal, 1953: 21). However, the British administration took the initiative of spreading the fruits of education to the lower-middle strata of the society. This decision was the part of the British reforms mission after the Mutiny of 1857. The Zamindars and the higher educated Bengalis opposed the British initiative and demanded to solve the basic needs of the poor Indian people. However, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay strongly supported the British

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initiative to spread elementary education among the lower-middle strata of society. He was of the view that education among the poor’s of India would be beneficial to perceive the real problems of their life in a better way (Bagal, 1953: 21). The Bengali and Indian press also opposed the British move. The press criticised Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay for supporting the British move. Bankim was determined to his decision as he thought that it was a welfare approach on the part of the British administration (ibid.). In 1872, through the Bengali literary Magazine ‘Bangadarshan,’ Bankim Chandra advocated for the welfare of all human beings irrespective of their creed and caste. He also advocated increasing the organisational skill of the Indians. Bankim was of the view that only organisational power could be an alternative to the British forces in India. Bankim Chandra opined that the British had captured the world power owing to their developments in the field of science and technology. He advocated that India must be developed in the field of Science in order to eradicate the evils of society and challenge the colonial power also (ibid.: 660). He urged the nation to come out from laziness and build a resistance to all kinds of oppression. In 1874, When Bankim Chandra was the Deputy Collector of Berhampore-Murshidabad; a British Colonel named Duffin humiliated him for being Indian. Bankim filed a criminal lawsuit against the Colonel and compelled him to beg pardon (Bagal, 1953: 22). Bankim always maintained a self-dignity as an Indian and had an independent outlook, not to be dominated by foreign personnel. At that time, this incident became a matter of pride to the Bengali and Indian society as a whole. In 1873, the poor peasants of Pabna-Sirajganj revolted against the atrocities of British administration. Bankim stood by the peasants. He wrote the miserable conditions of the peasants in his essay ‘Samya,’ 1879, and brought the atrocities of the British in public. Bankim’s contemporary, Romesh Chunder Dutt (familiar as R. C. Dutt) also criticised the British for such misery to the peasants’ community of Bengal. Later the British government revoked all the repressive taxes and resettled the tax system. In ‘Bangadarshan,’ Bankim Chandra illustrated his message for patriotism. He stated that: This is my Mother… my Motherland…the soil…decorated with ornaments…ornamented with ten hands…full of energy and power in every hand…the enemies lie to her feet…she is enemy demolisher…to her right

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lies Lakkhi (the Goddess of prosperity)…to her left lies Saraswati (the Goddess of wisdom)…with her there is mighty Kartik…Ganesh is with her for fruitfulness…into that frame of the picture, I saw my Motherland…my Goddess of Banga (Bengal). (Bagal, 1953: 22–23)

He urged the Countrymen to come forward and re-instate that image into the minds, hearts, and in families also. He embodied the image of his country through a reincarnated image of the Goddess Durga (Bagal, 1953: 22–23). According to Hindu belief, Durga is the Goddess of war who destroys the evils and establishes good over evils. The song Bande Mataram was composed in 1875 when Bankim Chandra was editing his literary magazine Bangadarshan, later it was included in Anandamath (1882). Regarding ‘Bande Mataram,’ Hara Prasad Shastri mentioned that: What Bankimbabu has done…all leads to a common way…and the way is worshiping Motherland, love for the Motherland, dedication to the Motherland. What Bankim has done, nobody has done so for India. So, he is our reverend, adorable teacher — he is our sage — he is our Prophet — he has given us a mantra and that is Bande Mataram. (cited in Samajpati, 1893: 173)

On 26 July 1876, when Indian Association (Bharat Sabha) came into existence, Bankim Chandra sent a letter to this association. In his absence, Nagendranath Chattopadhyay, a prominent Brahmo leader, read out Bankim’s message, ‘I trust this Association will be a significant milestone to represent the view of the common and indigenous people’ (Bagal, 1953: 23). Bankim Chandra, in real, was sympathetic and optimistic about the activities of the Indian Association. When Indian Association decided to send a delegate team to Britain to raise the demands for the Indian welfare, Bankim Chandra accommodated much-needed lump sum money from the Queen of Berhampore-Murshidabad—Queen Swarnamoyee. He directly wrote a letter to queen Swarnamoyee urging her to give a large amount of money for the sake of the Motherland. When Surendranath Banerjee and Dwarkanath Ganguly went to Queen Swarnamoyee, She immediately donated thousands of rupees (ibid.). When Indian National Congress (INC) came to the forefront in 1885, people had lots of expectation to the Indian National Congress. Soon, the Indians became disappointed with the activities of the Indian National Congress. Indian National Congress was criticised for following a friendly and soft approach toward British imperialism. The leaders like Dadabhai

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Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and Pherozeshah Mehta believed that the British rule could be helpful to have a change in Indian society and life. They had full confidence upon the British system of administration, judiciary, and rule of law. They were known as early nationalists. The early nationalists failed to uphold Indian National Congress as a mass organisation (Moore, 1999: 435–446). The Educated Intelligentsia was the driving force of the then Indian National Congress. Regarding the activities of the Indian National Congress, Bankim Chandra stated: I have no sympathy for the Indian National Congress (INC)…I have no doubt that its objectives are great…I have no doubt also that the way the INC is going on, it is going to be an organisation of few not for masses. Every activity of the INC seems temporary and fruitless. If the common people are kept away, the INC with few educated Indians can never extend the glory of India. If the millions of Indians can not feel the necessity of having INC, it is no longer going to serve the purpose of the people. (Bagal, 1953: 24)

However, Bankim’s criticism touched the Congress leaders and the Indian National Congress began to change its approach and began to be massoriented organisation gradually. After his death in 1894, his writings became deep sources of inspiration to the freedom fighters. During the swadeshi and boycott movement of 1905, against Lord Curzon’s ‘Divide and Rule’ policy, ‘Bande Mataram’ was very prominent and catchy slogan among the protesters. Bankim’s literary contributions had a tremendous influence upon the Indian leaders all through the period of Indian nationalist struggle. According to Sri Aurobindo; ‘…Bankim wrote this great song (Bande Mataram)…The mantra had been given and in a single day a whole population had been converted to the religion of patriotism’ (ibid.: 26).

10.9

Conclusion

There was lots of criticism regarding Bankim Chandra’s thought of nation-state. Some scholars doubt the comprehensive nature of Bankim’s nationalism. The criticism arises as how would the Muslims be able to merge themselves into the broader milieu of Bankim Chandra’s nationalism? We should not forget that his different novels for example, ‘Bande Mataram’ or ‘Anandamath’ were not directed against the Muslim

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community as a whole. Bankim Chandra was critical against the Muslim aggression and invasion upon India and conversion of many low caste Hindus into Islam. When Bankim Chandra was imagining the Hindu Goddess as an embodiment of nation, he did not think keeping out large section of Muslim population at bay. We also should not forget that while Bankim Chandra was composing his literary contributions; there were sizable numbers of Muslims inhabiting in India. Bankim Chandra in his novels categorically used the concept ‘we,’ the children of the holy Mother (Kaviraj, 1995: 132). The Mother does not differentiate among her children. The Mother remains approachable, lovable, and affectionate to all her children. So, Bankim Chandra’s emphasis was on ‘territorial identification rather than demographic identification of masses’ (ibid.). The concept Hindu nationalism denotes constructing a community visà-vis a nation through a culture in common which is based upon the belief in Hinduism, Hindu culture and Hindu way of life (Zavos, 2003: 5). To Bankim Chandra, Hinduism and Hindu nationalism were the better conditions of living (Bagal, 1954: 778). Bankim thought that the advent of the British ‘rule of law’ would ultimately extend the way to establish the Indian nation-state. Muslims at that time were reluctant to accept the fruits of British rule in India. Bankim thought that the attitude of the Muslims was to delay the establishment of the indigenous nation-state. In the end, Bankim wanted that the Hindus must be educated and developed in such a manner that they could attain a ‘self-identity.’ To conclude it must be noted, when the country was drowned into the mere imitation of the West, and the country’s heritage and honor were shattered, Bankim stood firmly to build the national consciousness and feelings. His writings and emotions were all about constructive patriotism, selfless dedication, devotion, and determination for the Mother country. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was indeed a visionary pathfinder, tireless patriot, and true nation-builder. In the last days of his life, Bankim Chandra’s health began to deteriorate. From March, 1894, he had suffered a lot with diabetes. In the afternoon of 8 April 1894, he breathed his last. He left the mundane world keeping his wife Rajalakshmi Devi and his three daughters; Sarat Kumari, Nilabja Kumari, and Utpal Kumari. His death created a vacuum in the literary world of India. The society as a whole had mourned the death of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. After his death, his writings and literary compositions became the essence of living to the next generations. Sri Aurobindo aptly said, ‘The earlier Bankim was only a poet and

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stylist—the latter Bankim was a seer and nation-builder’ (Bagal, 1953: 25).

10.10

Summary

This chapter is an overview of the life and contribution of the legendary Bengali literary personality Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He was undoubtedly one of the brightest stars of nineteenth century Bengali literature and Renaissance. His versatile genius covers all the aspects of society. His literary career was indeed a treasure trove for the country. Being the civil servant (Deputy Collector), Bankim Chandra got the opportunity to observe the nature of human beings and the expectations, superstations, and frustrations of the society. His style of writing, use of language, and eye of imagination everything has been marked as a visionary horizon in terms of social, political, cultural, and literary world is concerned. He had an emphatic explanation on Hindutva and Hindu nation-state. Bankim Chandra was very sensible and rational in approach. He met with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa but was not satisfied with Ramakrishna’s idealism. He tried to regenerate Hinduism with the liberal ideas of Western criticised. He is often criticised for his attachment and affinity to Hinduism. In reality, Bankim was a true patriot, free from all kinds of dogmas, superstitions, and prejudices. Bankim Chandra’s concept of Hinduism and Hindutva was all about the universal brotherhood, harmony, and humanism. He acknowledged the significance of Western civilisation but in doing so Bankim Chandra had never denied the rich cultural heritage of Indian civilisation. He was very vocal for reforms needed for the progress of the society. Being a key renaissance figure, Bankim Chandra through his writings, urged for a dynamic mindset of the Indian people. His thinking in particular on Hinduism created a new wave among the youth of the then Indian society. He repeatedly urged to relook Hinduism from a holistic approach. He wanted the assimilation of Hindu spirit, with the concept of nationalism and patriotism. Bankim Chandra’s nationalist thinking was based upon a kind of Hindutva where every religion, caste, or community will merge in the name of nationstate. He was undoubtedly a great nation-builder and a pioneer nationalist thinker.

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Nikhilananda, S., & Mukherjee, D. G. (Eds.). (2011). Sri Ramkrishna: The face of silence. Jaico Publishing House. Poddar, A. (1970). Renaissance in Bengal: Quests and confrontations, 1800–1860. Indian Institute of Advanced Study. Raychaudhuri, T. (2002). Europe reconsidered: Perceptions of the west in nineteenth century Bengal. Oxford University Press. Samajpati, S. C. (Ed.). (1893). Bankim prosonga. Mukherjee Bose and Company. Sen, A. P. (Ed.). (2003). Social and religious reform: The Hindus of British India. Oxford University Press. Zavos, J. (2003). The emergence of Hindu Nationalism in India. Oxford University Press.

CHAPTER 11

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Jajneswar Sethi

11.1

Introduction

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, also known as Veer Savarkar, has appeared as a radiant star in the political horizon of India. He was a comprehensive and multifaceted personality with many-sided activities. He achieved his fame as a scholar, educator, agitator, writer, lawyer, historian, social worker and as one of the earliest radicals in the struggle against the British government, known for his activism for the cause of political emancipation of Mother India. As a great nationalist, Savarkar infused a sense of patriotism and nationalism in the minds of our countrymen. He was an unparalled leader of the time, in the history of Indian freedom struggle. He rightly realised that armed revolt is needed to liberate India from the clutches of British slavery. He justified armed rebellion and all possible violent means to overthrow the Britishers from the soil of India. He was quite disagreement with Gandhi’s non-violent methods of achieving swaraj . Vinayak was regarded as a born revolutionary who advocated for the emancipation of India—the eternal land

J. Sethi (B) Department of Political Science, Ravenshaw University, Odisha Cuttack, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_11

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of his birth, the distressed and the suffering millions of his countrymen. At the age of just eleven, Savarkar organised a gang of kids, known as ‘Vanarsena’ (monkey brigade). He wanted to make the people to be physically strong, so that they can bear the physical torture of the Britishers and be able to face any man-made natural disasters. Therefore, Savarkar conducted hiking, swimming and mountaineering around Nasik, the place of his birth. Vinayak considered Tilak, a great Extremist leader of India’s freedom struggle who started Ganapati festival and Shivaji festival as a means to promote unity among the people. As a great follower of Tilak, Savarkar also used to organise Ganesh and Shivaji festivals to arouse a feeling of oneness among the people and pride in their country’s heritage. To create national consciousness among the people, Savarkar started writing prose and poems, plays etc. which he had developed as a passion that will give inspiration to the social and political workers. Hindutva was the term he coined to give Hindus a collective identity as an essence of Bharat (India). As a political thinker, he combined the elements of rationalism, utilitarianism, and positivism, universalism and humanism, realism and pragmatism in his philosophy. Savarkar’s political ideology emerged as a separate ideological articulation, focusing on the homogeneity of the Hindu people residing in a certain area. Savarkar, as an atheist, opposed traditional ideas in all faiths, including Hinduism.

11.2

Life Sketch

Savarkar was born in a traditional Marathi Chitpavan Br¯ ahmin family on 28 May 1883, in the village of Bhagur, near the city of Nashik, Maharashira. He was the son of Damodar and Radhabai Savarkar and was second among two other brothers namely Ganesh and Narayan, and Maina her sister. His elder brother was a strong source of influence in his life. After the death of his mother who died of cholera, Savarkar was just nine years old. Again, seven years later, he was shocked of the death of his father who breathed his last in a plague. As he lost his parents in his childhood, Savarkar was taken care of under the protection of his elder brother Ganesh who played an influential part in his life. Right from his childhood, Savarkar used to read ‘Short History of the World’, ‘History of India’ from Vedic times and was a regular reader of the newspapers like Kesari, Kal etc. He had thorough command over Sanskrit and English literature. Also, he was highly impressed by the biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Napoleon, Lenin, Trotsky etc. Amongst other books, he could

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read Bible, Holy Qur Ↄ¯ an etc. He married Yamunabai, the daughter of an old family friend Ramachandra Triambak Chiplunkar, when he was twelve years old, and Triambak pledged to aid with Vinayak’s university studies when he passed his matriculation test. In his student life, Savarkar was motivated to fight against the British Raj in India. He was very well-known among his friends and teachers as an extremely brave, meritorious and outspoken boy. In 1898, the Chapekar brothers were hanged in Pune by the British government for assassinating a British official. This had left a deep mark on the teenaged Savarkar who was highly impressed by the martyrdom of Chapekar brothers and determined to undertake armed struggle against the British government as his foremost aim. In 1902, Savarkar got admission in Fergusson College in Poona. It was from here, Vinayak started his revolutionary journey in the actual sense. Savarkar was strongly inspired as a young man by radical politicians like as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai, as well as the political battle against Bengal partition and the burgeoning swadeshi campaign. Savarkar advocated for swadeshi and urged upon the Indians to use native products instead of using foreign goods as it is barely needed for economic independence of the people. He burned the imported fabric in 1905 as a symbol of India’s opposition to foreign textiles. He also founded the Abhinav Bharat —the international revolution institute. Savarkar’s inciting patriotic statements and activities enraged the British government, who revoked his Bachelor of Arts degree. Shyamji Krishna Varma, a nationalist leader, assisted Vinayak in obtaining a scholarship to study law in England in 1906. Vinayak became involved with the ‘India House’, which was created by expatriate political and social activist Pandit Shyamji and was a bustling focus for student political activity, after enrolling at Gray’s Inn law college in London. Then, he created the ‘Free India society’ to assist fellow Indian students in organising them to struggle for complete freedom from British domination. During his time in London, Savarkar organised events like as ‘Raksha Bandhan’ and ‘Guru Govind Singh Jayanti’, as well as attempting to raise awareness among Indian students. Savarkar waged a guerrilla battle similar to the legendary 1857 War of India’s Independence. He penned ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857 ’ on the 50th anniversary of the Revolt of 1857, in which he referred to the Revolt as the ‘First War of Independence’ and criticised British rule in India as unjust and repressive. The book was a resounding success,

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instilling a strong sense of pride in Indians and providing a new perspective on a battle that had previously been viewed solely as the result of unhappy Indian soldiers serving in the British army. The British government outlawed the book’s distribution across the British Empire. In the Netherlands, France and Germany, Madam Bhikaji Cama—a great Indian revolutionary republished it. The book was widely circulated, attained popularity and influenced the millions of Indians who raised their voice against the oppressive British rule on the soil of India. On 13 March 1910, Savarkar was rounded up and deported to India for his ties with the revolutionary group India House. When the ship carrying Savarkar arrived in Marseilles, France, he fled and swam a long distance in the frigid ocean to reach the beach. He had informed his pals to meet him in Marseilles, including Madame Bhikaji Cama, but they turned up late and were detained by the French police. Savarkar was convicted and condemned to prison in the Andaman Islands on 24 December 1910. He spent several years in the Andaman Islands, where he was deported after being sentenced to fifty years in prison. With the great aim of educating the illiterate convicts in the jail, Savarkar spent time in jail to establish a library in the facility. With his efforts, he was able to make the inmates literate. He was later removed from the Andamans in 1923 and interned in the Ratnagiri party (Varma, 2015: 381) and got elected as the its president with the aim of instilling his own revolutionary zeal and heroic will in the Hindu Mahasabha (ibid.). Savarkar was accused by the Indian government for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, but was acquitted by the Supreme Court of India. Savarkar was a scholar and a prolific writer. He wrote many books and the important among them are ‘Hindu-Pad-Padshahi’, ‘Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?’, ‘Hindu Rashtra Darshan’, ‘Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History’, ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857 ’, etc. As a great revolutionary, Savarkar dedicated the rest of his life to the service of society and remained faithful to the Hindu cause until the end of his life. On 1 February 1966, Savarkar refused to take medicine, food, water and enthusiastically embraced atmaarpan (fasting until death). He wrote an article called ‘Atmahatya Nahi Atmaarpan’ in which he tried to justify that it is better to end life voluntarily than to wait when the mission of life and the ability to serve society is finished, there is no more left for death. He died on 26 February 1966 at his residence in Bombay (now Mumbai) at the ripe old age of 83, leaving behind a son Vishwas and a daughter Prabha Chiplunkar.

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Ideas on Hindutva

Savarkar was a staunch defender of Hinduism, who coined the term Hindutva to form a collective Hindu identity as the essence of Bharat. He used the term Hindutva to describe Hinduism or the quality of being a Hindu and observed Hinduism as an ethnic, cultural and political identity. According to Savarkar, ‘Hindus’ are those who consider India to be the land where their ancestors lived and the country where their religion originated. Also, Savarkar defined Hindu as one who felt himself part of the vast geographical territories extending from the river Sindhu in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south and a race whose roots are traceable to the Himalayan altitudes of the Vedic Sapta Sindhus as well as the pride and tradition of Hindu culture and civilisation could be traced directly to their blood (Savarkar, 1923: 102–103 and 187). With this in mind, he advocated the creation of a Hindu State. Savarkar includes all Indian religions in the term Hinduism and his vision of a Hindu Rashtra like Akhand Bharat , which spans the entire Indian sub-continent (Ahuja, 2017: 168). As he wrote, Hindus are neither the followers of a particular religion nor they are residents of a particular region. Hindus are a nation that is established not only by the ties of love they have for a common homeland, but also by ties are united by common blood (Dixit, 1986: 131). According to Savarkar, the concept of Hindutva is broader and more comprehensive than Hinduism. Savarkar writes; that Hinduism has a religious meaning and connotes the theology and ritualism of the Hindus. Hindutva understands the religious ties of Hinduism, but goes further. Hindutva also includes the social, moral, political and economic aspects. Hindutva connotes the idea of an organic socio-political body linked by the three ties of territorial affiliation, blood or birth and culture (cited in Varma, 2015: 195–196). While Savarkar emphasised the need for a patriotic and social unity of all Hindu communities, Savarkar described Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism as one and the same homeland, a common holy land of worship (Ahuja, 2017: 168). Defending the concept of Hindu identity, Savarkar identified that Hindu culture or civilisation was the exchange of a common language, religious history, social customs, etc. that originated in this land of Bharatvarsha and continued to be practised by Hindus as a legacy of the ancient Vedic culture or civilisation (Savarkar, 1923: 88).

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Savarkar’s ideology on Hindutva was based on a vision of Hindu solidarity. For him, despite numerous external differences, Hindus are internally connected by certain cultural, historical, religious, social and linguistic similarities that have emerged through centuries of assimilation and connection with each other (Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 217). Savarkar described his vision of a Hindu Rashtra that emphasised the racial, cultural, and religious unity of the people. He declared that a nation would have been a political formation in which people live in a cohesive and adequate landscape with a common national identity characterised by internal cohesion that arises from subtle cultural and racial affinities. Since the Hindus were composed of all these characteristics, they undoubtedly formed a nation with the nature of a Hindu Rashtra (cited in Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 217). The ‘Hindu Rashtra’ 1 , as propounded by Savarkar, offered the minority communities in India some sort of freedom and rights, especially the right to participate in the affairs of the State. Therefore, he strongly opposed the Muslims’ call for a separate electorate in India. On behalf of the Hindus, Savarkar wrote that Hindus were ready to accept minority cooperation for the creation of a unified India, provided it was based on a just and equal basis. Always ready to grant all the smaller communities of India equal rights and representation in law, service, civil and political life in proportion to their population and income, they strictly rejected any demand for preferential treatment (cited in Dixit, 1986: 133–34). Savarkar emphasised on the moral and social renewal of Hinduism. He rightly believed that the true development of Hindus could only take place when their interests and responsibilities came together. Savarkar believed that spirit of community should therefore replace the ubiquitous isolationism of Hindus, (Varma, 2015: 383). For him, Hindutva is not only a concept of organic socio-political unity, but also includes the necessary elements of nationalism (ibid.: 384). All the obstacles that stand on the way of Hindu solidarity and all the barriers that separate Hindus from the rest of the society have to be demolished.

1 By Hindu Rashtra, Savarkar meant a nation would have been a political formation having people living in a contiguous and adequate landscape with a common national identity, marked by the internal cohesion brought about by subtle cultural and racial affinities.

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Savarkar’s Interpretation of Indian History

He was a great freedom fighter who dedicated his life for the cause of political emancipation of our beloved motherland. He strongly criticised the occupation of India by the foreign invaders and infused a sense of patriotism and nationalism in the minds of our countrymen. He realised that India which he termed as ‘Hindustan’ is fundamentally belonged to Hindus who consider this country both as their Fatherland and holy land. Savarkar was a staunch critic of the Muslim rulers in India including Akbar by categorising him as foreigner who belonged to another religion. Therefore, he should be denounced by the Hindus. Savarkar was quite enthusiastic about the heroic achievements of Hindu warriors like Shivaji, who put up stiff resistance to Muslim rulers and generals in India and urged Hindus to imitate the remarkable examples of these brave Hindu ancestors on the soil of the India (Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 210). In his exposition of Indian history, Savarkar classified it into six epochs. The Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta Maurya was the first epoch. The second epoch was the triumph of Pushyamitra Sunga on the Greek power in India. Then Vikramaditya or Chandragupta-II and his Empire was the third glorious epoch, while the regime of Yashodharma of Malwa who defeated Huns was the fourth epoch. Again, the foundation of Maratha power vis-à-vis mighty Mughals under the leadership of Shivaji was the fifth epoch and the successful expulsion of British from the soil of India would be the sixth and final epoch (Savarkar, 1971: 402). Published in 1925 in his ‘Hindu-Pad-Padshahi’, Savarkar gave a nationalist interpretation of the establishment of the Maratha power as a powerful counterattack to the power of Islamic forces not only in Maharashtra but also in other parts of the country. In this book, Savarkar reveals Shivaji’s excellent military leadership and interprets his victory against the policies of conquest, hatred of aggression and fanatical intolerance of Muslims in India (Varma, 2015: 382). He also highlighted the valour and loftier idealism of the Marathas than Harshavardhana and Pulakesin, the previous Hindu rulers in ancient India (Savarkar, 1945: 230). He also praised the system of government introduced by Shivaji, which is based on the principles of swadharma and swaraj . He valued the democratic elements of Shivaji’s ruling system, which was highly adapted to the needs of the Hindus (Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 210). In his interpretation of Indian history, Savarkar was one of the first writers to refer to the so-called Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 as India’s First War

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of Independence. He analysed the circumstances of the 1857 uprising and attacked British rule in India as unjust and oppressive. He firmly rejected the claims of British historians that the 1857 revolt was coloured only as a mutiny of the sepoys and had nothing to do with ordinary people, reflecting discontent with the British government in India (ibid.: 211). He also did not agree with the interpretations of some Indian writers who saw that the revolt was instigated by some orthodox sections of the armed forces, marked by the idea of chewing greased cartridges, and the desperate attempts of some Indian rulers to judge the British government. To incorporate their states into the British Empire through its Doctrine of Lapse Policy (ibid.). Savarkar held Nana Sahib in high regard, one of the leaders of the 1857 uprising that waged war against the unjust and oppressive policies of the British government that helped a future liberated and consolidated India (Varma, 2015: 383).

11.5

Swadharma and Swarajya

Savarkar was a nationalist revolutionary as well as votary of swadharma and swarajya. Swadharma and swarajya, Savarkar says, are inextricably linked. The principal causes of 1857 revolution, its driving force, were swadharma and swarajya. He goes on to elaborate that the main causes of the 1857 revolution, its driving force, were swadharma and swarajya. He goes on to explain that the independence that nature grants us has been insidiously taken from us and that we are bound in political slavery, a sacred desire to achieve the swarajya autocracy arose, and that sacred desire put the chains on freedom in one blow, and this is where the roots of this revolution lies … Nowhere else is love for one’s religion and love for one’s government so clearly visible as in the history of Hindustan.2 And then he agreed with Guru Govind Singh and expressed his opinion that the entire history of Hindustan is replete with episodes of brave men fighting for their religion who did not leave the field even when their bodies were dismantled into pieces. Therefore, even the problem of greased cartridges offending religious sentiments was only one episode, such as the annexation of Awadh and other similar episodes, and the ‘war’ would have been fought even if it had not happened, because it just did

2 https://archives.peoplesdemocracy.in/2007.

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not happen. It could have happened. It has been not only a matter of bad government, but of government itself, which sought to destroy the religious personality of the Indians (ibid.).3 Savarkar believed that the 1857 struggle, with its operational threat from Peshwar in Pakistan to Calcutta, was triggered by the noble and inspired concepts of swadharma and swaraj . The fear or the greased cartridges and the annexation of Awadh were only its accidental and temporary causes. The real driving force behind the great struggle was to save religion and the homeland, which was blessed by both temples and mosques (Savarkar, 1970: 7). In 1909, Savarkar referred to 1857 as a ‘war’ for independence and the war for independence is a dharmayudh (holy war) in which both Hindus and Muslims fight together, but Muslims fight for their religion and the Hindus for their own.4 Savarkar believed that swadharma and swaraj are closely related, since without religion autocracy means little and without autocracy religion is castrated. Swarajya’s sword must always be drawn in favour of swadharma (ibid.). Savarkar especially asked people to put aside all personal factors and work together in the defence of their national interest.

11.6 Bases of Integrative Nationalism and Patriotism Savarkar was a great prophet of nationalism and patriotism whose dedication, sacrifice and service to the nation are the outstanding qualities that stand out throughout his life. He was quite furious with British cruelty and oppression in India. He firmly believed that freedom cannot be achieved by petitions and prayers and stressed on the necessity of armed revolution as a means to achieve the target. As a nationalist, Savarkar strongly believed in Hindu solidarity. For him, Hindutva is not only a concept of organic socio-political unity, but also includes the essential elements of nationalism (Varma 1995–1996: 384). He did not believe in appeasement policy and was fully confident that swaraj could be won without the involvement of Muslims. For him, 3 Quoted in Nalini Taneja’s, ‘The Myth of Early Savarkar and His Nationalist 1857 Book’, People’s Democracy, Vol. XXXI, No. 12, 25 March 2007. For details see https:// archives.peoplesdemocracy.in/2007. 4 https://archives.peoplesdemocracy.in/2007.

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Hindus are much more efficient in fighting for their national freedom to the best of their ability. As he writes: ‘Hindustan is the homeland and the holy land, Hindu’s love for Hindustan is unlimited. That is why they dominate the national struggle to overthrow the British yoke’ (Varma 1995–1996: 385). It is life that shows an unwavering search for a single ideal: to establish India as a Hindu nation. (Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 218). The Hindu nation of Savarkar, based on the Hindutva doctrine, called for the protection of the Hindu people and their culture, emphasising that political and economic systems should be based on indigenous thought and not on concepts borrowed from the West. Savarkar did not identify the Mother India in terms of territorial and political nationalism, but identified in religio-cultural terms as having a distinct civilisational boundary (Roy & Singh, 2017: 303).

11.7

Savarkar as a Social Thinker

Savarkar was a great social thinker and reformer who waged war against evils of Hindu society and tried to give a new look to both Hindu religion and society. He believed in the idea of social transformation and has tried to recast the Indian society and culture. For the purpose, Savarkar worked for far-reaching social reforms by dispelling the age-old evils and inhuman practices, particularly among the Hindus in Indian society. Savarkar was a staunch critic of caste system which is one of the ugliest features of Hindus society and attributed this to the degradation and the degeneration of the Hindus and the Hindu society. Criticising the influence of the caste system in Hindu society, Savarkar rejected the chauturvarn.a system, which was not based on any scientific criteria but the creation of ancient beliefs, as the root cause of the caste system that gave rise to such inhuman practices like untouchability (Chakrabarty & Pandey, 2009: 213–214). Savarkar considered untouchability as a social evil which was developed by some persons who violated the established morality of Hindu religion. He even dared to reject the highest authority of the Ved¯ as and other Hindu scriptures if they did not reflect the changing standards of life; blind beliefs and customs, as they are quite detrimental to the growth and development of society (ibid.: 214). Savarkar realised that untouchability countered the spirit of human brotherhood as it promoted inequality, divided Hindu society into

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numerous divisions and was responsible for social disorder that led to confrontations, conflicts, mistrust, hatred and hostility. In 1924, Savarkar repeated untouchability and said that he was sure that he will see the eradication of untouchability and wished that after his death his body will be collected by Dhends, Doms together with Br¯ ahmins and that they all incinerate his body (Savarkar, 1972: 67). Again in 1927, Savarkar said ‘untouchability should go mainly because unnecessarily our untouchable brothers are subjected to treatment worse than the animals which is against the human dignity’ (Roy & Singh, 2017: 304). Savarkar wanted a united Hindutva where Hindus will remove the defects in their society. To him, political Hindutva would remain weak and continue to suffer if a great majority of the population was not emancipated from social and cultural humiliation. He believed that ‘untouchability should go not only because it would strengthen Hindu unity and ensure the consolidation of a fragmented society, but also because it was more important from the yardsticks of justice, dh¯ arma and Hinduism’ (ibid.: 305). Thus, social thoughts of Savarkar aimed at enhancing the moral character of the people and to abandon the divisive and inhuman social practices as pre-requisite for national consolidation.

11.8

Conclusion

Veer Savarkar was really a great revolutionary in the history of the Indian struggle for independence, who made serious sacrifices to fight for the absolute political independence of India. He wrote a book entitled ‘The Indian War of Independence 1857 ’ about India’s struggle for independence. While studying law in London, he encouraged Indian students against the British government. He remains the first and most original prophet of extremism in India. He was revered as a seer of Hinduism in modern India, where he includes all Indian religions in the term Hinduism and describes his vision of the Hindu Rashtra, which spans the entire Indian sub-continent. By concept of Hindu Rashtra he emphasised the cultural, racial and religious unity of the people, which is immensely necessary for national unity and stability. In his interpretation of the history of India, Savarkar harshly criticised the occupation of India by the foreign invaders and dedicated his life to emancipate Mother India, the eternal land of his birth. He rightly rejected the British historian’s claims that the 1857 revolt was only coloured as

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a sepoy mutiny, and this was instigated by some orthodox sections of the armed forces. He valued Nana Saheb, the great hero of the 1857 revolt, for his heroic fight against the unjust and oppressive British rule in India. Savarkar believed that the revolt of 1857 was based on the concepts of swadharma and swaraj as the true motivators to save religion and the homeland from degradation. As a social thinker, Savarkar believed in the idea of social change and was actively engaged in far-reaching social reforms by discarding the age-old evil social practices practised by the Hindu society.

11.9

Summary

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a multifaceted personality who became famous not only as a poet, writer, historian, educator, scholar, social worker, but also as one of the early revolutionaries. He was a great nationalist who campaigned for the political emancipation of Mother India. At the age of 11, Savarkar organised a gang of boys known as ‘Vanarsena’. Savarkar was quite disagreement with Gandhian concept of non-violence, a method of achieving swaraj and was deeply influenced by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a great Extremist leader of India’s freedom struggle. He justified armed rebellion and all possible violent means to overthrow the Britishers. After graduating, Savarkar visited England in 1906 to become a lawyer. Here, he founded the Free India Society for organising his fellow Indian students to fight for full independence. Due to his revolutionary activities, Savarkar was arrested by the British government on 13 March 1910 and sentenced to a lengthy trial. Savarkar was also a great Hindu prophet who coined the term Hindutva to create a collective Hindu identity. His ideology about Hindutva was rooted in the vision of Hindu solidarity and a Hindu Rashtra that emphasised the cultural, racial and religious unity of the people. As a historian, Savarkar criticised the occupation of India by the foreign invaders such as the British and Muslim rulers, including Akbar. He was a great believer in swadharma and swaraj , who were the driving force and the main cause of the revolution of 1857. As a social reformer, Savarkar waged war against the evils of Hindu society and tried to give a new face both to religion as well as to Hindu society.

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References Ahuja, M. L. (2017). Indian political thought. Wisdom Press. Chakrabarty, B., & Pandey, R. K. (Eds.). (2009). Modern Indian political thought: Text and context (pp. 213–214). Sage. Dixit, P. (1986). The ideology of hindu nationalism. In Thomas Pantham and Kenneth L. Deutsch (Eds.), Political thought in modern India. Sage. Roy, H., & Singh, M. P. (Eds.). (2017). Indian political thought: Themes and thinkers (2nd ed.). Pearson Education. Savarkar, B. (1923). Essentials of Hindutva. Veer Savarkar Prakashan. Savarkar, B. (1971). Six glorious epochos of Indian history (S.T. Godbole, Trans.). Veer Savarkar Prakashan. Savarkar, B. (1972). Hindu Samaj Sanrakshak Savarkar. Veer Savarkar Publication. Savarkar, V. D. (1970). The Indian war of independence 1857 . Sethani Kampani. Varma, V. P. (2015). Modern Indian political thought. Lakshmi Narain Agarwal Educational Publishers.

CHAPTER 12

Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar Pramod Kumar Ray and Prabira Sethy

12.1

Introduction

India is a land of many ascetic people who did not live merely for themselves but dedicated their being to society and humanity and Madhavarao Sadashivrao Golwalkar is one among such greatness, a foremost symbol of such a selfless life. Golwalkar, who was fondly remembered as Guruji, dedicated his life to the awakening of nationalistic sentiment rooted in the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Sri Aurobindo. Living a simple and strict live with no luxury or physical pleasure, he made an unforgettable contribution to the Motherland. Golwalkar was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s call to worship the Motherland. He also admired Bal Gangadhar Tilak for making culture so central to national identity and self-assertion. However, his love for

P. K. Ray Department of Political Science, L. B. Jr. College, Jajpur, Odisha, India P. Sethy (B) Department of Political Science, Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_12

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India and Hindu culture went hand-in-hand with a demonisation of the West and of what he saw as the enemy within. A leading political theorist, Jyotirmaya Sharma, writes that by rejecting individualism and putting much of emphasis on organic community, Golwalkar has ‘displayed a deep distrust of diversity’. Golwalkar had the unique opportunity to meet Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a doctor from Nagpur and the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1931. The RSS, a Hindu nationalist organisation stood for a brand of Hinduism by promoting the ideals of Indian culture and values in spreading the ideology of Hindutva to strengthen the Hindu community. It recruited young men who would prepare themselves for a lifetime of service to the ‘Hindu Rashtra’, namely, to the creation of a nation-state run for and by Hindus. Golwalkar’s intelligence and energy attracted Hedgewar, who adopted him as his protégé. He left Benaras and moved to Nagpur, where he took charge of running the RSS’s organisation. On his mentor’s death in 1940, he was appointed the Sarsanghchalak, or chief organiser of the RSS.

12.2

Life Sketch

Madhavarao Sadashivrao Golwalkar was born on 19 February 1906, in a very ordinary Br¯ ahmin family in a small village near Nagpur in Maharashtra. He was the eighth offspring of Sadashiv and Laxmibai. Taking the date and nakshatra into consideration, the new born was named as Madhav. His childhood name was Madhu as everybody in the family started calling him in this name. His father was a school teacher. Madhu’s education began in right earnest under the watchful eyes of Bhauji. He (Madhu) started receiving education from the age of two. As his father got transferred frequently from one place to another so as his (Madhu) schooling went on changing from one school to another. Madhu completed his primary education in Raipur, Chandrapur, Bhandara and Khandwa. At the age of nine, he was studying in fourth standard in Khandwa. He was the miracle child of the school. He was famous for being capable of answering any kind of straight or tricky questions. At an early stage in life, he developed an avid interest in the study of spiritualism. When barely in his teens, he began to study in his free time the Ved¯ as and other religious Hindu texts under the guidance of the Superintendent of school in Nagpur.

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So, he got an opportunity for extensive reading beginning from the primary school stage. By the time he was in middle in school, he turned to a voracious reader with the distinction of reading Shakespeare in full. Madhu entered to the English High School in 1919. He received a Princely scholarship of four rupees per month on winning the ‘high school entrance and scholarship exam’ after class seventh. Apart from reading story books and novels, Madhav was also reading books on history and literature. His father encouraged him in this passion for reading books. He used to study and finish the school syllabi at home with the help form his father. His reading speed was above normal and he felt that he was wasting his time in the class. He continued studying subjects both within and outside his syllabus. He had already read the entire Ramcharitmanas before completing Higher Secondary. At the age of sixteen, Madhav completed his tenth class from the Jubilee High School at Chanda (now Chandrapur) in the year 1922. Accordingly, he became a matriculate in the colloquial language. To prepare for life, Madhu’s father decided him to study science. So Madhu was admitted to science stream at Hislop College, basically a missionary institution and in the year 1924 he successfully passed intermediate with merit. During the first two years in the college, he had the distinctive identity of a scholarly student and as an excellent sportsman. He entered Banaras Hindu University in 1924. His field of academic concentration was Biology and Zoology. He proved a brilliant student and received his B.Sc. degree in 1926 and his M.Sc. degree in Zoology in 1928 standing first in the examination. The University soon afterwards appointed him as a lecturer in Zoology, a position he retained until 1933 (Goyal, 2000: 90–91). Madhav although was appointed as a lecturer in Zoology but his knowledge horizon was not confined to Zoology only, he was very good in subjects like English, Economics, Mathematics and Philosophy which he was teaching to his students most efficiently. He was very kind to the promising poor students as he preferred to spend a major proportion of his salary towards purchase of books for them. For this distinctive social and helpful attitude, all his friends and students had special respect for him, and he was quite popular among them. The love and reverence he received from everybody made him popular as ‘Guruji’ which in practice continued in Sangh and later became phenomena all over the country (Sharma, 2008: 22).

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Golwalkar was also a formidable linguist, fluent in many other tongues like Sanskrit, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi and English. His urge for profound and diverse studies further got honed in college. He was a very regular visitor to the college library. Most often he found absent from his regular classes as he sat immersed in books, studying varied subjects. However, he was never careless about his syllabus. He had read many famous novels of the time including the biography of Napoleon Bonaparte written by John S. C. Abbot. His intelligence was all-inclusive. Though he was a student of Science, he was awarded in a competition on English literature (Hari, 2018: 23). Being a voracious reader he could able to finish a big volume over a day. His passionate for reading Hindu scriptures found to be intense during his college days at Hislop in Nagpur while he was visiting to the Headmaster of City High School for the purpose. His interest in spiritual discussions, study of Vedic treatises found to be prominent in Benaras where he came in contact with Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya who impacted his life in various ways such as worship, meditation, Asanas, Pranayama, indifference to mundane individual life and a sense of identification with the joys and sorrows of society. Madhav’s love for fine arts also blossomed during his student days in Nagpur. He began to take lessons in playing the flute from the famous flautist Pandit Sawlaram, who had been blind since birth. The training in music went ahead as per plan, and he became expert in many ragas. He was equally passionate about sports as he grew into a teenager. His first love was for hockey. The malkhamb exercise which he exhibited during his tenth class in Jubilee School of Chandrapur was of the highest standard. In Benaras, he found to be very courageous and adventurous for swimming across the Ganga. Apart from studying varied subjects, Madhav loved wandering about all alone. He would go for walks many times and keenly observe things around him. It is a fact that he covered the whole of Nagpur in this manner. This intrinsic love for travel and wandering may be gave him the inner strength to tour Bharat at least sixty or sixty-five times as a head of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Golwalkar’s connections with the RSS started soon after he began teaching at the University. He met Hedgewar on the latter’s visit to Benaras in 1929. Golwalkar joined the Sangh in 1931. In 1933, at Hedgewar’s request he resigned his University post and returned to Nagpur to work at RSS headquarter. With Hedgewar’s encouragement, he also studied Law and received his LLB degree in 1935 from the

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University in Nagpur. During the next two years he practised law while remaining active in RSS work. In 1937, Golwalkar left the RSS because his spiritualistic inclinations could be no longer contained. He moved to Bengal and there became a disciple of Swami Akhandananda at Sargachi ashram. In compliance to the Swami’s wishes, Golwalkar allowed his hair and beard to remain uncut but his happiness with his new life was shocked by the unexpected demise of Swami Akhandananda only a few months after he had joined him. Falling into a condition of severe mental despair and irresolution, he returned to Nagpur to seek advice of Hedgewar. He convinced Golwalkar that his duty towards the society could be best discharged in the Sangh which Golwalkar afterwards rejoined (Curran, 1951: 20–21). Hence, onwards Golwalkar’s single minded commitment and dedication with undivided attention towards Sangh work claimed his stake to lead the RSS in its future course. On the eve of his demise, Hedgewar wanted Golwalkar as his successor and bestowed him the onus of Sarsanghachalakship on June 1940. Golwalkar most efficiently and successfully steered RSS for about 33 years (1940–1973). To sum up, Golwalkar who led the RSS from 1940 to 1973 and was its Sarsanghchalak played an instrumental role in formation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). He drew the attention of the religious leaders towards the VHP and appealed the sadhus and sants to work for the unity of Hindu society. Finally, on 5 June 1973, the great philosopher and guide of the ‘Sangh’ breathed his last.

12.3

Golwalkar and His Concept of Hindutva

According to Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopaedia of World Religions, Hindutva is a concept of ‘Indian cultural, national identity’. Etymologically, the term ‘Hindutva’ is derived from the two terms ‘Hindu + Tattva’ which literally mean ‘of Hindu principles’. Hindutva denotes to the state of mind that is based on the cultural and spiritual ethos based on the spiritual systems that evolved from India and includes all aspects of Indian culture and civilisation. It is a spiritual plus economic conception founded and developed from ancient times in India for securing the all-round happiness of all individuals. The term Hindutva was popularised by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar a former President of Hindu Mahasabha who viewed it as classically liberal imagining of a nation, a historically identifiable ethnic, linguistic and religious community populating a contiguous territory with the political will

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to constitute a State. It is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. Savarkar used the term Hindutva to describe ‘Hinduness’ or the ‘quality of being a Hindu’. The RSS, the Hindu nationalist organisation, championed the cause of Hindutva and adopted it as its ideology. Golwalkar’s concept of Hindutva can be understood by the following points. Hindu Racial Pattern of Nationhood Golwalkar was no frame of mind to incorporate races other than the Hindu race in his sketch out of nationhood. He was fully opposed to the design of a multi-racial composite blueprint of nationhood. He assumed Hindutva to be the epitome of Indian nationhood. He thought the Nazi’s endeavour to implement the doctrine of race purity lacked the support of conscientious persons and was convinced that merger of races was neither desirable nor practicable. Thus, he preferred the idea of pure Hindu racial blueprint of nationhood and considered it as the most significant component of a nation. Hindus Are Indigenous Children of This Soil Golwalkar strongly argued that the Hindus have not come from any other place; they are the natural inhabitants and sons of the soil, and living in this land since time immemorial. To define such people (Hindus) are unfeasible, just like somebody could not define ‘reality’ as it exists long prior to any definition or word came into existence. The fact is that Hindus are imbibing a civilised life in this land, but this is regarded as strange by scholars of history, which is unfortunate. Built a Great Civilisation Golwalkar recognised the unique greatness with the Hindus as essentially good and progressive people. They are the people who acquainted with the laws of nature and the laws of the spirit. This unique quality helped the Hindus to build a great civilisation, a great culture and a social order of distinction. The whole thing which the Hindus brought in real life was of great use of mankind.

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‘Naming Hindu’ Associated with Indian Tradition Similar was the care with naming of ‘Hindu’. Regarding naming of Hindu, Golwalkar observed that there was diverse opinion and perception on Hindu existed in foreign land at different point of time and the need for naming was felt at a particular point of time when alien faiths got in touch with the Hindus. He said alike the name of river Ganga was identified with varied names such as Gangotri, Bhagirathi, Jahnavi and Hooghly at different phases. He believed that the name Hindu originally derived from the river ‘Sindhu’ had long association with India’s rich traditions. No Diversity of Hindu Life Golwalkar did not find any diversity in Hindu life as regards to ‘faiths, sects, castes, languages, customs and habits’. Also whatever there is socalled diversity in Hinduism, they are merely superficial and partial. He opined that just like a tree which come out to be complete in different parts like the branches, leaves, flowers and fruits, the diversities of Hindu social life also had one single root. Feature of Diversity in Hindu Life Identifying the feature of diversity in Hindu life Golwalkar said such diversity occurred due to mystifying multiplicity of varied sects and sub-sects such as ‘Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, Vaidik, Bouddha, Jain, Sikh, Lingayat, Aryasamaj’, etc. He said that the great masters and sponsors of all these sects established these different forms of worship to accommodate the diverse mental suitability of the Hindu people, and they were well-aware of the fact that all such sects in the final analysis intended for the similar purpose of fulfilling the ‘ultimate truth’. To him, the ultimate truth they thought could only be known through the enjoyment of the freedom of worship by each individual and the freedom to choose one’s own spiritual food to suit one’s unique spiritual Constitution. The term Hindutva has been well-defined by Golwalkar in his masterpiece ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined’. According to him: The non-Hindu people in Hindustan must adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must

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entertain no idea but those of glorification of the Hindu race and culture ... in a word they must cease to be foreigners, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment — not even citizen’s rights. (cited in Pantham, 1995: 129)

12.4

Concept of Hindu Nationalism

Literally, the term ‘nationalism’ refers to patriotism or love for a nation or country. In other words, when nationalist feeling turns into a strong faith on religion, it is called nationalism. The spirit of nationalism flourishes more by excess of emotions and sentimentalism than by conscience. Etymologically, the word ‘nation’ has originated from the Latin word ‘natio’ which means birth, related to blood relationship or kinship. According to Burgess, a prominent political scientist “A nations is a people having a common language and literatures, a common tradition and history, common customs and common consciousness of rights and wrongs inhabiting a territory of geographic unity. It implies to a nation not necessarily constituted by one ethnic group only, it may comprise of several ethnic groups. A nation is formed with nationality assuming a political form. Nationality is purely a mental entity; an emotional idea can only be felt.” In broader sense, nationalism implies to a deeper and more powerful than emotional unity of nationality. It is a strong mass awareness, where the people are free from the parochialism of caste, religion and community, dedicate themselves to the national cause and interests. In other words, nationalism also refers to a mad love for nation, when its people are prepared to make great sacrifices for the nation, a highest and best loyalty of the individual to the nation or country. The concept of nationalism dates back its origin to eighteenth century and grew stronger in the nineteenth century. The philosophy of nationalism gained popularity with ‘American War of Independence’ (1776) and the ‘French Revolution’ (1789), and further strengthened with unification of Italy and Germany. The philosophy of nationalism took a militant and aggressive form in Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy. However, the philosophy of nationalism became a powerful force after the end of Second World War, spread across the world stimulating a strong desire for the freedom and liberation from the colonial rule. Hindu nationalism, on the other hand, refers to an expression of social and political thought based on native spiritual and cultural tradition of

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India or Bharat . The proponents or advocate of Hindu nationalism avoid the use of the term ‘nationalism’, instead preferred the term ‘Hindu Rashtravad’. It strongly believed in the idea of Hindu faith and culture which is to shape the State and its politics. The philosophy of Hindu nationalism although dates back its origin in classical Hindu culture and tradition, but the present form of ‘Hindu nationalism’ as a movement get its roots in the nineteenth century, contrast to the perception of nationalism advocated by social reformers, colonialism, Christianity and other religious communities perceived as apparent threat to Hindu culture, tradition and faith uniting for a Hindu Rashtra. Golwalkar has observed that the evolution of nation, nationhood and nationalism in India is not only distinct and unique, but also fundamentally different from European conceptions. Indian nationalism he believed is based on individual contribution and sacrifice whereas nationalism of West is too commercial and highly individualistic. He viewed Indian nationalism as Rashtravad which subscribes to unity, convergence and assimilation in a mainstream culture. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had come to acquire a distinct thinking on the ideological front. A uniform conception of the ‘Hindu’ came to crystallise within the VHP as a notion of a Hindu political community. It was carried forward in a clear agenda of action for Hindu Nationalism. Golwalkar is described as the main inspiration behind the formation of the VHP. Through his speeches and writings, he became a great inspirational source for the VHP in its advocacy of Hindu nationalism and is believed to have taken the pioneering steps for the awakening of Hindu society. One of its editorials, mentions that ‘the great mantra of Guruji – garv se kaho ham Hindu hain (assert proudly that we are Hindus)—breathed life into and awakened the Hindus’ (Katju, 2010: 93). In fact, the VHP’s core understanding of Hindu nationalism is drawn from Golwalkar who believed that Hindus formed an ancient nationhood. Golwalkar expressed his disappointment with political leaders of the India’s freedom struggle like Nehru over the question of Indian nationalism—that they called India ‘a nation in the making’ and said that India is ‘not yet formed as a nation’. He wrote that the leadership of the freedom struggle ‘forgot that here was already a full-fledged ancient nation of the Hindus’ and on the contrary, ‘tried to create an entirely new nationality’ on the basis of ‘the common danger of a foreign rule’ which he felt could not happen (ibid.: 93–94).

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Nation as Motherland Being an ardent supporter of cultural nationalism, Golwalkar strongly believed in nationalism as love for Motherland. He opined that since thousand years, the Hindus had been identified with the holy land of India and have considered it as their Motherland. It is only the Hindus who have been recognised for their immense achievements on this land; as her children, the Hindus were nurtured by the rich soil of India and the water flowing from its river. So, Golwalkar argued that those who say India became a nation in the recent past are absolutely wrong. Indeed, India existed as a nation since thousands of years. He said though there existed some outward differences in India but its major strength was its fundamental unity. The unique bond that binds India together is the same religion, same language and same culture. Realising the unique greatness of this land and its basic principles, the great sage Adi Shankaracharya established his four religious centres at four different corners of India. He said in the spirit of unity and solidarity that binded every Hindu. Analysing the diverse elements of Hindu nationality, Golwalkar identified the existence of contiguous territory as the first element of nationality. The characteristics of the people who inhabited that territory constitute the second element of nationality. This land should be considered as holy land and Motherland by its people. He said the people should be united by common culture, common traditions and common historical past and common ideals. It is in this commonality which brought the people together and helped them in a great way in developing their own way of life. People living in that particular territory had the common economic interest which constitutes the third element of nationality. To Golwalkar, all the above three elements immensely contributed to the national character of our country. Rejection of Territorial Nationalism Golwalkar considered the concept of territorial nationalism as double standards for which he rejected it. He viewed that territorial nationalism is too inadequate to define nationhood. According to him, a nation cannot be formed by a variety of people who just reside in a particular territory with diverse cultures and languages. Because such a divergent people cannot function as a coherent whole so cannot be called as a nation. Such diverse people are devoid of the living spirit of unity and oneness, as

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well as the life, blood and the living spirit of culture. Golwalkar strongly believed that common historical traditions and cultural resemblance binds the people together and helps in making one mind and one body. He considered territorial nationalism as lifeless, unscientific and unnatural. He argued that it was unnatural and unscientific as the Muslim never considered themselves as integral part of the nation. He said because of this divisive and anti-national agenda of the Muslims, India was divided and disunity prevailed in the country. According to Golwalkar, acceptance of territorial nationalism would convert the country into a ‘Dharmashala’. Strongly rejecting territorial nationalism, he advocated for cultural nationalism which is based on five major principles such as common religion, common race, common language, common culture and one country. These five principles together raised national consciousness in the minds of the people who had one and only one resolution with oneness of mind. Hindu Nationalism and Religious Minorities By completely rejecting the concept of the ‘territorial nationalism’, Golwalkar strongly advocated for Hindu nationalism. He said Hindus in India due to common historical and cultural reasons constituted a nation to which they considered as their Motherland. According to Golwalkar, except the Hindus, no other religious communities considered India as their Motherland or sacred land. Instead, they took pride as the descendants of the invaders of India. To subjugate the Hindus they waged wars against them. A kind of superfluous territorial loyalty developed in them. Golwalkar argued that majority of converted Muslims and Christians who originally were Hindus lost their loyalties and likingness for Motherland after their conversion. Ironically, they considered the foreign racial descendants as their own. Golwalkar was of the argument that these minorities no more to be considered as a constituent part of Hindu nation. To Golwalkar, these non-Hindu minorities to be considered as part of the Indian nation to shun their separatist tendencies by accepting all the Hindu national traditions as their own. He insisted the religious minorities like the Muslims and Christians to join the national mainstream. Golwalkar said that these minorities in order to join the national mainstream must Indianise themselves first and should accept Hindu cultural and historical traditions whole heartedly. Golwalkar opined that these minorities should think themselves as inheritors of the great Hindu heroes as described in our Epics and should prepare to celebrate Hindu

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festivals. In a sense, there minorities should accept whole heartedly the Hindu way of life. At the same time, Golwalkar was also found to be liberal in granting these minorities the right of freedom of religion and worship; he said while accepting the Hindu way of life they need not to leave their own religion and should practise their religion as they want. Even though by accepting and adopting Hindu way of life they could continue to remain as Muslims and Christians. He appealed these minorities to return back to home and to become a constituent part of the great national tradition. Golwalkar was very categorical in his approach in getting these minorities back to Hindu way of life, not by use of any force or coercion but through love and persuasion. Further, he made it clear that these minorities would enjoy all social and political rights except getting any special privileges. Pointing out the distinctive method of assimilation and absorption of the Hindus Golwalkar said that it may become too easy for them to accommodate the foreign elements that entered into the Hindu society and such elements could be integrated into Indian society without losing their identity. The most glaring example was the Parsis, who came to India from Iran without losing their religion and identity became an integrated part of the great Indian tradition. Golwalkar was a vehement critic of the so-called self-styled progressive and secular Hindus who on the ground of secularism and democracy were encouraging the method of identity formation among the minorities and backward castes. He attacked such forces for encouraging the divisive tendencies among diverse parts of Hindu community instead of promoting the methods of integration among them. He said these Westernised and denationalised Hindus could not be able to bring unity of the Indian nation by subscribing grounds of pluralism and secularism. Critical Appraisal of Golwalkar’s Nationalism Golwalkar’s notion of nationalism not only ignored the role of minority communities of India but also contained the potential for their complete extermination. He did not consider the whole citizenry of India as constituting the nation; for him the Hindus alone formed the nation. Making the status of the minority communities living in India he said the minorities ‘were here either as guests, the Jews and Parsis, or as invaders, the Muslims and Christians’ (ibid.: 94). They could not be called ‘the children of the soil merely because, by an accident, they happened to reside in

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a common territory under the rule of a common enemy’. He went on to say that the Congress attempted to forge ‘a united front of all those who lived here’ to confront the British rule which also was in similar line with the Congress’s ‘notion of nationalism’. ‘There was no difficulty about the Hindus. They naturally love this country as their sacred Motherland’, but as for the others: ‘the Jews were ignored as they were very few’, the Parsis largely ‘merged in the mainstream of Hindu life here’, the Christians kept themselves ‘aloof from the freedom struggle’ because of presence of a ‘natural coordination between the local Christians, the Christian missionaries and British government’ and the Muslims had come here ‘as invaders and their antagonism was not merely political deep-rooted that whatever we believed in, the Muslim was wholly hostile to it’. Regarding a Muslim he wrote: If we worship in the temple, he would desecrate it. If we carry on Bhajans and Car festivals, that would irritate him. If we worship cow, he would like to eat it. If we glorify women as a symbol of sacred motherhood, he would like to molest her. He was tooth and nail opposed to our way of life in all aspects — religious, cultural, social etc.

He held that only Hindus genuinely qualified to form the Indian nation. His deep-seated anti-Semitism forms the core of the VHP world-view also. The principle of territorial nationalism which he believed was the work of the Congress leadership was, according to him, entirely misconceived. He also wrote that among the Hindus: Those only are nationalist patriots, who, with the aspiration to glorify the Hindu race and Nation to their heart, are prompted into activity and strive to achieve that goal. All others are either traitors or enemies to the National cause, or, to take a charitable view, idiots. (ibid.: 94–95)

Golwalkar in his seminal work ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ argues that territorial nationalism which is the basis of Indian Constitution, is a barbarism and he stated that a nation is ‘not a mere bundle of political and economic rights’ but an embodiment of national culture—in India, ‘ancient and sublime’ Hinduism. This was a clear contempt of democracy and perceived by Golwalkar as complete alien to Hindu culture. Instead, he praised the code of Manu to whom he considered ‘the first, the greatest, and the wisest lawgiver of mankind’.

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12.5

Concept of Secularism

Secularism as a concept owes its origin to sixteenth century Europe with separation of religion from State. Before industrial revolution, States in Europe were under complete subjugation of Church where State were not fully autonomous and had no complete control over its own affairs. However, post-industrial revolution Europe witnessed a remarkable decline in the influence of Church over State affairs. So secularism as a concept in Europe is a child of Renaissance and Reformation. Thus, Western concept of secularism came into being with separation of religion from politics and State becoming independent of the Church. The concept of secularism in India, however, is a product of freedom movement which became part of its Constitution in post-independence time. The term ‘secular’ was incorporated in the Preamble of the Constitution after 42nd amendment in 1976. By declaring the State as secular, the Constitution does not recognise any religion as State religion. All religions were treated equal in the eyes of law, the State can neither patronise any particular religion nor can it discriminate against anyone of them. Thus, as regard to the concept and practice of secularism, the Indian perspective is different from Western perspective. Alike Western concept Indian notion of secularism is not materialistic; instead it is based on Indian culture, existence of religions, respect for other religions and harmony between religions. However, Golwalkar did not accept the concept of secularism as referred during the India’s freedom struggle and the constitutional secularism of post-independent India. He also did not believe in theocracy which he considered totally alien to the concept of Hindu polity. M. S. Golwalkar had presented his ideas on secularism to the National Integration Council (NIC) in 1962, the crux of which constitutes the following points. Bharat’s True National Life The national life of Bharat dates back to very early period in the history of the world. Cultural custom infused with general life principles knitted the social life of Bharat which emanated from a general inclusive life philosophy. This lining tradition of India existed through ages long prior to the Islamic and Christian invaders invaded our land. Golwalkar argued that despite of differences and dissensions among castes, creeds, sects,

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and even political kingdoms, the inborn accord of India never witnessed any crack. The people who articulated this united current of life identified as Hindus. Thus, the national life of Bharat considered Golwalkar as the Hindu national life. On the basis of this constructive and true understanding, our ‘integration’ has been strengthened by taking the ‘spirit of identification with true national mainstream, its tradition and aspirations’.1 Ideas about ‘National’, ‘Communal’ and ‘Anti-National’ The term ‘national’ as referred by Golwalkar implies to all such works which directly helps in nourishment and strengthening of a national ethos. Groups claiming distinct identity and thinking different from our national ethos, cherishing hopes and aspirations that goes against the national one, instead demanding separate rights and privileges for their ‘Self’ are called as ‘communal’. In case all such groups in their endeavours achieve their independent privileges etc., they will assault on the national society whether in the form of religious conversion or destruction or desecration of places of worship or insulting the memories of the great sons of this soil or in whatever other manner then such groups should be called ‘anti-national’. Furthermore, he argues that Hindus in Bharat are not communal in any sense. They have always been committed to Bharat and are ready to contribute to its development and defend its glory. He said that it is from the life of Hindus that the values of national life of Bharat have been derived. On this account, he is the ‘national’ and not at all ‘communal’ here (ibid.: 91). Communalism of the Majority is a Fallacious Expression According to Golwalkar, the uttering of ‘communalism of the majority’ is absolutely mistaken as well as fully misconceived. Holding the opinion of the majority in democracy as supreme he emphasised its role in influencing the daily life of the people. Therefore, it will be appropriate to contemplate the useful conduct of the life of majority as the real life of the national entity. By this viewpoint, an effort to elevate the life of Hindus is national and not communal. Hence, the expression ‘majority

1 J. N. Sharma (2008, Op.cit, p. 90).

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communalism’ is incompatible to the nerve of democratic system. To Golwalkar, under the alien dominion, the natives were treated as their slaves by dividing them into specific castes and communities, and it was likely that they would use terms like majority and minority communalism. But on obtaining self-rule, the rule of majority, referred to as ‘majority communalism’, is opposed to logic, truth and justice. Duty to Be Always Vigilant He opined that there is no show of disrespect by the Hindus to any other beliefs instead it conveys outstanding respect to all other beliefs. They do not perceive variety in veneration as something contrary with national concord. They resist on occasion the stance of using separationist strategy in individual life in the guise of placing utmost importance on religion as well as the claims for specific benefits. He said the supreme duty of the Hindus is thus to remain vigilant always and resist all such tendencies consistently. Policy of Appeasement is Harmful Golwalkar warns us that adopting the policy of appeasement and indulging in bargaining with minorities for sake of temporary ends will be disastrous for national life. Because, when their anti-national demands are fulfilled, it is not only extremely harmful to national life, but also has a significant impact on national pride and honour, national interests and beliefs. He strongly condemned these perverted anti-national attitudes and stated that it shall be the responsibility of every nationally conscious citizen to resist such anti-national attitudes and vociferous tendencies. So, any kind of appeasement policy according to Golwalkar is dangerous for national life and national integration. Seven Forms of Communalism According to Golwalkar, there are seven forms of communalism. The first and foremost form of communalism arises from a situation in which nonHindus oppose Hindu people in whose life stream the Bharatiya nation finds its right expression. The second form of communalism is witnessed within the Hindu society itself, where the multilateral Hindu intellect who

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initially appeared as creeds and later on forgot the basis of their inspiration and formation and began to believe themselves as being diverse from Hindu Samaj and Dh¯ arma, and who on that promise demand separate and exclusive political and economic privileges. For accomplishment of those demands, they further declare themselves to be diverse from Hindu society by taking up variety of agitations. For instance, neo-Buddhists and Sikhs are of this kind. The third form of communalism is seen with some groups such as Dravidar Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who on their fallacious assumption of racial uniqueness, claim separation and for achievement of their ends they spread hatred, hostility and violence against the rest of society. The fourth kind of communalism is noticed with people identified as ‘Br¯ ahmin’ and ‘non-Br¯ ahmin’, who in the name of ‘touchability’ and ‘untouchability, fan hatred, hostility, selfishness and demands special privileges for their respective communities. The fifth form communalism stems from the linguistic groups, who for their linguistic identity spread aversion, rivalry and hatred against other linguistic neighbours. The sixth form of communalism is manifested with people, who for their narrow regional feelings adopt unhealthy attitudes towards people from other regions. The distinctions like South and North, Punjabi and non-Punjabi, etc. are of this form. The seventh and last form of communalism is exacerbated from differences based on caste, creed and languages, who for their chief electoral gain spread common hatred. This type of communalism is considered as the most dangerous because it is prevalent throughout the country, and many political parties, including the party in power are exploiting the communal sentiments for their political gain. Golwalkar cautioned that unless this political communalism is eliminated, it is too difficult to do away with all other forms of communalism. He said to deal with all other forms of communalism will not be a so difficult affair if we can able to shun these seven forms of communalism (ibid.: 92–93). According to Golwalkar, while many forms of communalism are the product of religious creeds, there are other forms of communalism which are purely by product of selfish secular interests. So he rejected the notion of considering communalism as the exact opposite to secularism. He made it abundantly clear that conflict in the field of religion is caused not only by religious diversity, but also by mutual rivalry in the pursuit of greater secular gains.

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12.6

¯ Broader Dharma

Golwalkar views that the logic and history do not prove either that ideas of Dh¯ arma are narrow or that economic interests are more inclusive. The religious sphere of Christianity underlines narrow economic interests are the basis of nation-states in America and Europe. Again narrow economic and racial interests constitute the base of many States under the wide expanse of Islamic religion. However, sanatan dh¯ arma which is so vast includes under its wings all Vedic, non-Vedic and other faiths born in this land where economic considerations are taken as basis for formation of States like Bharat , Nepal, etc. So, it is pertinent to note that while religious pursuit provides a broad base; narrow economic interest on the other hand restricts relations. Avoid Over-Attachment According to Golwalkar, the eternal law of life is Dh¯ arma which only provides us planning permanently and is also all-encompassing in nature. The above discussion also tells us that a particular forms of worship based on vested economic interests may all exist within the fold of Dh¯ arma. He mentioned that any over-attachment to small creeds, beliefs and sub-beliefs helps in creating parochial feelings and fuels for spreading of ill-feeling and detrimental to achievement of parity and accord of economic and other secular interests. He said, such over-attachment is highly unnecessary. So if anybody wants to create unity on the basis of economic interests ignoring Dh¯ arma, society, nation, etc. then such unity cannot be realised in a particular limited piece of land but it can only be done on a global level by understanding all the cross-sections of the whole mankind of varied economic interests. Then ‘national integration’ will have lost all its significance and purpose. Golwalkar, therefore, stated categorically that for the practical existence of integration with the nation, demolition of varied ways of worship is not aimed at but dismantling unwanted tendencies of exclusiveness and intolerance is necessary, not aimed at destroying the languages, but aimed at destroying the separatist tendency and longing to secede that emerged or culminated out of language fanaticism (ibid.: 93–94).

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MADHAV SADASHIV GOLWALKAR

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Ways and Means of Achieving Secularism

Golwalkar has advocated various ways and means of achieving secularism which are discussed under the following sub-sections. Extreme Devotion to Nation Golwalkar strongly advocated that for a vibrant and dynamic nationhood of Bharat , it is the highest duty of every individual irrespective of caste and creed and should be taught to speak out at a stroke the truth concerning the Hindu nationhood of Bharat and should think of making it strong, wealthy, virile and sovereign. So he mentioned that everyone should be aroused with extreme devotion to this nation. Therefore, he opined that the religions of non-Hindus while being respected and defended; there should be an arrangement of imparting those samsk¯ ˙ aras of love and respect for this nation and all its traditions, history, ideals and values. No Divisive Talks Golwalkar argued that all the citizens should be treated equal in secular life and all should be abided by this principle. Therefore, we must not allow and should completely halt the formation of any groups based on caste, creed etc. that asks for special rights and privileges and rights in services, monetary aids, admission into educational institutions and in many other such fields. So, he argued for not allowing any talk absolutely with such groups and stop thinking on ‘minorities’ and ‘communities’. Discarding of Wrong Language Policies Golwalkar was opposed to any flawed language policy and instead emphasised on the importance of having one’s own language in order to have reciprocal communication in a free nation. He opined that out of so many languages that India is having, Hindi should be prioritised and accepted as a link language because of it being ease and convenient. He said no Urduising of Hindi for the sake of making it easy, which would rather invite communalism and communal conciliation and may greatly affect the sovereign independence of the nation. He said such an outlook to the State language of the nation and treating it at par with a foreign

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language like English which binds our country to the bandwagon seems to be dangerous as it hits at the roots of our glorious national ethos. Therefore, he strongly argued for rejection of these wrong policies by the State instantly. Unitary State for Strong Nation Golwalkar strongly advocated for establishment of unitary State which implies to the entire country as one. So, it is expected with one society and one nation emphasising community of life values and secular aspirations and interests. Golwalkar advocated for a unitary form of government where the affairs of the nation should be governed by a single State. He pointed out the weakness of the present federal system which has created and fostered the separatist feelings. He said such a federal system is divisive in nature, because it works against the truth of a single nationhood. Thus, Golwalkar argued in favour of establishment of a unitary form of State by revising and cleaning of its Constitution. Policy to Prevent Evil Practices Golwalkar has highlighted the flaws in government policies that have harmed the integration process. He described the then existing policy of the government as assault and transgressions that includes activities like places of worship being demolished with breaking of idols, practice of cows slaughter, illegal construction of peer graves, dargah, makbara, cross, in public and private places, banning religious convoys under unfair pretexts, rioting, intimidating and so on, all of which have had a negative impact on the course of integration. He said in addition to not preventing these acts, the policy of taking sides and encouraging them in a covert way has intensified the discord. He thus argued that these discriminatory practices should be avoided instantly and such evil practices should be stopped by a separate policy with great willpower and vigour. No Divided Loyalty in Hindus According to Golwalkar, it is only the Hindus in the soil of Bharat who have upheld their sentiments of Dh¯ arma. To him, it is around the whole of Bharat and Bharat only which is taken as plea of sacred places for

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India. It is Bharat only where their material interests are rooted. This largely does not allow any conflict in their minds between swadharma and swadeshi which always find identification between the two. No divided loyalties also witnessed in them. He said one cannot find in them any loyalties to Dh¯ arma which is contradictory or in hostility to loyalty to nation. It is a positive proof that here the Hindus are a hundred per cent national society. He opined that it is quite unfair and foolish to identify the Hindus as ‘communal’ and treating them par with those people whose loyalties are divided and sometimes suspicious. Conversion Weakens Loyalty According to Golwalkar, the loyalty of Hindus when converted to other religions gets divided, and they could not continue with the absolute and undivided loyalties to the nation. He argued that conversion is dangerous to the security of the nation and the country, and hence, needs to bring to it an end. He said conversion normally does not take place only due to any reason of poverty, illiteracy and ignorance rather it happens by adopting well-thought illusory plans through offering of incentives. Such conversions do not involve in it any true change of heart. He deemed it necessary to prohibit all such unfair activity. He therefore; said that it is our fundamental duty to protect our brethren from poverty and ignorance. Assimilation of Non-Hindus According to Golwalkar, the Hindu philosophy has its strength of assimilating non-Hindu communities because of its all-inclusive nature. He appreciated Pandit Nehru’s vision of assimilation of Muslims and the Christians into Hindu society as indispensable similar to that of assimilation of invaders like Shakas and Hunas into Indian society long ago. He praised the national unity approach of Pandit Nehru who provided the right direction for unification of diverse creeds of worship and instilling in them a common point of dedication. But Golwalkar was disappointed with the then-prevailing attitude of appeasement policy of making the non-Hindus more hostile in their already existing antagonistic agendas and dishonouring the Hindus. Such preferential policy for non-Hindus, he said not only discarded the vision and direction of Nehru but strongly went against it. Therefore, it is indispensable to examine this perversion

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and provide a policy of maintaining the respectful place of Hindus who are known for their constant and continuous national loyalty all the time and follow the path of integrating others with those similar norms. Dissolving National Integration Council Golwalkar was strongly against the formation of national integration council. Criticising it, he said it may give a scope to all the annoyed groups for ventilation of their demands and complains that may stir up in them asking for divisive demands and its acceptance. Besides an expectation is created in them that their sectarian demands would be approved because of the committee’s pledge of finding a way out of communalism and its talk about defining ‘communalism’ with the intention of eliminating it. Golwalkar argued that as a result of this it became more acute among many groups the ambition of maintaining their entities as separate. He argued that in the prevailing situation, the very purpose of the society, the necessity of such a council cease to exist. Hence, he recommended for its immediate dissolution. He said the dissolution of the council will be an important milestone towards in maintaining of national integration.

12.8

Conclusion

To conclude, the entire ideological discourse of M. S. Golwalkar finds its manifestation in his concept of Hindu nationalism. It was on the ideological basis of M. S. Golwalkar, many Hindu organisations such as the RSS, Hindu Mahasabha, the VHP and the BJP formed out of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh wanted to cherish the cause of Hinduism. His political ideas cannot be outlined distinct from his organisational career and achievements. He advocated for the aggressive expansion of the organisation including allowing Swayamsevakas to branch out in various fields and work as its affiliates. His concepts of ‘cultural nationalism’ and ‘Hindu Rashtra’ have occupied a position of exceptional significance. His ideas and thoughts are clearly mentioned in his seminal works like ‘Bunch of Thoughts: M. S. Golwalkar’, ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined’ and ‘M. S. Golwalkar: His Life and Mission’. The views of Golwalkar have wellreflected in his above mentioned two monumental works. He insisted on the removal of the impediments and creating facilities for consolidation of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ meant for a broader Dh¯ arma. In his monumental work, ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined’ written in 1939, Golwalkar argued

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that a nation should be shaped in close cohesion with the collective sociocultural psyche of society. He attributed the superiority of Hindu society where no one stole; no one spoke lies and a society which is very meticulously organised, providing precedence over an inalienable right to liberty. Over and above, the uniqueness of Guruji was that, he was entirely free of any want—personal wealth and happiness, but fully dedicated himself for the cause of Hinduism whose desire was to be a complete Swayamsevak. In his initial years, being influenced by Vivekananda, Golwalkar was always inclined to spiritualism along with the task of nation building. Golwalkar advocated for pure racial pattern of nationhood and considered the Hindus as the indigenous children of this soil. Identifying the stark difference between political sovereignty and cultural nationalism, he was critical of the former as long as it does not account for the latter. He opined that the expression ‘communalism of majority’ as absolutely wrong, fallacious and misconceived. According to him, to achieve secularism, there is a need of unity among the caste, creed, sects and religious groups for a broader Hindu national life. He argued that for consolidation of Hindu Rashtra, all these factors are to be taken into consideration and for its fulfillments he encouraged integration and assimilation of nonHindus. He appreciated Pandit Nehru’s vision of assimilation of Muslims and Christians into Hindu society as indispensable similar to that of inclusion of Shakas and Huns to Indian society in times past. Further, the radical thoughts of Golwalkar about Hindutva, democracy, Muslims and other minorities, Hindu Rashtra, etc. as contained in his book ‘Bunch of Thoughts ’ were exigencies of the then-prevailing time, however, with the changing need of the hour, they need to be relooked and revisited with their contemporary realities and relevance. Many of his prescriptions and ideas were narrowly local and narrowly dated, which hardly found any grip in a society of contemporary India, emerging as a global power. As nothing is immutable order of society, and it changes with time and circumstances, so is the case with concepts of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra which needs to be revisited in the light of changing need of the time with expansion of the RSS’s renewed nationbuilding activities for a broader India of twenty-first century.

12.9

Summary

Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar a great champion of ‘Hindutva’ who succeeded Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS, and became its second Sarsanghchalak continued from 1940 to 1973. He was

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the highest serving head of one of the strongest religious, cultural and social organisation of the world making determined efforts to inculcate in its followers a burning devotion to the Motherland and its national ethos. Madhav was born to Sadashiv and Laxmibai of a very ordinary Br¯ ahmin family on 19 February 1906. Being son of a high school Headmaster, Madhav’s schooling was disturbed due to frequent transfer of his father. So, he studied in schools in small towns in Central India before joining the Banaras Hindu University where he did his Bachelor and Master degrees in Zoology. Later, he also completed his LLB from Nagpur. Form childhood, he developed an avid interest towards spiritualism. Before completing his higher secondary, he had completed reading ‘Ramcharitmanas ’. He was also doing excellent in his study, as recognition of his talent and expertise on the subject, the university soon after completion of his degree appointed him as a lecturer in Zoology which he retained till 1933. Though he was a lecturer in Zoology, his knowledge horizon spread beyond it, and he was extremely well in other subjects like English, Economics, Mathematics and Philosophy. His quest for knowledge and passion for reading drawn inspiration from his father and continued throughout his student career and during his job period too, where he found to be a regular visitor of the college library. Besides, he was a great philanthropist used to support meritorious poor students by spending a major portion of his salary towards purchase of books for them. Madhav was a multifaceted personality; he had great passion in fine arts, sports and love for swimming. It was the love and reverence he received from everyone made him popular as ‘Guruji’ which in practice continued in Sangh and later became phenomena all over the country. Besides he was also a formidable linguist, fluent in many other languages such as Sanskrit, Bengali, Marathi, Hindi and English. It was his obsession towards spiritualism which drove him to leave RSS in 1937 and moved to Bengal to become a disciple of Swami Akhandananda at Sargachi ashram. Due to unexpected demise of his Guru, he was under intense mental despair and on advice of Hedgewar, he rejoined RSS. On the eve of demise of Hedgewar, the onus of Sarsanghchalakship was bestowed on Golwalkar in June 1940 and who continued as its guide and philosopher till 5 June 1973, the year he breathed his last. Thus, Golwalkar’s political ideology cannot be taken in isolation diverse from his organisational career and achievement. The organisation he was heading was preparing for ‘Hindu Rashtra’, and his philosophy

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had deep root penetrating India’s rich culture and religious tradition. To put in the words of Max Müller, a German scholar, who said ‘nowhere have religious and metaphysical ideas struck root so deep in the mind of a nation as in India. The Hindus were a nation of philosopher’. In the world of Hindu philosophy, mostly in the domain of political philosophy, the monumental works of Golwalkar like ‘Bunch of Thoughts’, ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined’ and ‘M. S. Golwalkar: His Vision and Mission’ best reflects his political ideas and thoughts. The whole of political and ideological discourse of Golwalkar revolves around the concept of ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Hindu Nationalism’ which occupies a position of exceptional significance. To have a comprehensive understanding of Golwalkar’s religious and political ideas, it shall be desirable to know about of his ideas on various other issues concerning formation of a Hindu Rashtra which includes his perception on Hindus as indigenous children of the land (soil). He urged the Hindus to be united to build a great civilisation because the Hindus are named after Indian tradition and having no diversity in them. His concept of Hindu nationalism strongly believes in ‘nation as Motherland’ for which he rejected the idea of ‘territorial nationalism’ as hypocrisy and strongly believed that variety of people with diverse cultures and languages cannot form a nation just because of residing in a particular territory. He considered territorial nationalism as lifeless, unscientific, and unnatural. Instead, he strongly advocated for ‘cultural nationalism’ in which people are bound together by historical traditions and cultural resemblances that make them one mind and one body. He has exposed the attitude of religious minorities on Hindu nationalism who never consider India as their Motherland and sacred land. He viewed the policy of British Raj as appeasement of minority which is extremely harmful for Indian nation. Critics argue that minorities having no place in Golwalkar’s notions of nationalism that contained the potential for their complete extermination. He did not consider the minorities as children of the soil of India as he considers the Parsis and Jews as guests and Muslims and Christians as invaders. He argued communalism as a product of religious creeds and selfish secular interests equally responsible for many other form of communalism. To achieve secularism he argued for unity among caste, creed, sects, religious groups which can help for a broader Hindu national life. Some of the pre-conditions he emphasised essential for achievement of secularism are showing extreme devotion to nation, absence of any divisive talks, discarding of wrong language policy, single State of the unitary form,

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prevention of evil practices of discriminatory nature, undivided loyalty to the nation by the Hindus, discouraging conversion that weaken loyalty, etc. He emphasised on assimilation of non-Hindus for a unified Hindu Rashtra. He appreciated Pandit Nehru’s vision of assimilation of Muslims and Christians into Hindu society as indispensable alike the Shakas and Hunas were assimilated to Indian society. For the sake of national unity, divisive demands by annoyed groups should not be allowed to happen. So, he argued that the national integration council which provides scope for such divisiveness needs to be dissolved. However, to conclude Golwalkar’s radical ideas and rigid Hindutva norms drew criticism from left-wing liberals and ideological opponents who saw his ideas as divisive. Ramachandra Guha, a liberal historian has been critical of some of the ideas and thoughts of Golwalkar (Guruji) which fails to attain the condition essential for the consolidation of the broader India. Thus, Golwalkar’s ideas about rigid Hindutva norms must be reconsidered as they do not come in sync with changing times.

References Curran, J. A. (1951). Militant Hinduism in Indian Politics: A study of the RSS. Institute of Pacific Relations. Goyal, D. R. (2000). Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (2nd ed.). Radhakrishna Prakashan Pvt. Ltd. Hari, R. (2018). The Incomparable Guru Golwalkar (1st ed.). Prabhat Prakashan. Katju, M. (2010). Vishva Hindu Parishad and Indian Politics (2nd ed.). Orient Blackswan Private Limited. Pantham, T. (1995). Political theories and social reconstruction: A critical survey of the literature on India. Sage. Sharma, J. N. (2008). Encyclopaedia of eminent thinkers: The political thought of M. S. Golwalkar (Vol. 20). Concept Publishing Company. Singh, S. (September 20, 2018). Mohan Bhagwat rejects M. S. Golwalkar’s Rigid Hindutva norms in quest to project RSS as a progressive Organisation. Available at https://www.firstpost.com/politics/mohan-bhagwat-rejects-msgolwalkars-rigid-hindutva-norms-in-quest-to-project-rss-as-a-progressive-org anisation-5227611.html

CHAPTER 13

Deendayal Upadhyaya Ankit Tomar

13.1

Introduction

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, as an ideologue, organiser and political leader, left his indelible imprint on the canvas of Indian politics and thought. He was an Indian philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist and political activist. As an organiser, he was one of the most important leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh from 1953–1968, the forerunner of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which later has been emerged as an alternative to Indian National Congress (INC). A revered icon of the philosophy of ‘Integral Humanism’, he had imbued the political horizon with the originality of his ideas. His treatise Integral Humanism is a critique of both communism and capitalism. It offers a holistic alternative perspective on political action, governance, politics and statecraft in accordance with the laws of Creation and the universal needs of mankind. He has been described as a brilliant philosopher, a master organiser and a pacesetter who upheld the greatest standards of individual integrity. Since the formation of BJP, he has been a source of

A. Tomar (B) Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_13

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intellectual steerage and moral inspiration for the party. BJP has adopted the philosophy of Integral Humanism, as propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, as its core ideology. The party has now been focusing on antyodaya, good governance, cultural nationalism, development and national security, while committing itself to the five basic principles called ‘Panchanishthayen’, all of which have their roots in Integral Humanism. His intellectual capabilities, ideological commitment and political acumen still continue to inspire a large number of political activists (Karyakartas ) in public life. He has always been a staunch opponent of Western secularism, democracy and other Western ideals that India naively adopted during the British reign. As a great philosopher, political activist and leader, he not only formulated principles, but also practised them in his life. His ideas and philosophy as an alternative model of governance and politics is still relevant within the country. Norman D. Palmer of Pennsylvania University wrote: Deendayal belongs to a rare breed of political thinkers; the likes of him are very few. His image as an original political thinker was gradually gaining strength. In addition to belonging to a large political party in India, Deendayal possessed a distinctive image that first attracted me to him. (Sharma, 2004: 16)

13.2

Life Sketch

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was born on 25 September 1916, in the sacred region of Brij in the village of Nagla Chandrabhan (now Deendayal Dham) in Mathura District, India. His full name was Deendayal Upadhyaya but he was called ‘Deena’ by the family. His father, Pt. Bhagwati Prasad, was an assistant station master at Jalesar Road Railway Station and his mother Shrimati Rampyari was a deeply religious lady. Pandit Hariram Upadhyaya, Deendayal’s great-grandfather, was a well-known astrologer who analysed the horoscope of Deendayal and had predicted that he would grow up to be a great scholar, thinker, selfless worker and outstanding politician. Two years after his birth, his mother Shrimati Rampyari gave birth to her second son Shivdayal. Upadhyaya’s early life was full of challenges, difficulties and tragedies. Both his parents died while he was still a child. When he was barely two and a half years old, the first tragedy befell in his family with an untimely death of Pt. Bhagwati Prasad. The death of Deena’s father led his mother

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to go back to her father’s home. Deena and his brother Shivdayal could not get the love and affection of their mother very long. Not even four years after his father’s death, his mother left for her heavenly abode on 8 August 1924. But tragedies were not to end with the death of their mother. Both his parents died while he was still a child and his sibling left him at a very tender age. Shri Chunnilal, who was raising Shrimati Rampyari’s two kids at his hamlet Gud Ki Mandhai, near Fatehpur Sikri in Agra District, as a legacy of his dead daughter, died in September 1926, when Deendayalji was ten years old, two years after his mother’s death. As a result, he was devoid of his parents and maternal grandfather’s love, care and devotion. His maternal uncle (mama) raised him after that. Deendayal’s aunt was sympathetic to the feelings of two brothers, raising them as if they were her own children. Shivdayal, Deendayalji’s younger brother, suffered smallpox while he was in the ninth grade and eighteen years old. He did everything he could to preserve Shivdayal’s life, including giving him every treatment available at the time, but Shivdayal also died on 18 November 1934. As a result, Deendayalji found himself alone in the world. Having lost both parents in early childhood whose nurturing love and care was felt throughout his life, he excelled academically under the guardianship of his maternal uncle and aunt. He received his education till the sixth grade in Gangapur, but had to stay at a residential school in Kota, Rajasthan when he was in the seventh grade. He completed his eighth grade from Raigarh. He later went to Kalyan High School in Sikar for his ninth and tenth grades. He stood first in the board exam and the then ruler Maharaja Kalyan Singh of Sikar, presented him with a gold medal, a monthly scholarship of 10 rupees and an additional 250 rupees for his book, as recognition of his merit. Deena’s extraordinary talent was being noticed widely. On seeing his performance at school level, his maternal uncle decided to send him to the prestigious Birla College, Pilani, for further studies which later would become the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Science. In Birla College, he lived up to the expectations of his maternal uncle and stood first in his intermediate board examination which earned him an award of rupees 250, along with two gold medals, and a monthly scholarship of rupees 10 from none other than Ghanshyam Das Birla. It was a great achievement for Pandit Deendayal. In 1937, he left to Kanpur to pursue his B.A. and joined the Sanatan Dharma College where he took up Mathematics, Sanskrit and Hindi,

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apart from English as his subjects in B.A. While he was pursuing his graduation, he came in contact with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1937 through his classmate Balwant Mahashinde. It was there that he would meet the founder of the RSS, K. B. Hedgewar and it was one of the turning points in his life. He embraced the life of a ‘pracharak’ and became a full-time worker of RSS. In 1939, he topped in the merit list of B.A. and was granted a scholarship of 30 rupees per month. Pandit Upadhyaya then moved to Agra and joined St. John’s College to pursue his master degree in English literature. Here, he joined forces with Shri Nanaji Deshmukh and Shri Bhau Jugade for RSS activities. In the first year, he obtained first division marks, but was unable to appear for the final year exam due to some adverse conditions in the family. During that time Rama Devi, a cousin of Deendayalji fell seriously ill and she moved to Agra for treatment. Deendayalji was deeply attached to her cousin and thus preferred to be with Rama Devi during her illness. But despite his best efforts, he could not save her and she passed away. It gave him a severe jolt and he could not appear for his M.A. final exams. His scholarships, received earlier from Maharaja of Sikar and Shri Birla were discontinued. On the insistence of his maternal uncle, he appeared for the Government-conducted administrative examination in dhoti and kurta with a cap on his head, while other candidates wore Western suits. The candidates in fun called him ‘Panditji’. Again at this exam he topped the list of selectees. However, with his eyes set on larger goals, he was more eager to serve the nation. With his Uncle’s permission, he moved to Allahabad to pursue a Basic Training (BT) course and at Prayag, he continued his RSS activities. After completion of his BT course, he worked full-time for the RSS and moved to Lakhimpur district in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as an organiser and in 1955 became the provincial organiser of the RSS in UP. Apart from his organisational capabilities, skills and dedication, Deendayal was a writer par excellence. He was an original thinker and philosopher. He believed in intellectual awakening of the nation, and for this he wielded strong writing on almost every issue. In Lucknow, he founded the publishing house ‘Rashtra Dharma Prakashan’ in 1940 and published the monthly magazine Rashtra Dharma to promote the idea of nationalism. Despite the fact that his name was not printed as editor in any of the issues of this publication, his thought-provoking words left a lasting influence on almost every issue. Later, he began publishing the

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weekly ‘Panchjanya’ and, later, the daily ‘Swadesh’. He wrote two literary pieces—‘ Samrat Chandragupta’ and ‘Jagadguru Shri Shankaracharya’ in 1946 and 1947, respectively. ‘Bharatiya Artha Niti: Vikas Ki Ek Disha’ is a brilliant work that captured his economic thinking. Political Diary, Rashtra Chintan and Rashtra Jivan Ki Disha are collections of his articles written on the issues related to nation, society, politics, dh¯ arma and culture. Deendayal wrote the book ‘The Two Plans: Promises, Performance and Prospects’ on five-year planning. Apart from these, he also wrote booklets, among which ‘Hamara Kashmir’, ‘Mahan Vishwasghat’, ‘Akhand Bharat ’ and ‘Tax ya Loot’ are famous. After independence, when Congress became a dominant force in national politics, many saw its policies and programmes as deviation from the ideals and ethos of the national movement and felt the need of an alternative political party. As a result, Bharatiya Jana Sangh was founded in 1951, with Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee as its first President and Deendayal became the first General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh branch. Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee was so impressed with Deendayal’s insight and meticulousness that he famously made the comment: ‘If I had two Deendayals, I could change the political face of India’. However, the untimely death of Dr. Mukherjee in 1953 left Deendayal with all the responsibility for nurturing the orphan organisation and building it as a national movement. He was the General Secretary for almost 15 years and was instrumental in elevating the organisation to new heights. Finally, came a red-letter day in the annals of Jana Sangh when this absolutely modest head of the party was elevated to the lofty post of President in the year 1968. Deendayalji travelled to the South with the message of Jana Sangh after taking on this enormous responsibility. His ideas and actions have a deep imprint on the functioning, programmes, policies and organisational structure of Jana Sangh, and later BJP. Moreover, many activists and leaders of BJP had a great deal of training under him. The ideological moorings of BJP are deeply entrenched in his philosophy of Integral Humanism. At around 3:30 AM on the dark night of 11 February 1968, Deendayalji was fiendishly pushed into the jaws of the sudden death and was found dead at Mugal Sarai Railway yard. The news spread in no time and a large number of Jana Sangh karyakartas started gathering in droves. Jana Sangh leaders and karyakartas across the nation were plunged into shock, grief and disbelief. The murder of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya still remains one of the unresolved mysteries of an independent India.

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13.3

Ideas and Philosophy

Though India being an ancient nation and a living civilisation has its own unique culture that celebrates plurality and diversity but before Independence, there was a little thinking on the issue that in which direction India should move as a nation to realise our cherished dream of all-round development in the lives of our countrymen and solution of political, economic and social problems because during that time, the main concern was to get freedom from the British rule. However, there are two different types of people who advocate for a particular path. There are some who suggest that we need to return to the point at which we lost our independence and start again from there. Those, who claim to continue where we left off a thousand years ago, forget that, whether desired or not, it is absolutely impossible because the wheel of time cannot be turned back. On the other hand, there are people who want to discard everything that were created here in Bharat . They appear to believe that Western life and philosophy are the last words in progress, and all of them should be imported here if we are to improve and develop. Although both of these lines of reasoning or thought are incorrect, yet they do represent partial truths, and it would not be right to reject them completely. In fact, though the Indians felt a sense of pride when they discarded Western clothes during the freedom struggle but soon after independence, there was also a trend to blindly ape Western models, practices, values and also considered them the only alternative. As a result, the colonial policies and programmes were continuing in the post-independence era. In this background, the four continuous lectures were delivered from 22 to 25 April 1965 in Mumbai by Deendayalji where he expounded the philosophy of Integral Humanism that sought to examine existing sociopolitical and economic ideas and systems and posit an alternative mode of living based on the traditions of sanatan dh¯ arma. In the preface, he quoted Jagadguru Shankaracharya and Chanakya: One remembers two thinkers who brought about a radical change in Indian history. One is reminded of the times when Jagadguru Shankaracharya started off to put an end to the chaos prevailing in the eternal Hindu faith and other is when, propounding the idea of republic to bring together scattered nationalistic forces, Chanakya set off to establish an Empire. Looking back on these developments, a third outline has emerged today when, inspired by foreign thought and its vague concept of

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a divided man, the pure and unadulterated concept of integrated humanism is being started by us. (Sharma, 2004: 117)

Deendayal delivered his first lecture on 22 April 1965 and said that the root of this problem is the neglect of ‘Self’ and national identity. He further said: It is essential that we think about our national identity. Without this identity there is no meaning of Independence, nor can independence become the instrument of progress and happiness. As long as we are unaware of our national identity, we cannot recognise and develop all our potentialities. Under alien rule this identity is suppressed. That is why nations wish to remain independent so that they can progress according to their natural bent and can experience happiness in their endeavour…The basic cause of the problems facing Bharat is the neglect of its national identity.1

While acknowledging the contribution of the West in the field of science and technology, Deendayal was always doubtful about the efficacy of the political and economic doctrines that were conceptualised in the West for India and he pleaded that ‘thoughtless imitation of the West must be scrupulously discarded’. He said: The difficulty arises when we fail to discern the reasons of the spectacular advance of the West, its effects, real and apparent. This is further complicated by the fact that Britishers as representative of the West, ruled this country for a century and, during this period adopted such measures whereby in the minds of our people a contempt for things Bharatiya and respect for everything Western were subtly created. Along with the scientific advance, their way of life, manners and food habits, etc. came to this country. Not only material sciences but also their social, economic and political doctrines became our standards.2

Further, in his second lecture on 23 April 1965, he said that though the doctrines of nationalism, democracy and socialism are good in them and reflect the higher aspirations of mankind but the real problem is that all these doctrines are incomplete. The problem got further compounded 1 Deendayal Sansar: A Complete Deendayal Reader. Available at: http://deendayalupa dhyay.org/lecture1.html. 2 http://deendayalupadhyay.org/lectures9.html.

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when all these doctrines were seen in opposition to each other, leading to a gap between theory and practice. On the third day (24 April 1965) of his lecture, he dwelt at length on various conceptual questions pertaining to the formation of society, role of individual, concept of nation as an organic entity and many others. He specifically dealt with the question as to how an individual stands vis-àvis society, and whether society is in reality a result of ‘Social Contract Theory’ as espoused in the West. While raising the question whether ‘society is a group of individuals brought into being by the individuals through an agreement among themselves’, he further wondered, ‘If the individual produced a society then in whom the residual power remains vested, in the society or in the individual? Does the individual have the right to change the society? Can the society impose a variety or regulations on the individual and claim a right to the allegiance of the individual to itself? Or the individual is free as regards these questions?’ In fact, several ideologies of the West are based on the assumption that there is an inherent conflict between the individual and the society. But the fact is that there is no such inherent conflict between the two entities. It is through individual that the society manifests itself. Developments of the individual and social good are not contradictory interests. For example, a flower is what it is because of its petals, and the worth of the petals lies in remaining with the flower and adding to its beauty. Deendayal points out that Indian thought has never seen the individual and society as two conflicting and colliding entities. Neither has it ever seen them in their separateness. One has no existence apart from the other; the two are inseparable. He was of the opinion that Indian traditions focused on integration, cohesion and harmony. According to him, Indian thought throughout history has regarded the individual and society as an indivisible unity. The two have different needs, which can be met not in submission to one another, but in their inter-dependence. In Indian thought, this interdependence is not a state of helpless dependence; rather, it is a state of mutual harmony, in which the one is not seen as a threat to the other, but as a natural part of one’s growth. While rejecting the theory that society came into being as a result of a contract between individuals, he said that though society is composed of individuals, it is not formed by merely coming together of the individuals. He explained:

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In our view society is self-born. Like an individual, society comes into existence in an organic way. People do not produce society. It is not a sort of club, or some joint stock company, or a registered co-operative society. In reality, society is an entity with its own ‘SELF’, its own life; it is a sovereign being like an individual; it is an organic entity. We have not accepted the view that society is some arbitrary association. It has its own life. Society too has its body, mind, intellect and soul.3

He further differed from the conceptualisation that society and individuals are necessarily in conflict and that the society derive its dynamism from such conflict. He saw conflict as detrimental to the progress of society and a sign of decadence and perversion. Though he accepted that classes existed in every society, it should be seen as an organic whole; if the different parts of society are seen in conflict, then it cannot function properly. According to him, various institutions of the society may undergo deterioration due to a variety of reasons and sometimes, if the soul of the society is weakened, it affects its various limbs. He believed that family, community, trade union, gram panchayat , j¯ anapada, State and all other institutions are various limbs of the nation. They are inter-dependent and complementary to each other. For this reason, there should be a sense of unity among all of them instead of a tendency of conflict or opposition. While he emphasised the complementarities and inter-dependence of different institutions existing in harmony, he felt that the problem arises from the understanding wherein State is considered supreme. He stated, ‘The State is one of the many institutions, an important one, but it is not superior to all others. One of the major causes of today’s problems is that almost everyone considers the State to be synonymous with the society. In practice, they regard the State as the sole representative of society. Other institutions have deteriorated in effectiveness, while the State has grown increasingly dominant to the point where all powers are gradually concentrated in the State’. He further pointed out that in Indian tradition, State had a limited role and it was not above society (Bakshi, 2018: 80–81). According to Deendayal, West is itself at crossroads and is still not sure which path it should pursue. Thus, attempting to transplant those doctrines and models without understanding the historical circumstances in which they had originated might not be helpful for India. In such circumstances, he said that India should think about its role in resolving 3 Ibid.: http://deendayalupadhyay.org/lecture3.html.

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the Western paradox. Deendayal believed that the philosophical vision of Bharatiya sanskriti is comprehensive, and therefore it can provide a direction not only for one’s own advancement, but also for the progress of the world. The fundamental truths promulgated by Bharatiya sanskriti have validity beyond a country and an era. It accepts the apparent contrasts among diverse entities and aspects of life, while also seeking to discover the unity underlying them and taking an integrated view of the entire scene. In the various activities of the world, Bharatiya sanskriti sees interdependence, cooperation and harmony rather than conflict, contradiction and discord. He further explained his ideas when he said: The first characteristic of Bharatiya culture is that it looks upon life as an integrated whole. It has an integrated view point. To think in parts may be proper for a specialist but it is not useful from the practical standpoint. The confusion in the West arises primarily from its tendency to think of life in sections and then to attempt to put them together by patchwork. We do admit that there is diversity and plurality in life but we have always attempted to discover the unity behind them. This attempt is thoroughly scientific. The scientists always attempt to discover order in the apparent disorder in the universe, to find out the principles governing the universe and frame practical rules on the basis of these principles. Chemists discovered that a few elements comprise the entire physical world. Physicists went one step further and showed that even these elements consist only of energy. Today we know that the entire universe is only a form of energy.4

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya is widely acclaimed as the propounder of the philosophy of Integral Humanism—a guiding philosophy of BJP. It is a set of concepts developed by Deendayal and adopted by the Jana Sangh in 1965 as its official doctrine. His philosophy of Integral Humanism is a synthesis of the material and spiritual, the individual and the collective. In the field of politics and economics, he was pragmatic and visualised a decentralised polity and self-reliant economy with the village as the base for India. The philosophy of Integral Humanism revolves around the basic themes of harmony, primacy of cultural-national values, and discipline. It contains visions organised around two themes: morality in politics and swadeshi, and small-scale industrialisation in economies. According to

4 Ibid.: http://deendayalupadhyay.org/lecture2.html.

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Upadhyaya, the primary concern in India must be to develop an indigenous model that puts the human being at the centre stage. Upadhyaya claimed that Integral Humanism followed the non-dualistic tradition of Advaita Ved¯ anta developed by Adi Shankaracharya. While stressing that ‘an integrated life is the foundation of Indian culture’, he said that in our culture, life has been seen as an integrated whole not only in social or collective life, but in individual life as well. An individual is made of body, mind, intelligence and soul which, although being separate components, cannot be considered separately but as an integrated whole. He advocated the vision of envisaging the integral well-being of the individual, seeking to achieve a balance, cohesion and harmony between the body, mind, intellect and soul of each human being. An all-round progress of the individual cannot be possible in the absence of all these attributes. It means that both material as well as spiritual progress is important and both are complementary to each other. Further, he said that the problem in the West is that they considered themselves separate, and hence, reached to faulty conclusion. When they see man as a ‘political animal’, they ignored the other aspects and give importance to the political aspirations of him by giving him voting rights and making him King. He further clarified that contrary to the impression that Indian thought only centres around salvation of the soul, the reality is that it considers body, mind, intellect and soul as an integrated whole. He said that the Upanis.hads clearly state that a weakling cannot realise the self. Along with the thinking about the individual in terms of body, intellect, mind and soul as an integrated whole, he also suggested fourfold responsibilities. He said: The fundamental difference between our position and that of the West is that whereas they have regarded body and satisfaction of its desires as the aim, we regard the body as an instrument for achieving our aims. We have recognised the importance of the body only in this light. The satisfaction of our bodily needs is necessary, but we do not consider this to be the sole aim of all our efforts. Here in Bharat , we have placed before ourselves the ideal of the fourfold responsibilities, of catering the needs of body, mind, intellect and soul with a view of achieving the integrated progress of man. Dh¯ arma, ¯ artha, kama and moks.ha are the four kinds of human effort. Purus.¯ artha means efforts which befit a man. The longings for dh¯ arma,

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¯ artha, kama, and moks.ha are inborn in man. Of course these four efforts too, we have thought in an integrated way.5

He was not in favour of adopting borrowed ideas from the West for goals of national reconstruction. He never considered either capitalism or socialism a solution to problems of the human society. According to him, ‘a capitalist economy first acquired power in the economic field and then enters in the political field, while socialism concentrates power over all means of production in the hands of State. Both these systems are against democratic rights of individuals’.6 He claimed that the problem with both capitalist and socialist ideologies is that they only take into account the needs of the body and mind and are therefore based on the materialistic goals of desire and wealth. Upadhyaya rejected social systems in which individualism ‘reigned supreme’. He also opposed socialism, in which individualism was crushed as part of a ‘large heartless machine’. Society, according to Upadhyaya, did not arise from a social contract between individuals, but was fully born at its inception as a natural living organism with a definitive ‘national soul’ or ‘ethos’ and its needs of the social organism coincided with those of the individual. Further, through his philosophy of Integral Humanism, Upadhyaya rejects Nehruvian economic policies and industrialisation on the grounds that they were uncritically borrowed from the West, without taking into account the cultural and spiritual heritage of the country. According to him, it is necessary to strike a balance between the Indian and Western thinking in view of the dynamic nature of the society and cultural heritage of the country. Deendayal believed that the Nehruvian model of economic development emphasises the increase of material wealth through rapid industrialisation and promoted consumerism in Indian society, while the philosophy of Integral Humanism rejects rampant consumerism, since such an ideology is alien to Indian culture. In short, Integral Humanism is based on an organic way of thinking that envisions an Indian nation guided by general principles of moral order. A nation in which all citizens identify themselves as a part of the same Indian ethos, where we modernise but do not Westernise, where we have individual economic freedom but that which is linked to a social safety net. 5 Ibid.: http://deendayalupadhyay.org/lecture10.html. 6 Deendayal Sansar: A Complete Deendayal Reader, Centralisation of Power, http://

deendayalupadhyay.org/demo.html.

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Nationalism and National Integration

Deendayal Upadhyaya always wanted to base India’s independence on its culture. He was therefore, not ready to blindly accept Western concept of the nation and nationalism. In fact, the Western idea of the nation itself has negative connotations. It means that people feel like a nation only when the country comes under attack or in a war-like situation. In this context, there is famous English saying that ‘Nations die in peace and live in war’. According to Deendayal, India as a nation has existed for thousands of years, thus, it is not right to say that only conflicts, wars and catastrophes formed its basis. He was committed to the idea of India as one nation having a link to its glorious past. According to him, India’s diversity is its strength and its culture is integrationist. Therefore, India is not only a geographical entity but a cultural entity too. Further, he said that inhabitants of a country become one nation only when they are culturally unified into a single unit. He also believed that the foundation of our nationalism is ‘Bharat Mata’, not just Bharat . If we remove the word ‘Mata’, then Bharat becomes just a piece of land. In fact, no land can become a nation until a community comes to love it as its own, just like a child loves his mother. Apart from national unity and territorial integrity, he also believed in the oneness of its people who are emotionally attached with the culture, tradition and history of the land. Deendayal described nation as ‘permanent truth’ and said that State is created to fulfil its needs. He said: Two reasons have been given for the origin of the State. It is said that the State becomes necessary in two circumstances. The first is when some distortion enters the people of nation. The State is established to control the problems that arise in such a situation. For example, one does not see the police when there is no quarrel. But if there is a fight, the police immediately called. The second need is when some complexity appears in society and it becomes necessary to bring order in life. The State is created so that powerful, prosperous and resourceful classes of society do not exploit the weak, the helpless and the poor, and everyone should remain within the bounds of justice. It is only these two reasons that give rise to the State. To regulate the distortion that may have entered into society, to establish peace by punishing the wrong-doers and to solve the complexity within a society so that life of every individual becomes just, honourable and easy are the functions of the State. A third function is an important

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aspect for the fulfillment of these two functions. It is to establish relations with other States. Hence, security from external aggression is also a function of the State.7

13.5

Conclusion

The legacy of Deendayal in the form of his ideas and philosophy has remained relevant even after so many years. His ideas are pragmatic, close to Indian culture and nationalist to the core. His economic policy always emphasised on the welfare of the poorest of the poor. He believed that the success of economic planning and economic progress cannot be measured through those who are in the top of the society’s ladder but through the welfare of the people in the lowest part of the society’s ladder.

13.6

Summary

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was an Indian philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian and political activist. He was one of the most important leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the present-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A revered icon of Integral Humanism, he was an ideologue and a driving force for an alternative model of governance and politics. He was highly encouraged and committed towards social service since his early years. The legacy of Deendayal continues in the form of his ideas. His ideas were pragmatic, close to Indian reality, rooted in culture and remained relevant even after so many years.

References Bakshi, S. S. N. (2018). Deendayal Upadhyaya: Life of an ideologue politician. Rupa Publication. Sharma, M. C. (2004). Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Publication Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

7 Deendayal Sansar: A Complete Deendayal Reader, Nation is Permanent, Our Nationhood, Selected Thoughts, http://deendayalupadhyay.org/nationhood.html.

PART IV

Radical–Pragmatist Thought

CHAPTER 14

Syed Ahmed Khan M. Mohibul Haque and Khurram

14.1

Introduction

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was one of the most influential social reformers and educationist of the Muslim world. He was a visionary with his eyes set on future progress of India as well as the upliftment of his community, viz., the Muslims. He had witnessed the events of the Revolt of 1857, its failure and the persecution of Indians at the hands of the British in its aftermath. The Muslims as a community were targeted by the British as they perceived them as chiefly responsible for the Revolt. The Muslim community was, otherwise too, relatively backward as compared to other dominant communities due to a number of factors. The Muslims were mired in ignorance and despondency. Sir Syed realised that the real cause of backwardness of Indians, in general, and Muslims, in particular, was the lack of modern education. He was convinced that without rational

M. Mohibul Haque (B) · Khurram Department of Political Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India e-mail: [email protected] Khurram e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_14

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spirit and scientific temper, no progress is possible in the modern world. However, the general outlook of the community was diffident towards Western knowledge and rational spirit. Under such odds, Sir Syed took up the gauntlet to bring his community out of ignorance and backwardness and laid the foundation of infusing the community with modern education and scientific temperament. He may be regarded as one of the greatest social reformers of all times. His reformist zeal, painstaking efforts and leadership changed the course of history of the Indian subcontinent. He was imbued with pragmatism and rational spirit. Christian W. Troll in his outstanding work on Sir Syed regards him to be one of the most significant and influential Muslim leaders of the nineteenth century India (Troll, 1978: xv). Sheik Ali calls him one of the greatest nineteenth century social reformers (Ali, 1999: vii). Sir Syed was not apologetic about the past or entertained nostalgia about the past glory. Instead, he used his understanding of the past to serve as a guide to build the future of his country and community. India, and particularly, its second most numerically dominant community, the Muslims, were still steeped in medievalism. He responded to the challenge of working towards bringing Indians out of backwardness in the context of total sway of British capitalism and imperialism over India. He is perhaps the most influential Muslim thinker and activist who represents modernist outlook. In fact, he was the first Muslim who positively and holistically responded to the challenges and promises of Modernity.1 Sir Syed realised the importance of education in liberating humankind from ignorance and irrationality to achieve progress in all spheres. He adopted education as a tool to steer the course of Muslim community from medievalism to modernity. Noted historian K. A. Nizami pays tributes to the great man in following words: In the history of India’s transition from medievalism to modernism, Syed Ahmed Khan stands out prominently as a dynamic force pitted against conservatism, superstition, inertia and ignorance. He contributed many of the essential elements to the development of modern India and paved the way for the growth of a healthy scientific attitude of mind which is the sine qua non for advancement, both material and intellectual. (Nizami, 1966: 1)

1 Modernity is a phase in the historical progress of mankind that is marked by questioning of tradition, rejection of dogma and superstition, rational, scientific and secular approach, and an unflinching faith in inevitability of progress through human agency.

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Education for him was not just a formal process of teaching and learning imparted in schools and colleges. It was not just a tool to make a living. It was about inculcating a sense of duty among adult minds to liberate them from prejudice and ignorance, and enable them to be responsible towards improving the lives of their communities and nation. Education, according to Sir Syed, empowers human beings and turns mind’s eye towards light. He established various magazines and civil society organisations and also used public speeches for educating the masses. At the same time, Sir Syed was not an unapologetic follower of all modernising trends. He did not oppose the tradition, per se, or anything that was ‘old’. He was opposed to only the archaic and irrational traditions. Similar was his approach towards religion. He remained a devout Muslim. However, he wanted the religion to be free of dogma, superstition and narrow interpretations. He sought emancipation not from religion, but from the hegemony and narrow outlook of the priestly class. He did not espouse the cause of materialism and unbridled capitalism. He did not advocate crass individualism, moral relativism and narcissistic hedonism. He drew upon positive influences from all directions and interwove different set of ideas to shape his thinking and guide his action. He was an original thinker and a practical philosopher. He was not formally trained in any particular system of thought. He was a pragmatist and developed his ideas in the course of his struggle for reforms. He can neither be categorised as orientalist nor Western in approach. He is neither a traditionalist nor an unconditional modernist. He represents a constructive fusion of all these forces through his writings, speeches and action.

14.2

Life Sketch

Sir Syed was born on 17 October 1817, in a noble family of Delhi. His ancestors are believed to have migrated from Herat to India during the reign of Shah Jahan. According to his genealogical table, his lineage can be traced back through 36 generations to the Prophet of Islam (Qadri and Mathews trans. Hali, 1979: 1). His ancestors from both maternal and paternal side enjoyed close proximity with the court of Mughal emperors. They were assigned important positions and titles by the Mughals. His maternal family played more significant role in his upbringing. He was quite impressed with his maternal grandfather, Khwaja Fariduddin Ahmad (1747–1828), whom he considered a man of character and exemplary achievements. After the death of his father Mir Muhammad Muttaqi, he

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joined the service of the East India Company, held various positions in different cities and was soon made the Serishtedar, in-charge of criminal investigation. By dint of hard labour and merit he rose to the status of sadr-e-amin (sub-judge) in a brief span of time. His entry into the service of East India Company coincided with the adoption of Urdu language replacing Persian as the official language in matters of courts and administration in North India. He retired in 1876 as the Judge of the Small Cause. In 1888, he received the title of Knighthood from the British, namely, the Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI). In 1889, Sir Syed received Honorary Doctor of Law (LLD) from the Edinburgh University. He died at the age of 81 on 27 March 1898 at Aligarh. The Muslims were in the forefront of the struggle for freedom. They suffered a lot in the wake of 1857 Revolt. Many Ulema (religious scholars) were hanged in Delhi and other places. Sir Syed was witness to the happenings and suffering of Muslims. The colossal efforts at overthrowing the foreign yoke had failed miserably. In that light, he formed the view that the British are going to stay for a prolonged, period, and the Muslims should not be so vigorous in opposing the British at the cost of ignoring modernisation process, including, education and government placements. Sir Syed wanted the Muslims to have a working relationship with the British if they were to take their due rights. He quoted the examples of other religious communities benefiting from the government. While he tried his best to convince the British that Muslims were not against them, he persuaded the Muslims, repeatedly, to befriend the British to achieve their goals. He also wrote many books and published journals to remove the misunderstanding between Muslims and the British. He published the ‘The Loyal Muhammadans of India’ and ‘The Causes of Indian Revolt’. Sir Syed asked the Muslims of his time not to participate in oppositional and agitation politics as the conditions were not ripe, and Muslims as a community were not equipped to deal with the politics of protest. He wanted the community to have education first. He was of the view that Muslims could not succeed in the domain of Western style of politics without knowing the system and having the necessary training and wherewithal to play effective role. Without receiving proper education, the Muslims could not participate in the public arena, nor could they fit in with the modern institutions. This was the reason that he refused to attend the first session of the Indian National Congress (INC)

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and concentrated on his educational mission. The educational institutions that he established played an important role in the transformation of the Muslim community in the Indian sub-continent. The establishment of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO) College (1875) at Aligarh was the proof of success of his untiring efforts for imparting modern education to Muslims of India. The MAO College became the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 which heralded a new era in the lives of Indian Muslims. Sir Syed wrote extensively and his contributions to knowledge are immense. Many of his writings are acknowledged in the fields of archaeology, history, literature, polity, philosophy and journalism. Some of his important academic contributions are as follows: i. Asar-us-sanadeed (trans. Traces of Noblemen): It was a monumental work of history going by the prevailing standards of such writings during those times. It contained a wealth of information on Delhi’s historical monuments constructed during the eight hundred years long Muslim rule. This book was published in 1847. This work was woven around the archeological and cultural narratives throwing light on important buildings and personalities of Delhi of the past. Soon after, it was translated into French by a scholar, Garcin de Tassy. Sir Syed was recognised as a genuine scholar with honorary membership of the prestigious Royal Asiatic Society bestowed upon him. ii. Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (trans. The Causes of the Indian Revolt ): Having seen the issues and events leading to the 1857 Revolt and its failure due to disunity and lack of organisation among Indians, Sir Syed thought it fit to dispel the misgivings about the reasons behind the uprising in the minds of the British. This book was published in 1858. In writing this book, there was a risk of offending the rulers who had just meticulously consolidated their position after crushing the rebellion. Still, the genuine scholar in Sir Syed did not fight shy of speaking truth to the power as he squarely put the blame upon the British for the uprising. He acknowledged the misapprehensions and resentment against the British among the native population. However, he put the blame upon the disconnect between the rulers and the ruled as well as the absence of native representation in the higher decision-making bodies and official positions. He also blamed the British for the neglect of local customs and practices and

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their arrogant attitude towards Indians. Sir Syed was very honest and straight-forward in bringing out the causes of revolt. However, he welcomed the subsequent positive changes in the British policy towards India. iii. Al-khutbat al-Ahmadiyah fi al-Arab wa al-sirat al-Muhmmadiyah (A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary thereto): Sir Syed wrote this book during his stay at England in 1870. The book was written in response to William Muir’s The Life of Mahomet, in which he had made wild allegations against the Prophet of Islam. Sir Syed point-by-point refuted all those allegations through logical and rational arguments. iv. Taba’ín al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Taurat wa al-Injeel ala Millat-e alIslam (trans. The Mahomedan Commentary on the Holy Bible): It was published by Sir Syed in 1866. It was a comparative study of Bible and Qur Ↄ¯ an. The book was aimed at finding common grounds between the two great religions and show compatibility between the beliefs and practices of Muslims and Christians. His ultimate objective was to bridge the gap between the Muslims and Christians and explore avenues of cooperation. Besides the above-mentioned and some other works, the magazines that he edited, like, the Aligarh Institute Gazette and the Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq are his significant contribution to the field of journalism. The style of prose that he adopted in these journals heralded a new era in the Urdu literature. In fact, he liberated the Urdu language from the unwarranted verbose style of writing that prevailed at that time and made it simple and understandable for the masses.

14.3

Sir Syed and the Revolt of 1857

The Revolt of 1857 and its after-effects left deep imprint upon the psyche of Sir Syed. The tragic events of 1857 and the persecution of Muslims in its aftermath shaped the personality of Sir Syed as a community leader, social reformer and political activist. He was posted at Bijnor when the revolt broke out. He performed his duties over there with loyalty to the government and bravely saved the lives of some Europeans. The mutiny was bound to fail as Indian revolutionaries lacked strategy, planning and leadership needed to defeat highly organised and disciplined

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British forces. The 1857 upheaval completed the process of liquidation of once mighty Mughal Empire. The change of political order also brought the collapse of centuries old socio-economic order. A country of continental size with a glorious history of five thousand years was converted into a market for the finished products of London, Manchester and Birmingham. Its indigenous and prosperous industries and sprawling cities were deliberately destroyed through de-industrialisation and demobilisation of its work-force from established occupations. Its cherished values and ideals were made the target of attack by the foreign forces. The Muslims were the worst victims of the repression that followed the Revolt. The consistent opposition to English rule by various Muslim rulers for over a century had pitted the Muslims as the reactionary force against the British. The Revolt of 1857 had reinforced this animosity and, as a result, Muslims were systematically targeted after the Revolt. Muslims were considered more aggressive harbouring memories of the recent Muslim Empire by the British (Nizami, 1996: 5). Delhi, Awadh and other centres of Muslim glory were destroyed. The Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar, who became the symbol of resistance in Delhi, was detained and his two sons were executed in his presence. The ruler himself was deported to Rangoon and thousands of Muslims were massacred without trial. Their properties were confiscated. Describing the year 1857 as a ‘turning point in the history of Indian Muslims’, K. A. Nizami observes: The Muslim political power which has been gradually declining from the beginning of the eighteenth century touched its nadir in 1857. The Mughal Empire — for decades an apparition of its former self — was finally liquidated in the terrible bloodbath of 1857. But it was more than a mere polity; it symbolised a culture round which the entire fabric of Muslim social behavior had been woven through the centuries. Its collapse, therefore, dried up the sources of a milieu and left the Muslims helpless and broken. Steeped in medievalism, broken-hearted and frustrated, they found themselves in a blind alley, without any means of livelihood and reduced to a state of abject poverty and utter economic destitution. (Nizami in Foreword to Qadri & Mathews, 1979: vi)

Sir Syed wrote Tarikh-e-Sarkashi-e-Zila Bijnor (The History of the Bijnor Revolt ). This book chronicles in vivid detail the traumatic happenings that occurred in the district of Bijnor during the 1857 revolt. As a reaction to the merciless reprisals carried out by the victorious British against

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the defeated Indians and also in response to the misgivings about the role of Indians in the revolt, Sir Syed came out with a masterpiece, ‘Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind’ (The Causes of the Indian Revolt ) providing an unbiased and detailed account of the events for convincing the British that Indians were not solely responsible for the mutiny. He found out lack of representation of Indians in the decision-making bodies and neglect of people’s concerns as some of the major reasons of revolt. Being a subordinate in the service of the government and a member of the Muslim community upon whom the wrath of the government had been unleashed, it required a great conviction and courage to write a book, such as, ‘Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind’ (Ali, 1999: 194–195). Later, he compiled an exhaustive account of loyalty and services rendered by the Muslims during the 1857 Revolt in the pamphlet, ‘The Loyal Muhammadans of India’. Sir Syed’s review on Dr Hunter’s book, ‘The Indian Mussulmans: Are they bound in Conscience to Rebel against the Queen’, dispelled the notion expressed in the book that Muslims look upon resistance to the British as a holy obligation. Dr Hunter had argued that the Muslims, because of their historical and cultural traditions, cannot be trusted in the matters of loyalty and friendship. Therefore, the British should keep them at a distance. The Muslims could not be entrusted with administrative responsibilities. Sir Syed gave a fitting reply in the candid words, ‘Like begets like; and if cold acquiescence is all that the Mohammedans receive at the hands of the ruling race, Dr Hunter must not be surprised at the cold acquiescence of the Mohammedan community’.

14.4

Social Reforms

If the nineteenth century completed the process of colonisation of India with dismantling of all pockets and centres of resistance to British domination, it also brought about fundamental change in the outlook and perceptions of people. Rather than dispassionately brooding over the causes of the defeat and annihilation, Muslims were trying to take refuge in the memories of the past glory. Revivalist tendencies waiting for divine intervention were becoming stronger. Since the diagnosis of the problem was wrong, the solutions offered were definitely going to be out of place and, regressive. However, the political subjugation and economic decadence forced men of thinking to introspect about the causes of annihilation of Indians. There were mainly two kinds of responses discernable,

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which can be broadly categorised as reformist and revivalist. Brahmo Samaj , Prathana Samaj and Aligarh movement are the examples of ¯ reformist movements and Arya Sam¯ aj , Ramkrishna Mission, Deoband movement are the examples of revivalist response. Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1774–1833) became the pioneer of social reforms among Hindus, and Sir Syed led the Aligarh movement for the reformation of the Muslim community. Although there is no evidence to suggest that Sir Syed was motivated and influenced by the reform movement of Raja Ram Mohan Roy who is regarded as ‘the first modern man of India’, there is amazing similarity between the two great men, so far as opposition to superstition and orthodoxy and emphasis on scientific outlook, rationalism, humanism and modern education is concerned. Sir Syed had seen Ram Mohan Roy when he visited the court of Mughal Emperor in 1830 (Gandhi, 2000: 44). The social reform movement among the Hindus started in the beginning of the nineteenth century whereas it started at a slower pace among the Muslims in later half of the nineteenth century. As pointed out earlier, it was Sir Syed who in the backdrop of the debacle of the Revolt of 1857 felt the need to take up the task of regeneration of a devastated community. After careful analysis of the challenges faced by the community, Sir Syed realised that social reform through Western education and inculcation of rational and scientific temper was the only solution to the predicaments of the community. But it was not an easy task. The Muslims who were removed from power by the British were not ready to accept anything which was European or Western in nature. The leadership of the community was not imbued with rational spirit. The British had replaced the Mughal Empire and the Muslims had suffered a decline in terms of influence upon the affairs of the State as well as relative position in society. They had developed antipathy towards anything British. The Ulema were up against Western education as they thought it would corrupt the minds of Muslims and weaken their Faith (Chand, 1967: 350). More than the hostile conditions the community faced outside, Sir Syed was presented with a challenge to face the opposition from within the community. He had to face the brunt of conservative clergy who held immense sway over the Muslim community. The Western education was abhorred by the community, by and large. It was not an easy task to convince his community about the desirability and superiority of Western education. ‘Centuries old superstitions, inertia, false sense of prestige and superiority, suicidal complacency, Messianic expectations, traditionalism

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and narrow theological concepts — all stood in a formidable alley against him’ (Nizami, Foreword to Qadri & Mathews, 1979: vi). Sir Syed, notwithstanding, was determined to fight against the regressive and reactionary forces. He opposed superstitions and evil customs. He tirelessly worked to oppose the useless customs and harmful practices prevailing among the Muslims. He gave a call to ‘Get rid of old and useless rituals. These rituals hinder human progress’. He stressed not only upon Muslims but all Indians to adopt rational outlook and acquire scientific knowledge if they wanted to make progress. After coming back from England, Sir Syed set in motion his twin objectives a — social reforms and education. Both were tied with each other. Education is a means of social reforms, and social reforms facilitate educational advancement. He initiated the publication of a magazine, ‘Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq’ (Mohammedan Social Reformer). He embarked upon educating the Muslim mind through his writings of the desirability of modern secular education to utilise the full opportunities that were opening up to young generation. He made all-out efforts through his writings and speeches to eradicate the misguided notions about the Western learning among his compatriots. The six main objectives of Sir Syed’s reform movement can be put as under: Ↄ Rapprochement between the colonial masters and the Muslims Ↄ Developing scientific temper and critical reasoning among the community to fight against superstition and dogma Ↄ Preparing the Muslims to acquire modern Western education Ↄ Rational interpretation of Islam Ↄ To work for social and moral rejuvenation and overall development of Muslims Ↄ To develop understanding and amity among communities Sir Syed wrote a commentary on Bible and tried to bridge the gap between the Christians and Muslims. Perhaps, it was the first sincere attempt by a Muslim scholar to interpret Bible for a positive purpose of removing misgivings between the two communities. He also tried to rationally interpret the teachings of Islam through his incomplete tafsir (commentary) on Qur Ↄ¯ an. According to Sir Syed, religion is the word of God and nature is the work of God. The word of God is contained in scriptures and the work of God is explained in detail by science. There

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cannot be contradiction between the word and work of God. Hence, there is no contradiction between religion and science. According to him, all precepts of Qur Ↄ¯ an were in complete harmony with the law of nature, and it could be proven with rationalistic interpretation. His tafsir of the Qur Ↄ¯ an and his commentary on the Bible reflected his rational and secular approach towards religion. The understanding among different religious communities was a pre-requisite to inter-communal harmony (Nizami, Foreword to Qadri & Mathews, 1979: vii). Jawaharlal Nehru concluded about his secular approach in the following words: Sir Syed was an ardent reformer and he wanted to reconcile modern scientific thought with religion by rationalistic interpretations and not by attacking basic belief. He was anxious to push new education. He was in no way communally separatist. Repeatedly he emphasised that religious differences should have no political and national significance.

Sir Syed’s entire life was devoted to the pursuits of truth and progress. He symbolised the Age of Reason. He gave a fitting reply to W. W. Hunter’s book, ‘The Indian Musulmans’, in which Hunter not only levelled baseless charges against Muslims but had also denounced Islam as a religion of intolerance. The Wahabi movement of Bengal was especially criticised by him. Sir Syed defended Islam and its teachings. ‘Nobody intent upon understanding the phenomenon of ideological change from so-called medieval to modern Islam in the nineteenth century can afford to ignore the religious thought of the Indian Muslim Syed Ahmed Khan…’ (Troll, 1978: xv). Sir Syed chose to write and speak in a simple and understandable language. He avoided the traditional difficult style of prose writing in Urdu. He must be credited for liberating Urdu from unnecessary formalities and pretensions. He was a man of action. He found that the Urdu language and literature had lost purpose and it was not able to present scientific and modern concepts and ideas in an easy and understandable language. Therefore, he himself took up the task of simplification of Urdu prose through his magazines, ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette’ and ‘Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq’. It heralded a new era in Urdu prose writing.

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14.5

The Aligarh Movement

It cannot be denied that critical reasoning and scientific temper are the greatest asset of a progressive community. Seeped in medievalism and superstition, and dominated by the conservative elements, the Muslims lacked critical and scientific approach. Sir Syed was conscious of the fact that this approach of the Muslims was the greatest hurdle in the way of their progress. Since the Revolt of 1857, Sir Syed was proactively engaged in promoting the cause of education among Muslims. He established a madrasa at Moradabad (1859) and then a school at Ghazipur (1863). To inculcate scientific temper, he established the Scientific Society at Ghazipur in 1863 during his posting in that city. The Society was established with the aim to promote modern education in India by translating and publishing the authentic works of great Western scholars from diverse fields, like, Natural Sciences, History, Political Economy, Agriculture, etc. When Sir Syed was transferred from Ghazipur to Aligarh, the Scientific Society was also shifted to Aligarh. In 1866, Sir Syed started publishing a weekly newsletter the ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette’ the mouthpiece of Scientific Society. It was generally printed in two columns of English and Urdu. This weekly Gazette was regularly published for thirty-two years since 1866. Although he was transferred to Benaras, Aligarh became the hub of his activities. In 1869, Sir Syed took leave from his judicial duties and travelled to England along with his sons, Syed Hamid and Syed Mahmud. He stayed there for seventeen months. During his stay in England, he keenly observed the lifestyle, educational system, political institutions and social behaviour of the people. He was greatly impressed by the newspapers ‘The Tatlor’ and ‘The Spectator’ which were doing great service to England by exposing social and moral weaknesses of society at large. Apart from developing insight into the British educational system and the concomitant modernisation process, he wanted to write a fitting reply to the blasphemous book of William Muir, ‘The Life of Mahomet’, published in England in 1861. In this book, Muir had levelled serious charges against Islam and Prophet. He held that Islam was an intolerant and violent religion. Sir Syed wrote ‘Al-khutbat al-Ahmadiyah fi al-Arab wa al-sirat al-Muhmmadiyah’, while staying in England and logically rebutted the charges levelled by Muir. Sir Syed quoted frequently from Qur Ↄ¯ an and some Christian scholars. This work is a series of essays he wrote. He got those translated into English and published in England in 1870 in the

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form of a book, ‘A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary thereto’. He was conferred with the insignia of the Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (CSI) by the Secretary of State for India, the Duke of Argyll during his stay in England. He was highly impressed with the educational system and work culture over there. He had all praise for the devotion among young men and women of England who were solemnly engaged in the hard work of industrial development of their country. Sir Syed realised that modern education on the lines of English educational institutions was the precondition for the future development of India. He was fully convinced that modern education was the only solution to the ills afflicting Indian society in general and Muslims in particular. Thus, after his return from England in September 1870, Sir Syed got busy in chalking out plans for replicating the educational system of England in India. It was indeed a daunting task. He was going to launch a movement for modern Western education against the dominant will of his community led by Ulema. For him, Western education was the means of social and moral transformation of Muslims. However, the community was not ready to leave its outdated theology based oriental system of education. The final blueprint of a solution to the Muslims’ backwardness through education had taken shape in Sir Syed’s mind during his stay in England. He was not satisfied with the ongoing system of education introduced by the British in India that was, at best, equipped with producing clerks. The antiquated system of madrasas was entirely regressive. It was not in tune with the scientific temperament and modernising trends. He was convinced of the efficacy of imparting modern education alongside religious instruction. The ultimate objective was to develop rationalist outlook and enable the community to take charge of its own affairs by fully participating in the decision-making processes. On 24 May 1875, Sir Syed established madrasat-ul-Ulum at Aligarh, which became the MAO College in 1877. The foundation stone of the College was laid by Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India. Syed Mahmud read out an address on behalf of the MAO College Fund Committee: There have before been schools and colleges founded and endowed by private individuals. There have been others built by Sovereigns and supported by revenues of the State. But this is the first time in the history of the Mohammedans of India that a college owes its establishment, not to the charity or love of learning of an individual, not to the splendid

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patronage of a monarch, but to the combined wishes and the united efforts of a whole community.

This college was upgraded into a university four decades afterwards and came to be famously known as the Aligarh Muslim University. The MAO College became the centre of Sir Syed’s activism and developed into a movement. Hence, his social and educational reform movement is often called the Aligarh Movement. Syed Ahmed Khan had inaugurated a revolution in Muslim thought. He laid the institutional foundation and galvanised support for his objective of modernising the Muslim community through scientific-rational education and liberating religion from orthodoxy and superstition. He prepared a scheme of Muslim education which would satisfy their religious, cultural and material needs. (Chand, 1967: 359)

The Aligarh Movement heralded a new chapter in the life of Muslim community of India. Aligarh became one the most prominent centres of learning in India. It became the most important catalyst ushering in the scientific and rational outlook paving the way for the progress of Muslims in India. Sir Syed wanted the MAO College to act as a bridge between the traditional and modern systems of education. His expressed the view that ‘a true Muslims is one who must have the holy Qur Ↄ¯ an in one hand and the science in the other’. With the passage of time, the college established by him developed into a full-fledged university, named Aligarh Muslim University. It became a world-renowned university and occupies a place among the top-ranking universities of India. The Aligarh Muslim University offers hundreds of courses at graduate, post-graduate and doctoral levels in Medicine, Engineering, Sciences, Biotechnology, Management, Humanities, Theology, etc. along with various professional and diploma courses. He further said: It was the hub of a movement that was to bring about a metamorphic change in the body-politic of Muslim society. It was to act as the inner conscience of the community to become its main instrument of social change, to hold the key for its moral and material welfare and progress, to promote its culture and traditions, to enrich its language and literature, to foster new humanism and peace, and to train its people in the art of civilised way of life. (Ali, 1999: xii)

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Sir Syed established the MAO College not because there was dearth of institutions of learning for Muslims at that time. In fact, madrasas had started cropping up in various parts of North India, such as, in Aligarh, Saharanpur, Deoband, Delhi, Lahore, etc., during those days. But, these madrasas were not providing education in Sciences and Philosophy. Sir Syed was not satisfied with those institutions as their curriculum was theology based, outdated and, thus, restricted in scope. Their approach was conservative and retrogressive. These madrasas could not be expected to produce nation-builders and men of learning to take up positions and responsibilities in the wake of modernisation wave. Sir Syed found these institutions to be ‘utterly useless and wholly futile’ (cited in Chand, 1967: 359). The Pioneer of 8 January 1877 stated: The name of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the principal promoter of MAO College will be held in grateful remembrance in the future by large masses of his countrymen who may as yet hardly appreciate the importance of the influence he has brought to bear upon the intellectual and political development. (cited in Ali, 1999: 3)

Sir Syed’s mission was to impart modern education and for this noble mission the MAO College alone was not enough. In fact, he wanted to convince and motivate Muslims in every nook and corner of the country to come forward to acquire modern education and therefore he established All India Muslim Educational Conference which became the platform for creating awareness in the community about the importance and necessity of modern and scientific education. The contributions of the All India Muslim Educational Conference in motivating Muslims for modern education and establishing institutions for the purpose have not been adequately appreciated and realised. He was also conscious of the fact that before making education a means of social transformation and economic and cultural regeneration, there must be a movement for moral and social rejuvenation. Therefore, he unleashed a movement against superstition, conservative outlook, inertia and religious orthodoxy deeply rooted in his community. The instrument that he used for this purpose was the journal, ‘Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq’. He published articles against the prevailing education system of Muslims and declared it outdated and redundant. He attacked superstition and dogma. He also started mass contact programme. Perhaps he was the first person in the Indian sub-continent to use public speaking as an important

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tool to educate masses about his movement. Sir Syed remained firm and undeterred in his resolve and efforts. The Aligarh Movement was opposed tooth and nail by the conservative and orthodox sections of the Muslim community. His scathing criticism of prevailing education system among Muslims annoyed Ulema who lined up to oppose Sir Syed’s proposed scheme of education. Sir Syed was declared an agent of the British and fatwa (decrees) were issued against him calling him kafir (apostate/heretic). The hatred of the English, who had disposed them of influence in the State, naturally created revulsion in their minds against foreign learning and culture (Chand, 1967: 350). Moreover, they feared that modern-secular education would divest them of the influence they are used to exercise over the community. The allegation was made in quite a few circles among the Muslim community that Sir Syed was trying to pollute the Muslim mind through English education as he was a British agent. A fatwa was issued declaring lending of support to the college a sin and threatening the supporters of the college and followers of Sir Syed with excommunication from Islam (Mohammad, 1999: 58). Thus, it was with great difficulty and incessant efforts that Sir Syed could establish the MAO College and persuade the Muslims to acquire modern education. Countering the negative propaganda against the MAO College and Aligarh Movement and to avoid confusion about his educational movement, Sir Syed presented his scheme of education in these words: ‘Philosophy will be in our right hand and Natural Science in our left, and the crown of “There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is His Prophet” will adorn our heads’ (cited in Mohammad, 1999: 49). The AMU played the pivotal role in the modernisation of Muslim community in the last century. The MAO College and later, the AMU, directly contributed to the socio-cultural, educational and political advancement of the Muslim community (Bhatnagar, 1969: vi). Acknowledging the significant contribution of the MAO College and the Aligarh Muslim University, the great philosopher-poet, Allama Iqbal observed: Few Institutions in the history of modern Islam have had such deep and far-reaching impact on the intellectual and cultural life of the Muslims as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1875 and raised to the status of university in 1920. It heralded a new era of intellectual and cultural renaissance for Muslims not only in India, but the whole of Asia. (Iqbal, 2000: 1)

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Political Views and Activities

It is often but wrongly observed that politics was not the concern of Sir Syed. Indeed, Sir Syed was not a political philosopher in systematic and thorough sense. He neither had the luxury of devoting enough time to go deep into systematic political philosophy nor was he trained in political theory. Nonetheless, ‘politics is the concern of everybody with any sense of responsibility’, argues Soltau. For the Greeks, a person not interested in politics was not only a harmless but a useless creature. Since political decisions affect everyone whether one likes or not, Sir Syed was bound to reflect upon political matters as a representative of a community that had faced the holocaust of 1857. Since politics determines the allocation of wealth, resources, power, honour and offices, it becomes the unavoidable condition of human existence. ‘…Sir Syed’s political leadership should be viewed in the context of a judge-philosopher being pushed into the wrestling yard of conflicting interests, where he had to remain firm on what his reason and conscience dictated’ (Ali, 1999: 187). The British had considerably consolidated their hold over India after 1857. The mass-based oppositional politics against the British was inconceivable during those times. The Muslim community was downbeat and dejected. It greatly stood in need of regeneration in order to play its due role in public life. Sir Syed got drifted into community politics under the force of circumstances. But he never said or did anything that was detrimental to the interests of other communities, or for that matter, Indian nation. To work in the interest of one’s own community or to engage in efforts to remove its vulnerabilities is never a recipe for separatism. However, his ideas were misinterpreted, later, and generated a lot of controversy. On account of Sir Syed’s involvement in politics and the controversy it generated, Rajmohan Gandhi observes: ‘He is hailed, and assailed, as the founder of Muslim separatism on the sub-continent. He is blamed, and praised, as a moderniser of Islam’ (Gandhi, 2000: 19). The Muslim community faced unprecedented challenges at that time and it terribly stood in need of leadership and direction to overcome its socio-economic and intellectual backwardness. Sir Syed filled the void. Like most of the eminent reformers and leaders of that time, and of the subsequent years too, ranging from Raja Ram Mohan Roy to Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Sir Syed also worked for the upliftment of his own community. However, he never said or did anything detrimental to the interest of other communities. After all, a nation consists of several communities. It is paramount to

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safeguard and promote the interest of all the communities if the nation is to thrive and make progress. Sir Syed put it very succinctly: ‘All the creatures of God have equal rights. No man is entitled to allow one particular race of men to obtain the goods of this world and to bar the rest from participating in them, and it is the duty of the government to observe this divine law in all its integrity’. While, evaluating his political views, we should always keep in mind that Sir Syed was a reformer, first, and he found his community to be at the receiving end in the public sphere. Politics was used by him to work for the well-being of his community in harmony with the interests of other communities. Sir Syed’s opposition to Indian National Congress is one of the issues that attracts a lot of criticism of his approach to politics of that time. In fact, he did not oppose the Congress for it being a Hindu organisation but because he feared that its politics will lead to confrontation with the British government. Not only the politics of opposition was practically infeasible under the given scenario, but the Muslims as a community, in his opinion, were likely to suffer disproportionately. The Muslims, like in the past, would more aggressively join the movement against the British, which would derail them from the path of education, material upliftment and joining the Services. Moreover, Sir Syed’s efforts for rapprochement between the Muslims and the rulers would be adversely affected. He considered the Congress as detrimental to the interest of the Muslims as well as Indian nation (Gandhi, 2000: 37–38). When Badruddin Tayabji became the President of the INC, he approached Sir Syed seeking his support for the Congress. Sir Syed categorically refused to support the Congress. Sir Syed mobilised Hindu and Muslim aristocracy against Indian National Congress and formed the United Indian Patriotic Association in 1888. The organisation openly condemned the Congress and its activities. Sir Syed’s approach towards the Congress may be debated. He may also be faulted for not doing enough to explore the common grounds or seeking terms of cooperation with the Congress. However, he cannot be blamed for seeking cooperation with, and concessions from, the British. Even the Congress was engaged in the same practice.2 Given the condition of his community vis-à-vis the British as 2 The Indian National Congress was not a mass-based organisation at that time. Nor was it an organisation formed with the aim to liberate India from the British. As the Congress itself was led by the Moderates during those times, whose goal was not even dominion status for India within the British Empire. None of its leaders at that point made

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well as the dominant majority community, Sir Syed, seemingly, could not even afford the kind of soft oppositional politics that increasingly became the modus operandi of the Congress in the years to come. He relentlessly advocated and worked for inter-communal harmony at a time when the relations between the two communities, viz., Hindus and Muslims, were becoming strained, particularly, in the wake of Urdu-Hindi controversy and the British policy of Divide and Rule. He unequivocally denounced violence and opposed the politics of confrontation. Sir Syed was the pioneer of the movement for the inter-faith understanding. He championed the noble cause of Hindu-Muslim unity and tried to remove misunderstanding between Hindus and Muslims. He loved his country and emphasised unity between the two communities. He pointed out: We (Hindus and Muslims) eat the same crop, drink water from the same rivers and breathe the same air. As a matter of fact, Hindus and Muslims are the two eyes of the beautiful bride that is Hindustan. Weakness of any one of them will spoil the beauty of the bride. (cited in Nizami, 1966: 5)

He remained a champion of Hindu-Muslim unity for most part of his life. However, when the movement to replace Urdu with Hindi in offices and courts gained momentum, Sir Syed got deeply disturbed and tried to argue the case in favour of retaining Urdu. He told Shakespeare who was the Commissioner of Benaras that henceforth the Hindus and Muslims would never show the spirit of working together. Sir Syed also opined that the gulf between the two communities would further get widened if the controversy was not contained. According to Shakespeare, it was for the first time that Sir Syed talked about Hindus and Muslims separately, otherwise, he always talked of all Indians (Ali, 1999: 21). Nevertheless, the spirit of Hindu-Muslim unity was embedded in his mind that was just like an article of faith for him. He understood the imperative of communal harmony. If the Indian nation was to make progress, it could be only through the joint efforts of all communities working in cohesion. However, any genuine progress was possible on terms of equity and mutual respect. During a public speech in Lahore in 1884, Sir Syed while

such demands. They were also seeking various concessions from the British. These could be utilised better by the educated Caste Hindus who were predominantly represented in the organisation.

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speaking about the MAO College and the way of life on the campus of the College observed: I am happy to be able to say that both brothers receive the same instruction in that college. All the rights at the college which belong to one who calls himself a Mohammedan, belong without any restriction to him also who calls himself a Hindu. There is not the least distinction between the Hindus and the Mohammedans. Only he can claim the reward who earns it by his own exertions. Both Hindus and Muslims are equally entitled to scholarships at the College; both are treated equally as boarders. I regard the Hindus and Mohammedans as my two eyes. (Nizami, 1966: 9)

For achieving inter-communal harmony, he advised the Muslims to desist from cow-slaughter. He observed that the giving up of the cow-slaughter by Muslims will establish amity and friendliness among Hindus and Muslims, which would be better than sacrificing cows (cited in Chand, 1967: 363). Though, he was proud of the rich Islamic heritage, he never allowed himself to be carried away by emotions and religious zeal. Therefore, he did not hesitate to oppose Jamaluddin Afghani’s movement of Pan-Islamism for he believed that the participation of Indian Muslims in Jamaluddin Afghani’s movement for restoration of a universal Islamic khilafat was detrimental to their interest. Sir Syed believed that all Indians whether Hindus or Muslims or any other community for that purpose constitute one nation. In his own words: Please remember that the Hindu and Muslim are religious terms. In fact, all the inhabitants of India whether Hindu, Muslim or Christian, are by virtue of the fact of their residence one nation…The time is past when merely on the ground of religion the inhabitants of one country could be regarded as members of two nations. Sir Syed further expressed the desire that Hindus and Muslims must join together and act in unison. They can make progress unitedly. However, if they continue to fight against each other, it would lead to their mutual destruction and downfall. (cited in Chand, 1967: 363)

Sir Syed was appointed as a member of the Viceroy’s Council for a period of two years in 1878 by Lord Lytton. Lord Ripon appointed him for the consecutive second term in 1880. He was also the founder of Indian Patriotic Association (1888), and Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association/Muhammadan Defence Association of Upper India (1893),

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which were the earliest political organisations of Muslims in the Indian sub-continent. Sir Syed was a great patriot. He staged a walk-out in protest from Agra Ceremony in 1867 because Indian guests were not treated with dignity as they were assigned inferior places in the ceremony (Gandhi, 2000: 27). Sir Syed opposed the Local Self-Government Bill introduced by the British on the ground that simple voting system would exclude many groups and communities from sharing in the political power. He emphasised on the multi-cultural character of India and argued that certain safeguards must be incorporated to give representation to the communities which were numerically inferior. He moved an amendment to the Bill to that effect that was incorporated by the British. He vigorously supported the Ilbert Bill that would give Indian judges power over European defendants. His son, Syed Mahmud, rose to the position of Judge of Allahabad High Court.

14.7

Conclusion

Karl Marx rightly observed: ‘The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however, is to change it’. In the light of the statement, it is pertinent to see how a humble servant of the British government, through his sincere efforts and sacrifices was able to effect positive changes under the circumstances that destiny had unfolded upon him. It is important to keep the context in view while appreciating his ideas and activism. Sir Syed was endowed with courage, conviction and insight of a statesman who transformed the gloomy world he found himself in, by changing the world view of his countrymen and the community he belonged to. He became the catalyst for transformation of Muslims from a declining and strangulating medievalism to a rising and liberating modernism. His indelible footprints are still quite visible in all walks of lives of the Muslims of the Indian sub-continent even after over a century of his demise. He was an educationist, a social reformer, a political activist with perspicacious understanding of the situation and a great journalist. He wrote commentaries upon the religious texts, worked for inter-communal relations by focusing upon communal justice and seeking common grounds of unity among different communities. He was an intrepid fighter against the forces of conservative outlook, orthodoxy, superstition and intolerance. Mahatma Gandhi aptly called Sir Syed a prophet of education. And education is one area in which we Indians, still, lag behind. Despite

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huge infrastructure in education and great numbers rolling out each year, we fall too short of desired standards, particularly, in terms of quality education. Sir Syed’s phenomenal ideas remain equally valid in contemporary times. In this era of growing intolerance, religious extremism, Islamophobia and revivalist and regressive tendencies, his ideas, views and strategies can become the guiding principles for all of us. Since the suspension of ideological conflict between the two hostile blocs of the Cold War period, we find ourselves in the midst of cultural and religious conflicts or what Huntington would like us to believe ‘the clash of civilisations’. The rise of highly motivated religious extremist forces across the globe is threatening peace and order in the world, and India as well. Under these circumstances, scientific outlook and temper are to be reaffirmed against the forces of extremism, orthodoxy and conservatism. Sir Syed’s exemplary efforts in this direction are worth recalling for in this time of crisis. Although, the Indian Muslim community has made some good progress in the educational arena, still, they have to go a long way to achieve the goal that Sir Syed had set up. His vision can pave the way for the Muslims and other marginalised communities to improve their educational standards and access to public sphere. In today’s world, agitation politics and violent protests are becoming order of the day. The mobilisation along the issues of religion and identity is particularly threatening communal harmony and spirit of peaceful coexistence. One is reminded of the means Sir Syed adopted for registering his protest. It is important to mention that when William Muir wrote a book to malign the Prophet, Sir Syed was deeply pained but he did not express his outrage by taking recourse to protest, demonstrations, petitioning or calling for his head. He rather travelled to England and gave a befitting reply to the baseless charges against the Prophet of Islam. While making assessment of his personality, his services and achievements, one may notice the vision and tactics he employed to achieve his goals. His ideas and style of politics remain relevant, today, and may, still, exercise profound influence over the minds of the people of South Asia. He was an organic intellectual and leader whose ideas and efforts uplifted the status of a community which was witnessing continuous decline under the yoke of religious orthodoxy and several decades of persecution at the hands of colonial masters. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was one of the most influential social and religious reformers of India whose legacy will continue to inspire the future generations of this great country.

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Summary

Sir Syed was a rationalist thinker and a social reformer who made modern education the means of socio-economic and political transformation. It was the Revolt of 1857 that shaped the personality of Sir Syed. His community (Muslims) was held mainly responsible for the Revolt and therefore it faced repression at the hands of the British more in comparison to others. As a result, the morale of the Muslim community was shattered, and it developed a reactionary approach to modernity unleashed by the British Empire. It rejected modern education and refused to adopt scientific outlook. Sir Syed with his tireless efforts was able to convince his community to accept modern and scientific education. He became the pioneer of modern education among Muslims of India. He started the Aligarh Movement and established the MAO College for imparting value-based Western education. The college later developed into a university and named the Aligarh Muslim University. He was also a political activist and a champion of inter-faith understanding. He was a religious thinker who tried to interpret Islam on the basis of reason that paved way for better inter-faith understanding. It brought him face to face with the orthodox sections of his community, however, he never succumbed to the pressure of the conservative Ulema and reactionary elements of his community. He was successful in bringing change in the attitude of Muslims towards Western learning, modernity and politics.

References Ahmad Khan, S. (1860). Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (Trans., W. N. Lee). An essay on the causes of Indian Revolt. F. F. Wyman, Home Secretariat. Ahmad Khan, S. (2018). Asar-us-sanadeed (Trans., R. Safvi). Tulika Books. Ahmed Khan, S. (1862). Taba’ín al-Kalam fi tafsir al-taurat wa al-injeel ala millat-e al-islam (Trans., The Mahomedan Commentary on the Holy Bible). Part 1, Ghazeepore, Printed and published by the author at his private press. Ahmed Khan, S. (1866). Taba’ín al-Kalam fi tafsir al-taurat wa al-injeel ala millat-e al-islam (Trans., The Mahomedan Commentary on the Holy Bible). Part 2, Aligarh, Printed and published by the author at his private press. Ahmed Khan, S. B. (1968). Al-khutbat al-Ahmadiyah fi al-Arab wa al-sirat alMuhmmadiyah translated as A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary thereto. Premier Book House.

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Ali, B. S. (1999). A Leader Reassessed—Life and Work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Sultan Shaheed Education Trust Publication. Bhatnagar, S. K. (1969). History of the MAO College Aligarh, Delhi, Asia Publishing House. Chand, T. (1967). History of the Freedom Movement in India (Vol. 2). Publications Division. Gandhi, R. (2000). Understanding the Muslim Mind. Penguin Books, India. Hali, A. H. (1979). Hayat-i-Javed (Trans., A Biographical Account of Sir Syed & K. H. Qadri and David J. Matthews). Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Delli. Iqbal, J. (2000). Zinda Rud (Vol. III). Mohammad, S. (1999). The Aligarh Movement (A Concise Study), Aligarh, Educational Book House. Nizami, K. A. (1966). Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Nizami, K. A. (2000). History of the Aligarh Muslim University, 1920–1945 (Vol. I). Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Delli. Troll, C. W. (1978). Sayyid Ahmad Khan: A Reinterpretation of Muslim Theology. Vikas Publishing House.

CHAPTER 15

Muhammad Iqbal Islam Ali

15.1

Introduction

Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) was a political and social reformer in the Indian sub-continent, as well as a notable academician, writer, poet, and philosopher. He discusses his unique viewpoints on a variety of topics concerning Western conceptions and philosophies. Iqbal has made significant contributions to the reorganisation of political ideas. Though eclectic, Iqbal’s philosophy was anchored primarily in the Qur Ↄ¯ an, which he read with the sensitivity of a poet and the insight of a mystic, and influenced, by Muslims such as Al-Ghazali and Rumi as well as Western intellectuals such as Nietzsche and Bergson. Iqbal’s most significant contribution to political thinking has been his conception of Khudi (ego). With his views on other matters, Iqbal’s political philosophy is rooted in Islamic principles and thinking. Iqbal was well aware that entering into politics meant sacrificing himself, but he did not hesitate to do so when he felt it was necessary. Iqbal made a significant contribution to the cause

I. Ali (B) Department of Political Science, Zakir Husain Delhi College (Evening), University of Delhi, Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected]

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7_15

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of political renewal in the sub-continent through this affiliation (Sharma, 2008: 14). According to Iqbal, a community’s political aspirations must be subordinated to its spiritual and ethical ideals. The political ideals of Islam and Muslims are intertwined with the spiritual and ethical ideals of Islam. As a result, the Muslim community is obligated to develop its political principles in light of Islamic teachings. The Muslim community must likewise create its political structure in accordance with Islamic political objectives. As a result, neither the political system nor the spiritual and ethical principles exist in isolation. Initially, Iqbal supported a unified India. He even produced a song, the ‘Tarana-e-Hind’, commonly known now as ‘Saare Jahan Se Achaa Hindustaan Hamara’, celebrating the beauties of that geographical region. It is apparent that he was a nationalist at this point; in her book Gabriel’s Wing: ‘A Study into the Religious Ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal ’, Annemarie Schimmel even referred to him as a ‘patriot in the Western sense’ (Schimmel, 1962: 34–35). Furthermore, he could not imagine separating his beloved Punjab, and it was here that his early nationalistic poetry took on a sense of urgency, with nearly equal numbers of Hindus and Muslims. This was a time when Gandhi genuinely thought that India could coexist with many religions, with Muslims and Hindus living side by side like brothers. Later, he changed the title of his original poem, ‘Tarana-e-Hind’, to ‘Tarana-eMilli’, in which he praised the entire Islamic community. By this point, it was evident that he believed that the only way to save Muslims was to establish an Islamic State. Iqbal believes in the Ummat’s (Muslim community) universality, and believes that the Ummat’s body and soul are made up of a belief in God’s unity, and that this unity is the source of Muslim thought’s affinity. The community, according to Iqbal, is an entity whose functions and activities are driven by power and a triumphant spirit. The community’s unique personality is derived from the togetherness gained via the emergence of different individuals. With this background, it needs to understand and examine Iqbal’s political ideas and its relevance to the academic and political world. This chapter comprises two parts. The first part, discusses about Iqbal’s life and his philosophy. The second part analyses his views on Pan-Islamism, nationalism, community, democracy and other political concepts. This section also examines the importance and relevance of his

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ideas in today’s time. This is followed by the evaluation of his thoughts and ideas.

15.2

Life Sketch

Iqbal was born on 9 November 1877 in Sialkot, a town in the Punjab province of British India, which is now in Pakistan. He died at Lahore on 21 April 1938, just before India was partitioned. He was born into the Sapru clan of Kashmiri Pandits (a Hindu religious family). Iqbal’s forebears were said to have converted to Islam over 200 years prior, under the influence of a Muslim saint. This was openly stated by Iqbal himself. Sheikh Noor Muhammad, his father, was a devout Muslim. When Iqbal was younger and reading the Holy Qur Ↄ¯ an, his father encouraged him to study the Qur Ↄ¯ an as if it were being revealed to him for the first time. Iqbal’s father became the source of Iqbal’s close interaction with the Qur Ↄ¯ an. Iqbal remained committed to the Qur Ↄ¯ an until his death. Sheikh Noor Muhammad was a big believer in mysticism and spent all of his free time in meditating and praying. Though he was a passionate opponent of ritualistic mysticism, Iqbal inherited the same tendency of mysticism and mediation. He profited from his mother’s characteristics, which were similar to his father’s. She went to great lengths to teach her children to be decent and devout Muslims. As a result of this, Iqbal did exceptionally well in his studies. He had a stellar academic record throughout high school, college, and university, earning numerous awards. His teachers were extremely influential in shaping his character and demeanour. Maulana Syed Mir Hassan, a distinguished scholar of his time, was one of his professors, and among his pupils were some of the most prominent persons of his time from all sectors of life. He saw Iqbal’s natural abilities and encouraged him to write poetry, among other things. Iqbal began writing poetry and took part in a poetry recitation ceremony in 1890 at the annual gathering of the Anjuman-i-Himayat-iIslam, a Lahore-based educational organisation, where he also presented his poems. For numerous years, Iqbal maintained a close contact with his teacher and later paid homage to him in some of his writings. He enrolled in Scotch Mission High School in Sialkot after finishing his early Islamic education and passing the Middle School examination in 1891. He received his matriculation from the same school in 1893. In the same year, he began his studies at the Scotch Mission College in Sialkot, where he graduated with honours in 1895. In the same year,

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he moved to Lahore to pursue his BA at Government College, Lahore. He won a medal and a scholarship for graduating with honours in 1897. He also taught Philosophy at the same college for a short time. He then enrolled in the same college’s Master degree in Philosophy, where he received his MA and another gold medal. He met and studied with Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, a well-known British Orientalist, when he was there. Iqbal was highly struck by his teacher’s charisma and scholarship, and he earned Iqbal’s respect and adoration. Iqbal’s brilliant personality was also praised and encouraged by his professors. Iqbal’s outstanding abilities were recognised by Thomas Arnold, who included him among his close friends (Parveen, 1978: 17). He began working as a Reader in Arabic at the Oriental College in Lahore after completing his Master degree. He then became an Assistant Professor of English and Philosophy at the Government College in Lahore. Iqbal had intended to move to Europe for further studies at this time. In 1905, he flew to Europe to study at Trinity College Cambridge, England’s most recognised and distinguished college. He studied at Cambridge with R. A. Nicholson, a Sufi expert, and John M. E. McTaggart, a Neo-Hegelian. Iqbal continued his education in Heidelberg and Munich, earning his Ph.D. in 1907 with a dissertation titled ‘The Development of Metaphysics in Persia’. He was exempted from the regulation requiring two years of residence at the University as a unique circumstance. He was also permitted to write his thesis in English. In November 1907, he obtained his Ph.D. and in July 1908, he returned to Lahore (Schimmel, 1962). His trip to Europe gave him the chance to observe the realities of several European countries. Iqbal was further convinced by the empirical evidences of Western civilisation on the one hand, and the rigorous study of Western thought on the other, that man cannot develop his life without God’s help. He saw that Western ideology, rather than bringing peace and stability to the world, had brought more chaos and catastrophe into it. He was not impressed by the so-called growth of the West, unlike Muhammad Abduh and Syed Ahmed Khan. It is worth mentioning that Abduh and Syed Ahmed Khan came into contact with modern Western civilisation during a time period that was not considerably different to the era of Iqbal. But what Iqbal saw seemed to be entirely different from what past reformers had seen. Iqbal recognised that the West was developing towards a comprehensive secular paradigm, which is the present Western civilisation’s essential

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underlying paradigm. Modern Western culture, according to Iqbal, has always been humanistic, man-centred, and evolving civilisation. Iqbal was also acutely aware of Western civilisation’s imperialist tendencies. He was well aware of the flaws in modern Western society, both on a theoretical and practical level. He was able to predict the darker features of Western contemporary culture and its crisis, which is today more obvious than ever, unlike others. As a result, when he returned to his homeland, he was stronger in his criticism of Western philosophy and society. He noticed unfavourable realities and a variety of difficulties at home, which were no less perilous than the obstacles he faced in the West. The Muslim community’s situation was even worse. It had lost its political and economic dominance and was suffering from destitution. The community’s harmony has been destroyed by unwelcome sectarianism. The community lacked curiosity, tolerance, and understanding. He knew that the Muslim community to which he belonged to was a sick society. He wanted to transform people’s minds first, then society’s conditions. He was quite interested in what was going on in the neighbourhood. He redirected his writings to the reform and regeneration of the Islamic community and civilisation, becoming as a dedicated and committed thinker to the cause of Islam and Islamic civilisation’s revival (Parveen, 1978: 17–18). Iqbal’s Writings Iqbal was an incredibly prolific author. He has left a lot of material in both prose and poetry. It is incorrect to imply that he only left ‘The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ in prose. He wrote hundreds of letters and brief articles, as well as making a number of public declarations. All of these documents now serve as the foundation for comprehending Iqbal’s genuine opinion on many problems. As a result, discussing his beliefs solely on the basis of his Urdu and Persian poetry or his well-known work ‘The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ is incorrect. In reality, he wrote on a wide range of topics. It has been reported that as a leading proponent of modern interpretations of Islam, Iqbal corresponded with people from all areas of life. His lifelong correspondents included religious leaders, journalists, politicians, and academics with whom he discussed a variety of topics. Here are some examples of his work: • Ilm al-Iqtisad (Studies in Economics) (1903)

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• • • • • • • • • • •

The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908) Tarikh-i-Hind (History of India) Asrar-i-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self) (1915) Rumuz-i-Bekhudi (The Mysteries of Selflessness) (1917) Payam-i-Mashriq (The Message of the East) (1923) Bang-i-Dara (The Caravan Bell) (1924) Zabur-i-Ajam (Persian Psalms) (1927) The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930) Javid Nama (The Book of Eternity) (1932) Bal-i-Jibril (Gabriel’s Wings) (1935) Pas Cheh Bayed Kard Ai Aqwam-i-Sharq Mah Mussafir (What Should Then Be Done O! Nations of the East, including The Traveller) (1936) • Zarb-i-Kaleem (The Blow of Moses) (1936) • Armaghan-i-Hijaz (Gift of Hijaz) (1938)

15.3

Iqbal’s Philosophy of Khudi (Ego)

Iqbal’s most significant contribution to political thinking has been his conception of Khudi (ego). It was not because he was the first to approach the issue; before him, such luminaries as Nietzsche, Fichte, Bergson, and William James had approached it from diverse perspectives. Iqbal’s originality rested in the fact that, the entire concept of Khudi underwent a radical transformation and adopted a realistic meaning. Iqbal defines Khudi, or ego, as the spirit of self-affirmation of one’s potentialities and their right employment, rather than pride or arrogance. Every object in the cosmos, in some manner, embodies this spirit. Even the universe’s Creator could not help but exhibit his vanity by creating this planet in order to be known. In one Hadith, the words: “I was a hidden treasure” allude to this fact, I wished that I may be recognised, therefore I created the whole creature. As a result, man, as the highest creation, should have the perfect spirit of ‘I-am-ness’, assimilate and absorb the qualities of God in himself, and thus become God’s vicegerent (naib) on earth. Ego must thus consist of inventing desires and wishes and attempting to accomplish them with the authority bestowed upon each man. There are three stages in the formation of Khudi, according to Allama Iqbal’s famous poem ‘Asrar-i-Khudi’. The first level is referred to as ‘Obedience’, the second as ‘Self-Control’, and the third as ‘Divine

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Vicegerency’. The ego is compared in the first stage, which is based on Nietzsche, while the other two stages are based on Islamic philosophy and literature. In his famous lecture, ‘The Human Ego’, Allama Iqbal claims that there is only one positive concept of immortality in the history of modern philosophy. This viewpoint is worth considering not just because Nietzsche has defended it with prophetic zeal, but also because it reveals a real trend in modern thought. The essence of ego, according to Allama Iqbal, is stability, permanence, and integrity. A dew drop dissipates in the sunlight; a tear drop dissolves after a while due to stability; and a drop that remains in a seashell transforms into a pearl. Similarly, an individual should subjugate and utilise external things to his benefit in order to avoid being subjugated. It is true that man is powerless in the face of God, but he is rather powerful in the face of other beings or natural objects, which he can use to his advantage and benefit. The following factors and influences, according to Iqbal, strengthen the human ego or personality: i. Love: Iqbal explained the word Love in a letter to Prof. Nicholson. ‘It means the desire to assimilate, to absorb. Its highest form is the creation of values and ideals and the endeavors to realise them. Love individualises the lover as well as the beloved. The effort to realise the most unique individuality, individualises the seeker and implies individuality of the sought, for nothing else would satisfy the nature of the seeker’. ii. Faqr: Iqbal defines Faqr as a mental attitude that allows a person to work incessantly for noble goals while ignoring pleasures and rewards. In other words, it depicts a sense of complete detachment from worldly affairs and rewards, as well as selflessness, abnegation, and dominance over one’s natural environment. There is no limit to what an individual can do in terms of personality development and spiritual strength once he achieves this mental attitude. The element of physical and moral courage is associated with Faqr. iii. Courage: Physical and moral courage entails overcoming and confronting all barriers and stumbling blocks with no loss of nerve, no subordination to forces of evil, and no inclination to give in except to conviction. Iqbal encourages the younger generation to live a life that is both perilous and bold.

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iv. Tolerance: The power of the high order is represented by other people’s beliefs and manners, and its cultivation is extremely useful to human civilisation. The human ego is also sustained and strengthened by it. v. Kasb-e-Halal: In a world, when greed and self-promotion play such a large role in human life, insisting on Kasb-e-halal is critical. Iqbal believes that people always need to exert themselves in order for them to obtain the things he or she desires. He even goes so far as to criticise worldly good inheritance because he believes it harms the ego. Iqbal advises against borrowing even in the realm of thoughts. To put it another way, legitimate and rightful acquisition refers to getting things or ideas via one’s own efforts and difficulties rather than by unethical means such as cheating, fraud, or stealing. In opposition to these beneficial aspects, certain negative forces are continuously at work, attempting to weaken the ego and suffocate the human personality. These are the following: i. Fear: Fear of people and things (except God) in all of its forms, including concern, anxiety, rage, jealousy, and timidity, are the positive threats to the ego. It deprives man of his productivity and enjoyment. ii. Beggary: Not in the narrow sense, but all that is accomplished without personal effort, and it is antithetical to ego development in whatever form. Beggars are all economic and social parasites that thrive on society under many high-sounding identities. iii. Slavery: It entirely stifles man’s independence, slowing the development of one’s ego. It is enslavement and mental agony of a man, who seeks liberation for himself. Slavery of any kind, whether physical or mental, alters character and reduces man to a beast, weakening the human ego. It stifles the growth of the ego, which requires freedom in order to develop normally. iv. Nasab-Parasti: Races, nations, tribes, communities, castes, and families are all proud of their superior racial traits, which have come to ruin the world’s peace and calm. Iqbal is vehemently opposed to all of these flaws in human nature. In reality, these flaws arise from an individual’s failure to practise or instil in

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him the good aspects which are necessary for character and personality development.

15.4

Pan-Islamism or Muslim Universalism

During the nineteenth century, Western orientalists invented the phrase ‘Pan-Islamism’, which was rarely employed in a complementing sense. ‘Pan-Islamism’ is defined as a sort of Muhammedan State alliance for the defence of the ‘Mussalman Faith’ (Farooqi, 1983: 283–296). The increasing Muslim unity has been labelled as extremism and a return of Muslim animosity towards Christianity on numerous occasions (Qureshi, 1980: 22–24). Later on, phrase was commonly employed by Muslim writers to explain Muslim brotherhood (Hasan, 1970: 209). Pan-Islamism is defined as a feeling of solidarity among all Muslims, regardless of ethnicity or nationality. In the international domain, it manifests itself as a desire to operate as a unified entity under a single leadership. This movement may be traced all the way back to the emergence of Islam. Islam’s goal was to eliminate all forms of prejudice based on caste, colour, faith, or region. The Qur Ↄ¯ an and the Prophet’s (PBUH)1 traditions (Hadith) are replete with instructions and injunctions against sectional tendencies in humans. The idea stated in the Qur Ↄ¯ an is that ‘the believers of Qur Ↄ¯ an are in one brotherhood’. Similarly, one of the Prophet’s (PBUH) many traditions states, “The Muslims are like a wall, one part supporting the other, the Muslims are all one body”. When the eye is wounded, the entire body suffers; similarly, when the foot is injured, the entire body suffers (Pickthall, 1927: 49). Muslim universalism referred to the Caliph’s spiritual and political dominance over the Muslim Empire. The entire Empire was one big organism of believers, where unity and oneness under divine law governed the individual and community’s concerns. However, with the collapse of the pious Caliphate, the Muslim world went through some unpleasant trials. The political landscape swiftly transformed in the second part of the nineteenth century, and Muslims lost the majority of their political grounds (Lenczowski, 1962: 21–25). The Mughal Empire in the Indo-Pak sub-continent came to an end in 1857, following India’s First War of Independence. Between 1857

1 It stands for the English words of similar meaning (‘peace be upon him’).

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and 1864, Russia seized the Caucasus’ sovereign Muslim republics. The Uzbek Khanates were also conquered by 1886. The Western powers had colonised Malaya and Indonesia. Algeria has been occupied by France in North Africa since 1850. Tunisia became a French protectorate in 1881, while Britain seized Egypt in 1882. The Ottoman Sultan had to give huge provinces with a significant Muslim population to non-Muslim forces in Eastern Europe, including Bosnia, Bulgaria, and several other locations. Britain captured Sudan as well. As a result, the entire Muslim world has devolved politically, socially, religiously, and morally. The impact of Westernisation exacerbated this confusion, as the Western educated elite viewed even their own faith with distrust. In these circumstances, the Pan-Islamic movement evolved amid the Muslim World during the later decades of the nineteenth century, in an atmosphere of protest and resentment (Hasan, 1970: 213). Iqbal’s greatest contribution was the creation of a distinct Muslim consciousness, as well as a sense of continuity with nationalist feelings. He was born in the midst of the decline of most Muslim Empires, and he observed not only the end of the process, but also the development of a new aspiration among Muslims for a future that they could shape and mould themselves (Mir, 1990: 136). After 1908, Iqbal was no longer restricted to India’s borders. He had broadened his horizons to include the entire Islamic world, which has no boundaries, territories, races, or castes. Iqbal believed that the Muslim community was founded on the equality of all Muslims, as stated by the Holy Prophet (PBUH). There was no such thing as a privileged class, priesthood, or a caste system (Aslam, 1994: 40–45). Iqbal’s intellectual and lyrical maturity matched the times, as the Pan-Islamic movement had acquired a solid hold on the Muslim world’s religious and political ideas from 1919 to 1924. Iqbal had become a devout Muslim Universalist after his first enthusiasm for territorial nationalism. His vision of the Ummah was essentially Pan-Islamic, and he was a staunch supporter of the Qur Ↄ¯ an as a code of human morality. Iqbal himself was a dedicated supporter of Muslim Universalism. His non-Muslim adversaries referred to him as ‘Pan-Islamism’ in a pejorative way. However, he was convinced that Islam’s universality was critical to the faith and the Ummah (Aslam, 1994: 42). He argued that if Muslim countries were to survive in today’s competitive world, they needed to re-unite as a single compact organisation. Iqbal publicly proclaimed his belief that the Muslim Ummah as a single entity has a magnificent destiny

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in a short address delivered at the Mohammedan Educational Conference in 1911 (Dar, 1967: 57). Iqbal further clarified in a lecture, which was reproduced in the report in the Census for India 1911, that Islam abhors all material restrictions. Its nationality is based on a purely abstract concept. He went on to say that Islam was non-temporal and non-spatial in its core. Iqbal’s enthusiasm for a Pan-Islamic society was not merely idealistic; according to Iqbal, the ideal and the real are not diametrically opposed forces. Idealism does not imply a total rejection of realism. Indeed, he was always striving to bring the ideal closer to reality. Islam, he believes, is the most simple of all religions since it just requires its followers to believe in God’s unity and the Prophet’s mission of finality (that means Prophet Muhammad is the last messenger of God). The roots of equality and universality for the Muslim Ummah are adequate to erase all disparities of caste, colour, faith, and race. He also believed that Islam provided each individual with a sense of personal security and authority by removing all distinctions and discriminations. According to Iqbal, the term should be employed in a different context, namely as a social experiment rather than a political enterprise. He goes on to declare that Islam has no regard for caste, race, or colour. In fact, he claims that Islam is the only way of life that has truly addressed the colour problem, at least in the Muslim world, a problem that modern European civilisation, with all of its scientific and philosophical achievements, has yet to solve. This form of ‘Pan-Islamism’, as preached by the Prophet (PBUH), shall endure in perpetuity. In this view, ‘Pan-Islamism’ is nothing more than ‘Pan-Humanism’. In this sense, according to Iqbal, every Muslim is and should be a Pan-Islamist. He also claimed that the word ‘Pan’ should be removed from the phrase Pan-Islamism, as Islamism is a term that encompasses his stated views on Pan-Islamism (Aslam, 1994: 45).

15.5

Nationalism and Unity

Iqbal believes that, the nationalist State idea is deceptive because it implies a duality that does not exist in Islam (Iqbal, 1974: 156). Iqbal claimed that modern culture, which is built on national egoism, is nothing more than a sort of barbarism. As a result, the separation of Church and State, as well as the rise of secularism and nationalism, has weakened man’s and societies’ ethical and political principles. Because of its reliance on materialism and individuality, Iqbal claimed that Europe today is the greatest

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impediment to man’s ethical growth (Iqbal, 1974: 179). This is why Iqbal considered that current political principles, as they are fashioned by these ideologies, might have an impact on man’s inherent essence and character, as well as society’s structure. He stated that: I am opposed to nationalism as it is understood in Europe, not because, if it is allowed to develop in India, it is likely to bring less material gain to Muslims. I am opposed to it because I see in it the germs of atheistic materialism which I look upon as the greatest danger to modern humanity. Patriotism is a perfectly natural virtue and has a place in the moral life of man. Yet, that which really matters is a man’s faith, his culture and his historical tradition. These are the things which, in my eyes, are worth living for and dying for, and not the piece of earth with which the spirit of man happens to be temporarily associated. (Iqbal, 1979a: 84)

In his word: Nationalism in the sense of love of one’s country and even readiness to die for its honour is a part of the Muslim’s faith; it comes into conflict with Islam only when it begins to play the role of a political concept and claims to be a principle of human solidarity demanding that Islam should recede to the background of a mere private opinion and cease to be a living factor in the national life. (Iqbal, 1979b: 254)

For Iqbal, nationality that is not profoundly based in spirituality develops a sense of communalism. He claimed that it is self-evident that a nationalist, whose political idealism has effectively killed his sense of reality, is intolerant of the emergence of a desire for self-determination in the hearts of people of a different faith or nationality. He believed that the only way to achieve Indian nationalism, for example, was to completely suppress the country’s cultural entities. The fact is that India can only build a rich and lasting culture via the interaction of various faiths and cultures. Nationalism attained through such techniques of repression can only lead to mutual animosity and even oppression (Iqbal, 1979b: 231). As a result, a nationalist overlooks this fact and instead emphasises on artificial causes for unity and solidarity. True solidarity is founded solely on spiritual and ethical principles. Iqbal claimed that unity and solidarity among Muslims can only be reached through Islam. A Muslim’s simple faith is based on two propositions: that God is one and that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last of the holy men who have arisen from

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time to time in all places and times among all people to guide mankind to the appropriate ways of living. If a dogma is defined as an ultra-rational proposition that must be assented to without any understanding of its metaphysical import in order to secure religious solidarity, then these two simple propositions of Islam cannot be described as dogma, because both are supported by human experience and are fairly amenable to rational argument (Iqbal, 1979b: 235). These two assertions have a straightforward meaning: “After Muhammad (PBUH), who freed his people by providing them a law that is realisable as emanating from the very core of human conscience, there has been no spiritual submission to any human beings. The belief is that the socio-political organisation known as ‘Islam’ is flawless and eternal from a theological standpoint” (Iqbal, 1979b: 237). It also becomes a problem when it requires complete self-effacement from people. Because Islam and nationalism are practically identical, Islam already embraces nationalism. It means that Islam is the foundation of Iqbal’s State and government. This means that neither external nor domestic pressures have the ability to break the foundations of Islamic brotherhood. Islam’s solidarity is defined by a shared conviction in Islam’s two fundamental foundations, as well as the five well-known ‘practices of the faith’. These are the foundational elements of Islamic solidarity, which has existed in this form since the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), until it was recently disturbed by the Bahais in Iran and the Qadianis in India. Politically, Islam’s unity is shattered only when Muslims declare war on one another; religiously, it is shattered only when Muslims reject any of the faith’s fundamental doctrines and practices. Islam cannot accept any dissident groups within its fold in the interest of eternal brotherhood (Iqbal, 1979b: 255.) As Iqbal saw it, it is Islam that ensures a spiritual milieu that is nearly uniform throughout the Muslim world. It enables the political union of Muslim States, which can take the form of a world State (ideal), a league of Muslim States, or a collection of independent governments whose pacts and alliances are based solely on economic and political concerns (Iqbal, 1979b: 254–255). As can be seen, Iqbal defined a unique idea of nationality. He declared: It is not the unity of language or of country or the identity of economic interests that constitutes the basic principle of our nationality. It is because we all believe in a certain view of the universe, and participate in the same historical tradition that we are members of the society founded by

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the Prophet of Islam. Islam abhors all material limitations, and bases its nationality on a purely abstract idea objectified in a potentially expansive group of concrete personalities. It is not dependent for its life-principles on the character and genius of a particular people; in its true sense, it is non-temporal, non-spatial. (Iqbal, 1979a: 41)

In his opinion, the only factor that ultimately affects the organisation of the Muslim society belief in certain metaphysical propositions. For him “to try to convert religion into a system of speculative knowledge is absolutely useless and even absurd, since the objective of religion is not ‘thinking about life’; its main purpose is ‘to build up a coherent social whole,’ for the gradual elevation of life” (Iqbal, 1979a: 43). It is thus, because religion is metaphysics in and of itself, in the sense that it creates a new world in order to suggest a new type of character that is universalising in proportion to the force of the personality in which it is first embodied. It is self-evident that Islam has a considerably greater meaning for its adherents than simply being religious; it has a unique national importance without which community life would be impossible. It necessitates a thorough understanding of Islamic ideas. He said; “the idea of Islam is that our eternal home or country, wherein we live, move and have our being is Islam itself. To us, it is above everything else as England is above all to the Englishman, Islam is our homeland” (Iqbal, 1979a: 43).

15.6

Secularism

Along with nationalism, a new political philosophy known as secularism evolved in the West, which “arose at the cost of a terrible war against a dominant religion; the Catholic Church” (Maclure & Taylor, 2011: 14). Secularism is “anti-religion” and “hostile to religion” (Siam-Heng & Ten Chin Liew, 2010: 7) but also ensuring religious freedom and “equality of all citizens” (Javid, 2003: 297) by the State. Secularism is sometimes defined as the separation of religious spiritual life from politics, the separation of life-afterlife from worldly life, and the separation of morals, State, and worldly matter from religion. Secularism, on the other hand, is founded on two principles: (a) separation of religion and politics; and (b) acceptance of religion as totally and only a private matter of individuals having no bearing on the State (Ali, 2015: 119–120). In Iqbal’s views; “secularism does not mean aloofness from the spiritual values, it means acceptance of universal spiritual values coupled with

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a respect for the right of each religious group to indoctrinate its followers and to care for their spiritual needs” (Hilal, 1995: 255). He defined secularism in a spiritual rather than a material sense, as it is commonly understood in the West. Iqbal was affected by his surroundings in India, where secularism differs from the Western definition in that there is no anti-religious bias and all religions are treated equally. Iqbal, on the other hand, said that politics, in which religion is treated as a separate and private entity, is ‘defective’ and ‘a shame for humanity’ (Khan, 1992: 55). Iqbal quotes, ‘Satan’ (also known as the Devil) as saying, “There is no need for my presence in the world because there are enough devils in the form of politicians in Western democracy” (Malik, 1998: 336). Iqbal claims that Western politics is irreligious and faithless, and that it is the root of many maladies, and that it has evolved into a free monster distinct from the Church. Iqbal urged Muslims to reject the West’s irreligious and faithless political philosophy. Religion, on the other hand, he believes, provides feelings of love for one another, sacrifice for others, and welfare for humanity. He attempted to place a high value on religion in both man’s private and societal lives. He also suggests that instead of following Western secular ideas, one should follow religion. As a result, Iqbal urged the Muslim Ummah to take this right path instead of the destructive Western politics. The concept of State, according to Iqbal, is more familiar than other Islamic concepts. He dismissed the distinctions between spiritual and temporal worlds, stating, “In Islam, the spiritual and temporal are not two distinct domains, and the essence of an act, however secular in its import, is defined by the agent’s state of mind” (Iqbal, 1974: 154). He also opposes the separation of Church and State, which he claims is contradicted by Islam. He said: “In Islam, it is the same reality which appears as Church looked at from one point of view and State from another. It is not true to say that the Church and the State are two sides or facets of the same thing” (Iqbal, 1974: 154). He further says that: The Islamic concept of the State must not be mixed with the European concept of Church-State separation. The former is only a function division, as evidenced by the progressive establishment of the office of Shaikh-ulIslam and Ministers in the Muslim State; the latter is founded on the metaphysical duality of spirit and matter. (Sheikh, 1972: 373)

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He despised Turkish nationalists’ dualistic viewpoints, which he saw as absorbed that: the idea of separation of the Church and the State from the history of European political ideas…when the State became Christian, State and Church confronted each other as distinct powers with interminable boundary disputes between them, such a thing could never happen in Islam. (Iqbal, 1974: 155)

Iqbal is a believer in a theocratic State ruled by God. He believes in three basic principles: (1) human solidarity; (2) equality; and (3) freedom. The core of Tawhid is represented by these three principles (unity of God). As he put it: The essence of Tawhid as a working idea is equality, solidarity, and freedom. The State, from the Islamic standpoint, is an endeavour to transform these ideal principles into space-time forces, an aspiration to realise them in a definite human organisation. In this sense the State in Islam is a theocracy, not in the sense that it is headed by a representative of God on earth who can always screen his despotic will behind his supposed infallibility…The State according to Islam, is only an effort to realise the spiritual in human organisation [and] in this sense all State, not based on mere domination and aiming at the realisation of ideal principles, is theocratic. (Iqbal, 1974: 154–155)

Iqbal’s ideological State provides equal possibilities for all citizens, and every person is urged to do their best in the service of God and humanity (Sheikh, 1972: 376). He further claims that “the supreme power of the sovereign enjoyed by the leader of the State is constrained by the sovereignty of God” in an ideological State of Islam (Sheikh, 1972: 376). Iqbal has stated his opposition to all forms of State worship, aligning himself with those who see the State as a tool for creating the conditions necessary for the development of human individuality. The ultimate goal of Islamic ideology is to construct a State founded on the principles of God’s Unity, which is not opposed to national preservation. “The Muslim national State is ultimately an ideological State, not one based solely on racial or geographical factors”, writes Iqbal (Sheikh, 1972: 378). Iqbal lauded the Caliphate system for being a republican system based on elections. The elected individuals carried out the Ummah’s collective wishes through the election process. The Muslim Ummah, according to

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Islamic political ideology, is built on Muslim equality, with no issues of caste, priesthood, or class. An individual has the freedom to cultivate himself and to develop his talents for the benefit of society as specified by the State. In the eyes of the law, the leader and the worker, the ruler and the ruled, the monarch and the citizen are treated equally. “From a legal sense, the Caliph does not occupy any privileged position. In principle, he is the same as the rest of the commonwealth’s citizens. He can be sued in a regular court of law” (Grover, 1993: 532). In addition, Iqbal makes two proposals for a Muslim political Constitution. First and foremost, God’s Law is pre-eminent. Second, all members of the community are treated on an equal footing.

15.7

Community

According to Iqbal, the term ‘Qawm’ appears hundreds of times in the Qur Ↄ¯ an. The term ‘Millat ’ also appears several times in the Qur Ↄ¯ an. In the Qur Ↄ¯ an, what do the terms Qawm and Millat mean? Isn’t the word ‘Ummat ’ also used to refer to the Prophet’s followers in addition to these two words? Are these phrases so distinct in meaning that one single nation can have different aspects as a result of this difference, to the point where it should follow the divine code in matters of religion and law while following a system that may be antagonistic to the religious system in concerns of nationality? (Iqbal, 1948: 230). Iqbal claimed that the word Millat or Ummat appears whenever the Qur Ↄ¯ an calls for people to follow and join the Muslim party (Iqbal, 1948: 231). He inquired: What I’ve just said means that, as far as I can tell, the Holy Qur’¯ an does not use any other name for Muslims but Ummat . I’d be really interested to know whether it’s not the case. Qawm refers to a group of men who can form in a thousand places and take a thousand forms based on tribes, ethnicity, colour, language, geography, and ethical code. Millat , on the other hand, will create a new and united party from the other parties. To put it another way, Millat or Ummat encompasses nations but cannot be absorbed by them. (Iqbal, 1948: 233)

According to Iqbal; “Islam is non-territorial in character, and its aim is to furnish a model for the final combination of humanity” (Iqbal, 1974: 158). This community has a distinct character in terms of good and happiness, and its roots may be traced back to Prophetic traditions. In

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this Qur Ↄ¯ anic understanding, Iqbal uses the terms Millat and community in his Urdu and Persian poetical works, and also in his English writings. Iqbal develops his idea of Islamic community in a logical and systematic manner on the basis of this Qur Ↄ¯ anic version, exposing its dynamics to psychological and moral domains of life for the actualisation of God’s desire. Iqbal believes in the Ummat’s (Muslim community) universality, and believes that the Ummat’s body and soul are made up of a belief in God’s unity, and that this unity is the source of Muslim thought’s affinity. In a similar way, Risalat (Prophethood) fosters a sense of unity among Muslims, because the Prophet brought the message of God and the mission of life to the Muslims. According to Iqbal, the unity and commonality of the Muslim Ummat is based on Prophethood, and millions of believers are united in one faith as a result of the Prophet. He is an inspiration to the entire Muslim Ummat (Iqbal, 1971: 92–93). The Ummat is not constrained by territorial boundaries as a result of Tawhid and Risalat . A Muslim is not an Indian, a Roman, or a Syrian. In other words, the Ummat, rather than requiring uniformity of race or territory, requires unity of hearts and beliefs (Iqbal, 1971: 102). This demonstrates that Iqbal’s Ummat is a universal community of believers that transcends caste, colour, race, nationality, and region. The community, according to Iqbal, is an entity whose functions and activities are driven by power and a triumphant spirit. The community’s unique personality is derived from the togetherness gained via the emergence of different individuals (Moeeni, 1963: 118). The concept of ‘ego’ is central to Iqbal’s philosophy of Ummat. According to Iqbal, ego refers to a person’s awareness of his own place and ability (Bhat, 1996: 85). A nation, he claims, has its own ego, which possesses all of the characteristics of an individual ego. The collective ego of the community is characterised by vigour, force, power, resolve, will to rise and move forward, and fighting courage. In his well-known poem ‘Shikwa’, Iqbal paints a vivid image of the Muslim community. In this poem, he claims that the Muslim Ummat , at a time when it was endowed with a sense of purpose and a spirit of triumph, fought with might and enthusiasm to disseminate the message of God, despite their tiny numbers. They would never hesitate to spill blood if the cause was just and the goal was without any ulterior intentions (Iqbal, 1975: 165). In his poetical and prose works, Iqbal eloquently articulated Muslim Ummat’s goals and ideas. The essential foundations of Muslim Ummat,

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according to Iqbal, are Tawhid (oneness of God), Risalat (Prophethood), and Akhuwah (brotherhood). To Iqbal, the name of the faith that the Muslim community professes in this Qur’anic point of ‘Al-Din al-Qayyim’ (lasting and right religion), that it is only in this religion that the responsibility for sustaining the present and future life of a group of people who surrenders their individual and social lives to its system is vested. In other words, Iqbal argued that the Qur Ↄ¯ an teaches that only Islam as a religion can preserve a nation in its real cultural or political sense. As a result, the Qur Ↄ¯ an explicitly proclaims that any system other than Islam must be despised and rejected (Iqbal, 1948: 234–235). Iqbal believed that ignoring Muslims or making them submissive to another social system and then seeking some other type of liberation is pointless (Iqbal, 1948: 235). He stated that the ultimate goal of Prophet Muhammad’s (PUBH) Prophetic mission was to establish a society based on the divine rule that the Prophet received from God. In other words, the goal is to rid the world’s nations of abuses that go by the names of time, place, land, nation, race, genealogy, country, and so on, while acknowledging the diversity of nations, tribes, colours, and languages (Iqbal, 1948: 236). What Iqbal contended was that, notwithstanding their disparities in nations, tribes, races, colours, and languages, it was Islam that erased the material differences between the nations of the world and brought about harmony among them.

15.8

Democracy

Iqbal as a democrat was an important participant in politics of Indian subcontinent. In 1926, Iqbal stood for the Punjab Legislative Council and was elected. He was an active member of the Council, speaking frequently on land revenue and taxation, requesting greater equity in land assessment and even land revenue discounts in hardship circumstances (May, 1974: 179). He began his political career with the National Liberal League, but later switched to the All-India Muslim League. Iqbal was deeply involved in the sub-continent’s political turmoil and, in many ways; he shaped the fate of Muslim India, which would later become Pakistan. As a result, Iqbal had a complete political career as a democrat. He opposes all types of feudal lordism, kingship, tyranny, and other forms of authoritarianism, arguing that people should be the masters of their own fates. Democracy is more of a science or process than an ideology or philosophy, and Iqbal appears to treat it as such. It is a method of ensuring and confirming a

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specific ideology through universal suffrage. Iqbal examines democracy as a process with a critical eye. This system makes no distinction based on education, talent, mental calibre, or individual potentialities; it fails to distinguish between a believer and a non-believer, a Muslim and a non-Muslim, which is why Iqbal compares it to an unsheathed sword. As previously said, it is a technique that may be used to promote or propagate any ideology. According to history, thousands of crimes have been performed around the world in the name of democracy. This strategy, in the hands of infidels, encourages infidelity and has failed to alleviate the world’s sorrows and dark places. Despite his preference for democracy, Iqbal has pointed out some flaws in this system. Iqbal was against Western democracy because it is more of a tactic than an ideology or philosophy (Qureshi, 1983: 216). Democracy, according to Iqbal, is also used to disguise the same old kingship and despotism. It is submissive to the sugar-coating of the same old system, and democracy provides the necessary sugar-coating. When Iqbal became disillusioned with democracy’s outer guise, he was forced to reject it insofar as it preserved ethnic and social preferences. A democratic approach is not always beneficial to a community. It may be beneficial to the majority, but it will always oppress and impoverish the minority. This is another example of democracy in action. In light of this scenario on the sub-continent, Syed Ahmed Khan warned in 1886 that “if the democratic idea were established in India, the Muslims would find themselves utterly at the mercy of the Hindu majority” (May, 1974: 171). Democracy is not recommended if it is used to suppress a minority because it is, in itself, the handmaid of majority, irrespective of their views and the moral value of those views. Islam would have been buried then and there if the matter between the early Muslims and the non-believers of Mecca had been resolved by a popular vote rather than on the battlefield of Badr. Democracy, as a methodology, is neither good nor evil in and of itself, as Iqbal correctly points out; it is the use to which we put it that determines its value, which is, of course, relative. As Iqbal put it, it is a sword that only knows how to cut, not who it cuts—a believer or a non-believer, a socialist or a capitalist, a bourgeois or a proletarian. However, its current manifestations, as seen in the West, are exceedingly wicked and designed to suit the Western world’s sinister plans. “Democracy has a tendency to encourage the spirit of legality”, Iqbal writes again, referring to the flaws of democracy in the West. “This is not inherently harmful; nonetheless, it has the undesirable effect

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of displacing the strictly moral position and equating the illegal and the wrong in meaning” (Javid, 2003: 120). This is a trend we have seen in the West, which has gotten increasingly legalistic while ignoring moral considerations. Democracy is one of the powerful factors that have contributed to the progressive death of morality. Iqbal writes as his criticism of Western democracy that “the idealism of Europe never became a live factor in her life, and the outcome is a twisted ego seeking itself via mutually intolerant democracies whose main job is to exploit the poor in the advantage of the rich” (Iqbal, 2011: 179). He claims that the usage of imperial ambitions in Europe demonstrates that Westerners are fed up with democracy. This anti-democratic backlash in England and France has deeper psychological roots as well as historical ones (Iqbal, 2011: 121–122). Iqbal thought that the advancement of spirituality in Muslim society and the desired harmony in Western democracy are not dependent on the persistence of organisational forms. Consistency yielded insignificant results. According to him, the ultimate fate of the people is determined more by the worth and force of individual persons than by the organisation. For him, balancing an open-minded and advanced ethical temperament with a refined and positive political orderliness was a difficult task. The political power in the ideal Muslim society has been delegated to the entire society and every individual who can carry out these authorities in accordance with their appointed affiliates as a sanctified accountability, and within the limits provided by God. The specific technicalities of elections and political structures can be described in terms of the essence of the times and the changing demands of all civilisations, but the concept of election will always be unquestioned. He regarded democracy repulsive since gigantic oppression wears the vestments of democracy, and at best, he saw it as a mechanistic instrument in which only numbers, not the worth of persons, are counted. Iqbal saw religion as the primary principle of any civilisation and declared that if faith is eliminated from politics, what is left is tyranny, whether it is a monarchy or a democratic system. He practised democracy under the premise that “it provides the individual with the greatest amount of freedom and a level playing field for his gifts and potentialities” (Qureshi, 1983: 216). In the hands of imperialism and capitalism, modern democracy in the West is covered by an old instrument, according to Iqbal, and it is a destructive, unjust, and dangerous weapon (Matthews, 1993: 40–41). Iqbal identified the causes

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of moral and cultural deterioration among those in the East and West who are unable to recognise reality for what it is. Slavery and imitation, he claims, are at the base of our diseases, while the West’s democratic organisation is at the root of disease. He chastised Western democratic institutions, claiming that they are “old wines in new bottles” (Khan, 1992: 54). He rejected the idea of European democracy being free from religion or belief, which he saw as not only irreligious and faithless, but also shaped by capitalists for their own gain (Maruf, 1977: 77). Iqbal’s critique, on the other hand, was directed only at democracy’s flaws. He agreed to some democratic ideas that were governed by the Muslim concept of democracy, which was considerably different from modern Western democracy. Iqbal was a staunch opponent of democracy’s secular and material orientation. In contrast to Western democracy, Iqbal offered Islamic democracy, which can only exist in a society with developed egos and equality based on Islamic principles. Iqbal refers to such a society as the ‘Kingdom of God on Earth’. “The democracy of more or less unique individuals, ruled over by the most unique individual possible on this earth”, the Kingdom of God on Earth signifies (Arberry, 1932: 11). Spiritual democracy is, in fact, a form of government associated with Iqbal’s ideological State. As a result, he argues, “Let today’s Muslim comprehend his situation, restructure his social existence in light of ultimate principles, and emerge out of Islam’s hitherto partially revealed objective, that spiritual democracy is Islam’s ultimate goal” (Iqbal, 1983: 180). He made his own observations and coined the term ‘spiritual democracy’, which is based on Qur Ↄ¯ anic teachings. This spiritual democracy is defined as “a democracy in which the Almighty God’s laws are respected and enforced” (Munawwar, 2001: 142). The development of such a democracy involves the application of Islamic law, which is only useful after the Ijtihad, or necessary reorientation of that law to the demands and requirements of the period. What is more, Iqbal believes that Ijtihad, or legal reorientation, can be influenced by democratic processes. Spiritual democracy is based on the Tawhid principle, which emphasises on the unity of thought, action, and value across humanity. In the case of spiritual democracy, the Qur Ↄ¯ an, the Prophet’s tradition, the Ijma, and the Qiyas are the sources of Islamic law, which are interpreted according to the demands of the ages. This type of democracy elevates man to a hallowed level of significance. This democracy also values the individual and rejects blood ties as a foundation for human togetherness (Iqbal, 1974: 116). The people have sovereignty in

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Western democracies. In Iqbal’s spiritual democracy, on the other hand, sovereignty belongs solely to God, who is an inherent part of the Islamic worldview. Iqbal believes that when democracy emerged as a political system, he welcomed it, believing that the new system would aid in alleviating the sufferings of the exploited and oppressed. However, he quickly saw its serious flaws and became a vocal opponent of the Western democratic model of government, in which people are counted rather than weighted. It is a material fact, but not a spiritual fact, because personality is a spiritual fact. According to him, democracy is a type of government in which people are counted but not valued. He believes that humanity today requires three things: “a spiritual interpretation of the cosmos, spiritual emancipation of people, and universally applicable basic principles guiding the evolution of human civilisation on a spiritual basis” (Iqbal, 1983: 179). Iqbal admired the concept of classless and divine democracy, which is a technique that recognises people’s hidden potential, where working class get benefit from political power, and where the country does not owe a favour exclusively to the wealthy and powerful. It was a strategy that aided the weaker and deprived more than the wealthy; as stated by the first Caliph Abu-Bakar when assuming authority: “the weak among you is powerful for me, until I obtain what is owed to him, and the powerful among you is weak for me, until I obtain what is owed to him” (Iqbal, 1983: 179). His contempt for democracy stems from the particular shape that it has assumed in the West, which, in Iqbal’s opinion, is nothing more than the rule of a privileged class that knows no law but its own, and which is aimed to usurp power for the exploitation of society’s weaker members. Iqbal imagined a Muslim State based on the noble principles of individual nobility, communal neutrality, and spiritual and material independence. In reality, Iqbal aspired to create a high moral society in which each entity is self-righteous. It will be Islamically democratic in this way. Western democracy, if superficially mimicked, will not be advantageous to society, as evidenced by the current political situation. In essence, Iqbal’s vision into Islam’s political ideal is democratic. He saw no inherent problems between Western democracy and Islam’s founding ideals. Iqbal’s political thought is clearly democratic, as seen by his writings. As a result, democracy was at the heart of his political thought. The republican system of administration is not only in keeping with the essence of Islam, but

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it has also become necessary in light of the new forces unleashed in the Islamic world. Islamic democracy could not be implemented without widespread community support; otherwise, it would be a kind of tyranny, which is contrary to Islamic teachings, as it is necessary for any unbiased and egalitarian administration to meet the demands of the common man. Furthermore, in order to execute Islamic morals or values, we must provide intellectual growth to our general population and educate them on Islamic morality. As a result, there would be a significant increase in genuine passion for Islamic ideals. At the same time, the understanding of Islamic fundamentals should evolve in response to changing circumstances. This would increase the impact of Islam among Muslims. As a result, the society’s fear of God would be heightened.

15.9

Socialism, Capitalism, and Liberalism

Both socialism and capitalism are modern Western political and economic ideologies. Socialism is a system in which the State or public owns the means of production, such as money and other forms of capital, whereas capitalism is a system in which individuals own the means of production, or ‘the explicit acknowledgement of private property. In a socialist society, everyone works for wealth, which is administered by the government in the absence of a market. The government is in charge of health care as well as the entire State system, with an emphasis on equitable wealth distribution among the people. Under capitalism, on the other hand, one works for his own fortune. Individuals have the ability to run their own businesses. Individuals possess all wealth, and they are self-sufficient in terms of earning money and owning property. Iqbal has briefly discussed capitalism and socialism, focusing on their benefits and drawbacks. He did not embrace the irreligiousness and materialistic interpretation of modern socialism and capitalism because he opposed the materialistic perspective of the world. As Iqbal stated: Both (System) have an impatient and intolerant soul, neither knows God and both deceive man…Socialism brings the rout of science, religion and art, capitalism detaches the soul from the body and from the arm takes bread. Both systems bring me at last to water and clay, both has a bright body and a dark heart. (Iqbal, 2011: 57)

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Iqbal supported the spiritual socialism associated with Islam. Iqbal claimed that socialism was the same as Qur Ↄ¯ anic doctrine. Islam and socialism share the same goal of working to improve everyone’s economic situation. Iqbal highlighted the importance of Islamic social justice. In Iqbal’s experience, however, capitalism is coupled with imperialism. He did not accept capitalism, in which capitalists hold wealth, because Islam opposes the social and economic harms that capitalism causes. In his poetry, he also depicts the true picture of capitalist society, where he depicts the genuine scenario of workers’ plight and raises the question, “O! God, you are just and all-powerful; then why? Working people’s lives are dreadful” (Khan, 1992: 87). He wished to see the greed of capitalists and industrialists come to an end, and he was concerned about the welfare of workers. Liberalism is a political philosophy that promotes individual liberty and equality. Individualism and liberty are the two pillars of Western ideology. Liberalism, according to Iqbal, leads to destruction, unethical, and inhuman activities. A person with unrestricted freedom of opinion and expression could be dangerous to the country. God has granted limited liberty of thinking, whereas total liberty of thought is a devilish invention (Iqbal, 1983: 10–12). Iqbal drew a vivid picture of the Western World (Iqbal, 1974) as a threat to the Muslim Ummah. It cannot save them from their own issues, and it cannot show them how to live a happy life. Iqbal, on the other hand, warns the Muslim Ummah about the negative consequences of liberalism in the West. It has the potential to destabilise the Muslim brotherhood’s unity and stability, as well as sow the seeds of Muslim division, strife, and hatred. It also undermines Muslim solidarity, which is the foundation of Islamic theology. ‘We sincerely welcome the liberal trend in Modern Islam; but, it must be admitted that the introduction of liberal concepts in Islam also constitutes the most critical time in the history of Islam’, Iqbal stated in one of his lectures. Liberalism has a proclivity to operate as a catalyst for disintegration. Furthermore, in the absence of a restraint on their youthful fervour, our religious and political changes may overstep the necessary limit of reform in their zeal for liberalism (Iqbal, 1974: 162–163).

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15.10

Conclusion

The aforementioned analyses of Iqbal’s political thought clearly demonstrate that Iqbal was convinced from the start that both the East and the West’s denial of spirituality and acceptance of materialism were founded on wrong foundations, giving rise to destructive ideologies like secularism and nationalism. This erroneous understanding of the nature of the universe and man is mostly to blame for the current crises and disarray in human life. Iqbal further stated that no other faith or ideology, except from Islam, can supply spiritual principles on which a healthy society can be built. Unfortunately, all other religions and ideologies have rejected reality and insisted on deception. Their fractured approach to life and society demonstrates this. In actuality, all religions have embraced secularism in its entirety. As a result, Iqbal was convinced that Islam, as a true divine source of spirituality, is the only way of life that can give a stable foundation for the structuring of life and society as a unified entity. With this solid belief, he desired to build a society and State based on Islamic faith. As a result, when he first made his remark, he made it very clear that he wanted to create a separate State for Muslims in India—an Islamic State. This shows Iqbal’s desire to revive Islam and Islamic civilisation for the benefit of humanity’s protection. As a result, he clarified that establishing a separate Islamic State does not imply the establishment of a dogmatic, zealous, or fundamentalist religious State. He cautioned that no one should mistakenly believe that the establishment of autonomous Muslim States will imply the imposition of religious rule. Iqbal claimed that, on certain problems, the construction of an Islamic State is directly in accord with current thinking, in which individual freedoms and democratic governments are regarded vital institutions of modern life. A welfare State would be an Islamic State. It represents the people’s peace, security, and prosperity. It comes into being with the people’s approval. It is governed by a Constitution and the rule of law. Even with the passing of time, everything Iqbal said and advised about the construction of an Islamic State appears to remain applicable. Because the world’s Muslim political leaders did not take the construction of Islamic States seriously for their own national interests, the treasured goals of peace, security, and prosperity for all have yet to be realised. Muslims, on the other hand, not only disregarded Iqbal’s admonition, but also absorbed all Western ideas and institutions in the mistaken belief that by

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doing so, they would achieve true growth. The facts of Muslim countries, on the other hand, show that they are still reliant on the developed West after sixty years. They are not just underdeveloped, but also have a minor role in international politics. Iqbal believed that through implementing the spiritual foundations of Islam in the State and governance, Muslims would be able to not only accomplish growth but also save humanity. However, Muslims’ rejection and denial of the resurrection of Islam and Islamic civilisation as a whole has led to this tragic situation. Isn’t it true that the Ummat is currently at the bottom of the international food chain? No other community has suffered as many setbacks or humiliations as the Muslims have in the last century. Muslims were vanquished, massacred, betrayed, colonised and exploited, proselytised, pushed, or bribed into converting to other faiths, according to Iqbal. Internal and external agents of their opponents secularised, Westernised, and de-Islamised them. Muslims are seen as aggressors, destructive elements, terrorists, uncivilised, unruly people, fanatics, fundamentalists, backwards, and undeveloped in today’s globe. Secular States and secular leadership are to blame for all of this. The development of an Islamic State has been hampered by secular administrations and rulers. A variety of institutions based on Western ideals were originally forced on Muslim communities during colonial rule as part of the colonialists’ ‘civilising mission’, which was actually the worst part of imperialism. All aspects of society and culture are subjected to Westernisation: law, judiciary, economy, education, administration, language, literature, arts, and architecture, to name a few. As part of the Western rulers’ goal, so-called independent Muslim countries arose, which are, in fact, a collapse of Muslim control into sovereign nation-states with a new style of leadership forced on Muslims. Although this leadership bears the names of Muslims, it is totally devoted to the objectives of Western imperialist powers. These are the rulers of Western countries, not the masses, who have imperialist tendencies for their own political purposes rather than national interests, causing all sorts of issues for people in the East and West. To impress and gain support from the rulers of the Western world, the new leadership of Muslim countries is devoted to secularisation and modernisation of Muslim society along Western lines. This new administration does not truly represent the Muslim people; it was brought to power with the support of Western powers. In the name of national interest, people in both the East and the West have been misled in the

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name of national interest. In reality, it is the rulers’ interest, not the public interest. As a result, as asserted by Iqbal, the leaders try to develop Western values and concepts. Further, it was Muslim rulers who wanted to modernise their countries as well as personally enjoy European comforts, and these Muslim rulers did not hesitate to get themselves and their countries involved as debtors in the global financial system or entangled in the web spun by the Western spiders. They were fully aware that this would lead to major social upheavals in their nations, yet they persisted since it was the only way to keep their grasp on power. They exploited the secular educational system as a primary source of increased divisiveness and fragmentation of Muslim societies, in addition to other measures, to strengthen their control. Muslims were divided into traditionalists, modernists, liberals, secularists, and even Westernised Muslims as a result of the unthinking introduction of the modern Western secular educational system. In this fashion, they served the interests of the Western powers’ rulers. Finally, in the Muslim world, a significant divide arose between rulers and the masses. Many Muslim political figures in power today do not represent the people’s voice and rely entirely on the assistance of Western big powers. If Muslims want to change the situation as Iqbal and other Islamic revivalists envision it, they must work hard, sincerely, wisely, and intelligently for the reconstruction of Islamic thought, strategic struggle for the formation of Islamic States and representative governments, and for the revival of Islam and Islamic civilisation, which would mean establishment of Islamic States and representative governments.

15.11

Summary

Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938) was a member of the early twentieth century generation. He possessed a comprehensive understanding of the holy Qur Ↄ¯ an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), as well as Western ideas. His knowledge of Islam and his study of philosophy in the West gave him easy access to both Islamic and Western modernist sources. He engaged in practical politics and joined forces with liberation fighters to free Indian Muslims from the clutches of the Hindus and English oppression. He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Council and then to the All-India Muslim League, where he was unanimously chosen President. He was a strong supporter of the two-nation idea and called for a separate State for Indian Muslims, where their religion and culture could

15

MUHAMMAD IQBAL

345

thrive without fear of chauvinism. Iqbal’s works have immortalised him on the pages of existence, providing an ever-inspiring treasury of knowledge and philosophy. He is well-known for his philosophy and poetry, which energised a population that was living in a state of disequilibrium in order to wrest their independence from the usurpers. As poet, he is considered to be the poet of Prophets for all ages. His publications have been translated into numerous foreign languages, ensuring that students will benefit from his ideas and philosophies in their future studies. Iqbal believes that structuring a State is vital, but he criticises all types of State based on a material interpretation of the cosmos. He also chastised all democratic forms based solely on human intellect. He offered an ultimate spirit to spiritual democracy, a kind of government whose ultimate goal is absolute actuality. No one can deny that Iqbal had a pivotal role in the formation of Pakistan today. Iqbal was not a politician in the traditional sense like Mr Jinnah or Mr Nehru, but he could see further than virtually any of his contemporaries. It was part of Iqbal’s grandeur that he not only formed an Islamic State in India and delineated its physical limits, but also laid down the features that this particular State must possess. His altruistic contributions and devotion to poetry, philosophy, and metaphysics were unmatched, ushering in a new era of writing and knowledge. His message will continue to vibrate against evil, slavery, and subjection through his statements, talks, and work.

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Iqbal, M. (1948). Speeches and statements of Iqbal. Compiled by Shamloo. AlManar Academy. Iqbal, M. (1971). Asrar-o-Rumuz. Kutub Khana Naziriya. Iqbal, M. (1974). The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam. Kitab Bhawan. Iqbal, M. (1975). Bang-i-Dara. Educational Book House. Iqbal, M. (1979a). Bal-i-Gibril (Gabriel’s Wing) (S. A. Ali Shah, Trans.). Modern Book Depot. Iqbal, M. (1979b). Discourses of Iqbal (S. H. Razzaqi, Ed.). Sh. Ghulam Ali and Sons. Iqbal, M. (1983). Zarb-i-Kalim (The Rod of Moses) (S. A. Ali Shah, Trans.). Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Iqbal, M. (2011). The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam (11th ed.). Kitab Bhawan. Javid, I. (2003). Islam and Pakistan’s identity. Iqbal Academy. Khan, S. (1992). Iqbal on democracy. In M. M. Munawwar (Ed.), Iqbal Review, Journal of the Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Lenczowski, G. (1962). The Middle East in World Affairs. Cornell University Press. Maclure, J., & Taylor, C. (2011). Secularism and freedom of conscience (J. M. Todd, Trans.). Harvard University Press. Malik, N. S. (1998). The political sagacity of Iqbal. National Book Foundation. Maruf, M. (1977). Iqbal on democracy. In Dr. M. Moizuddin (Ed.), Iqbal Review, Journal of the Iqbal Academy Pakistan (Vol. 18, No.1). Matthews, D. J. (1993). Iqbal: A selection of the Urdu verse text and translation. Heritage Publishers. May, L. S. (1974). Iqbal: His life & times, 1877–1938. Sh. Muhammad Ashraf. Mir, M. S. (1990). Iqbal the progressive. Book Traders. Moeeni, S. A. V. (1963). Maqalat-i-Iqbal. Lahore. Munawwar, M. (2001). Iqbal on human perfection. Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Parveen, S. A. (1978). The political philosophy of Iqbal. Publishers United Ltd. Pickthall, M. M. (1927). The cultural side of Islam. Hoe and co. Qureshi, M. N. (1980). Bibliographic soundings in nineteenth century Pan-Islam in South Asia. Islamic Quarterly, 24, 22–34. Qureshi, W. (1983). Selections from the Iqbal review. Iqbal Academy Pakistan. Schimmel, A. (1962). Gabriel’s Wing: A study into the religious ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal. Brill Archive. Sharma, J. N. (2008). Encyclopedia of eminent thinkers: The political thought of Mohammad Iqbal (Vol. 17). Concept Publishing Company. Sheikh, M. S. (1972). Studies in Iqbal’s thought and art. Select Articles from the Quarterly “Iqbal ”. Bazm-i Iqbal. Siam-Heng, M. H., & Ten Chin Liew (Eds.). (2010). State and secularism: Perspectives from Asia. World Scientific. Singh, K. (n.d.). Pan Islamica. Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Vol. IX.

Index

A Abhinav Bharat , 239 Accommodate, 2, 40, 67, 257, 262 Action-oriented, 159, 165 Administration, 4, 104, 111, 156, 157, 159, 185–187, 191, 195, 227, 296, 339, 340, 343 Advaita (non-duality), 45 Advaita Ved¯ anta, 90, 91, 96, 287 Ahmed Khan, Syed, 6, 7, 127, 138, 211, 293, 294, 303, 306–308, 314, 320, 336 Akhand Bharat , 241, 281 Al-Hilal , 125, 127, 130 Aligarh Movement, 301, 306, 308, 315 Aligarh Muslim University, 6, 139, 297, 306, 308, 315 Ali Jinnah, Muhammad, 6, 7, 15, 126, 132–135, 137, 345 Allahabad, 56–59, 170, 197, 209, 280 All India Home Rule League, 150 All-India Muslim League, 335, 344 All India National Congress, 205

All-round development, 46, 79 Amar Sonar Bangla, 20, 35 Ambedkar, B.R., 3, 5–8, 58–60, 309 American War of Independence (1776), 258 Anandamath, 218, 221, 224, 226–229, 231, 232 Ancient Greek, 1 Anglo-Vedic School, 205 Annihilation, 40, 300 Annual financial statement, 57, 59 Anti-Ambedkar, 3 Anti-imperialism, 131 Anti-modern traditionalist, 6 Anti-national, 261, 265, 266 Anti-religion, 330 Antyodaya, 278 Anushilan, 225 Army, 208, 227, 240 ¯ Artha, 83, 287 Artha´s¯ astra, 152 Aryans , 151 ¯ Arya Sam¯ aj , 204, 205, 210, 211, 301 Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind, 297, 300

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022 A. Tomar and S. K. Malik (eds.), Reappraising Modern Indian Thought, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1415-7

347

348

INDEX

¯shrama, 77 A´ ¯shrama system, 97 A´ Assimilate, 2, 13, 119, 122, 216, 322, 323 Assimilation, 96, 122, 179, 181, 234, 242, 259, 262, 271, 273, 276 ¯ 80, 83, 90 Atman, Authoritarianism, 335 Authority, 1, 37, 56, 112, 182, 187, 191, 226, 246, 322, 327, 339 Autocracy, 87, 207, 244, 245 B Backward castes, 7, 262 Bahishkar (Boycott), 150, 166 Banaras Hindu University (BHU), 55–57, 62–70, 253, 274 Bande Mataram, 102, 104, 112, 171, 173, 187, 195, 221, 224, 229, 231, 232 Banerjee, Surendranath, 4, 231 Bangadarshan, 218, 223, 230, 231 Bangladesh, 20, 35, 172 Bengal’s renaissance, 197 Bengal Provincial Congress Committee (BPCC), 199 Besant, Annie, 61, 62, 150, 153, 170 Bhagavadg¯ıt¯ a , 26, 34, 81, 150, 159, 219 Bhajans , 28, 263 Bhakti (Devotion), 220, 225 Bharat , 238, 254, 259, 264, 265, 268–271, 282, 287, 289 Bharata Dharma Mahamandal , 11, 56 Bharati, Visva, 19 Bharatiya, 266, 283, 286 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 9, 272, 277, 281, 286, 290 Bharatiya sanskriti, 286 Bharat Mata, 227, 289 Bharat Ratna, 59, 70, 128

Bharatvarsha, 241 Bhargava, Rajeev, 69 B.H.U. Act, 1915, 56 Bible, 90, 239, 298, 302, 303 Birla Institute of Technology and Science, 279 Bolshevik Revolution, 80 Bolshevism, 204, 211 Bose, Subhash Chandra, 65, 131, 199 Boycott, 38, 41, 42, 58, 102, 104, 111, 113, 115, 116, 150, 156, 157, 159, 162–164, 166, 186, 187, 196, 197 Br¯ ahamana, 30, 90, 91, 96, 97 Brahm¯ a , 31, 105, 106, 111 Br¯ ahminical , 13, 25, 68 Br¯ ahminism, 3 Br¯ ahmins , 105, 247 Brahmo Samaj , 20, 27, 35, 76, 90, 91, 172–174, 176, 301 British, 3–6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 31–33, 37, 39, 42, 43, 48, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 102, 104, 112, 115, 131, 148, 150–152, 156, 157, 162, 169–171, 175, 184–186, 191, 195, 196, 200, 206–210, 227, 229, 230, 233, 237, 239, 243, 245–248, 278, 293, 294, 296–301, 304, 305, 308–311, 313, 315, 319, 320 British administration, 35, 102, 104, 157, 229, 230 British Crown, 4 British Empire, 148, 160, 163, 185, 229, 240, 244, 310, 315 British government, 41, 44, 60, 70, 102, 104, 112, 131, 149, 150, 156, 165, 175, 181, 182, 188, 193, 197, 211, 237, 239, 240, 244, 263, 310, 313 British imperialism, 44, 73, 156, 190, 193, 231

INDEX

British Labour Party, 150 British Parliament, 4 British Raj, 11, 20, 182, 208, 211, 239, 275 British rule, 4, 7, 39, 56, 65, 112, 114, 131, 153, 154, 156, 160, 162, 169, 171, 175, 180, 210, 220, 232, 233, 239, 240, 244, 248, 263, 282 Buddha, 26, 27, 30, 31, 74, 81, 84, 96 Buddhism, 3, 27, 34, 90, 94, 222, 241 Bundelkhand Land Alienation, 57 Bureaucracy, 112, 151, 156, 208 Butler, Sir Harcourt, 62 C Cabinet Mission Plan, 137, 138 Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress, 60 Calcutta University, 38, 62, 76, 217 Caliphate, 129, 325, 332 Capitalism, 3, 190, 191, 200, 204, 211, 277, 288, 294, 295, 337, 340, 341 Capitalist, 46, 175, 187, 191, 192, 209, 288, 336, 338, 341 Caste, 3, 6, 7, 10, 22, 28–30, 41, 56, 60, 68, 69, 74, 87, 88, 105, 135, 153, 159, 163, 164, 170, 171, 178, 222, 223, 228, 230, 234, 257, 258, 264, 266, 267, 269, 273, 275, 324–327, 333, 334 Caste oppression, 4 Caste system, 36, 68, 88, 105, 155, 161, 163, 164, 166, 211, 246, 326 Chanakya’s Artha´s¯ astra, 64 Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra, 104, 114, 215, 217, 219, 224, 229, 230, 233, 234

349

Chauri-Chaura, 56 Chauturvarn.a, 246 Chauturvarn.a system, 246 Chauvinism, 38, 45, 46, 345 Chitpavan Br¯ ahmin, 148, 165, 238 Christianity, 27, 61, 79, 181, 259, 268, 325 Christian missionaries, 4, 263 Citizen, 51, 64, 96, 135, 139, 140, 175, 258, 266, 269, 288, 332, 333 City-man or a city-woman, 177 Civil Disobedience movement, 61 Civilisation, 9, 34, 40, 45–49, 63, 108, 109, 116, 155, 157, 166, 217, 224, 241, 255, 256, 275, 282, 321, 327, 337, 342–344 Civil Service Examinations, 175 Clash of Civilisation, 50, 314 Cold War, 314 Colonial, 3, 4, 6, 8, 13, 34, 44, 45, 48, 50, 60, 141, 156, 173, 174, 178, 184, 185, 194, 195, 200, 220, 224, 228–230, 258, 282, 302, 314, 343 Colonial administration, 12 Colonialism, 2–5, 7, 49, 115, 169, 259 Colonial rulers, 2, 5, 157, 162 Colonisation, 2, 12, 300 Communal, 8, 9, 61, 67, 127, 129, 135, 136, 176, 210, 265, 267, 269, 271, 313, 339 Communal Award, 58–60, 67 Communal harmony, 141 Communalism, 3, 8, 43, 68, 135, 176, 265–267, 269, 272, 273, 275, 328 Communal riots, 209 Communal violence, 8 Communism, 56, 191, 277 Communists, 56

350

INDEX

Community, 12, 28, 36, 47, 60, 67–69, 77, 110, 111, 128, 139, 176, 178, 179, 182, 193, 208, 216, 228, 230, 233, 234, 242, 252, 255, 258, 259, 262, 270, 285, 289, 293, 294, 296–298, 300–302, 304–315, 318, 321, 325, 326, 330, 333–336, 340, 343 Composite Culture, 130, 176, 193 Composite Patriotism, 160, 176, 177 Congress, 6, 60, 61, 65, 67, 70, 102, 103, 126, 129, 131–137, 150, 152, 162, 163, 166, 170, 171, 173, 183, 187, 204, 205, 209–211, 221, 229, 232, 263, 281, 310, 311 Consciousness, 14, 20, 24, 25, 27, 29–31, 33–35, 37, 44, 46, 51, 62, 106, 107, 111, 154, 174, 188, 189, 197, 216, 221, 225, 233, 238, 258, 261, 326 Conservatism, 3, 128, 129, 294, 314 Constituent Assembly, 134–136 Constitutionalism, 148 Constitutional laws, 56 Constitutional methods, 4, 162, 205 Constitution of India, 67 Cosmopolitan, 39, 41, 221 Cosmopolitanism, 207 Crisis in Civilisation, 28, 47, 48, 50, 51 Cultural heritage, 39, 234, 288 Cultural nationalism, 2, 9, 13, 260, 261, 272, 273, 275, 278 Cultural-revivalist, 10, 12 Culture, 9, 11, 12, 20, 31, 32, 39, 44, 50, 51, 56, 57, 63, 67, 68, 74, 78, 79, 87, 93, 109, 122, 155, 157, 162, 166, 176, 178–181, 193, 194, 221, 225, 226, 233, 241, 246, 251, 256,

257, 259–261, 263, 275, 281, 282, 286, 289, 290, 299, 305, 306, 308, 321, 327, 328, 343, 344 D Dak Ghar, 21, 24, 47 Dalits , 68 Dargah, 270 Darwinian evolutionism, 189 Dar´sanas , 65 Das, Chittaranjan, 131 Day¯ananda Saraswati, 5, 205 Deccan Education Society (DES), 149, 165 Decision-making, 126, 141, 297, 300, 305 Decisions, 1, 7, 102, 134, 140, 218, 229, 230, 309 Democracy, 3, 9, 14, 37, 45, 139, 141, 153, 188–191, 262, 263, 265, 273, 278, 283, 318, 335–340, 345 Democratic society, 130 Democratisation, 2 Depressed classes, 58, 164 Development, 2, 6, 10, 19, 20, 23, 27, 37, 46, 47, 51, 60, 64, 66–69, 80, 84–88, 90, 103, 117, 118, 122, 127, 140, 154, 160, 175, 190, 199, 208, 222, 226, 229, 230, 242, 246, 265, 278, 282, 284, 288, 294, 302, 305, 307, 323–326, 332, 338, 343 Dh¯ arma, 83, 91, 97, 114, 159, 247, 267, 268, 270–272, 287 Dharmashala, 261 Discrimination, 36, 45, 68, 69, 105, 139, 327 Divide and Rule policy, 131, 311 Divine, 24, 28, 31, 37, 74, 81, 86, 88, 95, 96, 106, 107, 111, 114,

INDEX

116, 118, 122, 130, 152, 188, 189, 221, 300, 310, 325, 333, 335, 339, 342 Doctrine of Lapse policy, 244 Dogma, 74, 79, 93–95, 171, 186, 189–191, 234, 294, 295, 302, 329 Dushyanta, 25 E Eastern cultures, 122 Eastern Europe, 154, 326 East India Company, 197, 227–229, 296 Economic Drain Theory, 162 Economic reconstruction, 198 Economy, 2, 43, 85, 111, 115, 174, 189, 191, 286, 288, 343 Education, 7, 22, 29, 35, 42, 43, 45, 48, 50–52, 56, 59–66, 70, 79, 82, 85–88, 101, 104, 111, 112, 116–121, 125–129, 138–142, 149, 157–159, 161, 165, 172, 174, 176, 196, 200, 204, 208, 209, 216, 217, 229, 230, 252, 279, 293–297, 301–308, 310, 313–315, 319, 320, 336, 343 Egoism, 45, 82, 327 Elite, 5, 20, 103, 181, 326 Emancipation, 37, 152, 197, 204, 237, 243, 248, 295, 339 Empire, 48, 109, 160, 184, 190, 194, 220, 243, 325 Empowerment, 66, 128 End of History, 14 End of Ideology, 14 English, 7, 11, 21, 22, 24, 29, 31, 32, 34, 49, 56, 61, 62, 70, 103, 127, 139, 149, 158, 210, 216–218, 238, 253, 254, 270, 274, 280, 289, 299, 304, 305, 308, 320, 325, 334, 344

351

Environment, 20, 46, 50, 51, 113, 117, 189, 190, 323 Equality, 2, 3, 74, 85, 87, 90, 93, 94, 121, 122, 135, 136, 189, 194, 200, 326, 327, 332, 333, 338, 341 Ethnicity, 12, 221, 325, 333 European, 32–34, 49, 78, 80, 130, 162, 175, 177, 181, 189, 190, 193, 217, 221, 259, 298, 301, 313, 320, 327, 331, 332, 338, 344 European culture, 79, 193 Exploitation, 36, 60, 141, 153, 156, 197, 198, 208, 211, 339 Extremists, 5, 11, 12, 61, 103, 113, 148, 156, 158, 162, 163, 185, 203 F Fascism, 46 Father of Indian National Movement, 147 Fatwa (Decrees), 308 Female infanticide, 4, 161 Fergusson College, 149, 165, 239 First World War, 33, 80, 154, 191, 206 Foreign goods, 113, 115, 150, 156, 157, 166, 196, 239 Fraternity, 73 Freedom, 7, 9, 21, 22, 24, 33–37, 42, 49, 55, 56, 59, 62, 66–68, 74, 75, 78, 81–86, 93, 101–105, 110–114, 120–122, 126, 131, 135, 136, 141, 142, 147, 148, 153, 157, 170, 171, 174, 176, 178, 182, 184–186, 194, 195, 197, 198, 203, 208, 210, 232, 239, 242–246, 257, 258, 262, 264, 282, 288, 296, 324, 330, 332, 333, 337, 341, 342

352

INDEX

Freedom struggle, 13, 59, 60, 69, 171, 173, 193, 259, 263, 282 Free Indian Society, 248 Free will, 36, 37 French Revolution (1789), 130, 154, 178, 217, 258 Fundamental duty, 113, 271 Fundamentalism, 130, 136, 219

G Gandhi, Mahatma, 5, 6, 41–44, 58, 59, 62, 70, 126, 127, 131, 134–138, 151 Garam Dal (Extremists), 170, 171 Geeta Rahasya, 151 Gender, 7, 10, 28, 36 Gender equality, 126, 141 Geography, 9, 333 Ghose, Aurobindo, 47, 101–107, 110–122, 131, 156, 162, 166, 173, 174, 181, 185–187, 199, 221, 232, 233, 251 Gitanjali, 23, 32, 34, 37 Gokhale’s Elementary Education Bill, 59, 62 Gokhale, Gopal Krishna, 103, 150, 156, 160, 163, 164, 170, 205, 210, 232 Golwalkar, Madhav Sadashiv, 9, 13, 251, 252, 254–257, 259–276 Good governance, 278 Gospel of swaraj , 151, 182 Governor-General of India, 228 Gram Panchayat , 285 Great nationalist, 70 Greek, 79, 80, 83, 103, 108, 243, 309 Guha, Ramachandra, 132, 276 Gurudwaras , 58

H Hadith, 322, 325 Haripura Congress, 65 Harmony, 13, 38, 46, 47, 49, 52, 74, 79, 91–94, 107, 109, 113, 126, 135, 142, 155, 159, 166, 171, 223, 264, 284–287, 303, 310–312, 314, 321, 335, 337 Hastings, Warren, 228 Hegel, 179, 181 Hegemony, 295 Heritage, 49, 154, 155, 157, 159, 161, 207, 233, 238, 288, 312 Hindi Uddharini Pratinidhi Sabha, 56 Hindu, 6–9, 13, 22, 27, 31, 56, 57, 68, 75, 78, 83, 90, 92, 93, 97, 130–133, 164, 171, 172, 178, 179, 181, 189, 193, 198, 205, 209, 219, 220, 222–225, 227–229, 234, 238, 240–243, 245–248, 254–257, 259–264, 266, 269, 271, 273, 275, 276, 282, 310, 312, 319, 336 Hindu culture, 11, 193, 194, 221, 233, 241, 252, 257, 259, 263 Hinduism, 4, 13, 27, 35, 74, 91, 92, 94, 173, 193, 204, 205, 211, 215–217, 219, 221–226, 233, 234, 238, 241, 242, 247, 252, 257, 263, 272, 273 Hindu Mahasabha, 58, 61, 67, 69, 205, 208, 209, 240, 255, 272 Hindu-Muslim, 224 Hindu-Muslim unity, 42, 69, 70, 125, 131, 132, 142, 165, 210, 311 Hindu nation, 9, 58, 67, 224, 227, 246, 258, 261 Hindu nationalism, 9, 57, 67, 68, 176, 221, 224, 233, 256, 258, 259, 261, 272, 275 Hindu nationalist, 13, 69, 252, 256

INDEX

Hindu Rashtra, 224, 241, 242, 247, 248, 252, 259, 272–276 Hindu Rashtravad, 259 Hindu social order, 8 Hindustani, 140, 175 Hindustan Times, 56, 70 Hindustan Times Group, 57 Hindu texts, 64, 252 Hindu thinkers, 6 Hindutva, 13, 216, 221–223, 234, 238, 241, 242, 245–248, 252, 255–257, 273, 275, 276 Holy Roman, 109 Home Rule movement, 150, 170 Human civilisation, 11, 80, 324, 339 Human development, 79, 84, 85 Humanism, 10, 13, 25, 79–81, 95, 216, 217, 234, 238, 283, 301, 306 Humanitarian, 60, 204 Humanity, 10, 11, 30, 36, 37, 42, 43, 49, 79, 92–95, 101, 105, 107, 108, 110, 113, 114, 116, 118, 119, 121, 122, 132, 149, 175, 189, 190, 194, 205, 216, 221, 222, 251, 328, 331–333, 338, 339, 342, 343 Humankind, 46, 108, 110, 121, 122, 294 Human race, 203 Human rights, 11 Human unity, 11, 45, 63, 107 Huntington, Samuel, 50, 314 I Ideal-humanist, 57, 68, 102 Idealism, 122, 179, 192, 193, 234, 243, 327, 328, 337 Idealist, 44, 68–70 Ideal society, 78, 87, 110, 111 Identities, 5–7, 12, 39, 63, 74, 92, 131, 164, 177, 182, 227, 238,

353

241, 242, 248, 251, 253, 262, 265, 267, 283, 314, 324, 329 Ideologies, 3, 9, 13, 69, 93, 162, 171, 176, 185, 191, 198, 222, 238, 242, 248, 252, 256, 274, 278, 284, 288, 320, 328, 332, 333, 335, 336, 340–342 Ijtihad, 6, 338 Imperial Federation, 189, 190 Imperialism, 38, 45, 113, 189, 194, 200, 294, 337, 341, 343 Imperial Legislative Council, 57, 60 Independence, 5, 8, 9, 36, 42, 43, 55, 56, 60, 63, 65–67, 70, 78, 82, 102, 105, 114, 115, 121, 122, 128, 130, 138, 149, 165, 169, 170, 172, 178, 185, 200, 203, 205–207, 211, 239, 244, 245, 247, 248, 269, 281–283, 289, 324, 339, 345 Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), 140 Indian culture, 45, 50, 75, 94, 95, 97, 142, 149, 179–181, 198, 225, 252, 255, 264, 287, 288, 290 Indian economy, 174, 200 Indian education system, 63 Indian history, 121, 122, 141, 165, 169, 215, 243, 282 Indian indenture system, 56 Indian Industrial Conference, 59 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 65, 140 Indian National Congress (INC), 55–57, 59, 103, 126, 149, 150, 152, 165, 166, 172, 205–207, 221, 224, 231, 232, 277, 296, 310 Indian national movement, 4, 11, 102, 135 Indian Patriotic Association, 310, 312 Indian renaissance, 19

354

INDEX

Indian society, 2, 5, 6, 36, 61, 63, 77, 78, 86, 87, 96, 139, 147, 163, 164, 177, 211, 230, 232, 234, 246, 262, 271, 273, 276, 288 Indian sub-continent, 241, 294, 307, 313, 317, 335 Indian tradition, 2, 3, 48, 63, 152, 262, 275, 284, 285 Indian Union, 11, 56, 57 Indian War of Independence, 147, 239, 240, 247 India’s freedom struggle, 44, 57, 59, 125, 128, 131, 133, 137, 171, 172, 211, 237, 238, 248, 259, 264 India Wins Freedom, 128, 133, 136 Indigenous, 2, 64, 115, 150, 157, 162, 166, 171, 196, 208, 220, 224, 229, 231, 233, 246, 273, 275, 287, 299 Individual, 7, 9, 11, 12, 27, 28, 34, 36, 37, 43, 46, 51, 56, 74, 77–82, 84, 85, 90, 93, 94, 96, 97, 106–108, 110, 111, 116–120, 139, 152, 153, 170, 178, 182, 189, 191, 194, 208, 226, 254, 255, 257–259, 266, 269, 277, 284–289, 305, 318, 323–325, 327, 330, 332–342 Individualism, 190, 193, 194, 252, 288, 295, 341 Indo-China, 66 Industrial revolution, 264 Indus valley civilisation, 68 Institutions, 1, 9, 14, 47, 50, 61, 62, 65, 66, 102, 126, 129, 140, 141, 154–156, 161, 163, 180, 189, 200, 207, 253, 269, 285, 296, 297, 305, 307, 308, 338, 342, 343 Integral Humanism, 13, 277, 278, 281, 282, 286–288, 290

Integrative nationalism, 245 Inter-dependence, 47 Interim Government, 134, 138 Internationalism, 20, 27, 28, 44–47, 51, 181, 194, 200 International politics, 204, 343 Iqbal, Muhammad, 317, 344 Islam, 6, 27, 74, 91, 125, 127–130, 132, 179–181, 198, 209, 222, 224, 233, 302–304, 308, 309, 315, 318, 319, 321, 325–333, 335, 336, 338–344 Islamic revivalism, 125, 129 Islamic State, 128, 129, 318, 342–345 Islamophobia, 314

J Jainism, 34, 241 Jallianwala Bagh, 151 Jana-Gana-Mana, 20, 28 J¯ anapada, 285 Jana Sangh, 13, 272, 277, 281, 286 Jiva, 73 Judiciary, 232, 343 Justice Grimwood Mears, 58

K Kabir, 24, 40, 74 Kafir (Apostate/heretic), 308 Kalidasa, 22, 25, 26 K¯ ama, 83 Karachi Resolution, 135 Karma, 26, 81, 82 Karma Yogi, 70, 165 Karmayogin, 190 Karyakartas , 278, 281 Kesari, 149, 162, 165, 170, 238 Kharagpur Institute of Technology, 140

INDEX

Khilafat movement, 125, 127–129, 196 Khudi (Ego), 317, 322 L Lahore Session, 60 Laissez-faire, 186, 187 Lal-Bal-Pal, 149, 162, 166, 172, 195 Lalit Kala Academy, 140 Landlords, 29, 39, 209, 226, 228 Legislations, 6, 161, 187 Legitimacy, 1 Liberalism, 3, 6, 48, 106, 128, 219, 341 Liberal moderniser, 6 Liberal nationalist, 56 Liberation, 23, 39, 82–84, 106, 112, 129, 131, 157, 161, 258, 324, 335, 344 Liberty, 35, 56, 82–84, 88, 102, 112, 113, 133, 151, 185, 207, 220, 273, 341 Life Divine, 102, 104, 106, 111 Lion of Punjab, 170, 211 Local traditions, 3 Lok Sabha, 128 Lord Curzon, 170, 180, 232 Lord Harding, 62 Lord Lytton, 305, 312 Lord Macaulay, 61, 157 Lord Mountbatten, 134 Lord Ripon, 312 Lord Ronaldshay, 174, 181 Lord Stanley, 229 Lower caste, 7, 164 M Macaulay’s system of education, 63 MacDonald, Ramsay, 59 Madan Mohan Malaviya Engineering College, 68

355

Madan, T.N., 69 Madrasa, 129, 138, 304, 305, 307 Mah¯ abh¯ arata, 20, 26, 152, 221 Mahamana, 55, 58, 63, 67–70 Maharaja, 58, 62 Mahila Mahvidyalaya, 66 Majoritarian rule, 9 Majoritarian State, 3, 8–10 Makbara, 270 Malaviya, Madan Mohan, 4, 11, 15, 55–70, 254 Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), 68 Manu, 48, 263 Manusmr.iti, 178 MAO College, 297, 305–308, 312, 315 Marxist, 3, 80 Marx, Karl, 86, 313 Materialism, 46, 77, 80, 119, 295, 327, 328, 342 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, 126, 130, 135, 142 Mauryan Empire, 243 Mazzini, 154, 175, 177, 180, 181, 193, 194, 210 Medieval Europe, 1 Meghaduta, 25, 26 Mehta, Pherozeshah, 4, 103, 232 Metaphysics, 52, 151, 219, 330, 345 Militant extremism, 11 Militant-Extremist, 12 Militant nationalism, 153 Millat , 333, 334 Mill, John Stuart, 86, 154, 175 Minorities, 9, 12, 13, 57, 67, 133, 134, 242, 261, 262, 266, 269, 273, 275, 336 Moderates, 4, 5, 60, 103, 104, 113, 148, 150, 155, 156, 162, 163, 166, 174, 182, 185, 186, 200, 310

356

INDEX

Modern, 1–4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 34, 44, 56, 59, 62–65, 73, 78, 80, 81, 83, 86, 92–94, 96, 108, 114, 126–129, 138, 140, 142, 158, 169, 175, 191, 193, 194, 200, 293, 294, 296, 297, 301–308, 315, 320, 321, 323, 327, 328, 337, 338, 340, 342, 344 Modern civilisation, 6 Modern English education, 315 Modern India, 44, 59, 65, 69, 97, 128, 142, 203, 210, 247, 294 Modern Indian Thought, 3–5, 10, 14 Modernisation, 12, 296, 304, 307, 308, 343 Modernity, 3, 5–8, 66, 175, 294, 315 Moks.ha, 83, 84 Monarchy, 229, 337 Morality, 64, 153, 158, 208, 221, 225, 246, 286, 326, 337, 340 Morley-Minto Reforms, 210 Mother India, 20, 65, 69, 86, 103, 171, 221, 227, 237, 246–248 Motherland, 55, 67, 74, 113, 163, 164, 170, 205, 207, 224, 227, 228, 230, 231, 243, 251, 260, 261, 274, 275 Motilal Nehru Report, 132, 135 Mountbatten Plan, 133 Mughal Empire, 299, 301, 325 Mughals, 13, 243, 295 Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO), 6, 297, 308 Muir Central College, 57 Mukti (Salvation), 78 Mullahs , 7 Multi-cultural, 50, 313 Multi-dimensional, 19, 121 Multi-racial, 50, 256 Mundakopanis.had, 56 Muslim, 6–9, 14, 58, 62, 69, 74, 97, 125–136, 141, 142, 176–179,

205, 210, 219, 224, 227–229, 232, 233, 242, 243, 245, 261–263, 271, 273, 275, 276, 293–315, 317–319, 321, 325–338, 340–344 Muslim Administrator (Nawab), 227 Muslim League, 7, 8, 126, 127, 131–135, 137, 150, 166, 177 Muslim rulers, 5, 219, 224, 228, 243, 248, 299, 344 Muslim thinkers, 6–8, 294 Muslim universalism, 325, 326

N Nakshatra, 252 Nalanda, 62 Nandy, Ashis, 69 Naoroji, Dadabhai, 4, 103, 153, 162, 163, 183, 184, 208, 232 Narayan, Jayaprakash, 195, 238 Nation, 3, 5, 7–9, 11, 28, 36, 38, 40, 42, 47, 55–59, 61, 64–70, 74, 84, 87, 92, 93, 95, 108, 109, 112, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119, 121, 122, 139, 148, 155, 157, 164, 166, 169, 178, 179, 181, 184, 185, 190–192, 194, 195, 197, 198, 200, 205, 207, 208, 211, 225, 230, 233, 241, 242, 245, 255, 256, 258–263, 266, 268–271, 273, 275, 280–282, 284, 285, 288, 289, 309, 310, 312, 333–335 National dignity, 159 National education, 45, 102, 150, 156–158, 162, 164, 166, 170, 204 National Education Policy, 139 National ideology, 40 National integration, 92, 141, 175, 180, 266, 268, 272

INDEX

Nationalism, 2–5, 7–9, 11, 13, 20, 27, 28, 37–46, 51, 57, 69, 92, 93, 101, 104, 114, 125–129, 131, 135, 136, 142, 147, 153–156, 162, 164, 171, 174, 176, 178–181, 188–190, 192–195, 197–200, 204, 207, 210, 211, 216, 221, 222, 224, 232, 234, 237, 242, 243, 245, 258–262, 275, 280, 283, 289, 318, 327–330, 342 National movement, 8, 111, 115, 128, 135, 152, 164, 281 National reconstruction, 11, 288 National security, 278 Nation-builder, 233, 234, 307 Nation-building, 2, 3, 8–10, 64, 176, 221, 273 Nationhood, 30, 178–180, 228, 256, 259, 260, 269, 270, 273 Nation-state, 9, 40, 46, 154, 179, 215–217, 220, 221, 224, 232–234, 252, 268, 343 Nawab, 219, 227, 228 Nazism, 46 Nehru, Jawaharlal, 9, 58, 126, 127, 130–134, 136–138, 163, 174, 259, 271, 273, 276, 303, 345 Nehruvian economic policies, 288 Neo-Hinduism, 224 Neo-Ved¯ anta, 90–92 Nietzsche, 317, 322, 323 Non-Br¯ ahmin, 267 Non-cooperation movement, 41–43, 70, 151, 199 Non-fulfilment, 181 Non-Hindu, 257, 261, 266, 269, 271, 273, 276 Non-secular, 205 Non-violence, 44, 94, 131, 185, 248 Non-white country, 184 Norms, 11, 66, 226, 272, 276

357

O Orthodox, 13, 20, 35, 78, 89, 126, 128, 163, 164, 216, 244, 248, 308, 315 P Pakistan, 7, 8, 133, 134, 245, 319, 335, 345 Pal, Bipin Chandra, 103, 149, 152, 162, 166, 171–200, 203, 211, 239 Panditji, 280 Pan-Islamism, 125, 128, 129, 196, 312, 318, 325–327 Pannikar, K.M., 93 Paradigm, 85, 320 Paris Peace Conference, 150 Parivrajak, 77 Parliament, 132, 135 Parliamentarian, 55, 69, 70 Parliamentary democracy, 207 Partition, 7, 111, 112, 125, 126, 131, 133, 134, 137, 141, 199, 239 Partition of Bengal, 8, 35, 38, 41, 102, 131, 149, 154, 156, 162, 163, 166, 170, 171, 173, 180, 182, 195, 224 Partition of India, 3, 131, 134, 207 Passive resistance, 101, 102, 111–113, 150, 156, 159, 166, 171, 182, 185–188, 196 Patel, Sardar, 131, 133, 136–138 Patriarchy, 68, 69, 89, 141 Patriot, 62, 70, 122, 142, 160, 172, 210, 211, 233, 234, 313 Patriotism, 13, 35, 42, 62, 83, 115, 127, 130, 135, 147, 149, 158, 160, 169, 171, 173, 193, 197, 203, 208, 215, 216, 220, 222, 224, 230, 232–234, 237, 243, 245, 258, 328 Peaceful co-existence, 314

358

INDEX

Philosophy, 2, 11, 13, 14, 24–27, 30, 34–36, 45, 50, 52, 57, 63, 75, 80–82, 85, 92, 97, 101, 102, 105, 106, 127, 135, 151, 152, 156, 173, 174, 176, 178–180, 188–194, 199, 204, 215, 221, 238, 251, 258, 259, 264, 271, 274, 275, 277, 278, 281, 282, 286, 288, 290, 297, 309, 317, 318, 320, 321, 323, 330, 331, 334–336, 341, 344, 345 Phule, Jyotirao, 6, 7 Planning Commission, 65 Plato, 10, 11, 86 Pluralism, 141, 262 Political, 1, 2, 8–14, 19, 20, 24, 29, 30, 32, 35–41, 44, 47, 50, 51, 56, 57, 59–61, 64, 69, 83, 86, 93, 94, 101–103, 106, 108–114, 119, 121, 122, 127, 130, 132, 134, 135, 137, 141, 148, 149, 152–156, 159, 161, 163, 165, 170, 173–175, 177–180, 182–186, 188–190, 192, 195–200, 203–209, 211, 216, 221, 229, 234, 237–239, 241–244, 246–248, 252, 255, 258, 259, 262, 263, 265, 267, 273, 277, 278, 281–283, 287, 288, 290, 298–300, 303, 307–310, 313, 315, 317, 318, 321, 322, 325, 327–331, 333, 335, 337, 339–344 Political freedom, 36, 42, 82, 111, 114, 184, 195 Political ideas, 52, 57, 175, 182, 190, 192, 200, 272, 275, 317, 318, 326, 332 Political institutions, 4, 304 Political nationalism, 2, 246 Political organisation, 38, 170, 313, 329

Political structures, 318, 337 Political system, 4, 246, 318, 339 Politico-cultural, 181 Politics, 3, 4, 10, 35, 38, 41, 42, 47, 52, 86, 87, 103, 112–114, 127, 129, 131, 135, 148, 165, 174, 178, 181, 182, 188, 191, 194–196, 198–200, 204, 205, 207, 209, 217, 259, 264, 277, 278, 281, 286, 290, 296, 309–311, 314, 317, 330, 331, 335, 337, 344 Polity, 9, 111, 126, 134, 135, 149, 153, 178, 264, 286, 297, 299 Popular culture, 147 Positivism, 97, 222, 238 Post-colonial, 3 Post-Gandhian, 5 Post-independent, 5, 8, 264 Post-independent India, 5, 8, 264 Poverty, 11, 29, 78, 84, 85, 87, 112, 141, 169, 174, 177, 200, 208, 271, 299 Power, 4, 7, 12, 23, 35, 37, 39, 47, 48, 50, 60, 65, 81, 83, 88, 90, 91, 93–97, 106, 109, 111, 114, 119, 121, 132, 134, 141, 151, 157, 159, 197, 200, 209, 221, 223, 228, 230, 243, 267, 273, 284, 285, 288, 297, 299, 301, 309, 313, 318, 324, 326, 332, 334, 337, 339, 343, 344 Pracharak, 280 Pragmatism, 13, 14, 238, 294 Prathana Samaj , 301 Prayag Hindu Samaj , 61 Preamble of the Constitution, 264 Pre-Gandhian, 5 Presidency College, 75, 172, 175, 217 Private property, 340 Progress, 14, 50, 87, 88, 90, 102, 109, 120, 128, 139, 140, 153,

INDEX

159–161, 197, 200, 217, 220, 222, 223, 225, 226, 234, 282, 283, 285–287, 290, 293, 294, 302–304, 306, 310, 312, 314 Pseudo-Hinduism, 222 Public opinion, 4 Punjab Kesari, 170, 204 Punjab Legislative Council, 335, 344 Purus.¯ arthas , 97 Pur¯ an.as , 65, 89, 221 Q Qawm, 333 Queen Victoria, 229 Qur Ↄ¯ an, 128, 239, 298, 302–304, 306, 317, 319, 325, 326, 333, 335, 338, 344 Qur Ↄ¯ anic, 132, 334, 338, 341 R Rabindrasangeet , 19 Race, 10, 34, 37, 40, 41, 44, 45, 49, 74, 81, 84, 89, 107, 110, 111, 152, 153, 160, 184, 193, 194, 241, 256, 258, 261, 263, 300, 310, 324, 326, 327, 334, 335 Radhakrishnan, S., 52, 70, 79 Radical, 3, 13, 14, 35, 104, 116, 150, 172, 174, 237, 239, 273, 276, 282, 322 Radical-pragmatist, 10, 13 Rai, Lala Lajpat, 58, 103, 149, 152, 162, 166, 170–173, 195, 203, 209, 211, 239 Rajn¯ıti´sh¯ astra, 153 Raksha bandhan, 239 Ramakrishna, Sri, 76, 81, 90, 91, 216, 220, 234, 251 Ramasamy Naicker, E.V., 7 R¯ am¯ ayan.a, 20, 21, 26, 152 Ramcharitmanas , 253, 274

359

Ramgarh Congress Session, 131 Ranade, M.G., 103, 156, 160, 164 Rashtra, 9 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), 9, 252, 254–256, 272–274, 280 Rastriya shiksha, 150, 166 Ratha Yatra, 68 Rationalism, 128, 142, 238, 301 Recognition, 4, 12, 32, 38, 153, 170, 188, 274, 279 Red Indians, 40 Reformation, 93, 104, 165, 219, 221, 226, 301 Reformist thinkers, 4 Reforms, 4, 59–61, 91, 92, 155, 161, 193, 210, 229, 234, 295 Regimes, 1 Religio-cultural unity, 181 Religion, 7, 9, 13, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 35, 36, 40, 45, 49, 51, 52, 57, 61, 64, 67, 68, 70, 74, 75, 77, 79, 83, 86, 91–97, 114, 128–130, 133–136, 148, 151–155, 158, 161, 162, 164, 170, 171, 174, 176, 178, 179, 182, 189, 194, 215, 216, 219, 221, 222, 225, 228, 232, 234, 241, 243–248, 257, 258, 260–262, 264, 266–269, 271, 295, 298, 302–304, 306, 312, 314, 318, 327, 330, 331, 333, 335, 337, 338, 340, 342, 344 Religious minorities, 261, 275 Renaissance, 96, 130, 215, 218, 219, 234, 308 Representations, 4 Representative government, 344 Republican system, 332, 339 Reservation, 35, 41, 42, 50, 129, 134 Revivalism, 3, 12, 13 Revolt of 1857, 126, 239, 248, 293, 298, 299, 301, 304, 315

360

INDEX

Revolution, 34, 129, 169, 207, 244, 245, 248, 264, 306 Revolutionary, 102–104, 116, 127, 131, 150, 163, 170, 171, 173, 177, 195, 207, 227, 228, 237, 239, 240, 244, 247, 248 Rights, 3, 12, 34, 44, 90, 134, 141, 160, 170, 171, 178, 187, 192, 208, 209, 224, 242, 258, 262, 263, 265, 269, 287, 288, 296, 310, 312 Risalat , 334, 335 Roman Empire, 79, 109, 110 Rousseau, 86, 175 Rowlatt Act, 57 Royal Asiatic Society, 297 Roy, Ram Mohan, 5, 25, 27, 28, 90, 104, 217, 301, 309 Rule of law, 56, 152, 153, 193, 232, 233, 342 S Sacchid¯ ananda, 105 Sadachar, 48 Sadhana, 27, 31, 114 Sadr-e-amin, 296 Sahitya Akademi, 140 Samaj , 34 Sampoorna swarajya, 147 Samsk¯ ˙ aras , 269 Sanatan dh¯ arma, 11, 56, 163, 268, 282 Sanatani, 68 Sangh, 253–255, 274 Sannyasi, 87, 224, 227 Santiniketan, 22, 30, 45, 47, 50 Sarsanghchalak, 252, 255, 273 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for all campaign), 63 Sarvodaya, 13 Sati, 4, 6, 26, 161 Saty¯ agraha, 3, 58

Satyameva Jayate, 56, 70 Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar, 6, 9, 13, 15, 237–248, 255 Science and technology, 6, 62–64, 110, 217, 225, 230, 283 Second Round Table Conference, 58 Second World War, 80, 258 Secretary of State for India, 229, 305 Secularisation, 343 Secularism, 9, 126, 135, 136, 141, 262, 264, 267, 269, 273, 275, 278, 327, 330, 331, 342 Secular State, 129, 135, 343 Security, 85, 109, 111, 271, 290, 327, 342 Self, 3, 7, 8, 31, 43, 47, 74, 83, 97, 110, 117, 118, 136, 148, 194, 265, 283, 287, 299 Self-assertion, 251 Self-confidence, 188 Self-control, 152, 153, 322 Self-determination, 112, 154, 207, 328 Self-development, 102, 111, 112 Self-expression, 39 Self-fulfilment, 113 Self-government, 4, 36, 37, 60, 150, 152, 153, 156, 166, 182, 184–186, 193, 207 Self-interest, 48, 49, 102, 178 Self-reliance, 29, 43, 182, 183, 188, 195–197 Self-respect, 85, 147, 160 Self-rule, 150, 152, 160, 171, 266 Self-sufficient, 36, 66, 340 Separate electorates, 7, 59, 242 Separation of Church and State, 327, 331 Servants of India Society, 205 Shakuntala, 25, 26 Shar¯ıCah, 178 ´ astras , 64, 160, 222, 225 Sh¯

INDEX

Sher-e-Punjab, 203 Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, 58 Shivaji, 149, 155, 159, 170, 238, 243 Shyamji Krishna Varma, 239 Sikhism, 241 Simon Commission, 58, 204, 210 Singh, Bhagat, 207 ´ Sloka, 94 Smr.itis , 65 Social Contract Theory, 284 Social evils, 36, 88, 159–161 Socialism, 2, 13, 37, 86, 87, 126, 190–192, 204, 209, 211, 283, 288, 340, 341 Socialist, 3, 87, 190–192, 204, 209, 211, 288, 336, 340 Social justice, 37, 341 Social nationalism, 2 Social order, 159, 161, 192, 256 Social reformer, 14, 20, 68–70, 77, 88, 147, 165, 171, 203, 211, 248, 259, 293, 294, 298, 313, 315, 317 Social reform movements, 14, 301 Social reforms, 148, 160, 161, 164, 246, 248, 301, 302 Social structure, 41, 52 Socio-cultural, 141, 179, 181, 273, 308 Socio-political thought, xi Socrates, 80 South Asia, 314 Sovereignty, 154, 273, 332, 338 Soviet Union, 46 Spiritual humanism, 92 Spiritual idealism, 39 Spiritualism, 61, 77, 79, 94, 95, 101, 119, 220, 252, 273, 274 Spiritual nationalism, 11, 178 Spiritual values, 39, 63, 88, 120, 330

361

State, 1, 9, 12, 33, 34, 38, 58, 80, 82, 83, 87, 93, 94, 108, 109, 115, 134, 135, 139, 140, 152, 169, 171, 184, 186, 191, 206, 208, 242, 244, 256, 259, 264, 268–270, 275, 284, 285, 287, 289, 290, 299, 301, 305, 308, 325, 327, 329–333, 338, 340, 342, 343, 345 Statesman, 69, 70, 147, 313 State socialism, 191 Structure, 32, 43, 110, 120, 139, 178, 190, 192, 194, 198, 228, 281, 328 Sub-continent, 142, 205, 309, 318, 325, 335, 336 Sublimate, 2 ´ udras , 89 S¯ ´ Sukran¯ ıti, 152 Sunnah, 344 Supreme Court of India, 240 Swadeshi, 3, 41, 58, 61, 102, 115, 116, 131, 150, 156, 157, 162–164, 166, 171, 177, 193–195, 197, 239, 271, 286 Swadeshi movement, 43, 45, 151, 166, 171, 173, 176, 187, 193–197, 211, 232 Swadeshi samaj , 33, 34 Swadharma, 243–245, 248, 271 Swaraj , 111, 114, 131, 132, 148, 150, 152, 153, 158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 171, 178, 182–185, 188, 194, 195, 210, 237, 243, 245, 248 Swarajya, 149, 152–154, 244, 245 T Tafsir, 302, 303 Tagore, Rabindranath, 11, 19–52, 55, 62, 75, 179, 229 Takshashila, 62

362

INDEX

Tapoban, 25, 26 Tarikh-e-Sarkashi-e-Zila Bijnor, 299 Tawhid, 332, 334, 335, 338 Tayabji, Badruddin, 310 Territorial nationalism, 260, 261, 263, 275, 326 Terrorism, 11, 186 The Discovery of India, 127, 163 The International Congress of Brotherhood, 179 The New Economic Menace to India, 190, 200 Theocracy, 264, 332 Theocratic, 126, 332 Theology, 79, 92, 125, 127, 135, 173, 241, 305–307, 341 Thought, 1–5, 8, 10, 11, 14, 20, 23, 27, 28, 32, 35, 37, 38, 41, 44, 57, 61, 75, 81, 84, 86, 91–93, 96, 97, 101, 103, 104, 107, 111, 119, 121, 122, 131, 140, 142, 152, 153, 174, 177, 183, 184, 188–190, 197, 199, 216, 219, 220, 224, 226, 230, 232, 233, 246, 247, 256–258, 272, 273, 275, 277, 282, 284, 287, 288, 295, 297, 301, 303, 306, 318, 319, 323, 324, 334, 337–339, 341, 342, 344 Three-fold programme, 156, 166 Tilak, Bal Gangadhar, 6, 103, 115, 127, 147–166, 170–173, 183–186, 195, 203, 205, 209, 211, 221, 238, 248, 251 Tolerance, 5, 63, 67, 92–95, 130, 224, 321, 324 Total Revolution, 195 Tradition, 2, 3, 5–7, 12, 14, 20, 27, 63, 66, 67, 129, 130, 149, 154–157, 159, 160, 175, 180, 182, 241, 257–262, 264, 265, 269, 275, 282, 287, 289, 294,

295, 300, 306, 325, 328, 329, 333, 338 Transformation, 5, 106–108, 111, 116, 155, 246, 297, 305, 307, 313, 315, 322 Tribe, 3, 108, 194, 324, 333, 335 Two-nation theory, 9, 125, 126, 133–135, 177 U Ulema (Religious scholars), 296, 301, 305, 308, 315 Ummah, 326, 327, 331, 332, 341 Ummat (Muslim community), 318, 333, 334, 343 Underdevelopment, 11 Unity, 33, 36, 40, 41, 45, 52, 58, 60, 68, 69, 91, 93, 94, 108–110, 118, 128, 130, 132, 136, 152, 154–156, 159, 160, 162, 176, 178–180, 188, 193, 198, 200, 220, 221, 225, 228, 238, 241, 242, 245, 247, 248, 255, 258–260, 262, 268, 271, 273, 275, 276, 284–286, 289, 313, 318, 325, 327–329, 334, 338, 341 Unity in diversity, 52, 118, 119 Universal brotherhood, 13, 28, 88, 92, 234 Universal humanism, 125, 128, 142 Universalism, 41, 46, 79, 97, 116, 130, 147, 222, 238 University Grants Commission (UGC), 140 Untouchability, 4, 27, 36, 88, 163, 164, 246, 247, 267 Upadhyaya, Deendayal, 13, 277, 278, 280, 281, 286–290 Upanis.hads , 22, 25, 27, 30, 31, 34, 81, 130, 194, 287 Upper castes, 7, 9

INDEX

Urdu, 62, 126–128, 133, 204, 210, 296, 298, 303, 304, 311, 321, 334 Urdu-Hindi controversy, 311 Utilitarianism, 217, 222, 238 Utopia, 65 V Vaishnava, 257 Varn.a¯ a´shrama, 159 Varn.a system, 6, 97 Vasant Panchami, 62 Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, 94 Ved¯ angas , 65 Ved¯ anta, 77, 89–91, 93, 96, 154, 179 Ved¯ antic, 81, 91–96, 105, 114, 151, 160, 188 Ved¯ as , 34, 65, 89, 90, 152, 155, 166, 194, 246, 252 Vedic, 182, 189, 226, 238, 241, 254, 268 Vedic culture, 241 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), 255, 259, 263, 272 Vivekananda, Swami, 11, 20, 28, 74–79, 81, 82, 85–93, 95–97, 114, 251, 273 W Well-being, 49, 109, 153, 175, 187, 287, 310

363

Well-known, 141, 142, 239, 278, 320, 321, 329, 334, 345 Well-wisher, 175 West, 6, 20, 31–33, 38–40, 46–48, 51, 63, 67, 74, 78–81, 86, 87, 95, 151, 157, 160, 164, 174, 206, 225, 246, 252, 259, 283–288, 320, 321, 330, 331, 336–339, 341–344 West Asia, 154 Western civilisation, 48, 219, 234, 320 Western culture, 34, 157, 321 Western education, 62, 153, 157, 158, 217, 301, 302, 305 Western idea of nationalism, 69 Western thought, 39, 91, 320 Widow remarriage, 6 Women’s rights, 126, 141 World Parliament of Religion, 77

Y Yoga, 26, 85, 104, 106

Z Zamindar, 219, 229 Zamindari System, 28 Zamindars (Landlords), 28, 38, 226