Contemporary Indian Political Thought

Course Type	Course Code	No. Of Credits
Discipline Elective	NA	4

Course team : Ishita Mehrotra and Priyanka Jha

Course description: The course introduces a variety of thinkers and themes that defines the modernity of Indian political thought and aims critically examine some of its characteristic features. It seeks to familiarize students with some of the key themes like nation, caste, federalism,socialism, secularism and popular democracy which will be explored through the seminal works of Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore, Ambedkar, M.N.Roy,Lohia, JP and other contemporary political thinkers.

Topics

Understanding Modern Indian Political Thought
What kind of a Nation? (Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore)
Caste Inequality (Jothiba Phule, Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, B.R.Ambedkar)
Socialism and Distribution of Wealth (Nehru, M.N.Roy, Lohia, J.P. and Communists)
Secularism and its Critique (Gandhi, Savarkar, Jinnah, Thapar, Madan and Bhargava)
Understanding Popular Democracy Readings:
Parel, Anthony J. (ed.) (2002) ‘Introduction’, in Gandhi, Freedom and Self Rule, Delhi: Vistaar Publication
Thorat, Sukhdeo and Aryama (eds) (2007) Ambedkar in Retrospect – Essays on Economics, Politics and Society, Rawat Publications
Thapar, Romila (2010) Is secularism alien to Indian Civilization? In Singh, Aakash & Mohapatra, Silika (ed) Indian Political Thought: A Reader, Routledge
Madan, T.N. (2010) Secularism revisited: doctrine of destiny or political ideology, in Singh, Aakash & Mohapatra, Silika (ed) Indian Political Thought: A Reader, Routledge
Bhargava, Rajeev (2010) The distinctiveness of Indian secularism, in Singh, Aakash & Mohapatra, Silika (ed) Indian Political Thought: A Reader, Routledge