Political Thinkers of Modern India

No people can face the future who neglect the study of their own past. It is only by understanding the aspirations, dreams and fears of the forefathers that a people can hope to make future progress. The author of this book, Adi H. Doctor, who is well known as a serious student of modern Indian thought, seeks to acquaint the readers with the thought and ideals that the thinkers of modern India strove for. The author devotes a chapter to each of the thinkers he considers representative of the three broad strands in modern Indian Political Thought. He devotes a chapter each to Raja Rammohan Roy, Dadabhai Naoroji, B.G. Gokhale and M.G. Ranade who represent the Liberal-Secular-Nationalist Trend in Indian Thought. He also devotes a chapter each to Dayanand Saraswati, Lokmanya Tilak and Sri Aurobindo who represent Cultural Nationalism in Indian Thought. Finally, a chapter each is devoted to Jotiba Rao Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar as representative spokesmen of the Dalit movement. The book goes beyond nearly presenting and analysing the thought of these thinkers and seeks to create a commitment to the values these thinkers strove to achieve in their lifetime.

Adi H. Doctor (b. 1936), M.A., Ph.D. is well known as serious student of modern India thought. His doctoral dissertation on Sarvodaya was published in 1967. Another book, JP’ Total Revolution: An Exercise in Utopia was published in 1987. His other publications include Issues in Political Theory (1985) and numerous articles in various academic journals like the Indian Journals of Political Science, Indian Journal of Social Science, Journals of the University of Bombay, the Maharshi Dayanand University Research Journal, New Quest, Radical Humanist etc. Adi H. Doctor has taught at Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Centre of Post-Graduate Instruction & Research of the University of Bombay and Panaji, Goa, and Goa University. He is presently Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Goa University. Adi H. Doctor has lectured at various Indian Universities. In 1989 he paid an “academic visit” to Czechoslovakia, sponsored by the UGC under its Indo-Czech Cultural Exchange Programme.