Social And Political Implications Of Concepts Of Justice And Dharma

The similarity between social and political ideas of Plato and ancient Indian thinkers always attracted the attention of the scholars because both the traditions furnished identical ideological tools to solve the problems of stability and integrity of their societies. Plato and Bhishma in Shantiparva sought to do this by using the concepts of justice and Dharma to regulate social change and to integrate different classes of society. They held that the institute of state played an important role in attaining both social goal and the individual salvation. they agreed that politics should play an important role in attaining higher moral ends as the statesman should not stand for self-aggrandisement but he must perform disinterested action. It is interesting to note that both the traditions encouraged moral heroism against tyranny within the limits of class society. In the ae of relativism, they advocated the cause of morality. Present work is a comprehensive comparative study of concepts of Justice and Dharma in the light of their social and political implications. It is one of the first efforts to critically examine these concepts in the light of their own historical settings. The author adopts a bold theoretical stand projecting specifically Indian stand and analyses both the concepts with clinical detachment. The study is important not only from the perspective of Indian political science, but also from that of the emerging global political science.