Introduction To Modern Indian Political Thought

Modern Indian political thought is one of the fascinating areas of scholarly debates and discussions in contemporary India. It also signifies a shift away from excessive reliance upon Eurocentric views, methods and concepts to study and interpret Indian society and its politics. The major objective of this course is to introduce the students to some of the key modern Indian thinkers and their ideas which helped in shaping the society and politics of modern India.INTENDED AUDIENCE : UG and PG students of Humanities and Social Sciences, Sciences and EngineeringPREREQUISITES : NilINDUSTRY SUPPORT : Nil

Week 1:Introduction to the course: general outline & methods
Week 2:Raja Rammohan Roy: religious reforms, modern education & freedom of press
Week 3: Rabindranath Tagore: nationalism and cosmopolitanism, idea of man
Week 4: Aurobindo Ghosh: self, community and religion
Week 5: Vivekananda: revitalisation of Indian life
Week 6:M. K. Gandhi: Hind swaraj and the critique of modern civilisation, India of his dreams
Week 7:Muhammad Iqbal: community, religion and nation
Week 8:Savarkar: Hinduism and Hindutva
Week 9: Jawahar Lal Nehru: Discovery of India, secularism and Internationalism
Week 10: B. R. Ambedkar: caste, liberal democracy and constitutional morality
Week 11: Pt. Ramabai: gender and caste
Week 12: Lohiya: caste & class, and views on Indian languages