INDIAN POLITICAL

THOUGHT

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 M.K GANDHI
1. Gandhiji translated Plato’s republic into Gujarati.
2. To quote him,”I could not be leading a religious life ,unless I was identified myself with
the whole of mankind , and I could not do so unless I took part in politics”
3. Gandhiji did not want to exchange ‘king of log for king of stork’.
4. Gandhiji gave a deeper meaning for Swaraj. The word Swaraj is a sacred word, a Vedic
word, meaning self-rule and self-restraint and not freedom from all restraint which
independence often means’
5. Gandhiji’s Swaraj had economic, social, political and international (based on
interdependence) connotations.
6. Gandhi returned to India in 1915.
7. Tagore welcomed him in 1915 to his University at Shantiniketan and it is there that for
the first time he was addressed as ‘Mahatma’.
8. In 1915, he established Sabarmati Ashram and in 1916 he joined Indian National
Congress.
9. According to him, ‘Politics without religion is a death trap because it kills human soul”.
10. Hijarat means a voluntary exile from one’s own permanent place of residence.
11. The concept of Sarvodaya is the original contribution of Gandhiji which he coined in
1904 on being influenced by John Ruskin’s ‘Unto this last’.
12. Gandhi wrote, ‘I live for India’s freedom and would die for it’.
13. Indian Opinion-Newspaper by Gandhiji.
14. Gandhiji termed state as a machine without souls.

M.N ROY
1. M.N Roy had the unique distinction of having worked with Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin.
2. He has written a six thousand page book, ‘The philosophical consequences of modern
science’
3. His book, “Reason, Romanticism and Revolution” is a significant contribution to
political thought.
4. In his book, ‘Russian revolution’, he regarded the Russian revolution as ‘a fluke of
history’.
5. He founded the Communist Party of Mexico in1918.
6. He started a journal called “Vanguard of Indian Independence”
7. For the cause of individual freedom he developed the theory of Radical humanism.
8. He considered freedom as a biological problem rather than a political one.
9. MN Roy was against the inclusion of religion in educational schemes as it would lead
to intellectual tyranny.
10. He came up with the idea of radical or organised democracy. For implementation of
organised democracy he prepared a model constitution for the country. He called it
as ‘Constitution of free India’.
11. He wrote the pamphlet ‘Lessons of the Lahore congress’.

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12. M.N Roy denounced the role of power hungry political parties and argued for scientific
politics in the state.
13. 3 phases of Roy’s life-Revolutionary Nationalist, Radical Marxist and Neo Humanist
14. Future of Indian Politics, India in Transition, One Year of non-cooperation from
Ahmedabad to Gaya, Neo-Humanism: A Manifesto (1947) etc are his important
books
15. Michael Barodin inspired him for becoming a communist in Mexico.
AUROBINDO GHOSH
1. Aurobindo Ghosh wrote series of articles in the ‘Indu Prakash’ of Pune under the title
‘New lamps for Old’ and severely criticised the politics of petitions and prayers of the
moderate leaders.
2. Aurobindo said that Swaraj, Swadeshi, national education and boycott were four
methods of the new party that he launched along with Lal-Bal-Pal.
3. According to him Indian village was the backbone of national persistence. Therefore,
regeneration of the village was important for the regeneration of India.
4. Aurobindo thought that the method of passive resistance which was used by the Irish
nationalists, would be ideal for India.
5. He developed the theory of passive resistance in a series of articles published in the
weekly called Bande Mataram.
6. Aurobindo said,’ Terrorism might perish of inanition, coercion was its food’.
7. He added almost a religious fervour to Indian nationalism by identifying mother India
with ‘Shakti’ or power of the Indian people.
8. Aurobindo claimed that Indian theory of state building was superior to the western
theory of state building.
9. Romain Rolland viewed him as ‘the prince among the Indian thinkers’.
10. It is a remarkable coincidence of time that Indian got her independence on the same
day 75 years after his birth.
11. Lord Minto had described Aurobindo as ‘the most dangerous man of India’.
12. He viewed Indian dependence in terms of Mother (India) in chains.
13. Aurobindo was the first Indian to use the word Independence instead of Swaraj.
14. Aurobindo regarded Kali as the directing force of spirit. It is due to the spiritual order
or direction of kali that historical movements like Indian national movement and
French revolution occurred.
15. According to him, ‘India awakes not for herself but for humanity’.
16. He wrote the book, ‘The ideal of Human Unity’.
17. According to him, in the final stage of evolution man moves from mind to super mind
to realise Sachidananda (Supreme reality).
18. Rejecting Bentham’s principle of ‘greatest happiness of greatest numbers’, Aurobindo
stressed on ‘good of all’.
19. According to him, ‘War cannot be controlled by reducing army and armaments but by
saddling and controlling the national ego.
20. To him, state was nothing other than a machine which has no heart and humanity.
21. Aurobindo emphasised on spiritual evolution of man and society.

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22. Aurobindo considered the Indian freedom struggle against the British as a
‘Dharamayudh’ against the British.
23. He talks about Neo-Vedantavad and Spiritual Nationalism
24. From 1910, he became a yogi.
25. His books include The life divine, Essays on Geeta, Synthesis of Yoga and Savitri

JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN
1. JP’s concept of Total Revolution is a holistic one. He used this term for the first time in
a British magazine called The Times in 1969.
2. The concept of Total Revolution as enunciated by JP is a confluence of his ideas on
seven revolutions i.e., social, economic, political, cultural, ideological and intellectual,
educational and spiritual.
3. JP said, ’Poliltics is not for saints. But politics at least under democracy must know the
limits which it may not cross.
4. J.P’s concept of socialism was known as people’s socialism (sarvodaya).
5. J.P was a staunch advocate of party-less and participating democracy.
6. To him, the political parties were just like the brokers between the people and
government and were responsible for all evils in the society.
7. JP propounded a sound system of party-less democracy.
8. He wrote ‘Prison Diary’ while in Jail 1975-77.
9. JP considered caste as the biggest party in India.
10. His books include Socialism, Sarvodaya and Democracy A plea for reconstruction of
Indian Polity, Why Socialism.

V.D SAVARKAR
1. From European philosophical tradition Savarkar borrowed three important ideas,
 In nature and in all human societies, the principle of life struggle determined
the course of action.
 Man should acquire strength and power to overcome the problem he faced.
 There was no absolute morality in the world.
2. Savarkar was a supporter of cultural nationalism.
3. Savarkar held that nation was a cultural category but state was a political category.
4. Savarkar was the first Indian thinker who declared that Hindus formed separate nation
in India.
5. According to him 1857 revolt was the “first struggle for independence”
6. He was the founder of Abhinav Bharat.

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 B.R AMBEDKAR
1. Government of India observed the year 1991 as, ‘the year of social justice’.
2. During his lifetime he had accepted kabir, Jyotiba Phooley and Buddha as his three
preceptors.
3. Autobiography of Ambedkar is Waiting for Visa
4. He published Marathi paper, Mook Nayak.
5. He said, “Even I am born a Hindu will not die a Hindu”.
6. Education was the first constituent of Ambedkar’s captivate slogan, “Educate,
Organise and Agitate’.
7. He said, “On January 26, 1950 we are going to enter into a life a contradictions. In
politics we will have equality and in social and economic life will have inequality.
8. Ambedkar founded Independent Labour Party in 1936 to part in 1937 elections. He
transformed ILO to All India Scheduled Caste Federation in 1942.

KAUTILYA
1. He proposed 1/10 as tax.
2. He supported absolute monarchy like Hobbes
3. He talks about 18 administrative department.
4. He talks about 4 kinds of courts.

SHANTI PARV
1. There are 18 parts in Mahabharat.Shanti Parv is the 12th part.
2. It believes in organic theory of state.
3. It believes in the combination of social contract+Divin rights

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