programme

Contemporary Indian Political Thought

Home/ Contemporary Indian Political Thought
Course TypeCourse CodeNo. Of Credits
Foundation CoreCIPT2

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 to 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

Assessment methodology:

There will be at least four assessments which are as follows:

Assesment 1: 20% Class test

Assesment 2: 20% Presentation

Assesment 3: 30% Mid semester exam

Assesment 4: 30% End Semester Exam.