Political ideas and movements in India

An attempt has been made here to present a connected and integrated story of the growth and development of Indian political ideas and movements, to trace these ideas and movements to their historical roots and to present them against their economic background.
In the early years there was one trend of thought which stimulated the spirit of constitutionalism and liberalism and there was yet another trend which led to extremism and militant nationalism. So far as the moderates or constitutionalists are concerned they were immersed in English constitutional theories and ideas of representative government and they sought to attain their objec tive of liberalization of the government and Indianization of the services by gradualist and constitutional means. They believed in evolution and admired the practical Cavour even more than the revolutionary Mazzini. They agreed wholeheartedly with Burke's denunciation of the excesses of the French revolution, and they had a greater horror for the Reign of Terror than admiration for the fall of the Bastille.