Indian politics from Dadabhai Naoroji to Gandhi : a study of the political ideas of modern India

The first question which faces the student of the political philosophy of the Indian national movement is this: Has modern India made any original contribution to political philosophy? Unlike in the West, in modern India, political philosophy was not recognised as a distinct field of knowledge and it had not created an extensive literature. One is, therefore, tempted to answer this question in the negative. Such an answer is correct only as far as the contribution of political scientists is concerned and not that of the leaders of the national movement.¹ As the evolution of national consciousness in India was different. from that of other countries, the Indian leaders were called upon to lead a unique political movement and they reacted to 过 it in a unique way. Their legacy to modern India in the ideological field is the political philosophy of the national movement. As this has not attracted as much attention of the students and scholars as other branches of modern India's political history have done, this is a fertile field for study.
The leaders of modern India were primarily men of action and they did not work out a systematic philosophy. This fact as such, does not reduce the importance of the study of their. philosophy.