Nationalist movement
- Berkeley University of California 1961
- 244p.
IN AN EARLIER ANALYSIS of the Indian political tradi- tion published under the title The White Umbrella -Indian Political Thought from Manu to Gandhi, I dealt in large part with the carly periods and philo- sophic roots of India. This sequel is concerned with recent and contemporary events. But the two differ in more than chronology, though there is some over- lapping in the periods covered. More important, The White Umbrella was an interpretation of Hindu theory as it developed in Indian history, whereas The Nationalist Movement is an account of how that theory helped to meet the crises of modern India crises that were precipitated by the inroads of Western culture and by the struggle for independence. While I have again chosen to build around a frame- work of the life and thought of leading Indian per- sonalities, there is this difference: Manu, Vyasa, Vivekananda, Ghose were primarily theorists; Gok- hale, Tilak, Lajpat Rai, Nehru are primarily states- men or men of political action, although their writ- ings are often profound. The decision to include certain figures and to omit others is always a matter for debate; this is especially true in choosing repre- sentative men from the latter group. Nonetheless, I am confident that the figures selected for treatment in this book are indeed central to the Nationalist movement in India and embody its chief aspects.