Encyclopaedia of Eminent Thinkers: The Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi

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There are many Indian thinkers who have contributed a great deal to the political thought of the country. In these initial 10 volumes, an effort has been made to bring together keen players and their significant contributions to the political thought of India in an unbiased way. The authors included in this series are giants by themselves in the socio- political arena of the country. The set provides an insight and critical evaluation of the political thinkers. A significant attempt has been made in this book to make a comprehensive study of the Political Thought of Gandhi. To understand fully the implications of Gandhi's ideas is a tremendous task. The author in this book makes an honest endeavour to present his view in a lucid manner. It studies in detail: Life and Work of Gandhi, Influences on Gandhi, On Leadership, On Religion, On Stateless Society and Satyagraha in South Africa. This book is a treasure for all teachers, scholars and students of Political Science, Gandhian Thought, History, Sociology and Social Work; all university, college, legislative, judicial, public and other libraries in India and abroad and for all those interested in the study of Political Science. In nut-shell, this book will be of great importance to all.

K.S. Bharathi did his Master's Degree in Gandhian Thought, Peace-Science, Economics, and Political Science. He also did Postgraduate Diplomas in Politics, Public Administration, Population Dynamics, Gandhian Thought, Tourism, and Telugu. He has contributed some articles in learned journals. He is the author of Foundations of 'Gandhian Thought; Gandhi and Humanity, Socio- Religious Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi; The Philosophy of Sarvodaya; The Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi; Gandhi and Nehru; Foundations of Ambedkar Thought; The Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi; Gandhian Approach to Rural Development; The Relevance of Gandhi; Gandhi and Vinoba, The Philosophical Foundations of Gandhian Thought; The Political Thought of Gandhi; The Economic Thought of Gandhi: The Social Thought of Gandhi and The Quintessence and Chronology of Gandhi. At present, he is the Head of the Postgraduate Department of Gandhian Thought of Nagpur University. He is the Chairman of the Board of Studies of Gandhian Thought, member of the Academic Council, member of the Faculty of Social Sciences, member of the Board of Examination and member of the Doctoral Research Committee of Nagpur University.

Gandhiji's political concepts possess a variety of meanings ranging from religious purity to political expediency, but he was neither a pure absolutist nor a mere opportunist in his interpretations of the terms he used. It would be a failure to grasp the man or his ethical preoccupations to explain away his concepts entirely in terms of political expediency. He certainly evolved his concepts and elaborated them in the context of practical problems that he faced as a politician and social worker.

Gandhiji's claim to be regarded as a political thinker lies in that he did give an account of the nature of political activity, presented a relationship between the activity and the moral nature of man, and gave a sketch of a set of criteria for the judgement of politics. But none of these attempts can be understood without descending into the depths of what Romain Rolland called the vast religious crypt below the edifice of his moral and political thought.

The life and works of Gandhi has been covered in the first chapter. Influences on Gandhi has been analysed in the second chapter. Leadership, Religion, and Stateless Society have been discussed in the next three chapters. Satyagraha in South Africa has been covered in the last chapter.

I would like to place on record my indebtedness to scholars and thinkers whose ideas enabled me to bring out this book. I gratefully acknowledge the scholars from whose works I have drawn citations viz. Dr. Gopinath Dhawan, Dr. Bimal Prasad, Dr. Bali, Dr. Saroj Malik, Dr. Raghavan Iyer, Dr. Datta, Dr. Lal Khanna and Dr. W.E. Milhmann. Besides I have made use of Gandhiji's own writings and related literature.

So far as the writing of this book is concerned whatever success I have achieved is due to the relentless efforts and encouragement of my friend, Dr. P.S.G. Kumar, Head, Department of Library and Information Science, Nagpur University. I express my sincere gratitude to him.

I express my sincere thanks to Shri P.N. Hardas and Shri S.T. Patale for their help and cooperation provided to me in the completion of this work.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages