Makers of Modern India

560 Pages·2010·16.34 MB·English

by  Ramachandra Guha

ALSO BY RAMACHANDRA GUHA
The Unquiet Woods:
Ecological Change and Peasant Resistance in the Himalaya
Savaging the Civilized:
Verrier Elwin, His Tribals, and India
Environmentalism:
A Global History
The Use and Abuse of Nature (with Madhav Gadgil)
An Anthropologist among the Marxists and Other Essays
The Last Liberal and Other Essays
A Comer of a Foreign Field:
The Indian History of a British Sport
India After Gandhi:
The History of the World’s Largest Democracy
Makers o f
M o d e r n India
Edited and Introduced by
Ramachandra Guha
PENGUIN
VIKING
VIKING
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First published in Viking by Penguin Books India 2010
Copyright © Ramachandra Guha 2010
Page 538 is an extension of the copyright page.
All rights reserved
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The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors’ and editor’s own and the
facts are as reported by them which have been verified to the extent possible, and the
publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
ISBN 9780670083855
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To the selfless tribe of librarians and archivists— and in particular to
Dr N. Balakrishnan of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

CONTENTS
PROLOGUE: THINKING THROUGH INDIA
PART I: THE OPENING OF THE INDIAN MIND
INTRODUCTION TO PART I
THE FIRST LIBERAL: RAMMOHAN ROY
Relations between Men and Women
The Freedom of the Press
The Need for Modem Education
PART II: REFORMERS AND RADICALS
INTRODUCTION TO PART II
THE MUSLIM MODERNIST: SYED AHMAD KHAN
Educating the Muslims
A Modem Curriculum
The Two Eyes of India
Politics and Discord
THE AGRARIAN RADICAL: JOTIRAO PHULE
Educating the Masses
The Condition of the Peasantry
THE LIBERAL REFORMER: GOPAL KRISHNA GOKHALE
Elevating the Depressed Classes
On Hindu—Muslim Cooperation
A Call to Service
5. THE MILITANT NATIONALIST: BAL GANGADHAR TILAK 115
The Need for a National Hero
The Necessity for a Militant Nationalism
6. THE SUBALTERN FEMINIST: TARABAI SHINDE 129
A Comparison of Men and Women
PART III: NURTURING A NATION
INTRODUCTION TO PART III 143
7. THE MULTIPLE AGENDAS OF M.K. GANDHI 148
The Power of Non-Violence
Non-Cooperation with the Raj
The Abolition of Untouchability
Hindu—Muslim Unity and Inter-Faith Dialogue
The Position of Women
8. THE ROOTED COSMOPOLITAN: RABINDRANATH TAGORE 185
India and the West
The Excesses of Nationalism
The Problem with Non-Cooperation
9. THE ANNIHILATOR OF CASTE: B.R. AMBEDKAR 204
The Revolution against Caste
How to Annihilate Caste
Why the Untouchables Distrust Gandhi
10. THE MUSLIM SEPARATIST: MUHAMMAD AH JINN AH 228
The Steps towards a Muslim Nation
11. THE RADICAL REFORMER: E.V. RAMASWAMI 242
The Fraud of Religion
On the Rights of Widows
The Case for Contraception
The Constraints of Marriage
12. THE SOCIALIST FEMINIST: KAMALADEVI CHATTOPADHYAY 263
The Women’s Movement in Perspective
A Socialist View of the Communal Question
13. THE RENEWED AGENDAS OF M.K. GANDHI 281
Revisiting Nationalism
Revisiting Caste
Revisiting Hindu—Muslim Cooperation
Village Renewal and Political Decentralization
PART IV: DEBATING DEMOCRACY
INTRODUCTION TO PART IV 309
14. THE WISE dem ocrat: B.R. AMBEDKAR 313
The Indian Constitution Defended and Interpreted
15. THE MULTIPLE AGENDAS OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU 326
The Treatment of Minorities
On Planning and Economic Policy
Asia Redux
India in the World
The Conflict with China
The Rights of Women
16. THE HINDU SUPREMACIST: M.S. GOLWALKAR 370
The Hindu Nation and Its Enemies
The Muslim Threat
Not Socialism but Hindu Rashtra
17. THE INDIGENOUS SOCIALIST: RAMMANOHAR LOHIA 385
Caste and Class
Banish English
18. THE GRASS-ROOTS SOCIALIST: JAYAPRAKASH NARAYAN 404
A Plea for Political Decentralization
The Tragedy of Tibet
A Fair Deal for Kashmir
The Question of Nagaland
19. THE GANDHIAN LIBERAL: C. RAJAGOPALACHARI 434
Our Democracy
Wanted: Independent Thinking