Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations of Modern India

by Ananya Vajpeyi

What India's founders derived from Western political traditions as they struggled to free their country from colonial rule is widely understood. Less well-known is how India's own rich knowledge traditions of two and a half thousand years influenced these men as they set about constructing a nation in the wake of the Raj. In "Righteous Republic," Ananya Vajpeyi furnishes this missing account, a ground-breaking assessment of modern Indian political thought. Taking five of the most important founding figures--Mohandas Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru, and B. R. Ambedkar--Vajpeyi looks at how each of them turned to classical texts in order to fashion an original sense of Indian selfhood. The diverse sources in which these leaders and thinkers immersed themselves included Buddhist literature, the "Bhagavad Gita," Sanskrit poetry, the edicts of Emperor Ashoka, and the artistic and architectural achievements of the Mughal Empire. India's founders went to these sources not to recuperate old philosophical frameworks but to invent new ones. In "Righteous Republic," a portrait emerges of a group of innovative, synthetic, and cosmopolitan thinkers who succeeded in braiding together two Indian knowledge traditions, the one political and concerned with social questions, the other religious and oriented toward transcendence.

Within their vast intellectual, aesthetic, and moral inheritance, the founders searched for different aspects of the self that would allow India to come into its own as a modern nation-state. The new republic they envisaged would embody both India's struggle for sovereignty and its quest for the self.

Genres: India, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Asia

361 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2012

Reviews

[Revanth Ukkalam]

The book, adorably ambitious and with its heart in the right place, is a deeply flawed book. First, as critical reviews have all asked, why only these five? And in particular why Abanindranath - what has been his impact? Sure sovereignty may be allowed to be located in the individual but does the feudalism of India justify this move? How much do the thinkers in the book anticipate only their own sovereignty? Also, if the self is the site of sovereignty, why republic? If Republic should not the Constituent Assembly debates have been a key source in this project? Also, where are the Hindu Nationalists????
The book is very sound on Gandhi and weakest on Ambedkar. Why? Of course Buddhism is a preoccupation and the very life of Ambedkar but inspiration means sustained engagement and in a far more serious light than is seen in Ambedkar.
The book would have worked better if the author tried to enliven the canvas with the headaches of these figures in making their Anglophone Westernised selves coherent with their Indic influences.

[Rohit Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

– In her book, Ananya Vajpeyi retraces the field of modern Indian political thought to analyse the answers offered by five canonical figures on the notion of Swaraj in the post-colonial India. Gandhi’s epic life and struggle is understood through ahimsa, Nehru’s life as both a rebel and a leader is interpreted through dharma and artha, Ambedkar’s conception of dukka as a social suffering that had to be overcome, Tagore’s yearning for a past that is beyond reach, explained as the viraha that defines modern India’s relation to its previous past. However, the beauty of the book lies in the way it explores its sources- drawing inspiration from ancient rulers, texts, aesthetics to art and architecture. It is a prolific and path-breaking contribution in Indian intellectual tradition. However, the book is also based on inference drawn from diverse source which may be complex to readers at times.

[M.M. Sasi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deals with many basic issues concerning Indian nationality and nationalism. It is very good since its prospects lead a reader to raise new questions as well as to find answers for those who remain unanswered on its subjects. The viewpoint of Dr Ambedkar and Rabindranath Tagore invite more attention since they bring clarity to the reader to rationalize to reach a conclusion of his/her own, unless the reader is contaminated by the rigidity of own version.

[Aniket Patil · Rating 4 out of 5]

truely enjoyable and informative on the topic of my interest.

[Apurva Takle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting book, chapters on Gandhi, Nehru are quite insightful and really shows a glimpse into the probably questions these founding fathers were grappling with. While the chapter on Ambedkar is also good and almost a bit painful to read, would have loved to understand if there was an alternative side to it.
Unfortunately chapters on Tagore's felt like an overreach and some how you can not clearly identify with what the author is trying to convey.
Maybe not for everyone.

[Vinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is the India today much different from the India that was perceived to be?

[Razi Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine book that makes some pressing observations about the men who would come to define modern Indian politics. Ananya Vajpayi looks into how each of the five figures in her study, Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore, Abanindranath Tagore, and Ambedkar, conceptualized modernity, and the self. Gandhi’s epic life and struggle is understood through ahimsa, Nehru’s life as both a rebel and a leader is interpreted through dharma and artha, Ambedkar’s conception of dukka as a social suffering that had to be overcome, Tagore’s yearning for a past that is beyond reach, explained as the viraha that defines modern India’s relation to its previous past. By interpreting these thinkers, refreshingly through Indian political traditions, the author provides fascinating insights, giving the reader much to think upon.