Indian Political Thought - I

By Dr. Jhumpa Mukherjee | St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Learners enrolled: 82

The course aims to familiarize students with the various intellectual traditions of the Indian sub-continent prevalent from the Vedic period to the Muslim period of rule in India. The focus of the study will be to understand the core concepts of statecraft, kingship, law and order, administration, diplomacy, foreign affairs, Justice, Governance as laid down in the important literary texts. It would also bring in the contemporary relevance of the political principles enunciated centuries ago. The course will help students to develop a critical understanding of the major themes and issues such as community, state, kinship, culture religion as perceived by different thinkers. A student would be able to understand and appreciate the 4 main streams of pre-modern Indian thought which are (a) Brahmanic tradition (b) Shramanic tradition (c) Islamic tradition and (d) Syncretic tradition.

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	16 weeks
Category :	Political Science
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	14 Jul 2025
End Date :	31 Oct 2025
Enrollment Ends :	31 Aug 2025
Exam Date :
Translation Languages :	English
NCrF Level	5.5

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1 :

1. Literary Sources of Ancient Indian Political thought

2. Nature of Hindu Political Thought

3. Idea of dharma

4. Idea of state and kingship

Week 2 :

5. Fundamental Concepts in Ancient Indian Political thought

6. Brahmanic tradition: Origin and features

7. Shramanic thought: Features

8. Principles of Syncretism in Hinduism and Islam

Week 3 :

9. Buddhism: Concept of Dhamma

10. Buddhist principles of statecraft

11. Origin of the State: State of Nature

12. Origin of the State: The Social Contract

Week 4 :

13. Theory of Kingship in Digha Nikaya

14. Political Philosophy in the Mahabharata

15. The Shantiparva: origin and Nature of state

16. Rajadharma In Shantiparva

Week 5 :

17. Dandaniti in Shantiparva

18. Politics Ethics and Good Governance in the Mahabharata

19. Manusmriti Introducing the text

20. Dharma in Manusmriti

Week 6 :

21. Rajdharma in Manusmriti

22. Principles of Government in Manusmriti

23. Manusmriti principles of social organization

24. Manusmriti code of laws

Week 7 :

25. Introducing Kabir

26. Kabir’s views on Socio-religious dogmas

27. Syncretism in Kabir’s Bijak : Universal humanism

28. Syncretism in Kabir’s Bijak : Monotheism and religious toleration

Week 8 :

29. Syncretism in Kabir’s Bijak : Economic inequalities, livelihood and property

30. Arthashastra: Introducing the text

31. Saptanga Theory of Kautilya

32. Kautilya's Dandaniti

Week 9 :

33. Kautilya: Diplomacy and Mandala theory

34. Kautilya: Principles of Foreign Policy

35. Arthashastra as a manual of good governance

36. Kautilya and Machiavelli : Comparison

Week 10 :

37. Medieval India: State, Society and Religion

38. Features of Islamic thought

39. The State during the Delhi Sultanate

40. Fatwa –i-Jahandari: Analysing the text

Week 11 :

41. Barani's ideas in Kingship

42. Barani: Bureaucracy, Law and Administration

43. The state during the Mughal rule

Week 12 :

44. Abul Fazl: Kingship and Sovereignty

45. Abul Fazl: Social Organization

46. Abul Fazl: Religion and State

Week 13 :

47. Akbar’s ideas on justice and toleration

48. Abul Fazl: Administration and Governance

49. Idea of welfare State in Ancient India

Week 14 :

50. Financial Administration in Ancient India

51. Law and Justice in Ancient India

52. Polity and Administration in Ancient India

Week 15 :

53. International Relations in Hindu And Buddhist Political Thought

54. Comparative Study of State in Hindu And Buddhist Tradition

Week 16 :

55. A Comparative Study of The Nature Of The State in Ancient And Medieval Indian Political Thought

56. Political Obligation in Western And Indian Political Thought

Books and references

1. V.P.Varma, Studies in Hindu Political thought and its Metaphysical Foundations, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1991.

2. D.M.Brown, The White Umbrella, Indian Political Thought-From Manu to Gandhi, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1954.

3. Charles Drekmeier, Kingship and Community in Early India, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1962.

4. V.R. Mehta, Foundations of Indian Political Thought, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2008.

Instructor bio

Dr. Jhumpa Mukherjee

St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata

Jhumpa Mukherjee (Gold Medalist), PhD is Assistant Professor of Political Science at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. She is the author of Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies: The Indian Experience (Sage Publications, New Delhi and London 2014) and The World of Human Rights (Concept Publications, New Delhi 2014). She has contributed chapters in edited books and has published articles on contemporary social and political issues in national and international journals and has participated in national and international conferences. Her areas of research interest include Indian Politics, Comparative federalism and human rights.