"Western polity conceives of doing away with political parties and creating governments of national unity only in times of war or crisis; India, because of her long tradition of a unity underlying her diversity, should have shown that unity is not a freak phenomenon but a workable basis for new politics."
The current political and social systems being followed in India remain wedded to the older British structures. Concepts such as uncoupling of state and religion, secularism et al are based in Judeo-Christian theology; and where it is not available, these become radically unintelligible.
In the third installment of the series titled "Understanding Political Systems Of India", Dr. Pingali Gopal shares his findings from his study of ancient Indian thinkers such as Kautilya, and modern thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo, and Ananda Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan Tamil philosopher with a deep understanding of Indian culture.
Enlightened monarchies, free citizens, and decentralised political units glued together by spiritual and cultural unity were the essence of political India in the past. Following independence, India’s attempt at decolonization was less than half-hearted; and thinkers such as Sri Aurobindo were categorically ignored.
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