UGC NET Political Science Indian Political Thought Syllabus

How is Tilak's brand of nationalism characterized, and to which Congress faction did he belong?

Aggressive/extremist (militant) nationalism; he was a leader of the Extremists (Garam Dal) and part of the 'Lal-Bal-Pal' trio (with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal).

Which festivals and newspapers did Tilak use to spread nationalist consciousness?

He popularized Ganapati and Shivaji festivals for mass mobilization and ran the newspapers 'Kesari' (Marathi) and 'Mahratta' (English).

What was the core of Swami Vivekananda's philosophy linking spirituality and society?

Practical Vedanta and 'Daridra Narayana' — service to humanity (especially the poor) as worship of God; spiritual strength and self-confidence as the foundation of national regeneration.

What organization did Swami Vivekananda found, and on what ideal of service?

The Ramakrishna Mission (1897), based on the ideal of 'Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha' — for one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world, combining renunciation with social service.

What was Vivekananda's view on politics versus spiritual nationalism?

He avoided direct party politics but inspired nationalism through spiritual self-confidence, calling for a 'man-making' education and the awakening of India's masses as the basis of true freedom.

What was Rabindranath Tagore's stance on nationalism?

He was critical of aggressive, organized Western-style nationalism, viewing it as a 'machine' that subordinates humanity to the state; he favored universal humanism over narrow nationalism.

How did Tagore conceptualize true freedom and his ideal of 'the religion of man'?

Freedom as inner moral and creative liberty plus universal human unity ('Visva-Bharati' — where the world meets in one nest), transcending political boundaries; he renounced his knighthood after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

What is Gandhi's principle of 'Satyagraha'?

Literally 'holding firmly to truth' — a method of non-violent resistance to injustice through self-suffering, soul-force (satya + agraha), aiming to convert the opponent rather than coerce or defeat them.

What does 'Ahimsa' mean in Gandhi's thought, and how is it related to truth?

Ahimsa is non-violence — refraining from harm in thought, word, and deed, rooted in love. For Gandhi, Ahimsa is the means and Truth (Satya) is the end; the two are inseparable.

Name the key techniques of Gandhian Satyagraha.

Non-cooperation, civil disobedience, fasting (upvas/hartal), picketing, and constructive programme — all conducted non-violently.

What did Gandhi mean by 'Sarvodaya' and 'Trusteeship'?

Sarvodaya means 'welfare/upliftment of all'; Trusteeship is the idea that the wealthy should hold their surplus wealth as trustees for the welfare of society, voluntarily redistributing it without class conflict.

What is Gandhi's concept of the ideal society 'Ram Rajya' and 'Swaraj'?

Ram Rajya is an ideal stateless, self-regulating society based on moral authority and justice; Swaraj means self-rule — both political independence and self-discipline/self-mastery, rooted in village self-sufficiency (Gram Swaraj).

What is Sri Aurobindo's concept central to his political and spiritual vision?

Spiritual nationalism — he regarded the nation (Bharat Mata) as a living divine Mother (Shakti), and saw Indian independence as a spiritual mission, not merely political. (Note: 'Integral Humanism' as a coined term is Deendayal Upadhyaya's; Aurobindo's system is called Integral Yoga / Integralism.)

What was Sri Aurobindo's view on passive resistance and his early political role?

As an extremist leader he advocated complete independence (Purna Swaraj), boycott, and passive resistance through his journal 'Bande Mataram', before withdrawing to Pondicherry for spiritual life.

What is the 'Self-Respect Movement' and who founded it?

A movement founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in 1925 in Tamil Nadu to achieve dignity and equality for non-Brahmins and lower castes by rejecting Brahminical dominance, caste, and superstition.

What were Periyar's main reform targets and ideas?

He attacked the caste system, untouchability, Brahmin priesthood, and gender inequality; he promoted rationalism, atheism, women's rights, self-respect (non-religious) marriages, and Dravidian identity.

What is Muhammad Iqbal best known for in political thought?

His 1930 Allahabad Address to the Muslim League, where he proposed a consolidated Muslim-majority state in north-west India — an early articulation of the demand that led to Pakistan.

What philosophical concepts did Iqbal develop relating to the individual and community?

'Khudi' (selfhood/ego — development of the individual self) and the importance of the 'Millat' (the universal Muslim community/Ummah) over territorial nationalism.

Who was M. N. Roy and what was his early international contribution?

Manabendra Nath Roy — founder of the Communist Party of Mexico and a co-founder of the Communist Party of India; he debated Lenin at the 2nd Comintern Congress (1920) on the colonial/national question.

What political philosophy did M. N. Roy develop after breaking with Communism?

'Radical Humanism' (New Humanism) — emphasizing individual freedom, reason, and morality over class dictatorship, and 'Party-less Democracy' organized through local people's committees.

What was M. N. Roy's disagreement with Lenin at the Comintern?

Lenin favored alliance with bourgeois nationalist movements in colonies; Roy argued communists should support the revolutionary peasant-worker masses directly rather than the national bourgeoisie.

What is 'Hindutva' as defined by V. D. Savarkar?

In his 1923 book 'Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?', Savarkar defined it as a cultural-political identity: a Hindu is one for whom India is both Pitribhumi (fatherland) and Punyabhumi (holy land).

What are the three essentials ('the three pillars') of Savarkar's Hindutva?

A common Nation (Rashtra) / geographical unity, a common Race/blood (Jati), and a common Civilization/culture (Sanskriti) — geography, race, and culture.

What was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's role in the framing of the Indian Constitution?

He served as Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly and is regarded as the chief architect ('Father') of the Indian Constitution.

Which constitutional provision did Ambedkar call 'the heart and soul of the Constitution'?

Article 32 — the right to constitutional remedies, which guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.

What were Ambedkar's core social-political ideals?

Annihilation of caste; the trinity of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity; social democracy as the basis of political democracy; and safeguards for Dalits/Depressed Classes through constitutional reservation.

What was Jawaharlal Nehru's vision for modern India, summarized in his key 'isms'?

Democracy, secularism, socialism (a 'socialistic pattern of society' via mixed economy and Five-Year Plans), scientific temper, and non-alignment in foreign policy.

What was Nehru's concept of a 'scientific temper' and the 'temples of modern India'?

Scientific temper is a rational, evidence-based, questioning attitude he wished to instill nationally; he called large dams, steel plants, and scientific institutions the 'temples of modern India.'

What was Ram Manohar Lohia's distinctive socialist ideal?

A non-Marxist, decentralized 'Indian socialism' emphasizing small-unit technology, the principle of immediate equality, and his theory of 'Saptakranti' (Seven Revolutions) against all forms of inequality.

What are the targets of Lohia's 'Saptakranti' (Seven Revolutions)?

Against inequality of: man-woman; caste/colour; colonial domination; private capital; foreign aggression/for world government; for civil liberties (against unjust encroachment); and against possessions/private property — pursued non-violently (Satyagraha).

What movement is Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) most associated with?

The 'Total Revolution' (Sampoorna Kranti) / JP Movement of 1974–75 — a mass anti-corruption agitation against the Indira Gandhi government that became a key trigger for the 1975 Emergency.

What is JP's concept of 'Total Revolution' and his earlier idea of 'partyless democracy'?

Total Revolution is a combination of seven revolutions (social, economic, political, cultural, ideological, educational, spiritual) to transform society. He earlier advocated 'Sarvodaya' and partyless 'Communitarian democracy' built on village panchayats.

Who propounded 'Integral Humanism' (Ekatma Manavavad) and when?

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, in a series of lectures in 1965; it became the official ideological doctrine of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (and later the BJP).

What is the central idea of Deendayal Upadhyaya's Integral Humanism?

An integrated, holistic view of the individual (body, mind, intellect, soul) and society as an organic whole, rejecting both Western capitalism and Marxist socialism in favour of indigenous (Bharatiya/dharma-based) development.

What are the key concepts of 'Chiti' and 'Antyodaya' in Deendayal Upadhyaya's thought?

'Chiti' is the innate soul/national essence (the fundamental nature of a nation); 'Antyodaya' is the upliftment of the last/poorest person, the true measure of progress.

How did Gandhi's view of nationalism differ from Tilak's?

Tilak pursued aggressive/militant political nationalism ('Swaraj is my birthright'), while Gandhi grounded nationalism in non-violence, truth, and moral/spiritual self-purification with mass non-violent struggle.

Contrast Tagore's and Gandhi's positions on machinery and modern civilization.

Gandhi (in Hind Swaraj) rejected modern industrial civilization and machinery in favour of village self-sufficiency and charkha; Tagore was more open to science and reason, criticizing Gandhi's charkha cult while sharing humanist concerns.

Compare the social-origin theories of kingship in the Dharmashastra versus the Aggannasutta.

Dharmashastra (e.g., Manu) tends toward a divine-origin/divinely-ordained king created to prevent matsyanyaya; the Buddhist Aggannasutta gives a consent-based, elective (Mahasammata) social-contract origin without divine sanction.

Contrast M. N. Roy's Radical Humanism with Marxist communism.

Marxism emphasizes class struggle, economic determinism, and proletarian dictatorship; Roy's Radical Humanism centers the free, rational individual, moral values, and decentralized party-less democracy, rejecting collectivist dictatorship.

Contrast Iqbal's 'Millat'-based identity with Tagore's universal humanism.

Iqbal grounded identity in the religious community (Millat/Ummah) and a separate Muslim homeland; Tagore rejected narrow nationalism and religious-political boundaries in favour of universal human unity (the religion of man).