Philosophy in Modern India
Vijendra Singh
PHILOSOPHY AND INDIA: ANCESTORS, OUTSIDERS, AND PREDECESSORS by A. Raghurama Raju Oxford University Press, 2014, 152 pp., 495
June 2014, volume 38, No 6

In the early twentieth century, K.C. Bhattacharyya underlining the cultural enslavement of India proposed that it is in philosophy, if anywhere, that the soul of India could be discovered. For him philosophy is not merely any other subject, but constitutes the foundation of Indian civilization. It is in the light of this stated expectation and the distinct relationship between philosophy and India, that the book takes into account the state of contemporary Indian philosophy. Indeed, it critically examines the writings of key Indian philosophers with the purpose of seeking clarity regarding the challenges looming ahead. Identifying the major shortcomings in the writings of modern Indian philosophers, the book argues that despite the historically privileged status and role, philosophy in modern India has failed to make a mark and to live up to the stated expectation. One central reason the book identifies is, ‘Philosophers in India, while preoccupied with their ancestors and outsiders, did not in the first place recognize the possibilities made available by their predecessors’ (p. 119). It avers that in its enthusiasm with the West and classical Indian philosophy, contemporary Indian philosophy ignored the immediate predecessors such as Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Gandhi and others; an ignorance that has proved detrimental for reinvigorating philosophy.

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