Ancient India Historical Dichotomy and What We Inherit Today

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This work is not just to reiterate that 'we', the Indians have been nurturing multiple cultural streams, particularly two majorly contesting spirits of orthodoxy and heterodoxy from our past and that we inherit them today as well. But it goes much beyond that in scrutinizing and analyzing the processes leading to the growth, rise, deviations and decline of these spirits in the past as well as today This of course along with the changing material conditions of the ages reflect in the social and political formations, economic structure and religious movements of all shades in our past. We in this book have tried to understand the features and phenomena of our social and cultural behaviour in the present if at all they have their roots in our ancient. One may here rightly question why we have gone back to our ancient past in explaining this since most of the concepts and both positive and negative practices we presently inherit are the product of medieval ages. Yet, we have to be realistic to keep in mind that the cultural majority of our country tend to reject whatever it believes to be medieval for considering, though falsely, whole of it belonging to an age of slavery for it under the Muslim rulers. At the same time, it assumes without any substantial knowledge of history that the period before it, i.e. our ancient, was full of harmony and achievements in all walks of life. Without any deliberate intention of dismantling any such beliefs outright we intend to re- examine the methods and processes of social and religious developments accompanied with political and economic forces of the ancients leaving a legacy of mutually opposite tendencies for the posterity from our so remote past. That is, of course, what we mean by the 'historical dichotomy' what we may be inheriting today. It is more than important for now to make a rational understanding of our past in view of the fast erasing feelings of togetherness and interdependence among different communities which, otherwise, is the very fabric of our present nationhood. How come our cherished concept of 'unity in diversity' has suddenly turned into 'nationalism' of sectarian brand of the majority cultural community of our land need to be put in a historical perspective. The political scenario of the country especially from the last few decades and the cultural impact upon the people of India which is constitutionally a Sovereign, Secular, Socialist, Democratic, Republic in present times could hardly remain unaddressed.

Dr. Mahesh Vikram Singh retured as a professor and head of the department of history, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanass in 2014 after thirty five years of active service to the University as a teacher and in different capacities as an administrator and counselor at times He remained honorary director of The Institute of Tourism Studies in the University for 12 years. He has been in constant demand as a resource person and expert by various social and academic organizations and institutions. Being a high rank researcher in his field of study ha has a host of research papers, articles and books to his name. His noted publications are An Introductory Note on Concurrent and Contemporary Philosophies of History published by the Dept. of History, MG kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi in 2011 (ISBN-978- 8-921896-2-8), Proceedings of the National Seminar on Historical Thinking and Dr Ram Manohar Lohia, 2011(ISBN-978-81-921896-0-4): Bharat ki Punarkhoj Navi Itihaas Drishn aur Yuga Dharma Northern Book Centre, New Delhi, 2009 (ISBN 81- 7211-273-4, 978-81-7211-273-8), (ISBN 81-7211-275-0, 978-81-7211-275-2), India Rediscovered (A New Vision of History and Call of the Age), Northern Book Centre New Delhi, 2006 (ISBN 81-7211-209-2), 4 Peep Into Socio-Political Dynamics of Early Indian History, published by M.G.Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, 2002. Smykt Rajya America ka Itihasa (Punarnirmana sé Sheet Yaddle tak) Le USA from Reconstruction to Cold War, Motilal Banarasidas, Patna, 1995 (ISBN). Society under the Mauryas, Indological Book House, Delhi, Varanasi, 1989(ISBN) and many more He has also contributed major chapters in some books of high repute, eg Writing New Political History of Early India', in Political History on a Changing World, ed. by G.C.Pande, S.K. Gupta and Shankar Goyal, Jodhpur, India, 1991, and in Prachina Bharata ka Adhunik Itihasa Lekhana edited by Shankar Goyal in Hindi in the year 2000 besides, Indian Feudalism: Its Social Genesis and Implications' in Feudalism in Ancient India ed. by Shankar Goyal and Social Life and Institutions in the Gupta Age in The Wonder That Was Gupta India, ed. by SR. Goyal and Shankar Goyal, Jodhpur, both awaiting release.

We the people of India! Who we were while solemnizing the great constitution of modern Indian Republic! Who we are when put to practice the same! What is all that we inherit from our past! How come the ethos of making our nation a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic in its letter and spirit has been put to test! What contradictions we perceive in the attitude of the religious and cultural majority of this country in dealing with others', or to say with the religious minorities of our nation! What all it cherishes about its past, its ancient past as against its perception and notion about later ages! And what we really inherit from our ancient past which manifests in the dichotomy of our ideas and practices! Every history is a contemporary history' because we see the past with the eyes of the present, said B. Croce, and that the writing of history in the modern age would naturally reflect modern vision. Whereas, R.G. Collingwood remarks that 'all history is history of thought and also, that 'history is not reliving but differentiating from the past. But, searching the same in the past of early India, one may be struck with some astonishing repeats and recycling of the trends and tendencies of the past in the present which may force us to believe that 'history repeats itself, howsoever different in dimensions and magnitude because. perhaps, it is the human after all who has been a perpetual player of all the historical drama as well as of the present worldly affairs, and it is, of course, the basic instincts of a human which have been responding to a given situation. either in positive or negative direction for the future build-up of the society. And it is further understandable that it is the nature of the interplay between the spirit and the material surrounding that decides the future make-up of the posterity.

This work is not just to reiterate that 'we', the Indians have been nurturing multiple cultural streams, particularly two majorly contesting spirits of orthodoxy and heterodoxy from our remote past and that we inherit them today as well. But it goes much beyond that in scrutinizing and analyzing the processes leading to the growth, rise, deviations and decline of these spirits in the past as well as today. This of course reflects in the social and political formations, economic structure and religious movements of all shades along with the changing material conditions of the ages in our past, our ancient past. We in this book have tried to understand the features and phenomena of our social and cultural behaviour in the present if at all they have their roots in our ancient.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages