Encyclopaedia of Eminent Thinkers: The Political Thought of K. B. Hedgewar

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This book presents a critical assessment of K.B. Hedgewar's political thought. Providing rich insights into his life and achievements, it describes his ideology and perception, his concept of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra, his contribution to national renaissance, his relations with Mahatma Gandhi and Congress, and his techniques to achieve his objectives. The formation and development of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also been dealt with elaborately.

Dr. Jai Narain Sharma (b. 1951) is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Gandhian Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. He is also Hon. Director of Gandhi Bhawan; member of Board of Studies, Nagpur University, Nagpur and Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi; member of Research Degree Committee of the Department of Political Science, H.P. University, Shimla: General Secretary of Indian Soviety of Gandhian Studies; and member on the Presidium of the Alliance for Sarvodaya. He regularly writes for leading newspapers, and has published more than hundred research papers in professional journals of repute. Dr. Sharma has many books to his credit including "Gandhi's View of Political Power", "Economics of Defence: A Study of SAARC Countries", "Economic Thought of Mahatma Gandhi", "Human Resource Management", "Alternative Economics: Economics of Mahatma Gandhi and Globalisation", "Power, Politics and Corruption: A Gandhian Solution" and "Research Methodology: The Discipline and its Dimensions".

Independent India is engaged in a many-sided renaissance and reconstruction more or less consciously directed to what may compendiously be called nation making (or re-making) in an image more adequate to the needs of the present and future of India as a strong, creative nation guiding the destinies of its people in accordance with a worthy and inspiring charter of life.

This era commenced roughly with the emergence and work of Raja Rammohun Roy in the beginning of the nineteenth century and has continued to the present day through the life-effort of notable thinkers in many fields, like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Dayananda, Shri Aurobindo, Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Gurudev Tagore, Veer Savarkar and Dr. Hedgewar. These are only typical names and do not exhaust the galaxy.

In the phase of the struggle (and triumph) with the British Power (typifying the entire gamut of foreign ideas and ideals), we have a similar period as in many periods in the past of the self- recollection and re-assertion of the national self-consciousness and of a conscious search for the roots of our culture as the living points on which we may re-graft current life and foster it to vigorous growth and power. In this many-sided effort, the image of Indian culture as the pattern of nation building is laid over with many confused notions from the West and from distorted ideas of the past of our own life.

It is too often forgotten that Hinduism is not merely a sect, a small religious fellowship concerned exclusively with modes of worship or social customs peculiar to it. The word Hindu in this context has a national character. It is tantamount to the word Indian, i.e. pertaining to a people living beside the river Sindhu.

**Contents and Sample Pages**