Encyclopaedia of Eminent Thinkers: The Political Thought of Vinoba Bhabe

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There are many Indian thinkers who have contributed a great deal to the political thought of the country. In these initial 10 volumes, an effort has been made to bring together keen players and their significant contributions to the political thought of India in an unbiased way. The authors included in this series are giants by themselves in the socio- political arena of the country. The set provides insight and critical an evaluation of the political thinkers.

A significant attempt has been made in this book to make a comprehensive study of the Political Thought of Vinoba. To understand fully the implications of Vinoba's ideas is a tremendous task. The author in this book makes an honest endeavour to present his view in a lucid manner. It studies in detail: Life and Work of Vinoba, On Religion and Politics, On Sarvodaya, On Third Power and On Swaraj Sastra.

This book is a treasure for all teachers, scholars and students of Political Science, Gandhian Thought, History, Sociology and Social Work, all university, college, legislative, judicial, public and other libraries in India and abroad and for all those interested in the study of Political Science. In nut- shell, this book will be of great importance to all.

K.S. Bharathi did his Master's Degree in Gandhian Thought, Peace-Science, Economics, and Political Science. He also did Postgraduate Diplomas in Politics, Public Administration, Population Dynamics, Gandhian Thought, Tourism, and Telugu. He has contributed some articles in learned journals. He is the author of Foundations of 'Gandhian Thought; Gandhi and Humanity, Socio- Religious Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi; The Philosophy of Sarvodaya; The Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi; Gandhi and Nehru; Foundations of Ambedkar Thought; The Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi; Gandhian Approach to Rural Development; The Relevance of Gandhi; Gandhi and Vinoba, The Philosophical Foundations of Gandhian Thought; The Political Thought of Gandhi; The Economic Thought of Gandhi: The Social Thought of Gandhi and The Quintessence and Chronology of Gandhi. At present, he is the Head of the Postgraduate Department of Gandhian Thought of Nagpur University. He is the Chairman of the Board of Studies of Gandhian Thought, member of the Academic Council, member of the Faculty of Social Sciences, member of the Board of Examination and member of the Doctoral Research Committee of Nagpur University.

Vinoba had no concept of power of the state and power of economic resources. He could not convert his saintly appeal into political influence. He could not use his close contact with the rural people during 1951-66 to create any counter-force in Indian politics. On the contrary, he went to maun (silence) at every crucial point in the history of modern India. Further, he handed over the limited gains of his own movement to the political authority in India and after traversing 40,000 miles, he quietly retreated into his being.

In Vinoba the goal of life is to establish Ram Raj. It is a religious concept which involves social, political and economic involvement. The idealistic vision of creating a society fit for Ram Raj involves every member of society. Although an individual is important, it is the collective force which is deemed necessary. It is here that the relevance of many dans comes into focus.

The life and work of Vinoba have been discussed in the first chapter. Vinoba's ideas on Religion and Politics has been covered in the second chapter. His ideas on Sarvodaya has been analysed in the third chapter. His views on Third Power as such has been given in the fourth chapter. His ideas on Swaraj Sastra has been discussed in the last chapter.

I would like to place on record my indebtedness to scholars and thinkers whose ideas enabled me to bring out this book. I gratefully acknowledge the scholars from whose works I have drawn citations viz. Dr. Vishwanath Tandon, Dr. Suresh Ram, Dr. K. Shah, Prof. Vasant Nargolkar and Dr. Devendra Kumar. Besides I have made use of Vinoba's own writings and related literature. For these and all other, scholars who have thrown light on different ideas of Vinoba, I owe very much which I gratefully acknowledge.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages