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Is it possible to build an authentically democratic system in politics without concrete ethical foundations? Addressing this question in the wake of the contemporary crisis in democracy worldwide, the volume re-evaluates Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's key thoughts. It foregrounds their relevance to the ongoing struggles that attempt to reconcile the apparently dissimilar orientations of politics and ethics.
Collecting fresh interdisciplinary researches, the book provides insights into Gandhi's complex - and occasionally turbulent - intellectual and political relationships with influential figures of Indian society and politics, whether critics such as B. R. Ambedkar and friends like Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru. It also presents an informed political biography of Gandhi, encapsulating the salient details of his long trajectory as a unique mass mobilizer, socio-political activist and ideologue - from his days in South Africa to his death in independent India. This book will immensely interest scholars and students of political theory, philosophy, ethics, history, and Gandhian studies.
List of contents
Foreword Akeel Bilgrami. Introduction Eva Pföstl. 1. The Struggle of Right against Might: An Introduction to the Figure of Mahatma Gandhi Ugo Caruso 2. Some Reflections on Gandhi: Between Ethics and Politics Giuliano Pontara 3. Negating Violence: The Gandhi Way Neera Chandhoke 4. The Parallel Worlds of the Moral and the Aesthetic: Gandhi and Tagore Ranabir Samaddar 5. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Sangita Mallik 6. M. K. Gandhi and B. R. Ambedkar: Irreconcilable Differences Aakash Singh Rathore.
About the author
Eva Pföstl is Scientific Director, Law Department, Istituto di Studi Politici 'S. Pio V', Rome.
Summary
Interrogating the ethical foundations of democracy, this volume provides an interdisciplinary understanding of key Gandhian concepts and their relevance to contemporary politics. It also re-interprets Gandhi’s complex intellectual and political relations with other influential figures of Indian politics and culture such as B. R. Ambedkar, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru.
