Making of a Democratic Intellectual Tradition in India

This book examines the specific formation of a liberal democratic intellectual tradition in Bengal in the nineteenth century. It explores a varied range of ideas, principles and arguments, activities of those Bengali intellectuals and public figures who articulated liberal and democratic consensus in the nineteenth century. The historical context of post-Enlightenment and modernity as its offshoot gave birth to a new cognitive mind known as Bengali Bhadralok who played significant role in the articulation of democratic ideas through constant interaction, collaborations and confrontations which were essentially based on the existing colonial political context. It was nineteenth century Bengal which took the pioneering role in the rise of political consciousness, articulation of liberal and democratic ideals, giving birth to various political ideologies and formation of a reverential sense of national feelings. Moreover it was Bengal in the nineteenth century which witnessed remarkable emergence of civil-societal movements, incarnation of political associations and historic birth of print media. All these paved the way for articulation of democratic elements in 19th century Bengal.