Review Essay
| Published date | 01 March 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561231204601 |
| Author | Rupak Kumar |
| Date | 01 March 2024 |
Review Essay
Himanshu Roy (Ed.), Social Thought in Indic Civilization. Sage
Publications, 2022, 324 pp., `1395. ISBN: 978-93-5479-446-9.
The foundational essence of Indian social thought lies in its ability to distinguish
between ‘what should’ and ‘what should not be done’—not as a doctrine, but as a
philosophy. The plea is to be human. The notion of Dharma and Nyaya is central
to Indic social thought. There is an innate, organic and default embeddedness
between the Swadharma, and the Rajya Dharma. In this regard, the emphasis is
laid on Dharma. Therefore, the conception of Indic civilisation becomes impor-
tant to understand when Vyavahara occupies centrality in thought, action and
institutions. In our thought, an organic synergy exists between social thought and
political thought.
The book Social Thought in Indic Civilization edited by Himanshu Roy
(henceforth Roy) presents a panoramic view of prevalent social and economic ideas in
precolonial Indian society. The book contains eleven chapters on concepts like
Dharma, Stritva, Shaktitva, Shastrarth, Indian Knowledge tradition, women saints,
musical thought, medicinal concepts and Indic Culture. The book weaves together an
interdisciplinary perspective around the social thought of precolonial Indic civilisation
(Roy, 2022, p. x). The aim is to bring back the ‘Indian-ness’ in curriculum and public
discourse by revisiting, researching and re-inquiring (Roy, 2022, p. x), the tradition
and the civilisation. India was historically referred to as the ‘land of wisdom’ and ‘land
of desire’. Roy outlines the book’s scope by traversing a broad terrain of Indic thought
from the philosophical richness of the Rigveda to the diversity advocated by
Dara Shikoh. This thought encompasses dharma and Shakti. The book employs an
interdisciplinary approach from sociology, history and political theory. It elucidates
various dimensions of social thought that dene the pluralistic ethos of the Indic
society (Roy, 2022, p. 18).
From a Knowledge Society to Colonisation of Mind
The book relooks at the ‘continuity in the social thought’ (Roy, 2022, p. x) despite
the ‘civilisational ruptures’ by invasions and colonialism. The degree and extent
of civilisational continuity depicted, what Roy argued as a ‘combination of the
political and the social, with the dynamics of the economy, kept the Indic
civilisation vibrant for centuries until the British colonial rule altered it forever’
(Roy, 2022, p. x). The book highlights the dual aspects of the social and economic
Review Essay
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
70(1) 210–215, 2024
© 2023 IIPA
Article reuse guidelines:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00195561231204601
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
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