Liberalism And Revolution Through The Eyes Of Jyotiba Phule

Manasi Ahire, University of Mumbai

ABSTRACT

Political ideologies are dynamic and prone to criticism. Liberalism, fascism, socialism, and feminism are some of the ideologies which have evolved with respect to different time periods, different countries and evolving problems of the era. Liberalism is a renowned, complicated to define, group of theories building on the idea of human rationality, individual dignity vis-à-vis societal order. On the other hand, revolution is an intriguing question of analysis in political science, contrasting liberalism and democracy. These concepts have been largely associated with Western European democracies.

India’s contributions to political philosophy can be appreciated from the thoughts of Kautilya, Ambedkar, Gandhi, Syed Ahmed Khan, M.N.Roy and many others. One of the most undermined names in this list is Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. As Dhananjay keer aptly describes ‘the Mahatma before Gandhi’, it becomes imperative for us to celebrate his ideas on liberalism and revolution.

While elaborating on the concepts of liberalism and revolution , this paper makes a critical exploration of the political philosophy of Jyotiba Phule with regards to 18th century India and explains his conceptions on the same.

Keywords: Liberalism, Revolution, Social Justice, Caste system