The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c16.4

c16.4

"What is sovereignty?" is then the moot question to be attacked by all political philosophers. Let us proceed to examine how the problem was grasped by the *smriti* and *nîti* theorists of India. It is to be remembered, however, that we are here concerned with the thought which prevailed in the world ages before the ideas discussed in Merriam's *History of the Theory of Sovereignty since Rousseau*, Scherger's *Evolution of Modern Liberty*, Michel's *L'Idée de l'Etat*, Barker's *Political Thought in England from Spencer to the Present Day*, Joseph-Barthélemy's *Role du pouvoir exécutif dans les républiques modernes* or *Problème de la compétence dans la démocratie*, and Laski's *Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty*