Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c11.2

c11.2

THE colonial perspective has remained looming largely over the whole pursuits of the Oriental learning during the past two centuries. In India, this led to contradictions and dichotomies, as the British throughout their rule remained "strangers" in a sharp contrast to the Muslim rulers. They failed to be enlightened by the previous forms of governance, and had to sustain by the means of political ideas from West and their own history. This "intervention upon the actions of Indians whose conduct was determined by the autonomous economic, cultural and or religious regularities of social life" created distances between the British and Indians and chasms in Indian mind.¹ As the gap between political administration by the foreign rulers and indigenous social institutions widened, "the intellectuals began to think that they belonged to the communities united by common forms of social conduct that existed in a sphere distinct from the realm of political action". This produced tendencies of self-defence and revivalism, but also invigorated the debates on Indian customs, traditions and culture. Raja Rammohun Roy spoke of "the social institution of the Hindu community of Bengal" as an entity which needed to be protected.² The dichotomy between the state and the society on one hand and the interference of the political actors in social orders and lifestyles on the other led to opposition, sharp reactions and debates amongst Indian intellectuals. Discussions and debates on India's own social body were taken up. As a result, the concepts of *swadeshi* and *svarāj* emerged.