Politics, Symbols and Political Theory: Rethinking Gandhi

The present work enquires into a largely unexplored area in social sciences, namely, the interaction of politics, symbols and culture, in both theoretical and applied perspectives. Making subtle analytical distinctions between the 'symbolist' and the 'symbolic' and between 'symbols in polities' and 'political symbols', the study reinterprets gandhian philosophy and praxis in terms of 'political symbolism. The study ably brings out how the shift in perspective--from the received western worldview to a 'rooted' point of view--might alter the fundamental categories, methodology and self-understanding of a society in its own setting and relatedness to the outer world. The book contends that Gandhi questions not only the 'bow' of the 'liberal-industrial-capitalist' combine but also the 'why' of their superimpositions on the non-west. To address the gandhian alternative is, thus, to address and confront the challenging ethos of our times in relation to both our heritage and the current options at our disposal.