Preface x
Introduction 1
1 Vivekananda’s idea of India 15
2 Vivekananda and humanism 55
3 Vivekananda and Hinduism 89
4 Vivekananda’s attack on divisive socio-cultural
designs and practices 127
5 Vivekananda’s vision of socialism 159
6 Vivekananda: A Swami or an ascetic or a
politico-ideological activist? 195
Conclusion 229
Bibliographical notes 247
Index 250
Biography
Bidyut Chakrabarty was the former Vice Chancellor of Visva Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. Before he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Visva Bharati in 2018, he served the Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, India, for more than three decades. He has published in many areas of Political Science.
‘The term ‘ideational vision’, as stated in the book’s title, is entirely original. In the ample literature on Vivekananda, this phrase does not appear, even though it strikes at the core of his contribution to modern Indian political thought. This decided strength must be emphasized because of its creative nature and also its definitive relationship to other Indian thinkers. It would be unthinkable, for example, to see it appear in any work about Gandhi. My conclusion, therefore, is that the signal significance of this book lies in how it targets this particular concept with exceptionally admirable force and clarity.’
—Dennis Dalton, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA
‘This innovative account weaved in a meticulously argued framework provides a fresh perspective to unravel the Humanistic genre of Vivekananda's writings. It will not only help to critically examine the evolution of political ideas and visions in transitional societies but also open a new vista of knowledge which, so far, remained buried under the debris of conventional approaches of Modern Indian Political Thought.’
—Ronki Ram, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Development & Communication, Chandigarh, India
