The Birth of Indian Liberalism

CASI Seminar

in partnership with the South Asia Center, Political Science Dept & Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy

Rahul Sagar
Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science, New York University Abu Dhabi
Center for the Advanced Study of India
Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science & Economics
133 South 36th Street, Suite 230
Philadelphia PA 19104-6215

About the Seminar:
Little is as misunderstood as the origin of liberalism in India. It has long been derided as an ideal imposed by the British and championed by their local collaborators. But both of these criticisms are mistaken, as Prof. Sagar will show by examining Letters to an Indian Raja (1891), the first work of political theory published in modern India. This long-lost work reveals that Indian liberalism was a form of liberal perfectionism—the view that political authority should be exercised paternalistically to promote a liberal vision of human flourishing. This vision sought to liberate individuals from various debilitating forces, including unthinking tradition, gross ignorance, and destructive greed. Furthermore, far from justifying British rule, Letters to an Indian Raja aimed to make the Native States less susceptible to both domineering Britons and despotic Maharajas. In sum, this seminar suggests that the two myths surrounding Indian liberalism are the result of scholars focusing on the wrong people and the wrong place. By focusing on the grievances raised and compromises made by liberals in British India, they have overlooked what Indian liberals imagined and tried to do in Indian India.

About the Speaker:
Rahul Sagar is a Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Professor at Princeton University and Global Network Associate Professor of Political Science at NYU Abu Dhabi. His scholarship cuts across political theory and intellectual history, with a particular interest in the subject of executive power. His most recent books include The Progressive Maharaja: Sir Madhava Rao’s Hints on the Art and Science of Government (2022) and Krishna Kumari: The Tragedy of India (2024).

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The Nand & Jeet Khemka Distinguished Lecture Series is an endowed public program of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI). Launched in the 2007-08 academic year, and made possible through the generous support of the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, the series brings renowned India specialists to the Penn community and serves as a critical forum for analyzing and understanding the complex economic, political, social, and cultural changes that the world’s largest democracy is experiencing, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
The Saluja Global Fellows Program has been made possible by the generous gift from Vishal Saluja ENG’89 W’89. CASI was excited to launch the program during the 2022–23 academic year, coinciding with the Center’s 30th Anniversary. This new program enables CASI to invite eminent leaders and rising experts on contemporary India preferably from the fields of media, culture, law, and contemporary history to be in residence for one to two weeks at CASI.