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