Many Indians seem to believe that Liberalism was native to India; that our tradition was a liberal tradition. There were liberal-humanist elements in the Indian tradition, but only selectively. The Liberalism that we are concerned with was essentially a Western legacy to India. Much earlier than any other political philosophy, such as Nationalism or Marxism. Liberalism in India begins around 1820 and the proponents of the philosophy grasped the fundamental principles with an astonishingly quick grasp.

Our Liberals were not prepared to jettison India's pre-British traditions of religion and philosophy and the best among them lived in both worlds. One did not conflict with the other.

If this was an early attitude of the mind, which essentially it is, it has had a continuous history and absorbed later philosophies of politics. A commendable synthetic world view developed and was to culminate in one of the most creative documents of the Twentieth Century . the Indian Constitution.

Right from Raja Ram Mohun Roy to Mahatma Gandhi, many notable leaders of this persuasion contributed to the rich tapestry of Indian Liberalism. Some of them are treated here briefly (rather too briefly). Liberalism also leavened our native languages and literatures and a few of these worthies are mentioned. There are several more. We hope to bring them to you as well.

The Liberals with this book of thumbnail sketches are listed according to the year of their birth.

If you are interested to know more details about the Liberals mentioned in this volume, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. We will be happy to introduce you to references to each of the leaders briefly touched upon in the following pages.