This pioneering volume makes a vital intervention to the growing movement of decolonising conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches in social sciences. By exploring the profound depth and diversity of Indian intellectual traditions, it positions this knowledge system as an essential resource for democratising philosophical dialogue across global traditions. The book restores the 'mediative flow' in the Indian knowledge system and proposes a democratic negotiation among different epistemological frameworks, offering pathways toward a renewed philosophy capable of addressing humanity's most pressing challenges. Through engagement with original ancient texts and lived practices, the authors develop nuanced approaches that enrich contemporary social science research methodologies. The volume presents a rich tapestry of intellectual traditions spanning the Indian subcontinent—from classical texts like the Panchatantra and Mahabharata to the Indigenous traditions of Adivasi communities; from performative traditions like Koodiyattam to philosophical frameworks including Sufism, Sikhism, and Kashmir Shaivism. It explores the intellectual legacies of figures such as Dara Shukoh, Kabir, and Gandhi, while also examining ritual hermeneutics and the lifeworlds of Indigenous communities in Kerala and Assam.
Representing a significant advancement in decolonial scholarship and cross-cultural understanding, this groundbreaking volume will be indispensable for students and scholars interested in the Indian knowledge system, Indian studies, South Asian studies, Indology, and Indian philosophy. It will be an important text for those interested in pedagogy, religion, consciousness studies, intercultural dialogue, Indigenous knowledge, cultural anthropology, literary studies, classics, language studies, and social anthropology.
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. What is the Indian Intellectual Tradition? 2. Lokayata: An Ordinary Way of Seeing 3. Māyā as Śakti in Kashmir Śaivism 4. Embodied Hermeneutics in Vijñāna Bhairava Tantra 5. Consciousness, Non-duality and Sikh Philosophy 6. Indo-Persian Languages and Legacy of Dara Shukoh 7. Singing Nirgun Fearlessly: A Journey from Baahar( Outer) to Bheetar (Inner) 8. Mapping Qawwali: The Khanqah Form Within and Without 9. Gandhi and the Indian Aesthetic Tradition: Exploring Rasawada in Political Context 10. Koodiyattam: Transcending the Abstruse and the Conservative 11. Revisiting the Kartabhaja Tradition of Bengal: An Alternative Conceptual Framework of “Presence” for the Crisis of the Present 12. ‘Re-Reading’ Panchatantra: Reflections on Political Conduct in the Animal Fables 13. Niti, Nyaya and Dharma: Investigating Political Justice in the Mahabharata 14. Indigenous Knowledge of Healing among Tribal Communities of Kerala and Assam 15. The Wisdom of the Indigenous Knowledge System among Adivasis Appendix: Notes Towards a Re-reading of Natyashastra Index
About the Author :
Manindra Nath Thakur teaches courses on Indian Intellectual Traditions and Radical Movements in India at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.
Shailja Tandon holds an MPhil in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University and has since worked as a Senior Research Associate at LEAD and Krea University, where she led field-based research on gender-based violence, coordinated events, and managed projects.
