Political Parties in India (Hardcover)

Professor Abdur Razzaq was a legendary scholar, a nurturing mentor and a distinctive and inspiring presence 
in the intellectual and cultural landscape of the country for many decades.
 
He was also deeply respected for his graciousness, humility, integrity and his infectious laughter, 
as well as his abiding faith in critical thinking, moral clarity and intellectual excellence. 

He has left behind many students and admirers who remember him with reverence, gratitude and pleasure. 
He joined Dhaka University as a Lecturer in 1936, and went to pursue his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics .
in 1945 under the supervision of the world-renowned scholar Prof. Harold Laski. 
He was close to finishing his dissertation when Laski died on March 24, 1950, and 
he finalized and submitted his thesis to Prof. W.H. Morris-Jones, his new supervisor. 

But before all the requirements for his degree had been completed, inexplicably he left for 
Dhaka on July 15, 1950. He re-joined Dhaka University as a Senior Lecturer and remained in that position 
till he was conferred a National Professorship in 1975. 
The title of the project, “Political Parties in India”, is a bit limiting. 
While it may have been the early focus of the exercise, it eventually evolved into an exploration in social, 
economic and intellectual history of 19th and early 20th century India that went far beyond its original intent. 

In this study he explores the changes in class formations under British rule in India, 
investigates the spread of “modern” (particularly English) education and the new discourses it generated 
and examines the increasing Indian presence in the bureaucracy, military as well as the Central and 
Provincial legislatures, that led to new opportunities and demands expressed 
in the lively media environment that had come into existence. 

He suggests that the political movements and organizations that were vague and inchoate 
in the beginning gradually became more formalized and animated later, and opines that political parties 
did not drive these popular movements but were actually shaped by them. 

He also discusses the increasing “distancing” between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the context of the competition 
among the educated middle classes for political and economic advancement that had far-reaching consequences later. 

It provides an informed and engaging review of that period – comprehensive in scope, shrewd in observation, 
rich in insight, unconventional in analysis, and astute in judgment. 

We are thrilled in being able to finally present this long-awaited publication to the public. 

Table of Contents Foreword Editor’s Preface Introduction 
1. Preliminary Considerations 
2. Exercise of Power in India and Meaning of Changes in the Manner of its Exercise 
3. The Non-official Europeans 
4. The Indigenous Political Middle Classes in India 
5. The Mind of the Educated Middle Class in India 
6. The Press and its Significance 
7. The Origin of Organized Political Movements in India 
8. Constitutional Provisions and Political Parties Index