Indian Political Thought

8

Aurobindo: Nationalism and Democracy

Sangit Kumar Ragi

Introduction

Aurobindo, a creative genius and a multifaceted personality, was a towering figure of the national movement. Nationalists worship him as an apostle and prophet of Indian nationalism.¹ He was not a mass leader of the national movement like Gandhi² but he was no less forceful than him. Aurobindo, whose original name was Aravinda Akroyd Ghose, was born on 15 August 1872 in Kolkata. His father, a district surgeon in Rangapur in Bengal, had studied medicine in Britain and wanted his children to be educated there, free from any kind of Indian influence. After a few years of schooling in Loreto Convent, Darjeeling, Aurobindo and his two elder brothers were packed off to Manchester, ...