Rammanohar Lohia and His Thinking

Dr. Rammanohar Lohia and his ideas have been very influential during the post-independence era, especially for those who have tried to find a non-Marxist alternative to Gandhism in India. Whenever there has been a talk of forming and running a non-Congress government at the Centre, Lohia and his writings have become relevant. In the two most populous states of the country—UP and Bihar—Lohia and his ideas have exercised a great deal of influence and have been instrumental in uniting the backward classes for capturing power. So much so that even the Communists have begun adjusting or refashioning their Marxism in the light of Lohia’s ideas especially on caste. It is also a fact that Lohia’s ideas have affected almost all political parties in these two states by dividing them on the caste lines. The near-civil-war situation in many villages of Bihar and UP are, to a large extent, due to Lohia’s ideas on caste and his casteist politics. There has been a complete absence of serious studies on Lohia and his ideas. The books that are available are mostly adulatory and hence, of no serious consequence. This book is an attempt to fill up this void. It has been based on Lohia’s own writings, speeches and activities during his 37 years of political life. Divided into six very exhaustive chapters, the book presents a sketch of Lohia’s life, activities and evolution of his ideas; his approach to Marxism; his ideological transformation; his doctrine of anti-Congressism and his views on Indian caste system, casteism and culture. It throws lights on many hitherto unknown facts.