ABSTRACT

A majority of the existing narratives on studying civil society in India are flooded with empirical findings, without much emphasis on theoretical understanding of the subject. Thus, the article tries to provide a historical overview of the development of notion of civil society and its research in “uncivil” Indian tradition from different dominant theoretical angles in the field. After finding their limitations, the study attempts to provide an alternative understanding of emergence of civil society in colonial India. It also aims to explore, how the lineage of traditional inform civic assocciationalism combined with modern institutionalized associational space gave birth to liberal-minded individuals and the conscious public in colonial India. Moreover, the present research further reveals that how civic awareness inculcated among the marginal’s along with the educated Indian middle class and how interactions between the state, society, and religion helped in development of spirit of civility among individuals, awareness among the public and voice of protest among community in “uncivil” colonial India which was unique from its western counterpart both in the process of formation and the forms of manifestations.

摘要

大多数关于印度公民社会研究的现有叙述充斥着实证研究结果，而没有过多强调对该主题的理论理解。因此，本文试图从该领域不同的主导理论角度对公民社会概念的发展及其对“不文明”印度传统的研究提供一个历史概述。在发现它们的局限性后，该研究试图提供对殖民地印度公民社会出现的另一种理解。它还旨在探索，传统的公民协会主义的血统与现代制度化的协会空间相结合，如何在殖民地印度孕育出思想自由的个人和有意识的公众。而且，