The book elaborates upon an intellectual history of secularity in modern India by focusing on the two most influential political leaders, M. K. Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. While recognising that the dominant language of political modernity of Western societies is not easily translatable in non-Western societies, the book sheds light on Indian narratives of secularity – the Gandhian sarva dharma samabhava, Nehruvian secularism and ‘unity in diversity’. It revisits this dominant narrative of secularity of the twentieth century, which influenced and shaped the imagination of the modern nation-state.

Dr. Sushmita Nath is a political scientist who researches Indian political thought and Indian politics, especially secularism, nationalism, and populism, in relation to the emerging field of comparative political theory. She is a SCRIPTS Postdoctoral Fellow until October 2022.