ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Murty argues that writers like Kautilya and rulers like Chandragupta and Samudragupta advocated the idea of Cakravartin which embodied the notion of the unity of India under a single ruler who could establish a unified political organisation with other rulers as autonomous vassals. The ideal of a unified India was never fully realised till Indian independence from British rule in the year 1947. The reasons for this were several: the country was vast and communications were difficult. Fratricide among the would-be Cakravartins, parochial patriotism and “centrifugal” tendencies of various sorts are listed as other causes. In addition, there were foreign invasions and no citizens armies to oppose them; and empires began to disintegrate soon after the demise of the strong personality who held them together. The Mughal Empire, Murty contends, did not achieve unity because, being an imperialist state influenced by Muslim priesthood, it did not recognise non-Muslims as full citizens or endorse their human rights. Murty asserts that in contemporary times, true unity in India can be achieved only by a commitment to law and democracy “and to the mutual cooperation and tolerance of traditional and regional cultural diversities within its larger framework.”
