ABSTRACT
This chapter builds the argument with reference to the ideational inputs Aurobindo privileged while setting out a new voice for India's struggle for independence. Aurobindo's conceptualization was both a continuity and a departure from the past: continuity because he owed many of his ideas to disillusioned Moderates. Critical here are the claims that being born as an Indian was not enough to identify oneself as an Indian; what was of utmost importance was also to assess whether Indianness was of help in contributing to humanity and unfolding of manhood for rightful cause. Apart from the socio-psychological components, Aurobindo drew on the ideas of those who fought for the nation or who helped build conceptual justifications for liberating the chained nation. A surface reading will probably confirm this, although a deeper reading of how Aurobindo presented their ideas in the public domain substantiates the fundamental point that he drew on comparable ideas to persuasively advance his arguments.
