About the Book: Birth of Indian Liberalism: NarayanMahadevParmanands Letters to
an Indian Raja
First published in 1891, Letters to an Indian Raja is the earliest work of
political theory written and published in modern India. Addressed to the rulers
of the Native States, it argued radically for its time that constitutional
government, individual liberty, and social reform were not foreign impositions
but essential to Indias moral and political regeneration. Its author, Narayan
Mahadev Parmanand, a reclusive yet influential thinker revered by his
contemporaries as a "political rishi",envisioned enlightened monarchs as agents
who could free individuals from the grip of custom, hierarchy, and community as
well as both colonial