Today we live in a world of unimaginable change and undeniable progress. No generation earlier has seen so much development in so short a time. How does the development that we see around us affect us? How is it related to our rootedness or freedom? How does it enhance our freedom? How can we foster a development that is rooted in tradition and open to the new? Can we dream of a humane and all-inclusive development that does justice to humanity? These are some of the questions that we take up in this volume, which tries to relate human development to freedom.

The articles in this volume are contextual, hermeneutical and philosophical. Since they are contextual, we deal with the issues mainly from Indian perspectives. So the articles are necessarily multi-disciplinary. It takes into account the cultural and religious diversity and ambiguities of contemporary India. It is also hermeneutical, since most of the articles attempt at appropriating the perennial wisdom of India for the current situation. These articles are philosophical, since they analyse, critique the situation of tradition, freedom and development. These articles reflect on of the depth of tradition that India is proud of, the vigour and vitality of its democratic spirit and the longing for its integrated and holistic development. It is hoped that these articles will contribute to the ongoing discourse on modernity, development, tradition and freedom prevalent in the academic circles in India.

Contents

Introduction

Part I: Linking Tradition, Development and Freedom

1. Tradition: Enabling and Disabling Development
    Johnson J. Puthenpurackal

2. Decolonizing Development: Illumining the Maya of Progress
    Victor Ferrão

Part II: Development and Some Indian Thinkers

3. Gandhi’s Evolutionary Hermeneutics: Reinterpreting Tradition, Development and Freedom for Today
    George Pattery, SJ

4. Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga: Inner Freedom and Development
    Kamladevi Kunkolienker

5. M. N. Roy’s Critique of Marxist Tradition: Revisiting and Appropriation of the Notion of Freedom in Radical Humanism for Development Ethics
    James Ponniah

6. Amartya Sen’s Understanding of Freedom: The Capability Approach to Development
    Ginish Cheruparambil

Part III: Some Significant Issues in Indian Tradition

7. The Tradition and Ethos of Gifts in Indian Cultures: Meanings and Development
    Robin S. Seelan

8. Interrelation between Tradition, Freedom and Development: Meditation on the Central Vedic Concept of ‘Rita’
    Aparna Kulkarni

9. Enhancement of Freedom and Education: An Indian Experience
    Mini John, CC

Part IV: Challenges to the Contemporary Situation

10. Response to the Unbound Prometheus: Hans Jonas’ Affirmation of Responsibility in a Technological Age of Unbridled and Uncontrolled Development
     Nishant A Irudayadason

11. Democracy for Development: Tracing the Incomplete Portraits of India
      Kuruvilla Pandikattu, SJ

General Conclusion
The Contributors

Dr Kuruvilla Pandikattu SJ (born 1957-) is Chair Professor of JRD Tata Foundation for Business Ethics at XLRI, Jamshedpur and was professor of Physics, Philosophy and Religion at Jnana Deepa, Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Pune, India. He has been actively involved in the dialogue between science and religion. Author/Editor of more than 45 books and 240 academic articles, Pandikattu is a Jesuit priest belonging to Dumka-Raiganj Province, India. Main topics of his research are: Ethics (incl. business and applied), anthropology, artificial intelligence, life-management and transhumanism. Email: kuru@kuru.in (personal) or kuru@xlri.ac.in (professional). Site:www.kuru.in.|GND: 124567274 | ORCID:0000-0001-9815-3707.