The terms of the Kamala lectureship require the delivery of a course of not less than three lectures on some aspect of Indian life and thought from a comparative standpoint. When I was approached by Mr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. the present Vice-Chancellor, with a request to deliver a course of Kamala lectures, he suggested that I might deal with the future constitution of India. I Was reluctant to deal with a subject which was involved in great uncertainty and controversy and at a time when the whole constitution was in the melting pot. Mr. Mookerjee was kind enough to leave the choice of the subject entirely to my discretion and merely expressed a desire that the subject should be one of living, and not purely academic, interest. I accordingly chose the 'Evolution of Hindu Moral Ideals' as the subject of my lectures.
While from the academic point of view the subject is one of great interest to the student of social his-tory, it has also a valuable practical bearing upon some of the problems which affect the social life and evolution of India. An adequate treatment of the history of morals among the Hindus would require many years of preparation by way of study and research and the learning and historical gifts of Lecky. The task would he a stupendous one far beyond the range of ambition of a humble student like myself. The task that I have set to myself is one of a much more limited scope. It has been suggested to me by certain tendencies in Indian thought which have taken shape in the Sanatanist movement of the last ten or fifteen years. Since the inauguration of the Montagu-Chelmsford re-forms the Indian legislature has displayed an active interest in the promotion of social reform among Hindus by means of legislation. The attack made upon social usages and the rules of Hindu law by the reforming zeal and ambition of members of the legislature has naturally created a feeling of alarm in orthodox Hindu circles. The desire to protect the personal laws and social usages of the Hindu community has led to the formation of a Sanatanist group in the legislature and of Sanatana Dharma associations in the country. The object of these groups and associations is to resist the onslaughts of the social reformers and they take their stand on an appeal to the principles of the Dharma Sastra which they contend are eternal and immutable. It is easy to understand and appreciate the fears of the orthodox party which are not altogether without foundation.
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