01241    a2200145   4500020001800000082001900018100002900037245006900066260003900135300001400174504003600188520067900224650010100903650009101004  a9789353282592  a294.363bSHE-G  aShepherd, Kancha Ilaiah   aGod as political philosopherb: Buddha's challenge to brahminism  bSage Publicationsc2019aNew Delhi  aix, 244p.  aInclude Bibliography and Index
  aIn this provocative and scholarly book, Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd propounds a view of Gautama Buddha as India’s first social revolutionary. Buddha did his best to give the principles of tribal democracy and egalitarianism a sanctuary in his own sangha. In so doing, he foreshadowed modern India’s experiment with parliamentary democracy. Critical of the caste system, Buddha inducted low caste members into the sangha and made them his trusted advisers. He gave women an honoured place in the sangha. Dissent was indeed permitted, and even Buddha was not above the law. Pre-dating Socrates and Plato by some years, Buddha also foreshadowed key elements of their philosophy.  aPolitics and government	vInterfaith relationsvSocial changevPolitical and social viewszIndia  aReligion vBuddhist sociologyvBrahmanism vGautama Buddha	vBuddhism and statezIndia