The development and growth of various schools of Indian thought took place during the course of centuries of debate and discussion through which great thinkers contributed to the edifices of philosophical systems. We witness here a continuous effort to arrive at detailed analyses and ever enlarging synthesis.
It was only in later periods that this rigour was weakened. But even during these periods, there were astonishing expositions and new creations. Even the synthetic tendency, which dominated the earlier period, reasserted itself from time to time, the great fruits of which, in later periods, were the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya, the philosophy that accompanied king Akbar's efforts to bring together various kinds of thoughts of his times, and Guru Nanak's revolutionary effort in the establishment of Sikhism, the aim of which was to revitalize and spiritualize the collective life of the people.
In the eighteenth century when there was an unprecedented political instability and a kind of exhaustion of the cultural effort, the tradition of philosophizing, which hitherto had permeated all modes of life and which was fundamental to the spirit of Indian culture, declined.
But when the Indian spirit re-awoke, we had, once again, a philosophical renaissance which manifested itself in the philosophies which lay behind the movements initiated by Maharshi Dayanand, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. There was also a refreshing assimilation of western thoughts and philosophy. We had Sri Aurobindo's The Life Divine, an original world philosophy which not only represented the synthesis of the Eastern and Western thoughts but also offered India's message to a new world.
Unfortunately, there has not been sufficient effort in the professional field at a systematic review and definition of Indian philosophy, except in a few brilliant expositions attempted by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and some others. There are, indeed, learned professors in universities and other centres of learning where critical and philosophical thinking is going on unobtrusively. Among these professors, as also a number of other researchers, there are experts of eminence. They have contributed significantly to the continuance of philosophy not only as an important domain of curricular study but also as a living force of our culture. They have provided a dignified forum for the assimilation and fertilization of the idealist tradition of the West as well as new philosophies, such those of Marxism, empiricism and existentialism. There has been considerable research in comparative philosophy, and valuable exposition of some of the main trends of Indian and Western thoughts. A noticeable tendency in recent philosophical research is manifest in its concern for the contemporary man, his predicament and his possible future, and the most significant line of thought is preoccupied with man, both in his individual and collective entities.
In spite of this, there is increasing evidence that philosophical studies are being neglected. At the universities the number of students opting for philosophy is diminishing, research, too, is not of a high level.
Since independence there has been a persistent demand from the intellectuals of the country, voiced in different professional philosophical and non-philosophical forums to review the ancient and modern systems with a view to evaluating them and deriving from them fresh lines of purpose for the changing requirements of our times. There seems to be an unmistakable thrust towards the emergence of an independent Indian identity in philosophy.
It has been felt that there is an urgent need at various levels to strengthen philosophical research and studies in India. In the mid-seventies, a team of scholars made a careful study of the whole question relating to the revitalization of the Indian tradition of philosophizing and suggested that in addition to other efforts the Govt. of India should come forward to establish an Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR). In 1976, the basic concept of ICPR became accepted, and in March 1977, the council was registered as a society under the societies registration Act 1860. However, the council became active only in July 1981, when it started functioning under the chairmanship of Professor D.P. Chattopadyaya.
The council is an autonomous body fully financed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India.
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