Pol Sc Help
Political Thoughts of
GANDHI
SWARAJ
PDF at https://polschelp.in
PAST YEAR’S QUESTIONS
Syllabus: Gandhi: Swaraj
2019: Discuss Gandhi’s idea of Swaraj. Do you think it is relevant today?
Discuss.
2018 : Discuss Gandhi’s idea of Freedom
2017 : Notes: Gandhi’s concept of Gram Swaraj- village republic
His Idea of Swaraj : Its Bases, Context
• Mainly contained in his book Hind Swaraj (1909), which he wrote on a ship while
returning from England to South Africa.
• Also interspersed ( scattered) in his other writings, his autobiography, and columns in
‘Young India’, and ‘Harijan’.
• Influenced by:
• John Ruskin (Unto This Last), Henry Thoreau( civil disobedience), Count Leo Tolstoy- an pacific
anarchist ; Italy’s Mazzini, Dada Bhai Naoroji Un-British Rule in India , Gopal Krishna Gokhle,
• Veda, Upanishads, Epics, Geeta, Jain Philosophy- Narsinh Mehta
• Also influenced by Plato, and Aristotle
• Was written as an response to discourse of Western civilisation, its superiority, in
form of modern political organisation( nation-state), liberal democracy, and
economy( capitalism, industrialisation)
• It was also Gandhiji’s response to discourse on India’s freedom- Swaraj ( Tilak- swaraj
is our birth right), Home rule( Annie Besant, Tilak), militant Nationalism ( Savarkar)
Essence of Gandhi’s Swaraj
• Literal meaning- self-rule, self-Government, independence/freedom ; but it had much wider
meanings
• For individual it denoted self-mastery, self-control, self-restrain, self-realization, moral goodness
& perfectibility
• For polity it meant self-governing autonomous community life without any formal coercive
authority- state; in limited sense it was political freedom from alien rule, full rights of civil
liberties, and civil disobedience against any unjust actions/law of the state/govt
• For political economy it denoted classless economic order, equal honour/dignity for all kinds of
labour, self-renunciation( limiting our wants), Trusteeship
• It also meant freedom from want, material possession, ego, bondage of so called modern
materialistic life- modern large machine, faster transport system, competition/conflict-
court/lawyer, modern medical system-doctors, etc.
• In sum, it was his vision of an ideal civilisation based on Non-violence (अह स
िं ा), Truth, and moral
duty (धर्म) in contrast to western modern civilisation based on violence/force, material
possession, and Rights
Features of Gandhian Swaraj
• Swaraj was much more than political freedom from foreign rule
• Both individual freedom- self-rule and political freedom- self-govt.
• It conveyed a kind of Enlightened Anarchy
• Self-governing community of morally Enlightened individuals without the coercive power of the state
• De objectified modern state as amoral, soulless coercive/violent entity
• Complete destruction of modern civilization and the creation of a new society without State/Govt,
parliaments, railways and other fast modes of transport, machinery, doctors, lawyers and armed forces
and, in which, people totally renounce violence and resist authority through satyagraha
• Had the vision of decentralised, non-hierarchical, participative and substantive democracy-
Oceanic circle
• Swaraj included ‘self-reliance’, ‘truth’, ‘non-violence’, ‘tolerance’, ‘altruism’, ‘self-renunciation’,
‘Sarvodaya’, ‘Satyagraha’, ‘trusteeship’, ‘Bread labour’
The Square of Swaraj-
• Denoted resolution of 4 dichotomies/contradictions between Polity Economy
Modern and ideal civilization:
1.competition versus cooperation ; Rights vs Duty
2. Machinery vs hand labour
3.consumerism/consumerism vs self-denial;
Social order Dharma- धर्म
4. coercive amoral state vs moral, non-violent community
Social Dimension of Swaraj
• Self-governing community of morally Enlightened individual
• Society exists for individual, for its fullest moral development ( Comp. Aristotle)
• Individual ready to perish for society, ready to renounce possessions for the
needy other, for common Good
• Ideal social order- oceanic circles- community of communities
• Class less and egalitarian social order;
• No monopoly and domination of elites, educated persons, wealthy men, no discrimination on
race, religion, caste, sex
• No centralization, accumulation, violence, exploitation
• Every one is free to exercise his/her will, following Dharma( moral duty), ready to sacrifice for
others and community
• Swaraj is for all, especially for poor, toiling masses, the last men
• Public decision NOT based on Utilitarianism- good for greatest number BUT
‘Sarvodaya’- Good for all and Antyodaya- good for the last one
Political Dimension of Swaraj
• Much wider meaning than political freedom
• “I am not interested in freeing India merely from the English yoke(bondage). I am bent upon freeing India from any
yoke whatsoever. I have no desire to exchange ‘king log’ for king stork’…..for me Swaraj is movement for self-
purification”
• Political self-govt is no better than individual self-govt (self-rule)
• Ideally no state/Govt, but on practical ground settles for minimal/limited constitutional state/Govt.
• Rejects western liberal democracy as superficial/nominal democracy; Swaraj denoted substantive,
participative democracy ; remove dichotomy of individual freedom in private and public/ political life.
• Limited political obligation:
• government based on consent; guided by the will of the people; does not impose its own will over
people
• Right of civil disobedience against unjust rule/laws
• Satyagraha as method of political action
• Much less dependence of people on Govt.
• “….. Swaraj meant continuous effort to be independent of Govt….. Sorry affair if people look up to Govt
for the regulation of every detail of life”
• People have right to check abuse of authority
• “Swaraj will come not by acquisition of authority by a few but by acquisition of capacity by all to resist
authority when it is abused”
Economic Dimension of Swaraj
• Class less economic order
• Not same as Marxist vision of class less society- no violence, no revolution by labour class, no
doctorship of proletariat
• By dignity of labour( bread labour), self-renunciation, Trusteeship
• No destruction of social hierarchy( caste system), economic inequality- but dignity and equity
• Distributive justice based on the principles of Sarvodaya and Antyodaya
• Utilitarianism- greatest good to greatest number vs Sarvodaya- greatest good for all;
• Antyodaya: good to the last one in the row- the poorest of the poor ; “last is equal to the first or,
in other words, no one is to be the first and none the last.”
• Possessive Individualism vs Self-renunciation
• Self-reliant life in accordance with nature
• Hand tools, self-production of articles of daily use, no need for complex machine that would
displace human labour and concentrate power in few hands, faster transport, lawyers, doctors, or
any modern means- Charkha and khadi symbolized this concept
• Self-sufficient, self-reliant village community
• Village vs City ; Hand labour vs Machine
• Decentralized and diffused 'rural industrialization'
Gandhian Oceanic Circles: Community of Communities
Central Govt
the outer circle will not crush the inner circle Non-pyramidal, Non-hierarchical
but would both derive and give strength to it. Provinces socio-political order
community based governance
Districts through democratic decentralization
every village will be a republic
or panchayat having full powers Talukas
Each tier of Govt- autonomous Each province would be free to
self-reliant/self-sufficient have its own constitution
Village Community
Central Govt to hold all tiers of No outer circle would have
Govt together extraordinary power over any
Individual
inner circle
“Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual always
ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of
individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units.”
Critical Evaluation of Gandhi’s Swaraj
• Critique:
• It was utopic just like Plato’s idea state
• Guided by Anarchic thoughts
• Idea of ‘Trusteeship’ was almost impossible to realize
• His criticism of modernity- industrialization, machines, lawyers, doctors, railways, etc seems
illogical, and traditionalist
• ‘Charkha’ and ‘Khadi’ were impractical
• He supported ‘Varna’ system; wealth creation by few- economic inequality
• He mixed religion in politics
• Idea of ‘Satyagraha’ with hunger strike boarders ‘दरु ाग्र ’ and ‘ ठ’
• Overall Assessment:
• He could see through the perils of western civilisation- like Plato's Philosopher
• World is slowly start to appreciate his thoughts/vision- sustainable development, Rawl’s
theory of Justice, mechanistic social life in the age of liberal capitalism, greater divide
between rural and urban areas, negatives of 3rd world copying western civilisation, etc
References
• Books:
• Indian Political Thought by O.P. Gauba
• Political Thoughts in Modern India, edited by Thomas Pantham and Kenneth L Deutsch
•Online Resources:
• IGNU study material on this theme :
http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/33669/1/Unit-14.pdf
• https://andjournalin.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/2019a_7.pdf
• Wikipedia:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unto_This_Last
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Home_Rule_movement
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
•You Tube Videos:
• Gandhi's Ideas of Swaraj by CEC https://youtu.be/U1lnK8-PoXQ
• Hind Swaraj (1908) by CEC https://youtu.be/clDH-ofAoVA
• Hind Swaraj : A text with a purpose BY CEC https://youtu.be/GZI9LqcpQQU
• India Interacts - Relevance of Gandhi in today's India on RS TV : https://youtu.be/0KF2tajhvSM
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