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Hind Swaraj: Gandhi in Quintessence

A foundational text Hind Swaraj penned by the Father of the Nation contains the seeds of his greater vision

First published in 1908, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule is among the most basic and profound works of M.K. Gandhi, akin to the Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels. Indians were urged, during the freedom struggle, to read and reread it even as some dismissed it as a work that preached impractical ideology. Ironically, the British had banned its original Gujarati version despite Gandhi’s having argued vehemently in favour of a totally peaceful resistance in the context of India’s freedom. Written during his return voyage from England to South Africa, the book deploys a unique dialogue form between an editor and a reader to identify and analyze various issues that plagued colonial India, be it the onslaught of modern civilization on traditional values or the rage among certain sections for a more anarchist approach to India’s freedom. Hind Swaraj was a response to all such concerns given his longing for a more peaceful and conscience-driven resolution of the issues.

Gandhi makes it abundantly clear in his book that his goal was not merely about striving for India’s political freedom since human subjugation comes in many forms. Besides ending political slavery he wanted a much a deeper transformation of the Indian society that would transcend all its ills and immoral values. The pursuit of such a goal led him to explore problems and remedies in a more fundamental sense. In the process he emerged as one of the strong critics of modern civilization and capitalist development. Hind Swaraj’s relevance lies in this fundamental exposition of modern civilization and its fallacies.

Why India was lost?

As far as Gandhi was concerned, India lost its freedom – both economic and political – more due to its own self-enslavement. The self-seeking inclinations of Indians aided and abetted the British in their trade and empire building. The British enslaved us further by unleashing their projects of `modernization’ based on western education, technology, and values. The western civilization, a curse by itself, then corroded the basis of Indian civilization through its irreligious and immoral tendencies. Be it women sacrificing their secure places for factory work or the increase in needless modern hospitals, all happen to be the results of modern civilization. Cruelty and worldly pursuits have become the order, Gandhi averred.

 He identified several symbols of modern civilization like railways, machines, doctors, and lawyers and analyzed the ways in which they inflict societal damage. Modern lawyers and doctors are given to selfish and parasitic behavior and in no way can they serve humanity, was his opinion. The railways physically spread evils like plague and famine while causing divisions within society. Gandhi did not spare even the education system. The so-called “science education” imposed by the British has been mainly culpable for enslaving Indians to the detriment of the character and moral fabric of Indian society.

The severest criticism of Gandhi was directed towards the machines given their varied negative ramifications. Machines are driven by greedy capitalists and can atrophy individuals. Unlike man-made goods, exploitation and impoverishment are embedded within machines levying a toll on traditional production systems like hand-weaving that helps millions get jobs. Capitalists who use these exploitative machines support the British, unwittingly sustaining their empire.

Gandhi’s Vision
Gandhi’s vision of Hind Swaraj was one of liberating India from the threats besetting it while aiming simultaneously for political, economic, and ethical salvation. Swaraj involved driving out both the British and the curse of their civilization. Indians have to learn to rule themselves by ending their western enslavement, was his dictum. He averred that India’s historical civilization had to be restored to its past glory where real home rule prevails. Devoid of all encumbrances of modern civilization a true civilization had to be established based on the path of duty, good conduct, and morality. Freedom had to invariably reach the last persons and the Indians needed to strive to live together based on trust irrespective of their faiths. Machines needed to give way to humans allowing them to lead simpler and religious lives free of indulgences.

Means as Important as the Goal
Gandhi was steadfast and categorical in his opinion regarding the means of attaining ‘swaraj’ as being as important as the goal. Unfair means, even for a fair result, had no place in any civilized society. Even though the British had occupied India unfairly there was no question of using any violence against them. The home rule wave set in motion by congressmen stoked the awakening regarding British chicanery. The unrest, while necessary, needed to be channelized sans ill-effects. An armed struggle, Gandhi feared, would render India as unholy and unhappy as Europe. One need not have hated the British, only their civilization, language, industries, and machine-made goods.

War cannot bring happiness. Instead, love - the historical driving force of family and society –should form the basis any resistance, he opined. He also reasoned that disobeying the law is repugnant while disobeying an unfair law is essential. Passive resistance was the mantra in which Gandhi believed, which was far superior to any armed force. The essence of passive resistance was the soul-force or truth-force coupled with purification resulting by leading a spiritual and ethical life. It is not a weapon of the weak as only the courageous are able to use it. Gandhi identified perfect chastity, suffering, truthfulness, and fearlessness as the essential norms of life. Passive resistance, to him, was a high moral weapon with rights secured by self-sacrifice without harming others. To Gandhi, home rule needed to begin with self-rule and control.

Very humbly Gandhi concludes his Hind Swaraj thus: ‘…we have used the term ‘Swaraj’ without understanding its real significance. I have endeavored to explain it as I understand it, and my conscience testifies that my life henceforth is dedicated to its attainment’. As it turned out, his understanding really proved to be a profound one.

Significance of Hind Swaraj
When the entire life and contributions of a person like Gandhi are so well recognized, it is not easy assessing one particular work. Although written somewhat in the early part of his life Hind Swaraj remains his basic work containing all the seeds of his greater vision articulated in his later life. Reacting in 1939, this is what Gandhi said about Hind Swaraj, ‘… after the stormy thirty years through which I have since passed, I have seen nothing to make me alter the views expounded in it’. And they remained unaltered for the rest of his life. Hind Swaraj constitutes the core essence of Gandhi. In the current scenario of growing violence, inequality, and ecological plunder the core values of Gandhi as enunciated in Hind Swaraj possess certain fundamental insights capable of throwing up alternatives to the dominant paradigms of development.

Undoubtedly, Hind Swaraj received its share of criticism. It was called a work with unproven ideas and ridden with philosophical and conceptual errors. Some even accused Gandhi of trying to impose his experiments at the expense of India. At a broader level, more radical critics considered Gandhi to be an idealist pursuing a reformist and status quoist approach towards social change. Well aware of these critiques Gandhi admitted, in true democratic spirit, that he was neither dogmatic about his ideas nor would he impose them on the susceptible masses. If there were errors in his views, he said, he would rather stand corrected in search of the truth. Further, he was honest enough to concede that the conditions were not ripe for the kind of swaraj he wished for and, hence, would aim for a middle ground by way of a ‘parliamentary swaraj’ as wished by the masses. At a personal level, however, he endeavored for a complete convergence of his thoughts and actions.

Politically, Gandhi achieved tremendous success using his mantra of non-violence though he could not get similar opportunities to advance his ideals on the economic front. Irrespective of this fact the Gandhian approach based on truth-force remains a potent weapon. Any political or economic system can afford to ignore non-violence and morality only at their peril. There is ample evidence of that, globally speaking. And there are enough hints to show how best those values may be adopted in Hind Swaraj.

(M.K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, Navjivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad)

By: HS Shylendra E-mail: hss@irma.ac.in