Interpreting Gandhi's Hind Swaraj

Author(s): Rudolf C. Heredia

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 34, No. 24 (Jun. 12-18, 1999), pp. 1497-1502
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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 PERSPECTIVE

Interpreting Gandhi's Hind Swaraj

their victims. He backs up his criticism of
these professions in Hind Swaraj with a
later suggestion for their nationalisation
Rudolf C Heredia (CW, 68:97).
Rationalist materialism: Technology is
but the expression of science, which in
Gandhi's Hind Swaraj is not rejection of the liberative contribution of
modem civilisation becomes an uncompro-
modernity. Rather his effort can be interpreted as an attemptmising
to rationalism. For Gandhi this is but
integrate these positive elements with a liberating re-interpretation of truncated humanism. His
a dangerously
tradition. With his critique from within the tradition, Gandhiincisive
becomes
remark is much to the point: "Just
as dirt is matter misplaced, reason
the great synthesiser of contraries within and across traditions.
misplaced is lunacy! I plead not for the
suppression of Rgason, but for a due
GANDHI's Hind Sworaj (HS) is surely be overcome
a in our own consciousness recognition of that in us,which sanctifies
foundational text for any understanding reason itself' (CW,6:106). Certainly,
of [Nandy 1983:63]. Unless this 'Intimate
first
Enemy' was exorcised and exiled, unless
the man and his mission. In dialogue with Gandhi is right in insisting on the un-
the text in its context, with the authorwe
andaddressed this 'Loss and Recoveryreasonableness
of of not setting any limits to
among ourselves, we hope to locate Self the Under Colonialism' (ibid), we wouldreason.

text within it's own horizon of meaning always be a people enslaved by one power More recently a post-modern w
and then interrogate it from within or ouranother, whether foreign or native. emphasised the aggressive and de
own contemporary. For Gandhi's text Certainly,
is Gandhi would not want to march of this 'age of reason'. H
"a proclamation of ideological indepen- exchange an external colonialism forGandhian would test his faith with h
dence" [Dalton 1993:16] he never com- internal one, a white sahib for a brown but he would not allow his reason t
promised, his "confession of the faith" one, orcompensate the loss of 'Hindustan'his faith. What makes such tech
[Nanda 1974:661 he never abandoned, "a 'Englistan' (HS, Ch 4).
with rationalism even more destructive in
rather incendiary manifesto" [Erikson British India colonialism was first Gandhi's view, is its flawed materialism.
1969:217] to enkindle his revolution. No
justified by a supposedly Christianising
That is, the negation of the spiritual, the
wonder it was banned by the colonial transcendent, or in other words, the denial
mission, but very soon this was articulated
government in 1910 lor fear of sedition. of a religious worldview.
in terms of a civilising one. In rejecting
this modern civilisation, Gandhi is For Gandhi truth, was much more than
I
subverting the legitimacy of the colonial
could be grasped by science or reason. For
Gandhi's Critique of the Modern
enterprise at its core. For there could him
be there was a reality beyond that
West
perceived by the senses. It is this trans-
no colonialism without acivilising mission
For Gandhi civilisation was by definition[Nandy 1983:11] since it could hardlycendent
be reality that gave meaning and
a moral enterprise: "Civilisation is that sustained in India by brute force. value to our present one. In this Gandhi
mode of conduct which points out to man Industrial capitalisim: Gandhi sees is very much in the mainstream of Hindu
the path of duty" (HS, Ch 13). Hence itcapitalism as the dynamic behind colonial tradition. Indeed, most religious traditions
is the very basic ethos of this modern westimperialism. Lenin too had said as much, would be similarly sensitive to such a
that Gandhi sets himself against. For heand like Marx, Gandhi's rejection transcendentof world, even when it is not
finds two unacceptable and unethicalcapitalism is based on a profound repug- perceived as wholly other-worldly. In a
principles at its very core: 'might is right' nance to a system where profit is allowed
more secular world today we may not be
and the 'survival of thle fittest'. The first to degrade labour, where the machines sympathetic
are to such a worldview. And yet
legitimated the politics of power as valued more than humans, where auto-a materialism that is deterministic leaves
expounded earlier by Machiaveli; the mation is preferred to humanism. no scope for human freedom and hope.
second idealised the economics of self- It was this that moved Gandhi to his Gandhi emphasises this reaching out to a
interest as proposed by Adam Smith.somewhat In hyperbolic claim: "Machinery
beyond, that gives this freedom and hope
the west "with rare exceptions, alternatives
is the chief symbol of modern civilisation;
its dynamism and a reach beyond its grasp.
it represents a great sin" (HS, Ch 19).
to western civilisation are always sought
II
within its own basic thought system" [Saran
However, by 1919 his views on machinery
1980:681]. do begin to change right up to 1947, as
Relevance of Gandhi's Critique
The three recurrent themes in Hind he gradually comes to concede some
Today
Swaraj which we will discuss here positiveare: aspects like time and laboursaving,Gandhi's critique of modem civilisation
colonial imperialism, industrial capitalism,
even as he warns against the negative onesdoes overlook many of its strengths: its
and rationalist materialism. of concentrating wealth and displacing scientific and critical spirit of inquiry: its
Colonial imperialism: Gandhi cate- workers [Parel 1997:164-70]. He was human control over the natural world; its
gorically insisted that "the English have acutely sensitive to how machinery can organisational capacity. Such achievement
not taken India; we have given it to them. dehumanise and technology alienate, and would imply acertain 'spiritual dimension'
They are not in India because of their he extends his critique to the professions that Gandhi seems to have missed [Parekh
strength: but because we keep them" of medicine and law (HS, Chs 11, 12). 1997:35]. However, the focus of his criti-
(HS, Ch 7). He was one of the earliest to The poor hardly benefit from these cism is modern civilisation of a specific
realise that colonialisim was something to professional services, though they are often period; his condemnation of colonialism

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1497

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focuses on its imperialistic inspiration; his Moreover, the west is still the centre now
of seems to have turned on itself with
rejection of industrialism derives mostly our world for we have not the self-respect,
the post-modern revolt. But this has thrown
from its capitalist context; his apprehen- the self-reliance, the self-sufficiency to
up its own irrationalities. It seems to have
sions about rationality regard its truncation centre ourselves and so we condemn our- lost the liberating project that was implicit
by materialism. selves to remain on the periphery of in modernity. For the kind of relativising
However, once the real limitations of someone else's centre. For the colonial
and subjectivising of ethics that post-
Gandhi's critique are acknowledged, then modernism has led to, undermines the
masters had stripped ourcollective identity
we can better contextualise and interpret of any intrinsic dignity by denigratingclaims
us of any justice. For there can hardly
his relevance for us today, whether this as a cowardly and passive people. Gandhi
be any mutually accepted legitimacy to
be with regard to politics in our neo- sought to reverse the damage to our arbitrate conflicting claims, when con-
colonial world, or technologies in our post- collective psyche by his "redefinition of
sensus irrevocably breaks down. So. might
industrial times, or culture in our post- beconcs right, and the power its own
courage and effective resistance in terms
modern age. These will now be some of of, or through non-violence" [Roy legitimation.
the issues on which we must allow Gandhi 1986:185]. Gandhi's trenchantcritiqueof modernity
to interrogate us. For "the kinds of questions The issue then of our identity as a nationwas focused on modernist rationalism. but
Gandhi asked nearly eight decades ago areand a people still remains to be resolved.it was equally opposed to a post-modern
the ones which now face both the under- Such identities are only viable in a rejection of rationality. What Gandhi was
developed and the post-industrial societiesgenuinely multicultural world. Gandhi's pleading for is a richerconcept of rationality
caught up in a deep upsurge of confusionurging in this regard is certainly relevantand a meta-theory of rationalism IParekh
and disillusionment" [Sethi 1979:3]. today in our own society where the1995:165-66]. He wanted tocontain exces-
Neo-colonlialism: Gandhi's rejection ofpropagation of a cultural nationalism is sive rationality within reasonable bounds
the supposedly civilising mission of growing every day. Yet "nothing could hewithout an irrational revolt against reason
colonialism brings into question the whole itself. but he would emphatically reject
more anti-Indian than attempts to make an
legitimacy of colonial rule. at a funda- ideology of Indianness and to fight, insteadany forced choice between totalising
mental ethical level. He would have India of incorporating or bypassing non-rationalism and relativlsing subjectivism.
unlearn much that she lias from the modernIndianness" [Nandy 1980:1121.
IlI
west. For if Indians "would but revert to Post-industrialisi.m: With the new
Gandhi's Affirmation of Indian
their own glorious civilisation, either technologies there was much hope foI a
Culture
the English would adopt the latter and new freedom from degrading and mono-
become Indianised or find their occupation tonous work. However, what seems to Gandhi's Hind Swa-raj presents us with
in India gone" (HS, Preface to English have come in to replace this degrading an idealised version of Indian culture that
edition). monotony is not a new dignity of labour is completely counterpunctal to the
Thus, he opens up a host of ethical but rather a compulsive consumerist 'modern west'. Here we pick out three
issues between the coloniser and the society, which is but dehumanising inseminal themes: swaraj, swadeshi and
colonised, the dominant and the dominated,newer ways. This should hardly surprise satya.
the oppressor and oppressed. The post- us since the ethic underlying post-Swaraj: Gandhi radically re-interprets
colonial era brought such issues industrialism
into is the same as that which 'swaraj' and gives it a dual meaning. The
sharper focus across the world. Nowunderpinned
with original Gujarati text uses 'swaraj' in both
industrial capitalism, namely,
globalisation leading to a unipolar world,the profit motive and the marketsenses. Gandhi's English translation makes
such concerns with empowerment mechanism.
and the duality explicit: swaraj as 'self-rule'
disempowerment. dependency and inter- Gandhi's critique was precisely a con-and as 'self-government'. The first as self-
dependency, have gained, not lost demnationtheir of these. If we find his ideas control, rule over oneself, was the founda-
urgency. Moreover, closer home this tion for the second, self-government. In
of trusteeship a little naive and impractical.
widening divide bears down on us we morestill have no alternative answer to this second sense, local self-government
decisively than ever before. humanising a system that seems to have was what Gandhi really had in mind.
Our new economic policy increasingly betrayed what possibilities it might Gandhi have very decidedly gives priority to
represents a whole new vision of society. had of bringing freedom and dignity to self-rule
the over self-government, and to both
that takes for granted the internal toiling masses. Moreover, teclhnology overhaspolitical independence, swatantr:ita.
colonialism we are experiencing today, itsas own intrinsic dynamism, that instru- Essential to both meanings ui' swaraj.
for instance between Bharat and India, thementalises our world and inevitably was leadsa sense of self-respect that is precisely
to a disenchantment that bring us to
bahujan and the twice-bornj atis, the avarna Gandhi's
the answer to colonial rule. For
and the savarna castes. the toiling masses'iron cage', as Weber warned long Gandhi ago. freedom in its most fundamental
and the privileged classes, the oppressedOur environmental crises are surely sense a had to mean freedom tor self-
people and the oppressor groups, themanifestation of this loss of innocence, realisation. But it had to be a freedom for
minority traditions and the majority one. even to the point when we want newer all, for the toiling masses, and the privileged
Thus, our post-colonial world can only technologies to repair the damage already classes, and most importantly for the least
be described as a neo-colonial one, inter-done by the older ones. Gandhi was and last Indian. In this sense, sarvodaya
nationally divided into developed andprecisely rejecting such anaive "nineteenth was precisely the patriotism that Gandhi
century optimism which sought for
developing nations, as also intra-nationally espoused.
the It focused on people's welfare
between privileged and underprivileged positive sciences the liberation of not on national pride: "By patriotism I
citizens. Moreover. lhese divisions are humanity" [Nandy 1986:102]. But such mean the welfare of the whole people,
anti-modernism then was ahead of its time! and, if I could secure it at the hands of
mutually reinforced, not just economically
and politically but culturally and sociallyPost-modernism: The excessive and the English, I should bow down my head
as well. to them" (HS, Ch 15). So he could write:
aggressive rationalism of the age of reason,

1498 Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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"my patriotism is for me a stage on my a dream, a happening, a culture. As heIt was basically a method of dialogue that
journey to the land of freedom and peace" would bring two disagreeing parties not
used "the term 'village' implied not an
(Ytoung Indita April 13, 1924, p 112). And just into mutual agreement, but into the
entity, but a set of values" [Sethi 1979:23].
yet swaraj was not soniething given by the It brought together his three basic themes realisation of a deeper truth together. The
leaders. Indian or British, it was something of swaraj: self-respect, self-realisation anddichotomy between the oppressor and
that had to be taken by the people for self-reliance. the oppressed is transcended in this
themselves. In privileging the rural over the urban, 'heightened mutuality', but even beyond
Clearly, the foundation of swaraj in both Gandhi was arguing for a minimal state, this "satyagraha ruptures the tricotomy
its senses had to be threefold: self-respect, since he saw the state essentially as an among the oppressor, oppressed and
self-realisation and self-reliance. This is instrument of violence. It was only in the emancipator" [Pantham 1986:179). for it
what Gandhi tried to symbolise with the communal cauldron at the timeof partition, seeks to involve all three in this quest for
chakra and khadi, both much mis- that he began to see the need of state powergreater self-realisation of the truth. From
understood symbols today. For Gandhi to contain and end the violence. And yet the satyagrahi as the initiator, this required
khadi "is the symbol ol the unity of Indian our experience of the post-colonial state a demanding discipline.
humanity, of its economic freedom and in this country would bear out his appre- But satyagraha was also a political
equality and therefore ultimately in hensions the even as we seem to be careening strategy. In Hind Swaraj Gandhi defines
poetic expression of Jawaharlal Nehru, into anarchy. Gandhi perhaps did not fully 'passive resistance' as he called it then,
the livery of India's freedom" (CW 75:146- appreciate the role of the state as an agency
as "a method of securing rights by personal
66). Today the chakra and khadi have not for regenera'ion and redistribution, in suffering" (HS, Ch 17). Clearly, "Gandhi's
retained this powerful multivalent
planning and co-ordination. But he was
satyagraha then was an ingenious com-
symbolism. acutely sensitive to the centralised state
bination of reason, morality and politics;
Yet the ethic that Gandhi was trying to appropriating what belonged to the localit appealed to the opponent's head, heart
introduce and inscribe into Indian political and interests" [Parekh 1995:156].
community and the individual. He was
life was that "real swaraj will not be the deeply suspicious of power being used in This was a "vernacular model of action"
acquisition of authority by a few but the the cause of freedom or to contain violence. [Parekh 1995:211] that the people
acquisition of the capacity of all to resist understood. But it was Gandhi who first
His swadeshi was an attempt to address
authority when it is abused" [Prabhu this complex dialectic on an ethical rather
used it so effectively to moblise them and
1961:4-5]. For Gandhi "Civilisation is that than a political foundation. to appeal to their oppressors. In fact he
mode of conduct which points out to man Sativa: For Gandhi truth was not a matterwas the first leader to bring non-violence
the path duty" (HS, Ch 13). The basis then ol' thllry but of practice. His autobiography
to centre stage in the struggle for freedom
of his swaraj could not be just rights, it entitled Experiments with Truth, is surely with the British. He was well aware that
had to be duties as well. For Gandhi real an indication of this. But Gandhi's tnith adopting "methods of violence to drive
rights are legitimated by duties they flowhas little to do with experimental science, out the English" would be a "suicidal
from. for both are founded on satya and concerned with external prediction. Rather policy" (HS, Ch 15). And his Hind Swaraj
dharma. The modern theory of rights was precisely intended to stymie such a
his truth was an experiential one. , etflexive
understanding of oneself very much in the
reverses this priority and founds rights on soul-destroying venture.
the dignity and freedom of the individual.tradition of the Buddha and the ancient Gandhli's re-interpretation: Gandhi
But comprehensive morality can never be rishis of this land. The whole of Gandhi's locates himself as an insiderto mainstream
adequately articulated or correctly graspedlife's journey was not to predict theHinduism, the 'sanathan dharma'. Hence,
in terms of rights alone. outcome of his life's struggle, but rather the radicality of his re-interpretation goes
Swadeshi: Swadeshi is the means for to interpret and direct the struggles ot theunnoticed. Gandhi does not reject, he
masses for what they themselves couldsimply affirms what he considers to be
Gandhi's quest for swaraj. Fundamentally
it meant 'localism'. This was not an isolated
legi'imately claim. authentic, and allows the inauthentic to be
localism of the "deserted village", that For Gandhi satya. was an absolute realitysloughed off. For "Gandhi's Hinduism
Goldsmith romanticed. or the degradation that we could only partially grasp. Thuswas ultimately reduced to a few funda-
of caste oppression that Ambedkar revolted the many-sidedness of truth that we mental beliefs: the supreme reality of God.
against, but rather the local neighbourhood experience is nothing but a consequence the ultimate unity of all life and the value
community, the village as the node in a of such relative knowledge. Overcomingof love (ahimsa) as a means of realising
network of oceanic circles that over-lapped these limitations of our 'relative know- God" [Nanda 1985:86]. His profound
and spread out in its ever widening ledge' for a more comprehensive grasp redefinition
of of Hinduism gave it aradically
embrace. It is this commitment of the novel orientation. In sum, "Gandhi's
this 'absolute truth' could never be forced
individual to his 'desh' that was Gandhi's by violence. Only ahimsa. non-violence,Hinduism had a secularised content but
Indian alternative to western nationalism could make the quest for such truth viable.a spiritual form and was at once both
[Parekh 1995:56-57]. Gandhi operationalised this quest in hissecular and non-secular" [Parekh
Gandhi perceived that power in Indiastrategy of satyagraha, or truth-force. 1995:109].
was inevitably monopolised by the urbanMoreover, he makes no ethical separation Tlius one of the most remarkable and
elite, at the expense of village folk, andbetween means and an end. Both must be yet unremarked re-interpretations of
was trying to reverse)dhis dependency tomorally good. For him "the goal did not Hinduism that Gandhi effected was that
make the state serve the weaker sections. exist at the end of a series of actions of the Gita, a text intended to persuade
His was an egalitarian, notjust a romantic, designed to achieve it. it shadowed them a relu.ilnt warrior on the legitimacy and
inspiration. Mao attempted as much in from the very beginning" [Parekh even the necessity of joining the battle.
China. But the village Gandhi idealised1995:142]. Gandhi reworks its 'nishkamakarma' to
was not just a geographic place, or a Thus, satyagraha was not just a political become the basis of his ahimsa and
statistic, or a social class. It was an event, strategy, it was both a means and an end. satyagraha!

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1499

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 We have only to contrast Gandhi's grasped its fundamental strength and the
known by the beautiful name Bhangi. that
Hinduism with V D Savarkar's hindutva secret of its survival. is to say the reformer or remover of all
to see how starkly contrapunctal they are!
IV
dirt" (Hari.jatn, July 7, 1946, p 212).
Hence, in spite of its pretensions to be But if Gandhi's quest for equality is
nationalist and modern, its militant Our World Today something that our complex world cannot
chauvinism and aulhoritarian funda- We must now situate ourselves with accommodate, we seem to have given up
mentalism make hlndutva the very regard to the critical issues of our world
not just this ideal of equality, but even the
antithesis of Gandhi's -linduism. Hindutvatoday to enter into dialogue with him. quest
Here for equity in the distribution of the
is in fact but a contemporary synthesis of we have chosen three such issues as being
rewards and burdens of our society. And
brahmanism! This is why in the end the the most fruitful for this encounter: the yet today Gandhi's proletarian 'levelling
Mahatma is velhemently opposed by the collapse of socialism and tie crisis of down' certainly seems to be much more
traditional Hindu elite. who felt threatened capitalism, gobalisation in an inter- viable that Tagore's elitist 'levelling up'.
by the challeng e e posed. dependent world, and the unresolved In such a scenario the relevance ofGandhi' s
But precisely becausel he presents himself violence of our atomic age. idea of sarvodaya as the goal of swaraj is
as a Hindu in his interpretation of Indian Post-sociallism: In our present world, something we need to re-examine.
culture. he was seen as too inclusive by the socialist ideal is being discredited as Certainly, a decentralised participative
traditional Hindus, and at the same time a god that failed, when it is rather the once democratic and humane society, is a more
as not ecumenical enough by contemporary socialist states that have collapsed. attractive, and one may dare say, a more
non-Hindus. Hence his appeals for Hindu- Moreover, today the crisis of capitalism vialable ideal today, than the kind of
Muslim unity were rejected, bythe Muslims is everyday more apparent, with the consumerism and inequitous divisions that
as being too Hindu, and questioned by the collapse of the much acclaimed Asian the new economic policy in our country
Hindus for not being Hindu enough. tigers as the new model for the cornucopia seems to welcome.
Gandhi's failure to hridge the religious of development and progress; and the Indeed, the principle of subsidiarity
divide between Hindil and Muslim, was growing unemployment in the west cannot seems to be the only viable solution to
matched in many ways by his failure to but presage further crises there as well. national governments that are too large to
bridge the caste divide between dalits andWith liberalisation and privatisation as address local problems, while being too
others. He never quite understood Jinnah, accepted policy in our country today, the small to cope with global ones. Today the
or his appeal to Muslim nationalism. One Bharat verses India divide, that Gandhi 73rd and 74th amendment to the
could say the same in regard to Ambedkar had intuited long ago, is, if anything, rapidly Constitution once again affirm panchay
and dalits, who have never forgotten or and disastrously growing. Only now the raj and tribal self-rule. We are comi
forgiven Gandhi for the imposition of theelite of Bharat seems to have been co- back to a devolution of powers that Gan
Pune Pact. We can only wonder nowopted by the privileged of India, even hadasurged in his ideal of swaraj and had
whether separate electorates for dalitsthe refugees of India have been forcedtried
intoto have written in to our Constitution.
then would have made reservations I-or an urbanised Bharat. Hopefully this will be a presage of more
them unnecessary now. What we do know Much has been made about the dis- to come.

is that the caste divide has only deepenedagreements between Gandhi and Nehru. Glohalisation: Globalisation and the
with increasing conflict and indeed the But in the exchange of letters in 1945 alienating homogeneity that it must
[Parel 1997:149-56], it is quite clear that inevitably promote, is the very opposite
same can be said about the religious divide
and religious conflict in this country. the axis of their reconciliation was pre- of the localism and the celebration of
Yet for Gandhi the unity of humankindcisely around this quest for equality. Their diversity that Gandhi' s swadeshi was meant
was premised on the oneness of the cosmos,paths may have been different but Nehru' s to encourage. However, Gandhi' s pri nciple
which was a philosophical principle thatsocialism and Gandhi's swaraj were of swadeshi, "simply means that the most
was ontologically prior to diversity. Onceboth oriented to this quest for equity and effective organisation of social, economic
the legitimacy of religious diversity isequality across all the divides, of caste, and political functions must follow the
class, region, etc.
rooted in the fundamental Jaina principle natural contours of the neighbourhood,"
of 'anekantavada', the many sidedness of Gandhi was quite radical in urging thus affirming "the primacy of the
equality, even more so than the com- immediate community" [Roy 1985:114].
truth, then religious tolerance is a necessary
consequence - not a negative tolerance ofmunists. He would have equal wages and Gandhi's "goodness politics" as it has
distance and coexistence. but rather one bread labour for all. In his 'Constructive
been called [Saran 1980:691], could only
of communication and enrichment Programme' (CW, 75:146-66). Gandhi's really operate on such a scale. For "Gandhi
[Heredia 1997]. concept of equality is not grounded in decentralisation means the creation of
In cultural matters, Gandhi wanted all parallel politics in which the people's
impersonal and competitive individualism,
cultures to be enricled by each other as it seems to be in the west, but in co-power is institutionalised to counter the
without losing their identity. But such operative and compassionate non-violence,
centralising and alienating forces of the
modern state... Thus the Gandhian
cultural assimilation. was opposed by on 'fraternity' not just 'liberty'. In the
political revivalists and religious beginning, he saw no contradiction betweendecentralised polity has a built-in proce
nationalists. Yet for Gandhi open and such fraternal equality and the idealised of the withering away of the state" [Set
understanding dialogue must precede, not hierarchy of varna. But in his later years 1986:229].
follow, a free and adaptive assimilation. he reversed himself to urge that "classless But before this is dismissed as too naive
Thus, an enriched diversity would then society is the ideal, not merely to be ator impractical for our sophisticated an
contribute to a more invigourated pluralism aimed at but to be worked for" (Harijan, complicated world, we might pause t
and an enhanced unity. This was precisely February 17, 1946. p 9). By now he was think of the kind of politics our centralise
Gandhi's understanding of Indian culture promoting inter-caste marriages and states have in fact spawned. The very
and civilisation, and hie had, indeed, hoping "there would be only one caste hegemonic homogeneity it promotes

1500 Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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succeeds less at obliterating difference However, the Gandhian ideal was a interpreted as an attempt to integrate these
than atalienating minorities andenkindling community modelled on the joint family positive elements with a liberating re-
their resentment. On the contrary, to take and on varna as a non-competitive division interpretation of tradition, even as some
a lesson from ecology, micro-variability of labour. Later in his life his own see him as radical and others as reactionary.
is needed for macro-stability in political With
promotion of inter-caste marriages testi his critique from within the tradition,
fies
and economic systems as well. to a change in his views. Yet evenGandhi
as we becomes the great synthesiser of
Gandhi's swadeshi could never mean critique such Gandhian ideas, wecontraries
must if not of contradictions, within
ethnocentrism. Unlike some Hindu and andand
discover in dialogue what value across traditions.
relevance they have for us today. His
Muslim 'nationalists' Gandhi never used For'puma (comprehensive) swaraj'
'nationalism' for narrow sectarian pur- would
ultimately Gandhi insists on both: that theharmonise rights and duties, head
community is not a mere means for
poses. He mobilised his people as 'Indians' andthe
heart, individual and community, faith
not as Hindus or Musli ns. His nationalismself-interest of the individual and thatandthe
reason, economic development and
was anti-imperialistic not chauvinistic,individual
a in not a mere resource for the spiritual progress, religious commitment
concerns of thecommunity. And this would
struggle for political justice and cultural and religious pluralism, self-realisation
dignity [Nandy 1994:3]. He was a patriot go for the community of communities, and political action. He brings together
who wanted "Indian nationalism to be that our global community must be. philosophical discourse and popular
non-violent, anti-militaristic and thereforeViolence: There can be no negating the culture in enlightened renewal and social
a variant of universalism" [Nandy liberation that modernity has brought in reform. Not since the time of the Buddha,
1995:14]. He was only too aware of theour post - moder world to vast masses of some have argued, has such a synergy
number of 'nationalities' that could be people. But for all its much vaulted between the philosophic and the popular
moblised in India, once the genie was out 'rationality' some would rather say because in our traditions been experienced. Thus,
of the bottle! of it, modernity has failed to cope with Gandhi integrates the Upanishad and the
An ecological understanding is now this endemic irrationality of violence. If Tulsi Ramayan in his religious synthesis.
propelling us to a new and deep realisation Gandhi's ahimsa seems impractical, what When it comes to bridges across traditions.
of our interdependence. We have only one are the alternative we have trapped our- Gandhi brings the Gita together with the
earth, we must learn to share and care. We selves in? If Gandhi was right that " to 'Sermon on the Mount' and reads one into
are but a contingent part of the cosmos, arm India on a large scale is to Europeanise the other. In fact, if he has Christianised
debtors born, whose proper response to it," (HS. Ch 15) then what would nuclear Hinduism he has certainly also presented
life must be the 'yagna', service-offering arms do'? Americanise us? And this is an us with a Hinduised Christian spirituality.
of our lives for others [Parekh 1995:88]. initiative being pushed by our cultural Precisely as a re-interpretation from
Thus, with regard to the economy and nationalists! But then in a globalised worldwithin, Gandhi can so much to more
polity, Gandhi would have the village as it is surely only the elite that will get toeffectively and authentically integrate into
his world; but with regard to culture and strut and fret upon this global stage, whilehis synthesis elements from without. Thus
religion, it was the world that was his the masses of our people are a passive andhe reconciles meaningful faith and
village! Surely, here we have a viable manipulated audience to this theatre of thereasonable modernity. In the best traditions
example of thinking globally and acting macabre. of this land he combined both faith and
locally. Indeed, our glohal ecological crisis The whole effort of the modern world reason, for eachi s implicated in each other.
has begun to press on us anew the relevance in dealing with violence has been to control Gandhi would constantly critique faith to
of Gandhi's paradoxical ideas. For the the other. But mastery over others has not ascertain whether it was meaningful and
institutional individualism that seemed meant less violence for ourselves. Only reasonable in terms of basic human value
to be the very foundation of the democratic now we become the perpetrators, not the commitments. And so too he would
sufferers of violence. Gandhi's attempt demand of reason the same fidelity t
quest in the west seems quite inade-
begins with controlling oneself - as the these values as well.
quate to the ecological crises of today. For
first source of violence one must master
it privileges individual rights over the However, the ascetic dimension of
in order to fearlessly and non-violentlyGandhi's integration at times loses the
common good. But even enlightened self-
win over the violent others. His concern
interest has no answer to the 'tragedy aesthetic one. A criticism of Gandhi's
was with "socialising the individualashrams was that it grew only vegetables
of the commons' accept an external
coercion. conscience rather than internalising the not flowers [Parekh 1995:209]. Growing
However, for Gandhi, "individuality" social conscience" [Iyer 1973:123]. Cer-vegetables represented more than the
must be "oriented to self-realisation tainly Gandhi has much relevance to ourGandhian pre-occupation with vege-
through self-knowledge... in a network present
of need to once again bridge this tarianism and bread-labour. But in rightly
interdependence and harmony informed dichotomy between rights and duties. and emphasising the need for renunciation,
by ahimsa" [Roy 1986a:84]. Nor wasintegrate
this both in a more comprehensive certainly a message that our consumerist
to be an interdependence of dominant- freedom of choice and the obligation of and self-indulgent world needs more than
subservient relationships so prevalent conscience,
in in a humanist worldview and ever today, the Gandhian ashram seemed
a more genuinely humane world-
our local communities and global societies. to miss out on the need for celebration,
His swadeshi envisaged a more per- community. This is our only real chance which our tired and alienated, dis-spirited
sonalised and communitarian society foronpeace in our now globally inter- and pessimistic world needs almost as
a human scale, yet extending to include
dependent world. much.
both the biotic and even the cosmic Gandhi's synthesis: Gandhi's Hind A re-interpretation of Gandhi would
Swaraj is not a rejection of the liberative precisely allow such a celebration. While
community. This was the logical extension
of the Jaina doctrine of 'syadvada', that
contribution of modernity: civil liberties, Gandhi's understanding of 'moksha' as
everything is related to everything religious
in the tolerance, equality, poverty service is a seminal breakthrough, even
universe in 'a great chain of being'. alleviation. Rather his effort can be this can be enriched by affirming, not

Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999 1501

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negating the other dimensions of life. It phatically the need to find new ways of University Press, Delhi.
is only thus that we will be able to bring redefining ourselves and understanding -(1995): 'Unity in Nationalism: Pitfalls of
some wholeitess to, in Iris Murdoch's Imported Concepts', The Times of India.
our problems, before we can begin to October 4, Mumbai.
respond to the situation.
unforgettable phrase, the "broken totality," Nehru, Jawaharlal (1958): A Bunch of Old Letters,
of our modern world. London.
[This paper is based on a presentation made at
VI department of Philosophy, Pune University for Pantham. Thomas (1986): 'Proletarian Pedagogy,
Satyagraha and Charisma: On Gramci and
Conclusion: Partners in Dialogue a seminar on 'Rethinking Swaraj', June 25- Gandhi' in R Roy (ed),Contelmporarn Crisis
27,1998. My thanks to Mahesh Gavaskar and
others for their comments on an earlier draft.] (tand Gandhi, op cit, pp 165-89.
Gandhi's life was a continuing series of
Parekh, Bhikhu (1995): Gandhi's Political
controversies and contestations with those
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'nai talim' or basic education as it came Nanda, B R (1985): (;,Ilndhi and His Critics, Philosophy, Chanakya Publications. Delhi.
to be called; in the economy by Oxford University Press, Delhi. - ( 1984a): Self cnd Society: A Study of Gandhian
symbolically urging khadhi. Not all of Ashish ( 1980): Atthe Edge /f Ps ' hology: Thoutght, Sage Publication, New Delhi.
Nandy,
these efforts were successful or perhapsEssays in Politics and Culture, OxfordSaran, A K (1980): 'Gandhi and the Concept of
University Press, Delhi. Politics: Towards a Normal Civilisation',
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- ( 1983): Tlte Itilmate Etnen1y: Loss and Reco ery Gandhi Marg, Vol 1, No 11, February,
contribution which is still valid today.of Self Under Colonialism, Oxford University pp 682-83.
And all Gandhi's original ideas can be Press, Delhi. Sethi, J D (1979): GandhianI Values tand 20th
found seeded already in his Hind Swaraj.
- (1986): Fronm Outside the hInperium: GaCndhli's Centutr Challenges, Government of India
Today we need a new developmental Cultural Critique of the West in Ramashray Publication, Division, New Delhi.
model, and increasingly people are Roy (cd), Contemporary Crisis and Gandhi, -(1986): 'Gandhi and Development: A European
pp 89-126. View' in R Roy (ed) Contemporary Crisis
beginning to see that. it has to begin by
- (1994): The Illegitimacy o !'Nationalism, Oxford (iad Gatndhi, op cit, pp 190-231.
"Putting the Last First" [Chambers 1983],
to come back to the last Indian that Gandhi
would have as the talisman of our social
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1502 Economic and Political Weekly June 12, 1999

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