Gandhi, Mahatma (1905), Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, Amhedabad: Navajivan Trust (Republished in 2010)
Preethi Amaresh
Sometimes, within each society, there is war. One can find that peace has become more difficult than ever before in the world. ‘Hind Swaraj’ was written in 1909 during the midst of passive resistance, as Satyagraha was then to secure the basic human rights of the people of Indian origin living in South Africa.
Following the Upanishad form, the book is written in the form of a dialogue between the editor and the reader where the editor wants an Indian style of government. According to the editor the English administration and culture like roads, railways, doctors, and lawyers have only brought ruin to India, instead of progress. Hind Swaraj is a fierce critique of modernized civilization. This book is considered as the matters of “Doctrine” and “Truth” are put in the form of questions and answers. Gandhi was still in Europe when the “Scramble for Africa” began. It was inspired by the motive of exploitation of the black labor and it also happened that these countries contained various valuable raw materials. He saw industrialism at its worst in England, then in South Africa and this ultimately led him to the understanding of the causes behind miserable plight of his beloved country.
The principle underlying the movement has been emended from Gandhi’s Indian cultural roots, his exposure to western civilization during his study days and his growing interest in freeing India from British colonialism. As a visionary, he warned that, those who have amassed wealth out of factories are not likely to be better than other rich men. He was convinced that Indians outside their homeland would not be able to lead a dignified life as long as India remained a British colony. Gandhi has given Buddhism a political and economic context in this book focusing on simple living, high thinking opposed to the slavery of modern-day machinery and robotic lives.
Why does Hind Swaraj demand to be taken seriously now? Because it has far greater relevance today than it had a century ago. Gandhi’s warnings have come true. He had cautioned mankind to adopt a ‘need-based’ against ‘greed-based’ lifestyle, which is in harmony with nature. Hind Swaraj is indeed an indispensable work in the Gandhian canon. Gandhi aimed at Sarvodaya society (sustainable society) since he saw the unsustainability of the Western model of development. Also, there was respect for nature and welfare of the weakest (Antyodaya) leading to the welfare of all (Sarvodaya).
Gandhi was both a scientist and a revolutionary. If one may say so he was an evolutionary scientist too. Gandhi in the book further goes on to attack machinery and civilization where he believes that machinery can make many thousands to go without work and die of starvation and will help only a few over the millions and it should not be allowed to cripple the limbs of the people. Likewise, climate change and its impact on earth is a visible manifestation of the crisis. Gandhi further describes the “Home Rule” movement that began when the Government of India Act (1909) failed to satisfy the demands of the national leaders. Repressive measures continued and the British were finding it difficult to quell the spirit of nationalism. It was at this time that the home rule movement began. In 1920, the All India Home Rule League elected Mahatma Gandhi as its president. Gandhi states that not all English men are bad and many desire ‘Home Rule’ for India and that India will sooner be free.
For Gandhi, a ‘nation’ meant primarily its ‘people’ (Praja) and not merely its ruling structures. Gandhi mentions that the “Real Awakening” took place after the Partition of Bengal. The Partition of Bengal led to unrest. Do you welcome the unrest? Questions Gandhi. For him, people are restless just as the state between sleep and awakening must be considered necessary. Discontentment has led to unrest and the latter has brought about many deaths, imprisonments and banishments.
He asserts, “All Indians and I are impatient to obtain Swaraj”. To drive the English out of India is a thought heard from many mouths, but it does not seem that many have properly considered why it should be so. He lashes out at the British by saying India has become impoverished because of the ‘Drain of wealth’ every year by the British including taking away of most important posts reserved for Indians while Indians continued to remain as slaves and their feelings are never respected. The Indians, according to Gandhi, should be able to hoist their flag just like Japan, by also possessing their navy, army and splendor where India stands at the Centre stage in the world.
The Modern Civilization is based on Idleness, Greed, Violence, and Exploitation for Gandhi. He was very critical of the western civilization for being too materialistic and ignoring social and moral aspects. The basic Indian civilization has been a ‘true’ civilization for Gandhi. For him the European doctors were the worst of all as for the sake of mistaken care of the human body, they kill annually thousands of animals. They practice vivisection (the practice of performing operations on live animals for experimentation or scientific research) that no religion permits. A Satyagrahi doctor, according to Gandhi, on the contrary, would treat the poor before all others and such an individual should not even hope to make a living from his profession.
The British, as per Gandhi, built the railways for trade and commerce and also intending to have better control over India, militarily and economically. However, he further criticizes how railways spread the bubonic plague and increased the frequency of famines due to movement of people travelling in the trains. Gandhi questions the editor about the inborn enmity between Hindus and Muslims. The Hindus flourished under Muslims rulers and vice versa and each party realized mutual fighting, which was suicidal, and that neither party would abandon its religion by force of arms and decided to live in peace until the British fuelled the enmity again. For Gandhi, lawyers have enslaved India, and have instigated Hindu-Muslim dimensions by confirming to the English authority. There have been lawyers who protected the poor and secured justice, and one instance is late Manmohan Ghose, who defended the impoverished and underprivileged people free of charge.
Indian civilization according to Gandhi cannot be replaced in the world and nothing can equal the seeds sown by the ancestors. Indian civilization is ancient and has stood the test of time. It is a civilization rooted in long experience, self-correction based on past mistakes where India is still sound at its foundation, unlike Rome, Greece and Pharaohs. He criticizes the people of Europe, who learn their lessons from the writings of people of Greece and Rome, which exists no longer in their former glory. Whereas many thrust their advice upon India and she remains steady, this is the beauty of India.
Gandhi further brings in the contradictions between material happiness and mental happiness by describing the mind as a restless bird where the more it gets, the more it wants and remains unsatisfied. Our ancestors have set a limit to our indulgences and saw that happiness lies in a mental condition, not a material condition. For Gandhi, large cities were a trap and miserable in contrast to life in small villages that is a feeling of satisfaction. He further states that India gave way to western thought of education without looking at the pros and cons. In higher education, he claims to have learnt geography, algebra, geometry etc., which never benefited him and hasn’t helped him in controlling his senses. He appreciates the ancient school system, which focuses on character building and considers it to be primary education with a thick foundation, which will last long.
‘Passive Resistance’ according to Gandhi has been the norm in India and that meant real Home-rule in the nation at large has generally used passive resistance in all walks of life. Without a drop of blood, it produces far-reaching results. Gandhi, in this context, brings out the picture of the native Australian aboriginals who were attacked by the intruders and hardly a person was left alive after that. For Gandhi, if the story of the universe had commenced with wars, not a human would have been alive today. To restore India to its pristine condition, according to Gandhi, one has to return to our civilisation and drive out western civilisation.
The year 2009 marked the centenary of Hind Swaraj. The re-discovery of Hind Swaraj is a positive step ahead in understanding the Gandhian philosophy. It is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and its teachings. The United Nations declared October 2nd as the International Day of Non- violence expresses its faith by coming together for eternal peace of humankind. Gandhi wanted to present “India of his dreams” as a model of development to the world. The ideas contained in the Hind Swaraj indicate the path towards the realization of the elusive dream of “Building a new India”.
