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''Hind Swaraj'' or ''Indian Home Rule'' is a book written by
Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1909.
In it he expresses his views on
Swaraj,
modern civilization,
mechanisation
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
, among other matters. In the book, Gandhi repudiates European civilization while expressing loyalty to higher ideals of empire ("moral empire").
The book was banned in 1910 by the British government in India as a seditious text.
Background
Mohandas Gandhi wrote this book in his native language, Gujarati, while traveling from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
on board . It has also been translated to
French.
Key arguments
Gandhi's ''Hind Swaraj'' takes the form of a dialogue between two characters, The Reader and The Editor. The Reader (specifically identified by the historian
S. R. Mehrotra as Dr
Pranjivan Mehta
Pranjivandas Jagjivandas Mehta (1864 – 3 August 1932) was a Mumbai-born physician, lawyer and jeweller who settled in Burma. He was a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, helping Gandhi in England, helping him return from South Africa to India and ...
) essentially serves as the typical Indian countryman whom Gandhi would have been addressing with ''Hind Swaraj''. The Reader voices the common beliefs and arguments of the time concerning Indian Independence. Gandhi, The Editor, explains why those arguments are flawed and interject his own arguments. As 'The Editor' Gandhi puts it, "it is my duty patiently to try to remove your prejudice."
In the dialogue that follows, Gandhi outlines four themes that structure his arguments.
# First, Gandhi argues that ‘Home Rule is Self Rule’. He argues that it is not enough for the British to leave only for Indians to adopt a British-styled society. As he puts it, some "want English rule without the Englishman ... that is to say,
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
would make India English. And when it becomes English, it will be called not Hindustan but Englishtan. This is not the Swaraj I want.”
# Gandhi also argues that Indian independence is only possible through passive resistance. In fact, more than denouncing violence, Gandhi argues that it is counter-productive; instead, he believes, “The force of love and pity is infinitely greater than the force of arms. There is the harm in the exercise of brute force, never in that of pity.” This is essential throughout ''Hind Swaraj''.
# To exert passive resistance, Gandhi reasons that Swadeshi (self-reliance) be exercised by Indians, meaning the refusal of all trade and dealings with the British. He addresses the English when he states, “If you do not concede our demand, we shall be no longer your petitioners. You can govern us only so long as we remain the governed; we shall no longer have any dealings with you." Gandhi makes an intriguing argument here: if the British want India for trade, remove trade from the equation.
# Finally, Gandhi argues that India will never be free unless it rejects Western civilization itself. In the text he is deeply critical of western civilization, claiming, “India is being ground down, not under the English heel, but under that of modern civilization." He speaks about civilization not just in relation to India, though. He argues that “Western civilization is such that one has only to be patient and it will be self-destroyed." It is a profound repudiation. Not only is western civilization unhealthy for India, but western civilization is by its own virtue unhealthy.
Censorship
The Gujarati translation of ''Hind Swaraj'' was banned by the
British authorities, on its publication in India.
Reception
In September 1938, the philosophical magazine ''
The Aryan Path
''The Aryan Path'' was an Anglo-Indian theosophical journal published in Bombay, India, between 1930 and 1960. Its purpose was to form "a nucleus of universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to st ...
'' published a symposium on ''Hind Swaraj''.
[Anthony J. Parel, "Introduction" to ''Gandhi: 'Hind Swaraj' and Other Writings''. Cambridge University Press, 1997, (p. lix).] The contributors were several noted writers:
Frederick Soddy
Frederick Soddy FRS (2 September 1877 – 22 September 1956) was an English radiochemist who explained, with Ernest Rutherford, that radioactivity is due to the transmutation of elements, now known to involve nuclear reactions. He also prov ...
,
Claude Houghton
Claude Houghton Oldfield (May 1889 – 10 February 1961), who published under the name Claude Houghton, was a British writer, principally of novels that have been characterised as "psychological romances, often embodying personal mysticism and ...
,
G. D. H. Cole
George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English political theorist, economist, and historian. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised guild socialism (production organised ...
,
C. Delisle Burns,
John Middleton Murry
John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. ...
,
J. D. Beresford,
Hugh Fausset,
Gerald Heard
Henry FitzGerald Heard (6 October 1889 – 14 August 1971), commonly called Gerald Heard, was a British-born American historian, science writer, public lecturer, educator, and philosopher. He wrote many articles and over 35 books.
Heard was a g ...
and Irene Rathbone.
[Chandran David Srinivasagam Devanesen, ''The Making of the Mahatma''. Orient Longmans, 1969 (p. 392).] Their responses to ''Hind Swaraj'' varied from "enthusiasm to respectful criticism".
See also
*
Gandhi Heritage Portal
The online Gandhi Heritage Portal preserves, protects, and disseminates original writings of Mohandas K. Gandhi and makes available to the world the large corpus of “Fundamental Works” which are useful for any comprehensive study of the life ...
References
External links
''Indian Home Rule'' or ''Hind Swaraj'' by Mohandas K. Gandhi
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hind Swaraj Or Indian Home Rule
Pamphlets
Literature of Indian independence movement
Mahatma Gandhi
Gujarati-language books
1909 non-fiction books
Censored books