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Swaraj : the Gandhian Vision

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Swaraj : the Gandhian Vision Odisha Review August - 2015 Swaraj : The Gandhian Vision Alok Kumar Ray Gandhi did not contact any idea, institution and 1896-97. Lala Lajpat Rai though was in America individual that he did not transform. Ideas gathered during partition of Bengal in 1905 advocated the novel meaning and significance, individuals were slogan, ³Swaraj´ that India was for Indians. The inspired by new messages and aspirations and extremists within the Congress had won an institutions acquired ideological victory on added relevance after having Swaraj accepted association with Gandhi. as the goal of the Swaraj is one of those Congress and announced many ideas that obtained as such from its platform Gandhian imprint when it at Kolkata. The Kolkata passed through the prism session was remarkable of Gandhian thought. for the slogan Swaraj Thus Albert Einstein said, which Dadabhai gave and ³Generations to come which at that time caught will scarcely believe that the people of the country such one as this ever in in a frenzy of effort for the flesh and blood walked attainment of that ideal. upon this earth.´ The term The term Swaraj Swaraj appeared in or independence as it is Gandhi¶s writings for the commonly understood first time on Nov 3, 1905 was not a term of while Gandhi was writing Gandhian coinage. The about Shyam Krishna term Swaraj had already Verma, an India patriot, gained considerable currency in the political scholar, administrator and humanist who had vocabulary of India before Gandhi gave serious abandoned his lucrative profession in India and thought to it. Of course Swami Dayananda gave had gone to England, donned the life of an ascetic the war-cry of µSwaraj is our birth right¶. The and had accepted an indicative mission to convert term was used by Bal Gangadhar Tilak as late as Indian students to the doctrine of Swaraj. Gandhi 5 August - 2015 Odisha Review gave serious thought to the question of Swaraj in independent India¶s contact with British people the year 1903 and during his return from London and the British Government shall be snapped to South Africa, in answer to the Indian School forthwith. After independence India would not of Violence and it¶s prototype in South Africa, he persue a policy of isolationism but healthy wrote for the columns of the Indian opinion, a cooperation with British people. Hence although series of articles on Swaraj that subsequently Gandhi was the champion of Swaraj as Earl appeared in book form with the title ³Hind Mountbatten of Myanmar styled him, he was real Swaraj´. The spirits of Swaraj expounded in this friend of British people. He laid a solid foundation booklet remained almost the throughout Gandhi¶s for the development of Indo-British friendship. life with slightest modifications in matters of details, The Gandhian concept of Swaraj has a hence his first blue-print on Swaraj. far broader and deeper significance than English For quite a long time, Gandhiji¶s use of equivalents like freedom or independence. Swaraj the term Swaraj did not signify anything beyond for Gandhi had both negative and positive enjoyment of dominion status within the implications. Negatively speaking it of course framework of British Empire. That under Gandhi¶s implied severance of political relationships with leadership the Indian National Congress had made British and particularly termination of British the campaign of Non-Co-operation in 1920 political control over India. It was meant the end implies Gandhiji¶s policy of co-operation with the of western culture, western system of value and British Government till this time even while western political system of which Britain stood participating in the nationalist struggle for Home as the living symbol. Hence Gandhi realized that Rule i.e. Self-Government. His objective was what is very much significant for the attainment of never snapping of relationship with Britain or with Swaraj is not mere freedom from political control the British people. Even the ultimate objective as but freedom from the vicious influence of western per Gandhi¶s own admission was,´ Swaraj within civilization. The western civilization had promoted the Empire if possible and without if necessary´. man¶s goodsness instead of goodness and In Congress session of 1928 Gandhi moved the worldliness instead of Godliness and under their resolution on Dominion status against the demand weight India and Indians sank deeper and deeper. of Swaraj or independence of progressives like The materialistic civilization of the west was Nehru and Bose. founded on machinery. The real Swaraj of Gandhi In subsequent years complete was freedom from the baneful effects of machinery independence or Purna Swaraj became Gandhi¶s or craze for machinery. immediate goal. However if complete Besides, Swaraj in the political sense of independence or Purna Swaraj implied falling of the term did not mean for Gandhi mere freedom the fetters of British political control it did not from British control, he also meant thereby signify for Gandhiji. With advancing years in freedom from western political influence. Not only course of his conversation with Fischer during British system of government, but all foreign Second World War he said, ³I am not interested systems of governments were discarded by him. in future promises. I am not interested in Thus negatively speaking Swaraj for Gandhi independence after war. I want independence meant freedom from the influence of western now.´ All the same he did not wish that an civilization, western system of value, machinery 6 Odisha Review August - 2015 and above all foreign type of political institutions British yoke and introduction of Indian rule may apart from freedom from political control. not solve the real riddle. Nature of government The termination of the darkness of the and its spirit was more important for Gandhi than night may not necessarily presage the birth of the the colour of skin and the nationality of governing glorious day. The dawn may be the harbinger of personnel. He was well aware of the oppression, a misty and foggy morning, a gale and storm ± humiliation and repression perpetrated by Indian laden day and an inclement afternoon. Likewise princes over millions of innocent people of that freedom from foreign domination, of the clutches time. He feared transfer of power might be of western civilization sense of value and political concentrated in the hands of few Indian princes. institutions may not bring the desired outcome. Thus Gandhi while thinking of Swaraj understood Swaraj must aim at bringing far-reaching changes it in the sense of people¶s Swaraj. The peasants, that will herald a new dawn where as he pointed the workers, the disabled and the incapacitated out performance of duty will get optimum would not be excluded rather there would be importance as he again said that civilization is that emphasis on the lot of the weaker sections of the mode of conduct which points out to man the path society. There must be democratization in the of duty. What is more important for Gandhi, matter of possession and exercise of power and Swaraj as a positive concept signifying the purpose of such exercise would be in line with development of the nation in a definite direction. the language of Abraham Lincon that, the This positive aspect of Swaraj to Gandhi was four government should be one of the people, by the dimensional i. e. political, social, economical and people and for the people. moral. The positive aspects of Swaraj constitute Social Dimension of Swaraj : the kernel, where as negative aspect like freedom While thinking of a type of people¶s from foreign domination form the shell or sheath Swaraj Gandhi had in mind a state of social of Swaraj. existence where each individual irrespective of his Political Dimension of Swaraj : religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, residence Gandhi¶s predecessors who indulged in or parentage will enjoy equal social status. Thus much of intellectual and political gymnastics on the society shall be an integrated community Swaraj, considered Swaraj mainly from the devoid of any artificial and manmade distinctions. political angle. Besides, this political aspect of It shall be a society inspired by the spirit of social Swaraj primarily concerned with the freedom from equality, equality of status and identical dignity of British imperialistic domination and transfer of all of its members irrespective of a variety of political power from the British into the hands of natural and manmade distinctions. Gandhi was Indians. They felt that once political power is even prepared to concede to the physically, acquired by Indians the power will be so utilized mentally and economically deficient people that Indians in general will profusely benefit. But additional privilege in order to enable them to Gandhi since the day he gave serious thought to make up their deficiencies. In his address at the question of Swaraj gave equally important Sisgunj Gurudwara he emphasized that Purna thought to the issue of instrumentality for the Swaraj was the complete possession of all, exercise of such power and the manner of such because it was as much for the prince as for the exercise. Gandhi believed that freedom from peasant, as much for the rich land owner as for 7 August - 2015 Odisha Review the landless tiller of the soil, as much for the Swaraj will lose their real significance. Gandhi Hindus, as much for the Muslims, as much for the treated Swaraj as a synonym of Ram Raj without Parsis and of the Christians as for the Jains and any Hindu doctrinaire sense of the term. By this Sikhs, irrespective of any distinction of caste or he meant Divine Raj, the Kingdom of God. Rama creed. symbolized justice and equality, truth and charity.
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