Gandhism

Dr. Gagandeep Dhaliwal

Asst. Prof (Pol Sci )
AIL, Mohali
 Life sketch of Gandhiji
 Mohandas KaramDas Gandhi was born on 2nd Oct’1869 in
Porbander (Gujrat).
 Brought up in an ordinary way . He was influenced by his mother
and her religious way of life.
 He was an average yet a very obedient student.
 1888- He left for London in order to study further despite his
mother’s skepticism and fear of getting polluted incase he crossed
seven seas .Here he studied Law and passed the Bar examination
in 1891.
 He came back to India and went to Bombay High Court to gain
experience.
 Life sketch of Gandhiji

 New chapter in Gandhiji’s life

A company from Porbander namely Dada Abdulla and Co which
was settled in South Africa invited him to litigate on their behalf for
some case.
Hence he went there completely oblivious of what was in store for
him. He became a victim of racism several times when he was
beaten and insulted.
This experience gave birth to his realization of Englishmen’s ill-
treatment towards Indians there.
 Life sketch of Gandhiji

 1896- He back to India for six months and came into contact with
G. K. Gokhale.
 Went back to South Africa by the end of the year to find that very
stringent laws were passed against the landing of Asians there.
 Stayed in South Africa for some years and came back to India in
!901 with a view to start his own legal practice in Bombay and
settled there.
 1902- The Indian community called him back & now he started a
bigger campaign
 1904- started editing the newspaper, ‘Indian Opinion’ to vent out
Indian grievances.
 Life sketch of Gandhiji

 1906- started satyagraha movement against the Transvaal

Government’s notification which required every Indian in South
Africa to get his finger prints registered. This mass movement led to
the victory of the Indians in the end
Entry of Mahatma Gandhi into
Indian politics
 1915- he returned to India with an experience of being a satyagrahi
and the determination to start a non-violent struggle against the
British rule in India.
 The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy(1919) led to a serious wave of
opposition to the British tyranny.
 1919-1947- Gandhiji led the Indian freedom struggle .
 Jan’1948- Gandhiji was shot dead
Is there formal Gandhism ?

 An ‘ism’ is a formal and distinctive doctrine or philosophy.

 Gandhiji owned some old basic principles and truths of life which he
had put to practice with firmness of thought and action.
 Gandhiji himself declared that there is no such thing as ‘Gandhism’
since he is not the originator of any new ideas or principles but has
put the basic principles and virtues of life to practice.
 Hence there is no formal Gandhism
 Gandhism

 Faith in the principle of ‘Means justify ends’ i.e the nature of means
decide the type of outcome. Gandhiji outrightly rejected the notion
that ‘ends justify means’ .Noble and moral means will lead to noble
and moral ends.
 Faith in T ruth : According to Gandhiji, God is truth and truth is God.
 Religion and Politics: By his notion of Religion, Gandhiji did not mean
a particular sect, belief, faith or creed but a religion of toleration,
morality and truthfulness.
He never separated religion from politics. Politics devoid of religion kills
one’s soul and can never lead to the welfare of mankind. According
to him religion has to be the basis of entire life structure of mankind.
Gandhism

 Ahinsa/ Non-Violence-Gandhiji considered it to be supreme virtue.

For him Ahinsa had a much more wide meaning than being non-
violent in action . He believed in Ahinsa of thought, word and action.
 It is not an act of cowardice but a well thought act of bravery
including confrontation between strong will of the non violent and
the suppresser/ evil doer which ultimately will lead to repentance on
the part of the evil –doer.
Gandhism

 Gandhiji’s views about State/Society

According to Gandhiji, the current state is an organ of violence. The modern state
was using violence in an organized but boundless manner which hurts an
individual’s soul. Thus it is an instrument of tyranny and oppression.
Gandhiji’s Ideal State and Society- based on de-centralization and persuasion
instead of coercion.
Gandhiji’s ideal society will be based on truth, non-violence, righteousness, justice,
liberty and equality.
He believed that the an ideal state is the one which is decentralized. It should be
a loose federation of villages where each village is an autonomous and self-
sufficient unit. Each village will be a republic or Panchayat having full autonomy.
Police and judiciary will not punish but reform the offenders. Jails will work as
correctional centers.
 Gandhism

 Gandhiji’s views about Democracy

Gandhiji was opposed against representative Democracy since he felt
that a few people at the topmost level cannot represent the interests
of the entire nation. Hence democracy must begin from grassroot
level. For this Gandhiji favored the autonomy and self sufficiency of
the villages.
Gandhism

 That Government is the best which governs the least.

 Economic decentralization –large scale industries will be
discouraged since these replace man with machines leading to a
reduction of employment.
He encouraged small scale and cottage industries and co-operative
farming.
Trusteeship system will replace institution of Private property.
Everyone will stick to their ancestral profession.
Boycott and Swadeshi- refrain from the use of foreign goods and use
indigenous products in their place.
Gandhism- Satyagraha

 Gandhiji’s views on Satyagraha

The word ‘satyagraha’ comprises of two Sanskrit words i.e. satya (truth)
and ‘Agraha’(insistence on its adherence).
It was based on truth and non-violence.
Constitutes the heart and soul of Gandhism.
It involves resistance to all that is evil, unjust, impure and untrue by love,
sacrifice, self-suffering, non-violence and adherence to truth.
It is opposite to passive resistance since it emphasizes upon non-
violence under all circumstances.
Instruments of Satyagraha

 Non-cooperation
 Civil disobedience
 Fasting
 Hijrat
 Strikes
 Picketing