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How home grown was Gandhis vision of a nationalist struggle

against the Raj? Discuss with reference to his concepts of
satyagraha and swaraj.

Mahatma Gandhi is recognised today as the key figure in Indias

accomplishment of independence through his devotion to social, moral
and religious activities in India and abroad. The way in which he achieved
his success is reflected through his commitment to using non-violent
methods in the purest means possible all based on morality and truth.
Born into a wealthy merchant family in 1869 Gandhis early experiences
and traditional values undoubtedly shaped his political progression
allowing him to achieve such success. The British Raj held oppressive
control in India for over 90 years and Gandhi successfully mobilised
Indians to achieve their shared desired goal of independence, also known
as Swaraj, through the method of Satyagraha which involves protesting
through self suffering and fasting I thus began to call the Indian
movement Satyagraha; that is to say, the force that is born of truth and
love or nonviolence.1 This essay will focus on Gandhis methods and
visions of nationalism and whether this was influenced by the west
through his education and travels or was in fact a home grown vision
that derived from his traditional values. Although the question allows a
degree of interpretation, Gandhis vision was undoubtedly home grown
despite being influenced by Western concepts.

Gandhi was very successful at gaining mass support through his methods
that were indigenous in origin. Although he may have acquired knowledge
and political understanding from his western education in England his
message and motives were concerning a moral struggle that Indians were
experiencing. His methods of protest were not only peaceful but were
acquired and executed by his own local community in Kathiawad. This
method was known as Risamana and involved Dharna (stationing oneself
in an influential place), fasting, and Traga (wounding oneself) Gandhi used
these values to evolve his own method that would represent his national

1 M.K. Gandhi. Satyagraha in South Africa, (Delhi, 1950) pp.102-105.

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movement named Satyagraha. Not only did this method use non-violence
for a pursuit of moral struggle but it was an evolving concept and way of
life. Gandhi further used this method to teach us not to hate the
opposition but the evil that is represented, again supporting his peaceful
approach and evidently differing from the notion of aggressive capitalism
that derived from the west. His success in utilizing these techniques can
be seen in the various uprising and nationalist protests that he leads, in
particular the Salt Satyagraha in 1930. Salt was being heavily taxed at the
time and Gandhi felt it was a commodity that should not be taxed
especially as its a basic dietary requirement and therefore a basic human
value. A 24-hour march involving 78 of his Satyagrahi took place in a non
violent struggle to create disobedience which resulted in the arrest of
Gandhi and further support against the Raj being evoked. Gandhi being
an apostle for non violence and peace2 evoked a violent response from
the Raj, British police were seen using violent methods of control and as a
result Indian sympathy and mass support began to grow. Gandhi targeted
the Salt Tax in order to represent his cause as he argued, The illegality is
in a Government that steals the peoples salt and makes them pay heavily
for the stolen article3 from this it is evident that his visions and methods
were in fact home grown as he targeted his own people and therefore
needed to use traditional methods of persuasion. Even the way he
decided to dress indicates his desire to appeal to the masses by wearing
indigenous clothing, after all his desire was no different from any of his
followers.

It is important to look at Gandhis early experiences and the way in which

he was brought up in order to understand his great vision of achieving
Swaraj. Historian R.B Cribb similarly argues that his thought evolved over
time, with his early ideas becoming the core or scaffolding for his mature
philosophy4 he was exposed to many differing philosophys from a young

2 Vinay Lal, Gandhis West, The Wests Gandhi (NHL 2009) pp. 286

3 M.K. Gandhi, Collected Works, (New York, 2003), pp.501.

4 Cribb, R. B. "The Early Political Philosophy of M. K. Gandhi, 18691893".1985 pp.358

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age and in particular from his Mother who followed Jainism, a religion that
combines many of Gandhis fundamental ideas of protest. To suggest that
Gandhi was also influenced by his Western education in Law and his
experiences within England would appear to be a valid argument but his
actions and comments concerning his experience show otherwise. By
1920 Gandhi was certainly eclectic and had adopted Christian values
concerning the respect of rural lands as well as meeting various
philosophers and poets but his traditional values still held up especially
concerning his views on vegetarianism which is ingrained deeply into
Indian tradition and its religions He must reduce himself to zero and have
perfect control over all his senses-beginning with the palate or tongue. 5
Gandhis dismissal of western values is evident through his criticism
concerning industrial capitalism suggesting that it corrupted the people by
focusing on individualism which evoked aggressive competition.
Furthermore, despite Gandhi adapting liberal views towards atheism he
was concerned that the lack of religious anchors brought about chaos and
evil within the West. Furthermore, Gandhi believed India was a nation of
antiquity and therefore held superiority giving it a strong foundation for
moral basis which promoted ethical government ruling. His relations with
the Indian National Congress also evoke strong support for the argument
that his motives and visions were home grown as the congress believed
his philosophy was unrealistic and simply idealistic. The congress was also
formed from educated Indians that studied and had strong ties with the
west and their moral philosophies again demonstrating Gandhis conflict
with these values even amongst his own people.

Gandhis arrival in South Africa was also influential to his visions

concerning his home grown motives. He experienced racial discrimination
first hand and recognised that the large number of indentured Indian
labourers were victim to having their rights ignored, humiliation and abuse

5 Chakrabarti, Mohit (1997), Gandhian Socio-Aesthetics, M.D. Publications PvT pp.23

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as well as high taxes. This led Gandhi to begin demanding for civil rights
in Africa and spent two decades experimenting with civil disobedience
techniques which he similarly used in India eventually to gain
independence. He opened two ashrams and used them to teach Indians
non violent struggle using methods based on Satyagraha which Bipon
Chandra argues was a blueprint for the Gandhian method of struggle. The
South African method was now to be tried on a much wider scale in the
Indian subcontinent6 His success in South Africa gave him a good
reputation when entering Indian Politics in 1918 already being called
various glorified names such as mahatma meaning great soul, as well as
Bapa meaning Father. The methods Gandhi used were therefore
distinctly homegrown, However the way he was able to implement his
methods on such a large scale while addressing a large audience suggests
he also gathered inspiration from other methods. Gandhis organization
and ability to unite the nation through traditional values is clearly evident
Immense and highly efficient organization was developed. Bands of
volunteers were formed to preach the new gospel of non-violence and
khaddar.7 So whilst Gandhi did use Indian tradition his key skill was his
ability to appeal to the masses. His pragmatic attire, use of media and
Indian symbols were all influencing factors that allowed Gandhi to appeal
to the people of India. Indian mythologies were used by Gandhi to make
his mass movements successful. For example, he often referred to the
Indian classic Ramayana in drawing and making political comparisons to
the peoples struggles against the Raj. His clothes in 1919 also
demonstrate his simple peasant attire which inspired Indians by living,
clothing and eating like them and as a result gaining loyalty towards the
cause. He recognised that in order to become a leader of the masses he
needed to become one of them.

6 Chandra Bipan, Indias Struggle for Independence Paperback, pp.70

7 W.H. Roberts, A Review of the Gandhi Movement In India (New York,

1923), pp.236
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It is therefore clear to conclude that Gandhis vison of a national struggle

against the Raj was homegrown. His early experiences as a child and his
success in Africa allowed him to adapt certain policies that he could utilize
in achieving his ultimate goal; swaraj. A man of the people was required to
mobilize the support that India had to offer which allowed Gandhi to utilize
certain home grown political techniques to achieve this, in particular his
concentration on peaceful protest regarding Satyagraha. While arguments
concerning western influence may appear plausible it was his home grown
techniques that pressured the British government into accepting the
decolonization of India and therefore was in fact a traditional vision
shaped by various experiences.

References

Gandhi. K. M, Satyagraha in South Africa, (Delhi, 1950) pp.102-105.

Gandhi. K. M, Collected Works, (New York, 2003), pp.502.

Roberts. H. W, A Review of the Gandhi Movement in India (New York,

1923), pp.236

Bipan. C, Indias Struggle for Independence Paperback (Penguin, 1989)

pp.70
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Lal. V, Gandhis West, the Wests Gandhi (NLH, 2009), pp.286

Cribb, R. B, The Early Political Philosophy of M. K. Gandhi, (1985) pp.358

Mohit. C, Gandhian Socio-Aesthetics, (M.D 1997) pp.23