Test Review

Gandhi Challenge Get in groups and get ready.

1. (xiv) Where does Gandhi write Hind Swaraj?

Gandhi writes HS on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean while traveling from London to South Africa. Think about Gandhis location when he is writing about India. He translates HS into English while in South Africa (Hence, the title of the lectures, Imagining India in Africa.) Also, Ill be coming back to Gandhis visit to London in my lectures on V.D. Savarkar. The two met in London and began a series of arguments that lasted nearly 5 decades.

2. (xvii-l) What were the historical contexts in which Hind Swaraj was written?
Anthony Parels Editors Introduction provides a solid background to the several contexts relevant to the study of HS. Keep in mind that Gandhi was reading both Indian and Western texts while formulating his arguments in HS; Parel provides a discussion of both types of sources. Look at page 120 to get a further sense of the books Gandhi read. Further, in HS, Gandhi is also engaged with the politics in South Africa, India, and Great Britain. Some of this is explicitly stated in the text, in other places it is implicit. One scholar has called Gandhis HS a type of trans-oceanic nationalism and therefore forces us to rethink or locate Gandhi only as an Indian nationalist.

3. (l) What is the literary genre that Gandhi uses in Hind Swaraj? Why does he choose this genre?
Gandhi writes HS as a dialogue, because he believes it will make easier reading for the public. It is important to note that the dialogue is between a newspaper editor (Gandhi) and a newspaper reader. (To my knowledge, Gandhi never identifies the reader; however, most scholars think the reader is a composite figure of Indian revolutionaries Gandhi meets in London. See page 6, fn.3: Parel states that one of the three figures is Savarkarour second author.) Also, Gandhis emphasis on newspapers is relevant for the larger discussion about the making of public life. (see page 13 for a further discussion of newspapers.) dialogue (Gandhi), non-academic popular history (Savarkar), chain letters (Ranchod Vira), autobiography (in my article Vinayak & Me), songs (week 10).

4. (10) What does Gandhi mean when he says, these views are mine, and yet not mine?
The point to consider is the idea that just because something is not original (if we take Gandhis own description of his work) does not mean that it is not important or relevant. Further, we should also consider that impact of diverse readings on Gandhis thought. In other words, he is not just an Indian thinker.

5. (10-11, fn.8) What does Gandhi mean by Truth?

Gandhi mentions Truth throughout his writings. In fact, his autobiography is called My Experiments with Truth. Truth for Gandhi is God. He is not keen to identify or define God, except to say that God is Truth. If you go to page 96, where Gandhi states the four characteristics required for the service of the country, the meaning of follow truth is clarified (or made more complicated.)

6. (13, fn.10) What was the Indian National Congress (INC)?

A political party founded by English educated men in 1885. Also referred to a the Congress throughout the book.

7. (22 fn. 28, 112) Who were the Moderates? Who were the Extremists?
The Moderates were a faction of the INC who argued for representational government and constitutional methods for achieving self-government. The Extremists formed another faction of the INC and argued for both constitutional and extraconstitutional methods, including use of arms and violence.

8. (26-29) What is swaraj? Is there only one definition of swaraj?

Gandhi defines swaraj as home rule on page 1 of the book. The glossary on page lxxvii defines swaraj as self-rule, or selfgovernment. (Literally: Swa=self, Raj=rule) In the discussion on pages 26-29, it is apparent that there are multiple ways in which nationalists are interpreting self-rule and self-government. Think about the fact that nationalists may have agreed on the definition of swaraj, but there were still debates about how to interpret the term and make accessible for the masses. We will be coming back to the contrasting interpretations of swaraj when we get to Savarkar. Finally, to complicate matters further, Gandhi will add also add self-improvement as a definition of swaraj. The implication is that nationalists should be interested in the improvement of the nation, but also the self. The two are intimately linked for Gandhi and simply cannot be separated.

9. (28, 33, 38, 39, 73) What is Gandhis interpretation of English people? Are they to blame for Indias problems? Who is to blame for colonialism?
Make a distinction between the English (or British: the two are sometimes used interchangeably in the text) and western civilization (sometimes called modern civilization or European civilization in the text). Gandhi wants to ensure that the readers of HS understand that he does not hold English people responsible for Indias problems; in fact, he says that Indians are themselves to blame because they have been seduced by western civilization. For Gandhi, the fundamental problem for both Indians and the English is the emergence of western or modern civilization coming out of the industrial revolution. (An obvious comparison would be with Marx here, but it isnt something that Gandhi discusses in HS.)

10. (34-38, 66-71) What does Gandhi mean by civilization? What does he mean by true civilization?
Gandhi associates western civilization with disease, irreligion, slavery, and barbarism (again, this is the result of a civilization coming out of the industrial revolution). However, he states that western civilization is not an incurable disease. True civilization, by which Gandhi really means Indian civilization, is defined as that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty. He also says it is good conduct. The definitions are probably less than satisfactory for most us, but remember that Gandhis explanations were also problematic for most individuals in India, South Africa, and beyond. Another way to answer the question is to look at Gandhis discussion of railways, doctors, lawyers, parliament, and education. He has serious condemnations of these aspects of western civilizations that usually generate great discussion, especially as Gandhi was a lawyer with a western education, who traveled on trains.

11. (22, 22 fn28, 85) What is Gandhis problem of using petitions?

Gandhi states the following to answer the question: A petition of an equal is a sign of courtesy; a petition from a slave is a symbol of slavery. (85) Consider Gandhis point of view in response to what the Moderate members of the INC were doing. Further, for the purposes of our course, note that simply writing something that is legal is not enough for many nationalists. Gandhi makes a distinction of what he sees as resistance within the system or civilization, and resistance against the system or civilization.

12. (88-99) What is passive resistance? Soul-force?

On page 90, Gandhi states that passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms. While passive resistance is about the suffering of the self, brute force or the use of arms, in contrast, is about making others suffer. Soul-force is the English translation of satyagraha (sat=truth + agraha=force; Also, remember that for Gandhi Truth is God; Sat is therefore equated with soul here). See page 90, fn. 178 for a further discussion. Here Parel states that satyagraha and passive resistance are used interchangeably in English.

13. (96, also fn. 193) What are the four characteristics that are required for the service of the country as a passive resister?
Gandhi lists the following: observing perfect chastity, adopting poverty, following truth, and cultivating fearlessness. Footnote 193 raises an important concern, which may be of interest to you: that is, according to Parel, Gandhi converts moral virtues into civic virtues. Think about the complexities of participating in civic lifea theme for DOING.