Revisiting Gandhi

As we prepare for one more Gandhi birth anniversary tomorrow, one question crops up — has he become irrelevant? Many, of course, would want us to believe that Gandhi was never relevant, while there are many others who think his ideas are now impractical. Even otherwise, Gandhi is not in popular discourse these days as we are talking about developments to take place in the latter half of the present century, or even the beginning of the next century. But if we take a rather careful look around ourselves, we are forced to rethink about Gandhi. His ideas, his ideals, and even his idiosyncrasies. A utopian in thought and practice, Gandhi had a worldview that would not be common to find. More importantly, he had strong convictions about his worldview; he believed what he believed and he did what he believed. He practised what he preached. In the present times, when chaos thrives, his ideas about Swaraj seem to be pertinent.
 The question that arises is: Could we actually achieve Swaraj? A difficult question to answer because for the majority freedom from the British rule signified Swaraj. But was it the same Swaraj that Gandhi had dreamt of? In the contemporary Indian thought, the meaning of Swaraj is ambiguous and anything from self-rule to home rule to independence can denote Swaraj. But Swaraj in Gandhian thought had a different connotation. According to him, Swaraj was a concept of the Vedas signifying control of oneself. It was a philosophical concept which considered an individual as a spiritual entity. For Gandhi, Swaraj was a concept related to the idea ofmoksha or liberation, which was the highest goal of human existence. It was to be an outcome of self-regulation in which a person needed to develop control over his desires. Thus, Gandhi advocated rejection of materialism and recommended conduct that was based on ethics and righteousness. Controlling passion or vaasana was basic to Swaraj. Alas, we have been interpreting Swaraj in just the contrary terms.
Gandhi invariably emphasised the development of ethical behaviour. He certainly wanted external freedom or freedom from foreign rule, but the essence of his Swaraj was internal freedom or freedom from desires. In his Hind Swaraj, Gandhi had addressed many of the challenges that concern the country today. It talked about a composite secular nationalism that can offer solutions to the problems that stare today at the face of the country. The nationalism debate and the tolerance issues are all deliberated upon. It talks about the very meaning of Swaraj itself as it covered not only political Swaraj but spiritual Swaraj too. Further, it discusses the issues of non-violence and the creation of a less violent Indian society and polity. The concept of Hind Swaraj emphasises an eclectic worldview that would integrate laudable Western values, like equality and individual liberty, within an Indian intellectual scheme. Gandhi’s idea of Hind Swaraj was based on his interpretation of Indian history and understanding of the concept of religious pluralism. His focus was on spiritual liberation and peaceful coexistence. Rejection of Gandhi’s ideas today rests on the premise that those were not practical. But as our ways seem to be going haywire, there is a need to understand that Gandhi was a practical idealist. Little wonder he is still counted as one of the greatest world leaders, systemic designs to the contrary notwithstanding. Gandhi then needs to be revisited and understood in a wider perspective.