Vinayak Chaturvedi
M.K. Gandhi & Hind Swaraj

Week 4, Lecture 1

•My office is 463 Krieger Hall

•My Office Hours: Tuesday 10:30-12:00 & by appointment

•Email: vinayak@uci.edu

Today, we will discuss…

•M.K. Gandhi’s background (see pp. lxv-lxvii)

•The historical context in which Hind Swaraj was written (xxix-l)

•The form or literary genre of HS (l-li)

•The definition/s of Hind and Swaraj (lxxvii)

•The central argument of HS (lii-lviii)

(Please note HS=Hind Swaraj)

Before we move on to Gandhi…

•Please remember what DOING includes:

1.Political Participation

2.Resistance

3.Public Expression

4.Ethical Interactions

(Julia Reinhard Lupton, “An Introduction to the Humanities Core Course,” Course Guide & Writer’s Handbook, p. 1.)

What do we do with a pen?

The writers we will cover…

1. M.K. Gandhi (South Africa): 3 Lectures

2. V. D. Savarkar (Great Britain): 2 Lectures

3. Ranchod Vira (India): 1 Lecture

4. vc (US): 1 Lecture

Two Themes to Consider when reading the authors

1.Public/Counterpublic

2.Gandhi: “It is not without hesitation that the translation of HS is submitted to the PUBLIC.” (p. 5)

2.Argument/Counterargument

3.Gandhi: “[Dialogue] is the best method for treating difficult subjects.” (p.6)

To help you read HS, consider the following resources:

1.“Note on the History of the text” (p. lxiii)

2.Chronology of Gandhi’s life (p. lxv)

3.Glossary (p. lxxvi-)

4.Preface to English Translation (p. 5)

5.Foreward by Gandhi (p. 9)

6.Appendix—Books Gandhi read (p. 120)

7.Appendix—Testimonies (pp. 121-)

8.Supplementary Readings (Optional, of course)

The Form of HS
Q. What do I mean by “form”?
A. The shape and structure of an object ; the design, structure, or pattern of work.

HS is a dialogue between 2 individuals

1. Newspaper Editor—Gandhi

2. Newspaper Reader—Unknown figure or a composite of several individuals

(Note: What is the role of newspapers in public life?)

(See page 6, footnote 3: P. Mehta, S. Krishnavarma, V.D. Savarkar)

Why did Gandhi choose this form?
“To make it easy reading, the chapters are written in the form of a dialogue between the reader and the editor.” (p. 11)

[Also, see his comments on pages li, 6]

[Also reference to Bhagavad Gita, but doesn’t refer to any Indian philosophical discourse on dialogue]

More on Dialogue…

“These views are mine, and yet not mine.” (see full quote on p. 10)

“If the readers…who may see the following chapters will pass their criticism on to me, I shall feel obliged.” (11)

“The only motive is to serve my country, to find out the Truth, and to follow it.” (11)

(What does Gandhi mean by Truth?)

Other characteristics of HS

•Written in Gujarati in 1909 while returning to S.Africa from England

(Why is this important? Refer back to the question of form.)

•Originally published in the Indian Opinion

(800 subscriptions; ~8000 readers)

•Gujarati text banned in India

•Original English title Indian Home Rule

•Translation of the Gujarati by Gandhi

•Gujarati version seized by the British (see page 5, footnote 2)*

Gandhi’s response

•“To me, the seizure constitutes further condemnation of the civilization represented by the British Government. There is in the book not a trace of approval of violence in any shape or form. The methods of the British Government are, undoubtedly, severely condemned.” (p. 7)*

Why has HS been written according to Gandhi?

•“My countrymen believe that they should adopt modern civilisation and modern methods of violence to drive out the English. HS has been written to show that they are following a suicidal policy, and that, if they would but revert to their own glorious civilisation, either the English would adopt the latter and become Indianised or find their occupation in India gone.” ( 7)

•(Also see p. xv: “I have written because I could not restrain myself.”)

A bit about the title

Hind=India in this context

Hind the root for Hindu and India

All of the above derived from Indus River

Swaraj (swa=self) + (raj=rule)

The root “swa” is translated as “home” by Gandhi

The title Hind Swaraj becomes Indian Home Rule

More on swaraj

A purpose of the book was to clarify the meaning of swaraj

(swa=self) + (raj=rule)= self-rule

(swa=home) + (raj=rule)=home-rule

(swa=self) + (raj=government)=self-government

Here is the tricky part: Gandhi adds “improvement” to the understanding of “raj”. Hence, swaraj also means self-improvement!!

Indian Self Rule Indian Home Rule

Indian Self Government Indian Self-Improvement

The Historical Context in which HS was written

1. Modern Civilization

2. Politics of South Africa

3. The Politics of Expatriate Indians

4. The Indian Nationalist Movement

**Consider Gandhi’s definition of civilization: “that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.” (p. xix)

Intellectual Context

•Western Sources

•Indian Sources

(See page 120 for books recommended by Gandhi)