Hind Swaraj, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Book Review

M.K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj
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In the Book, Hind Swaraj, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi uses a dialogue format between an unnamed reader and editor (Gandhi) to articulate his political philosophy. The author stated that India had submitted to the British, but this did not mean that Western Civilization was superior to Indian culture. Gandhi goes on to argue for Indian culture, while addressing the political history of the country during the British rule in early 20th century. The book can be considered a historical record having been written in the first decade of the 20th century. Gandhi does not state who the reader is, and using the dialogue format seeks to question key assumptions about self rule in India. The author is also able to answer to some of his critiques, while clarifying more about his philosophical thinking.
Gandhi is concerned that political violence could to achieve the goal of self rule, and advocated for non violence. Political activities had divergent views on how to achieve home rule with the British still in power and influencing the political economy of India during the 20th century. He also argues that the presence of religious minority mostly Muslims, was no reason for the failure to build a nation. This shows Gandhi’s belief that various people in India had lived together for a long time and they would form a state. The aim of Indians was then to engage in self determination regardless of where the British still ruled the place. The unity of the people under one nation was vital to self-rule, and the partition of Bengal demonstrated the danger of allowing the British Empire to influence the political landscape of India .
The Hind Swaraj is a reliable book on Indian history during the first quarter of the 20th century, and commentaries on the book have reaffirmed its place in the nation. Even though, there were doubts whether the book would be relevant for long, the ideas of Gandhi are still reexamined to understand his relevance and meaning to Indians. The author advocated for inclusiveness while critiquing western civilization and these viewpoints provided the foundation of many ideas of his political philosophy. The concept of freedom/ self-rule is achieved, but the book is also experimentation on using non violent means, with passive resistance as a political engagement strategy to ensure self-rule without causing political upheaval.
The book is important to understand Gandhi’s political thoughts and how it influenced his political activism. The British rulers were not going to accept any form of political activism that undermined their position. Gandhi’s resolve to use defiance as a political strategy rather than violence was based on his observation that noncooperation would likely be successful in influencing the political debate in the country. By critiquing the western culture and affirming the Indian culture, Gandhi argues his case for self rule that would be achieved when the Indians resolved amongst themselves to use their independence for ...