Gandhi

Question 1

What is Gandhian thoughts

Answer 1

Gandhiji was not only the tallest leader of Indian national movement but also a great political philosopher.

• He synthesised Ancient Indian philosophy with the humanist tradition of western political philosophies to give a unique kind of political thought, which cannot be categorised as liberal, humanist, socialist, or idealist. Hence, it is called Gandhian Thoughts.

Question 2

Meaning of Swaraj

Answer 2

Swaraj : true freedom of both individual and community.

• Individual: Moral perfectness of individual; self-mastery, self-control, self-
restrain, self-realization, moral goodness & perfectibility

• Community: self-governing autonomous community life without any formal coercive (based on force) authority- state; in limited sense it was political freedom from foreign rule, full rights of civil liberties, and civil disobedience against any unjust actions/law of the state/govt

• ‘self-reliance’(no dependence on State/Govt) of both individual and community

• Politics based on ‘truth’, ‘non-violence’, ‘tolerance’, ‘altruism’, ‘self-renunciation’ (limiting our wants),
• Politics should be moral and ethical. Not only political goal/end but also Political means should be moral and ethical

Question 3

Meaning of sarvodaya

Answer 3

Good for all

Question 4

Meaning of antyodaya

Answer 4

Good for the last one or worst off.

Question 5

Meaning of trusteeship Ac to Gandhi

Answer 5

Capitalist class as trustee of societal wealth

Question 6

Meaning of satyagraha

Answer 6

civil disobedience based on truth & non-violence

Question 7

Meaning of bread labour , Gandhi

Answer 7

dignity of hand labour- everyone performing hand labour equivalent to his/her material consumption

Question 8

Gandhiji’s gram Swaraj

Answer 8

• Every village would be fully self-reliant, autonomous, capable of its own protection, production and consumption, education, sanitation, health, employment, funding, and other governing aspects.
• Village would be producing almost everything required for the village people. They may get some items from the neighbouring villages.
• But there would not be long range trade in village; that is, consumer items coming to village from world over and village items going to cities.
• Villages would be like a small republic.
• The village panchayat would be based on the principles of direct, participatory, and substantive democracy. It would have full powers on all matters pertaining to village.
• Thus, Gram Swaraj or village self-rule is decentralized, human centric and non- exploiting. It adheres to working towards simple village economy and to achieve self-sufficiency.
• Self-reliant and independent village would be first tier of governing structure in the oceanic circle of socio-political governing structure.

Question 9

In which book did Gandhi write bout Swaraj

Answer 9

Gandhiji’s idea of Swaraj is mainly contained in his book Hind Swaraj (1909), which he wrote on a ship while returning from England to South Africa.

Later on, he also explained his idea of Swaraj through his other writings, such as his autobiography, and columns in ‘Young India’, and ‘Harijan’.

Question 10

Young India column writer

Answer 10

Gandhi

Question 11

Harijan Column writer

Answer 11

Gandhi

Question 12

In his conception of Swaraj, Gandhiji, was Influenced by the following thoughts/philosophies

Answer 12

John Ruskin -his book ‘Unto This Last’- from here he picked the idea of Antyodaya- good for the last one/worst off.

• Gandhiji’s idea of civil disobedience was influenced by writings of Henry Thoreau, an American Philosopher who wrote an essay “Civil Disobedience”, an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

• Count Leo Tolstoy- a pacific anarchist of Russia;
• Italy’s Mazzini- his idea of nationalism
• Dada Bhai Naoroji Un-British Rule in India, Gopal Krishna Gokhle- his political Guru.
• Veda, Upanishads, Epics, Geeta, Jain Philosophy- he used to sing poems of Jain poet Narsinh Mehta (Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je…)
• Also influenced by Plato, and Aristotle

Question 13

Book- unto the last

Answer 13

John Ruskin

Question 14

Essay “civil disobedience “

Answer 14

Henry Thoreau

Question 15

Book- Un- British rule in India

Answer 15

Dada bhai Nairoji

Question 16

Who was gandhi’s guru

Answer 16

Gopal Krishna gokhle

Question 17

Why did Gandhi write his Swaraj

Answer 17

Was written as an response to discourse of Western civilisation, its superiority, in form of modern political organisation (nation-state), liberal democracy, and economy (capitalism, industrialisation).
• It was to negate the notion of ‘civilisation Mission’, that is, the European had the responsibility to civilise the backward people of Asia.
• It was also Gandhiji’s response to discourse on India’s freedom. It was his contribution to the continuing dialogue on notion of Swaraj.
• Tilak claimed that swaraj was our birth right, Home rule movement by Annie Besant and Tilak, militant Nationalism of both left wing and right-wing revolutionaries- Bhagat Singh, Savarkar, etc. It was Gandhiji’s response to his idea of Swaraj.

Question 18

The square of Swaraj

Answer 18

The Square of Swaraj- It has 4 dimensions- Polity, Economy, Social order, and ‘Dharma’; they can be represented on 4 corners of the square of socio-political arrangements.

Question 19

How did Gandhi’s Swaraj coveyed an enlightened anarchy

Answer 19

• It conveyed a kind of Enlightened Anarchy
• Self-governing community of morally Enlightened individuals without the
coercive power of the state
• De-objectified modern western style state as amoral, soulless coercive/violent entity
• Complete destruction of modern western civilization and the creation of a new society without State/Govt, parliaments, railways and other fast modes of transport, machinery, doctors, lawyers and armed forces and, in which, people totally renounce violence and resist authority through satyagraha.

• Had the vision of decentralised, non-hierarchical, participative and substantive democracy- his conception of ‘Oceanic circle’.

Question 20

Gandhi’s oceanic circle

Answer 20

In Gandhian concept of oceanic circle, Governance would not be hierarchical, like a pyramid, as it is presently with center at top and gram panchayat at bottom. Rather, it would be arranged in form of non-hierarchical community of communities, like oceanic circle. Individual would be at the center of the circle. Village would be self-reliant, autonomous, not dependent for anything on district, provincial and central govt. Talukas would consist of many self-reliant villages. Many talukas will be within the territory of a district, which would be the basic building block of province. Centre would be having multiple, again self-reliant, independent, and autonomous provinces.

Question 21

Features of gandhi’s oceanic circle

Answer 21

• Non-pyramidal, Non-hierarchical socio-political order
• Community based governance through democratic decentralization
• The outer circle will not crush the inner circle but would both derive and give strength to it.
• No outer circle would have extraordinary power over any inner circle
• Every village would be self-reliant, autonomous, having its own police, law & order, funding, and other governing powers. Villages would be like a small republic. The village panchayat will have full powers
• Each tier of Govt- autonomous self-reliant and self-sufficient. They are not dependent on higher order circle/govt.
• Each province would be free to have its own constitution. Thus, each province would have its own bases for policy making as per the context of the communities with the circle of provinces.
• Central Govt to hold all tiers of Govt together

Question 22

what type of democracy would the gram Sabha have according to Gandhi

Answer 22

Direct and substantive democracy

Question 23

Gandhi’s gram Swaraj in our Indian constitution

Answer 23

Gram Swaraj were placed under directive principle. Later on, in 1992, through 73rd Constitutional amendment Gandhian vision of Gram Panchayat was tried to be realized. But we should understand that the way Panchayati Raj Institutions were implemented in India, they were far away from Gandhian idea of Oceanic circle and Gram Swaraj.