Indian Political Thought

10

Gandhi: Swaraj and Satyagraha

Himanshu Roy

Gandhi’s theories of swaraj and satyagraha have been an integral part of his liberation struggle and his public discourse since the beginning of the 20th century, both in Africa and in India. It was different from the typical liberal and Marxian discourse of alternative development as its philosophy was derived from India’s past and was uniquely premised on the restoration of ramrajya—an imagined, historical, ideal society of small traditional peasants located in autonomous villages, situated amidst nature and guided by sanatani ethics and scriptures. The concept of swaraj and ramrajya, promoted by Gandhi, was based on the idea of governance by an ideal state and regulated by elementary technology ...