Anda di halaman 1dari 3

ARTS1271

z3463371
Ansareen, Aadil Mohamed
Gandhis Politics
Why and how did Gandhis politics merge the traditional with the modern?

Though often, in perhaps caricatures of Gandhi in merely a loincloth, he is thought of as a
traditionalist, the reality is his politics were decidedly modern as well. From his traditional
upbringing, to his life as a Victorian gentlemen, to his work as a lawyer in South Africa, he
encountered various thinkers and experiences which would profoundly shape his unconventional
political strategies.

Unlike most Indians who went to study law abroad, Gandhi was brought up in a traditional
household, which with it came exposure to Hindu ideals which he would hold on to for the rest of his
life. It was not until his time in London however, at the hands of the Theosophists, that he began to
1
study the Hindu tradition seriously, and began to draw on ideas from his own tradition. Similar
2
groups would ofer modern critiques of contemporary Western culture; the materialism and moral
degeneration they saw; posited against the superior values of the East, which Gandhi would come to
argue for. During his time in South Africa too, he would be exposed to such thinkers; Ruskins
3
vision, for example, of the simple life which was profoundly moral yet without doctrine, would be
instrumental in Gandhis philosophy for his nation. Similarly, Tolstoy and Thoreau would infuence
him greatly in the development of strategies such as non-violent resistance and civil disobedience.
4
His experiences abroad also were sources of inspiration; for example the Irish anti-colonial struggle
provided a model of cultural nationalism which he would soon adopt, and he would similarly learn
from the British sufragettes and working class struggles.
5

The manifestation of these experiences was Gandhis unique political strategies, combining the
traditional with the modern. He talked of his vision for India, where all who have made India their
country are fellow countrymen; despite race, religion or language. Such an ideal of uniting people
6
based on nationality was thoroughly modern; so too were his ideas of equality amongst the people
and opposition to the caste system. Yet his political philosophy was also anti-modern; he rejected
industrialisation, while also calling to a return to traditional Hindu values and morality. Gandhis
7
own methods, such as satyagraha and associated ideas were similarly both modern and traditional.
For example, non violence may have had some roots in the Hindu tradition; to not harm any living
thing. Yet as a political strategy, it was no doubt informed heavily by the modern ideas of Thoreaus
Judith M. Brown, "Gandhi: A Victorian Gentlement: An Essay in Imperial Encounter," Journal of
1
Imperial and Commonwealth History 27, no. 2 (1999): 72.
Ibid., 73.
2
Robert J. C. Young, "Gandhi's Counter-Modernity," in Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction
3
(Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2001), 319.
Brown, "Gandhi: A Victorian Gentlement: An Essay in Imperial Encounter," 76-77.
4
Young, "Gandhi's Counter-Modernity," 319.
5
James. H Overeld, "Mohandas Gandhi: Indian Home Rule," in Sources of Twentieth Century
6
Global History (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifin Company, 2002), 214.
Young, "Gandhi's Counter-Modernity," 320.
7
ARTS1271
z3463371
Ansareen, Aadil Mohamed
civil disobedience, and the modern struggles of the British sufragettes and working class, as
mentioned earlier. Such strategies would have had little efect without the modern technology of
8
media; which was utilised extensively by Gandhi. The railways were used to reach huge audiences in
short spaces of time on his travels, while the printing press was constant for him, as he wrote every
week for many journals and papers, through which he would communicate to many groups across
India and to the wider world. Photography and flm were used too to great efect, especially in
Gandhis representation of himself.
9

Gandhi is remembered as one of the foremost political fgures of the 20th century; one of the reasons
for which was his unconventionality. Not entirely traditional, nor entirely modern, his atypical
experiences and infuences allowed him to merge ideas from the Hindu tradition with those from
modern counter-cultural and resistance struggles to from his own, unique form of politics.






Ibid., 323.
8
Ibid., 328-30.
9
ARTS1271
z3463371
Ansareen, Aadil Mohamed
Bibliography
Brown, Judith M. "Gandhi: A Victorian Gentlement: An Essay in Imperial Encounter." Journal of
Imperial and Commonwealth History 27, no. 2 (1999): 68-85.
Overeld, James. H. "Mohandas Gandhi: Indian Home Rule." In Sources of Twentieth Century
Global History, 212-16. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifin Company, 2002.
Young, Robert J. C. "Gandhi's Counter-Modernity." In Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction,
316-34. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2001.

5 Library Sources


Heredia, R. C. (1999). "Interpreting Gandhi's Hind Swaraj." Economic and Political Weekly:
1497-1502.
Krishan, S. (2013). "Discourses on Modernity: Gandhi and Savarkar." Studies in History 29(1):
61-85.
Mukherjee, M. (2010). "Transcending Identity: Gandhi, Nonviolence, and the Pursuit of a Different
Freedom in Modern India." The American Historical Review 115(2): 453-473.
Mukherjee, R. (2009). "Gandhi's Swaraj." Economic and Political Weekly: 34-39.
Nigam, A. (2009). "Gandhithe'angel of history': Reading" Hind Swaraj" today." Economic and
Political Weekly: 41-47.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai