Gandhi Ji Essay

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Modern Indian Political Thought Prashant B. – 12SPMA42 Gandhi’s Idea of Freedom is anti-political and anti-democratic, do you agree? Substantiate your argument to the reading of Hind Swaraj. The Context of Gandhi’s Idea of Freedom: To understand the Gandhi’s idea of freedom one has to look in to the context when Gandhi formed his ideas about the concept ‘freedom’. Gandhi’s conception of freedom comes in its mature form in the late nineteenth century till the publication of his writing ‘Hind Swaraj’ in 1909. The context in which Gandhi lived or happened to be gone through affects to his conception about the freedom to the great extent. Gandhi calls it ‘swaraj’, which is unequaled by any English word but closet to the freedom or independence. That’s why his writing on freedom bears the name ‘Hind Swaraj’ which means Indian home rule or Indian self rule. Before putting forward his idea of swaraj for India he claims himself to be a well read, well thought and widely gone through the discussion with many of his countrymen and even with Englishmen, within his possible limits, on the subject under the matter. The views and thought expressed in his text Hind swaraj necessarily forms main features and forms of his idea of freedom. Now let us examine the context in which Gandhi’s idea of swaraj develops. It was late nineteenth century till the first decade of twentieth century when the spring of the thoughts about the national independence or freedom of India from the British rule was started taking shape in the minds of the Indian educated elite section. This period was the time of feelings of discontent and unrest among the educated high caste and class Indians against the colonial government. It shows that the Indian aspiration for freedom was already present in India. This aspiration was gradually
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