Below is some basic background, a few questions to think about, and a writing assignment to be added to your classroom participation grade on Hind Swaraj. Be sure to set aside the time to read and think about this material. Hind Swaraj is not the kind of work that can be rushed through.

Hind Swaraj is a lesser-known work of Gandhi's and the mature expression of his worldview. Many of Gandhi's basic ideas and philosophies of life can be found in this work. He wrote it in 1909 (at the age of 40) and it was published in 1910, at which point it was promptly banned in India by the British colonial administration. Gandhi could not understand why this work was banned. He thought it must be because the English could not read it (Gandhi wrote in Gujarati for the most part) so he translated Hind Swaraj into English himself -- to no avail, Hind Swaraj remained banned political literature. Hind Swaraj is the only work Gandhi ever translated into English and therefore particularly useful to English readers.

In Hind Swaraj Gandhi (the Editor) is debating with the more politically radical Indians (the reader) over India's future. The basic questions at stake are:

1. What is Swaraj (Home Rule)?

2. How can Swaraj be achieved?

Gandhi chose this literary form of a dialogue because it is popular in India and Indian readers would be comfortable with it. It also allowed him an opportunity to critique his own ideas as thoroughly as possible by acting as his own nemesis. American readers sometime find this style confusing. Just think of it like a play, Gandhi wrote both parts. As you go try to get into the mind of both the reader and the editor. In what ways are they alike? In what ways are they different?

In the early 1900's (1900-1910) a number of young Indian radicals had begun a campaign of political assassination in order to remove the British from India. They felt the only way to achieve Swaraj was by forcing the British to leave India with political violence. In 1909 [about 6 months before Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj] Gandhi was in London attempting to negotiate for better civil rights for Indians in South Africa (which was then a British Colony) Days before Gandhi arrived in London, a London based group of young Indian nationalists known as Arya Samaj carried out a political assassination of a British government official who had been part of the India office. This assassination shook the city of London and complicated Gandhi's mission.

Gandhi knew this group, he had stayed with them during a trip to London in 1905 and in 1909 returned to their headquarters (called India House) in an effort to try and convince them that their methods of violence were wrong and Swaraj could not be achieved through violence. The men of Indian House [and they were all men] welcomed Gandhi and the opportunity to convince Gandhi that non-violent methods could never work to free India from the British and that Swaraj could only be established through a violent encounter with the colonial oppressors.

Gandhi wrote the following to a British official at the end of his trip to London in 1909.

"I have made it a point to see Indians here of every shade of opinion. Opposed as I am to violence in any shape or form, I have endeavoured specially to come into contact with the so-called extremists who may be better described as the party of violence. This I have done in order if possible to convince them of the error of their ways. I have noticed that some of the members of this party are earnest spirit, possessing a high degree of morality, great intellectual ability and lofty self-sacrifice. They wield an undoubted influence on the young Indians here. They are certainly unsparing in their efforts to impress upon the latter their convictions. One of them came to me with a view to convince me that I was wrong in my methods and that nothing but the use of violence, covert or open or both, was likely to bring about redress of the wrongs they consider they suffer.

An awakening of the national consciousness is unmistakable. But among the majority it is in a crude shape and there is not a corresponding spirit of self-sacrifice. Everywhere I have noticed impatience of British Rule. In some cases the hatred of the whole race is virulent. In almost all cases distrust of British statesmen is writ large on their minds. They (the statesmen) are supposed to do nothing unselfishly. Those who are against violence are so only for the time being. They do not disapprove of it. But they are too cowardly or too selfish to avow their opinions publicly. Some consider that the time for violence is not yet. I have practically met no one who believes that India can ever become free without resort to violence."

(Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. IX, pp. 508-509)

Additionally, the negotiations for which Gandhi had come were a failure. It was clear that the Asiatic Registration Act would not be repealed, nor would the Immigration Act be amended (these were laws that made Indians legally inferior to whites in South Africa). Gandhi felt what the deputation had been offered was essentially a bond of slavery and described it to the readers of Indian Opinion (a paper he operated for the Indian Community in South Africa) as the promise of "You will get all you want if you give up the claim to legal equality." [CWMG Vol. IX p. 522] Gandhi had no delusions of being treated as an equal by whites in South Africa as a matter of reality. What he refused to budge on was Indian theoretical equality with whites -- under the law. Gandhi saw no choice but to continue with the satyagraha [non-violent, non-cooperation] campaign and looked forward to returning to prison upon his arrival in South Africa. The collapse of the negotiations and the growing advocacy of political violence put Gandhi in a solemn mood as he prepared to return to South Africa and the ongoing satyagraha. He had heard conditions for Indian prisoners had worsened since he was away and that arrests had increased. The conditions in South Africa were ripe for an explosion, yet he saw the South African Indian community suffering together, and growing both politically and more importantly to him, spiritually, as a result.

Gandhi wrote the following earlier in his trip to London in Indian Opinion August 14, 1909 while the news of Curzon-Wyllie's assassination was still fresh on his mind.

"I must say that those who believe and argue that such murders may do good to India are ignorant men indeed. No act of treachery can ever profit a nation. Even should the British leave in consequence of such murderous acts, who will rule in their place? The only answer is: the murders. Who then will be happy? Is the Englishman bad because he is an Englishman? Is it that everyone with an Indian skin is good? If that is so, we can claim no rights in South Africa, nor should there be any angry protest against oppression by Indian princes. India can gain nothing from the rule of murderers -- no matter whether they are black or white. Under such a rule, India will be utterly ruined and laid to waste. This train of thought leads to a host of reflections, but I have no time to set them down here. I am afraid some Indians will commend this murder. I believe they will be guilty of a heinous sin. We ought to abandon such fanciful ideas. More about this later." [CWMG Vol. IX p. 303]

"Later" came on the return journey from London to South Africa. The journey lasted from November 13^th to November 30th, 1909. Gandhi spent the first ten days onboard the S.S. Kildonan Castle erupting with creative energy and inner illumination. Between November 13^th and November 22^nd Gandhi produced his masterpiece Hind Swaraj on 275 pages of the ship's stationary. The experiences of his 1909 visit to London unlocked the mature expression of Gandhi's worldview and it came in the form of Hind Swaraj.

Gandhi addresses many issues in Hind Swaraj. Here are a few general issues to pay attention to:

• How do you think the Indian radicals [the reader] would define Swaraj?
• How does Gandhi [the editor] define swaraj?
• What does Gandhi think will happen if swaraj is achieved through violence?
• What is Satyagraha and why does Gandhi think it is the only means to achieve Swaraj?
• What type of emphasis does Gandhi place on spirituality? How does this influence his view of politics?
• What does Gandhi think about modern civilization? Where does he make sense? Where does he not?

Assignment
As you read Hind Swaraj please summarize each chapter as you go in a paragraph or so. Write down the main points Gandhi presents in that chapter, what you thought about these points, and any questions you have about the chapter. This needn't be a lengthy assignment, but we should work on putting Gandhi's argument into our own words as we go so we are sure we understand it. This assignment will be collected and incorporated into your classroom participation grade. We will chat more about the details of that when we meet live and in person.

Enjoy your reading.