ABSTRACT
Gandhi is an elusive figure. Although he has written extensively on various themes pertaining to India’s socio-economic and political life, there are areas in his thought that often project a different Gandhi altogether. In order to deconstruct Gandhian thought in the perspective in which he was involved in a gigantic nationalist struggle of the twentieth century, it is probably incumbent to assess Gandhi in two different ways. First, Gandhian political ideas are to be related to the actual anti-British onslaught that began with the 1920-2 Non-Cooperation Movement and culminated in the 1942 Quit India campaign in which Gandhi as the leader reigned supreme. In this context, Gandhi’s worldview, taking into account his role as a social reformer, aimed at changing the nature of men and women, and was thus connected with social development. Second, there were events, more significant perhaps from the point of view of ‘anti-imperial’ struggle which, though drawing upon Gandhian teachings, deviated from the wellestablished norm of non-violence. The implication of such deviations appears disastrous to Gandhi himself. But for those who participated in political movements running counter to non-violence, the means of political action seem to have been derived from Gandhi.
