ABSTRACT

Mahatma Gandhi insisted that religion and politics were identical because he believed that true politics, particularly in the modern age, should be concerned with the spiritual and moral development of humanity. He specified the modern age because he felt that in the twentieth century almost every aspect of life had become subject to the state. Given the political and historical contexts of the development of Gandhi’s thought – early twentieth century South Africa and the raj – it is not hard to see why he believed that most individual and social activity was governed from above. He argued therefore that since politics infused society at every level, the platform for social action should be political. This became a religious act because spirituality too was dominated by politics; as Gandhi argued:

In this age, only political sannyasis can fulfil and adorn the ideal of sannyasa. . . . [N]o Indian who aspires to follow the way of true religion can afford to remain aloof from politics. In other words, one who aspires to a truly religious life cannot fail to undertake public service as his mission, and we are today so much caught up in the political machine that service of the people is impossible without taking part in politics.2