ABSTRACT
Central to Hind Swaraj is a dialogue between the reader and editor about swaraj or self-rule. Because the editor is taken to ventriloquize Gandhi’s perspective, we usually do not attend to what the reader says. But the reader’s argument is important for two reasons: first, the reader presents his conception as itself ethical and responsible, thus making it necessary for the editor to oppose ‘modern civilization’ not merely in the name of ethics but in the name of another ethics and responsibility; second, the reader’s position persist in Gandhi’s own, since Gandhi is quite emphatic that as the leader of the Congress he fights for ‘parliamentary swaraj’ (the reader’s vision) rather than ‘true swaraj’ (the editor’s vision). This essay elicits the reader’s conception of swaraj – the regime of rights it entails, its emphasis on sovereignty, and its vision of the citizen as an infinite subject.
