ABSTRACT
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the most outstanding men the twentieth century produced. He played a significant role in India’s struggle for independence. This chapter examines the relevance of the socio-political and economic thought of Mahatma Gandhi in present times. It explores Gandhi’s ideas of swaraj (including Gram Swaraj), satyāgraha, non-violence, sarvodaya, the theory of trusteeship, the critique of modern civilisation, decentralisation, and ideas on religion and politics. Gandhi made the techniques of non-violence and satyāgraha powerful weapons in his fight against British imperialism. Both these doctrines are linked to Gandhi’s innate attachment to truth. With these powerful political tools, Gandhi inspired several other political leaders all over the world. The years Gandhi spent in London and South Africa greatly influenced the course of his future life. Gandhi’s 21-year stay in South Africa prepared him to become a crusader against racial discrimination and violations of human rights. In fact, Gandhi’s ideas of protests, persuasion skills, and public relations developed during his years in South Africa, which he carried back with him when he returned to India. Back in India, Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress (I.N.C.) and took over its leadership in 1920. He led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women’s rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, and above all, for achieving swaraj, or self-rule, for India. His social, economic, and political ideals developed during the nationalist movement, and Gandhi constantly put them into action. Gandhi was not an armchair theorist. He was a man of action. A religious man in his personal life, Gandhi was also a great social reformer, one of the greatest political activists the world has ever seen, and a renowned social and political thinker. His life and teachings have inspired many, and his philosophy still bears relevance in the contemporary world.
