ABSTRACT
Chapter 7, ‘Towards a world view: sardovaya, Hind Swaraj, swadeshi, social service’, focuses on a difficult set of concepts. As an interface between hope and conviction, doubt always plays a mischievous role. This interference assumes a category of profoundness because only time can tell about its impact. But then to wait and do nothing is denied us; moreover we do want to come up with ‘what we want as alternatives to live a better life’. Gandhi’s swaraj, swadeshi, sardovaya, and constructive programme via social work sought to respond to the demand of ‘time’ as a historical period and its weakness for compromise. He sought to respond at two levels: firstly at the level of the individual and his preoccupation with the personal and the social and secondly at the level of the conjunction of history and the moment. And Gandhi begins with the immediate society. Since for him there is no ‘Other’, he focuses on the neighbour, neighbourhood, and neighbourliness.
