Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hind Swaraj, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Passive Resistance and Indian Independence
Modern Civilization and Colonialism
The Personal and the Political
Indian Nationhood and Identity
Summary
Analysis
When the reader asks about India’s condition, the editor admits that it saddens and exhausts him. India is suffering from all the vices of modern civilization. Worst of all, Indians are rejecting religion—not any particular religion, but the common beliefs that underlie all Indian religion. While Indian religion collectively preaches a life of worldly humility and spiritual ambition, civilization preaches the opposite.
Although he was a Hindu, Gandhi is careful not to declare any single religious doctrine truer than or superior to any other. Rather, by emphasizing the common values that underlie all religions, Gandhi encourages his readers to think of themselves as united across religious lines, not divided by them. Of course, the common feature he sees in all Indian religions is a proper balance between material and spiritual goals. (In contrast, he thinks that modern civilization focuses on the material to the expense of the spiritual.) This means that Indian religions can be the foundation for a more just and humane society—but also that such a society should not prioritize any of these religious groups’ beliefs over the others’.
Themes
The reader has some doubts about the editor’s argument. He suggests that tricksters use similar arguments to defraud people, but the editor points out that fraudsters will distort any teachings and are much more common among defenders of modern civilization. The reader notes that religious conflicts kill many people. The editor replies that true religion would actually reject such conflict, even when mistakenly waged in its name. Meanwhile, civilization actively fosters conflict in order to spread itself.
The editor continues to insist on differentiating between the hatred and division that pass for religion from the love and solidarity he associates with true religion. This allows him to point Indians toward areas of agreement—like their shared spiritual values—and help them form a common identity, on which they can in turn base an Indian democracy. Moreover, by explicitly disavowing the teachings of dishonest teachers and clerics, he reminds his readers that they are ultimately responsible for their own beliefs. They have the power to reject immoral authority and choose to uphold morality instead—which is actually his definition of passive resistance. The obvious way for Gandhi to choose morality over blind obedience to authority is to join the independence movement.
Themes
The reader next asks about the Pax Britannica, or the idea that British power has brought peace to the world, but the editor says he doesn’t see any world peace. The reader argues that the English have pacified various groups of Indian thieves and bandits (the Thugs, Pindaris, and Bhils). But the editor says that these groups were not very dangerous, and the English are turning others into unmanly cowards by suggesting that they need protection. Plus, these bandit groups are Indians, too, and other Indians should win them over through persuasion in a democratic system.
With this set of questions, the reader recites many of the outlandish and contradictory stories that the English used to rationalize their plunder in India. They are all based on the dehumanizing idea that Indians—and other non-Europeans—are incapable of defending themselves and thus need to be protected and civilized by Europeans. Of course, Gandhi’s critique of English colonialism is a direct response to this idea: he argues that “modern civilization” was the worst thing to ever happen to India, not a benevolent gift from Europe.
Themes
