Swaraj: Self-Rule and Its Significance in India
Swaraj: A Fundamental Philosophy in India
Swaraj is one of the most fundamental philosophies of Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. For Gandhi, Swaraj is a state of being of individuals and the nation. Swaraj, a Sanskrit word comprising swa and raj, means “Self-Rule.” Swaraj is a Vedic term. It frequently appears in ancient shastras and other literature. It indicates the highest spiritual state of mind. Swarajya means “Independent Domain” or “Sovereignty.” Ancient Indian political thought laid out the concept of Swaraj or “Self-Rule” connected with the notion of Swarajya, which referred to a particular mode of securing self-determination in a polity comprised of several distinct sectors. In modern India, the term Swaraj was exclusively identified by Swami Vivekananda, Dadabhai Naoroji, B. G. Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Gandhi, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru with the goal of national independence and the building of a modern and vibrant India. Swaraj is non-subjection to anyone. Non-subjection and self-subjection together will make a better sense of Swaraj. It may also mean freedom from bondage of any kind. Political Swaraj meant to be able to manage one’s affairs. For Tilak, Swaraj was the birthright of every Indian. In Tilak’s value system, Swaraj was a moral necessity.
Swaraj: A Right and a Duty
Swaraj is not only a right but also the exercise of one’s dharma and one’s Karma, which in contemporary India is followed by Shri Rahul Gandhi in true spirit. Shri Rahul Gandhi is echoing the voice of the poor, marginalized, downtrodden, unemployed youths, and general masses inside the parliament and outside on the street. Shri Rahul Gandhi has been compelled to take up issues in defense of weaker sections because no one is talking about them and their problems. A true Swaraj is related to social reform for empowerment and democratization of political institutions.
Gandhi’s Vision of Swaraj
Gandhi rightly said that in 1947 we did not achieve Swaraj. The end of British rule was not the beginning of Swaraj. Swaraj is self-control, self-regulation, and self-restraint. It is both a “means” as well as an “end.” It’s a kind of struggle within oneself as well as outside oneself. In contemporary India, there are various obstacles to the attainment of Swaraj. Swaraj should be gained with the help of non-violent and truthful means. It must aim at the creation of the capacity of all the people. Nehru wanted to develop the features of a modern civilized society. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s concept of Swaraj was parliamentary institutions and political independence in which there is a fair play of democracy.
Swaraj and Self-Realization
Swaraj represents a genuine attempt to regain control of the self – our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for self-realization – from institutions of dehumanization. As Gandhi states, “It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves.” The real goal of the freedom struggle was not only to secure political azadi (independence) from Britain, but rather to gain true Swaraj (liberation and self-rule). Self-rule is the term used to describe a people or group being able to exercise all of the necessary functions of power without intervention from any authority which they cannot themselves alter. Self-rule is associated then in contexts where there is the end of colonial rule, absolute government or monarchy, as well as demands for autonomy by religious, ethnic, or geographic regions which perceive themselves as being underrepresented in a national government. Self-rule is therefore a fundamental tenet of republican government and democracy as well as nationalism. Further, Gandhi said, “The Swaraj of my dreams is the poor man’s Swaraj. The necessaries of life should be enjoyed by you in common with those enjoyed by the princes and the moneyed men. But that does not mean that you should have palaces like theirs. They are not necessary for happiness. You or I would be lost in them. But you ought to get all the ordinary amenities of life that a rich man enjoys. I have not the slightest doubt that Swaraj is not Poorna Swaraj until these amenities are guaranteed to you under it.” Gandhi’s concept of Swaraj emerges from what he said in India of My Dreams. According to Gandhi, “The Swaraj of my…our…dream recognizes no race or religious distinctions. Nor is it to be the monopoly of the lettered persons or yet of moneyed men. Swaraj is to be for all, including the former, but emphatically including the maimed, the blind, and the starving, toiling millions.” Further Gandhi said “… What we mean and want through Poorna Swaraj is an awakening among the masses, knowledge among them of their true interest and ability to serve that interest against the whole world, harmony, and freedom from aggression from within or without, and a progressive improvement in the economic condition of the masses…” In fact, Gandhi said “Real Swaraj must be felt by all men, women, and children. To labor for that consummation is true resolution. India has become a pattern for all exploited races of the earth because India’s has been an open, unarmed effort which demands sacrifice from all without inflicting injury on the usurper. The millions in India would not have been awakened but for the open, unarmed struggle. Every deviation from the straight path has meant a temporary arrest of the evolutionary revolution.” It has been said that Indian Swaraj will be the rule of the majority community, i.e., the Hindus. There could not be a greater mistake than that. If it were to be true, I for one would refuse to call it Swaraj and would fight it with all the strength at my command, for to me Hind Swaraj is the rule of all people, is the rule of Justice. Whether, under that rule, the ministers were Hindus or Mussalmans or Sikhs and whether legislatures were exclusively filled by the Hindus or Mussalmans or any other community, they would have to do even-handed justice. Today our minds are clouded by delusion. In our ignorance, we quarrel with one another and indulge in rowdyism against our own brethren. For such as these, there is neither salvation nor Swaraj. Self-discipline or rule over self is the first condition of self-rule or Swaraj.
Economic Foundations of Swaraj
Gandhi stressed the economic prerequisites and foundations of freedom since he would accept that economic resources act as an effective apparatus for the realization of man’s will. He felt that freedom was bound to remain a mere philosophical abstraction unless the vast masses had some gainful employment. Unemployment snatches the morsel from the mouth of the poor villagers and completely damages the personality of the victims. Hence Gandhi wrote: “Political freedom has no meaning for the millions if they do not know how to employ their enforced idleness.” As a moral prophet of Ram Rajya, Gandhi accepted the doctrine of equal distribution. A fundamental item in actualizing genuine equality, as discussed earlier, will be the revolutionary step of the acceptance and practice of equality of wages for the lawyer, the doctor, or the teacher who are entitled to no more than the Bhangi. This would provide the key to true civilization and be the basis of the reconstruction of an ideal humanity. The essential characteristics of Swaraj are as follows: Swaraj is based on inward Freedom; Swaraj belongs to the individual alone: Swaraj means Freedom for all or Sarvodaya: Swaraj is eternal vigilance on the part of the individual: Swaraj involves Equality: and Swaraj involves Non-violence.
Legacy of Swaraj in Post-Independent India
To sum up, it can be said that Tilak was one of the dominant political figures in the early years of the freedom struggle who gave to the people of India the first lesson in the consciousness of the right of Swaraj. He enlightened the population of India into a political recognition of the general will of the nation. At a time when apathy, prostration, and frustration were rampant in the country, he appeared as the prophet of Swaraj. After Tilak’s death, Gandhi further enriched the concept of Swaraj and popularized it among the masses, and ultimately, we got independence.
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru laid the strong foundation of Swaraj in post-independent India. He built everything which India needed at that time, that is industrial complexes, BARC, AIIMS, ISRO, DRDO, IITs, and what not. What we are today, all credit goes to Nehru and the Congress Party. We cannot think of India and Indian democracy without the Congress Party, along with its leaders and dedicated workers. The Congress Party has a history of sacrifice, a sharing and caring ideology, a commitment to secular and liberal values, and a vision for a new, vibrant, and united India. The Congress Party and its governments gave power to the powerless, a voice to the voiceless, and empowered women, Dalits, STs, and SCs to live with dignity. For real Swaraj, the fight is still going on under the leadership of Shri Rahul Gandhi. The goals of real Swaraj will be achieved by fulfilling the dream of the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and the architect of modern India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. It is high time for both our policymakers and the people to turn the torch within so that they may be inspired to adopt the Gandhian way, if not for any other consideration, but for its pragmatic strength to solve our present-day maladies of India. There is a need to reiterate Gandhian values, and instead of merely garlanding the portraits of Gandhiji, India must translate his ideals into real life and make India free from unemployment, hunger, poverty, and exploitation. The hope lies with the selfless and relentless work of Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhi for the people’s cause in the present times.
In a vast country like this, there must be room for all schools of honest thought. And the least, therefore, that we owe to ourselves, as to others, is to try to understand the opponent’s viewpoint and, if we cannot accept it, respect it as fully as we expect him to respect ours. It is one of the indispensable tests of a healthy public life and, therefore, fitness for Swaraj. Freedom of speech and pen is the foundation of Swaraj. If the foundation stone is in danger, you have to exert the whole of your might in order to defend that single stone. Gandhi’s scheme of comprehensive freedom as elucidated in the Hind-Swaraj can thus be represented as: True Swaraj = Kingdom of the soul (Spiritual and Moral Freedom). Satyagraha as the key to it (Political Freedom).
(Satyagraha = Dayabala or Atmabala) Swadeshi = (Economic Freedom) (Necessary for putting Satyagraha into practice). At the Belgaum Congress in 1924, Gandhi said that Swaraj is part of Truth. This view amounts almost to a sanctification and spiritualization even of the work of national emancipation or freedom. Freedom is the essence of man’s spiritual personality. Like Rousseau in the Social Contract, Gandhi also considers freedom as the essence of man. If freedom is renounced, Man becomes an “automaton”. Any attempt to build a society by the denial of liberty is “contrary to the very nature of man.” One may enjoy what is his but should never attempt to rob others of what is theirs. He says: Humility, earnestness, thoughtfulness these are the foundations of Swarajya. Political freedom also
postulated social cohesiveness besides disciplined suffering. It is essential to combine the quest for political individuality with the voluntary acceptance of social and political discipline which is the basis of social solidarity and cohesiveness. A divided and disrupted social structure could not wage successful political struggles. Only a community constituted by persons imbued with a sense of deep social cohesiveness can attain the benefits of Swaraj. Hence, Gandhi stressed communal unity and the absolute elimination of unsociability among the foundations of political freedom.