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Chapter 12
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
Since that the editor rejects modern civilization, the reader asks what true civilization means. The editor replies that Indian civilization is special because Indians keep their ancient values alive. He defines true civilization as “that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.” Performing duty, or acting morally, means mastering the mind and passions, which gives people self-knowledge. This means that, to be happy, people don’t need to keep expanding their minds and material possessions: rather, they need to better focus them. Happiness is purely about the mind, which luxury and indulgence corrupt.
Gandhi identifies a certain set of values with ancient civilization in order to bolster his argument for the inherent unity of India as a nation. While Gandhi has argued that modern civilization wrongly prioritizes bodily goods over mental ones, he clearly thinks that India’s ancient civilization strikes a proper balance between them. If happiness comes from the mind and not the body, as he argues here, then it’s clear that ancient civilization provides a surer path to happiness—not to mention morality. Just as Gandhi views individual morality as based on self-control and responsibility, he views the morality of a nation—or the quality of its government—as based on its capacity to regulate itself and make wise decisions.
Themes
Indians have peacefully lived the same lifestyle for thousands of years; they never needed machinery, big cities, or powerful rulers. In the past, there were doctors and lawyers, but they were not allowed to rob people blind. In other words, India used to have true home-rule (and still does, in some remote villages). The reader points out that ancient Indian culture is full of violent traditions like child marriage, ritualized prostitution, and animal sacrifice. But the editor replies that these evil practices are not part of the civilization he’s defending. No civilization is perfect, he concludes, but Indian civilization is generally superior to Western civilization because it cultivates the soul instead of the body.
Although Gandhi thinks Indians should establish an independent and sovereign government, he does not think that this is the only (or even the best) path to achieving genuine home-rule. In fact, he thinks India will be returning to home-rule by building an independent government, not achieving it for the first time. While he lauds the greatness of the past, he does not pretend that it will be possible to totally return to it. Indeed, he carefully takes a stand against idealizing that past, which he considers valuable for its emphasis on humility, community, and spirituality, not its rigid social hierarchies and oppression of women.
Themes
