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Chapter 6
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
If the English have been afflicted by the disease of civilization, the reader asks, how did they manage to conquer and rule India? The editor explains that, actually, Indians gave India to the English. They agreed to trade with the East India Company and fought for its support in their own internal conflicts. And while the Indians continue to do so, the English retain power. Indeed, the English only care about commerce—they worship money like a God and will do anything for it.
For Gandhi, Indians collaborated with the British for the same reason as the British came to India: greed for wealth and power, coupled with a lack of compassion for other people. When he blames Indians for inviting the British in, he’s actually suggesting that, if Indians have the power to accept modern civilization, they also have the power to reject it. In fact, achieving true independence is also within their power: it requires them to actively choose the better, more balanced form of civilization that Gandhi will soon describe.
Themes
