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Preface
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
After going to London as part of the Indian delegation to represent the South African Transvaal Passive Resistance struggle, Gandhi decided to write this book in order to help curious Indian readers think about India’s colonial status. He explains that, while he intensely believes in the views he presents in this book, they are not wholly original, but rather based on his own extensive reading. He emphasizes that thousands of people, both Indian and European, have expressed these same views. He asks his readers to send him constructive criticism, because his only true goal is to discover and follow the Truth.
By emphasizing his debt to other thinkers and activists, Gandhi further bolsters his belief that the fight for independence has to be a collaborative and bottom-up movement: it has to start with people reflecting on society and choosing to join the fight for justice. To fight an oppressive government and create a free society, the independence movement must be based on participants’ free choice, not coercive force. This is why Gandhi emphasizes that he is seeking the truth, even if this eventually requires him to repudiate some of the arguments he presents here. He wants to help guide people towards truth, not to make them blindly follow his teachings. In fact, he doesn’t want them to view him as a genius or original thinker—rather, he wants them to investigate things for themselves. This makes it clear that he views publishing this book as part of satyagraha—which literally means “holding onto truth”—in order to create popular movement that establishes a more just society.
Themes
