1.

Critique of modernity

Civilization for Gandhi is a mode of conduct that points out the path of duty to men. For him,
observance of morality and performance of duty are convertible terms. For him, to attain mastery over
mind and our passions, one has to obtain morality. Basically doing what we know ourselves.

What is taken as Gandhi’s critique of modernity generally refers to his critique of the doctrines of
materialism, and instrumental rationality, the beliefs in scientific and technological process, practices
such as large scale methods of production , rapid transportation, allopathic medicines, adversial
parliamentary systems of democracy, and so on and the accompanying conviction that it was the duty of
those who subscribe to such values to impose them on the rest of the world. Against this ,he
counterpoised his own definition of what entailed a genuine civilization that had he argued to be rooted
in the alternative morality. His position in this respect is set out more clearly in “hind swaraj”.

Hind swaraj was written by Gandhi I 1909, in hind swaraj Gandhi attacked the common view that
civilization could be judged In terms of sophisticated machines, technology and weapons, and standards
of material comfort enjoyed by society, Gandhi on the contrast of this was putting forward a novel and
radical new way of understanding the concept of civilization .his good way of life meant placing a curb
on our material desires and refusing to fetishise technology.

Gandhi stated that the modern civilization is the kingdom of satan and the ancient civilization is the
kingdom of god. He had no hatred for the british ,all he condemned was the “present day civilization of
Europe”.

Gandhi’s critique of modern civilization:

Gandhi’s critique was selective , he focused on what he saw as the fetishising of technology and science .
he himself was very fascinated by science and said “I think we cant live without science if we keep it in
its right place”. It however had to conform to ethical principles , he considered for example that how the
medical profession had become irreligious as For the sake of a mistaken care of the human body, they
kill annually thousands of animals. They practise vivisection. No religion sanctions this. Doctors in order
to get the patient rid off a disease even without going to the root cause of it and curing it, prefer the
medical continuance that makes the mind lose its control and will and as a result one becomes deprived
of self control, according to Gandhi sometimes even the quacks are better than the medical
professionals .

He criticizes lawyers by saying that lawyers have enslaved india,he states that the profession teaches
immorality; it is exposed to temptation from which few are saved. men take up that profession, not in
order to help others out of their miseries, but to enrich themselves. It is one of the avenues of becoming
wealthy and their interest exists in multiplying disputes , that they are glad when men have disputes .
according to gandhi parties should settle their disputes on their own and any third party shouldn’t have
the authority to interfere in between as the third party is not always right.
 According to Gandhi the railways had merely spread diseases like bubonic plague and caused famines as
food grains were moved in wagons from areas of dearth. As per him its railways why: The holy places of
India have become unholy. Formerly, people went to these places with very great difficulty. Generally,
therefore, only the real devotees visited such places. Nowadays rogues visit them in order to practice
their roguery.

About modern education Gandhi says that The foundation that Macaulay laid of education has enslaved
us. He says we were unfortunate that we couldn’t speak in our mother tongue and had to learn a foreign
language. Gandhi wanted that Those English books which are valuable, we should translate into the
various Indian languages and that Every cultured Indian should know in addition to his own provincial
language, if a Hindu, Sanskrit; if a Mahomedan, Arabic; and all hindi.

Gandhi was against the mass production by machines replacing human, and how industrialization had
led to pathetic working conditions where men are slogging their daylight hours as slaves in the toxic
fumes .gandhi refused to accept the modern systems of transport, printing press etc.

Above all he wanted men to stick to the ancient Indian civilization just as a child clings to the mother’s
breast.

Gandhian civilization: alternative proposed by Gandhi

Gandhi was an arcadian who believed in the self sustaining village economy. for him the power of
prakruti or nature made a mockery of even the most advanced technology of the day.

Some of his programmes in order to attain the alternate morality are:

1. The constructive programme – which incorporated principles such as “swadeshi” [home based
production] “sarvodaya”[upliftment of all] and “ aparigraha”[non possessiveness].the gandhian
form of swadeshi sought to nurture forms of technology that were appropriate to the needs of
majority of people. It aimed to provide dignity for manual occupations, equitable division of
labour .the “charkha” or the spinning wheel became the centre of this campaign , Gandhi
believed it could provide the best means through which poor people would earn a
supplementary income, also it would make the citizens “aatmanirbhar”.
2. the doctrine of trusteeship: Gandhi accepted the worth of socialist goals for eliminating
poverty, he however didn’t believe din the necessity of class struggle. As per him we could
destroy capitalism by the non violent method by inviting the capitalists to rgard himself as a
trustee for those who he defend for making , retention and increase of his capital .if capital is
powe so is work. Either is dependent on other . immediately the worker realizes his strength he
is a position to become the co-sharer with the capitalist instead of remaining his slave.

Conclusion: ’ gandhi wants ancient Indian civilization to flourish . He supports the idea of
economic self-sufficiency of villages. He describes his ideas as an ideal socioeconomic order in
which independence should start from downwards which will led a village became republic and
full power in the hand of panchayat. It will be totally wrong to say that Gandhi had totally
 rejected the ideas of west and was not influenced by them. Gandhi learns new things from his
experiments and views his life as ‘experiment of truth.’ Of course he was very selective and
innovative when it comes to borrow from west. He was aware of some of the elements of
modern civilisation which was good for India and hence he adopted the democratic political
process from them.

Q. Analyze the idea of satyagraha developed by Gandhi.

Satyagraha is often pointed out as the amalgamation of two gujarati words, “satya”(truth) and
agraha(holding, seizing), the implication being that one seizes hold of the truth. gandhi equated satya
with god by saying that truth is god. Satyagraha is the exercise of spiritual force against all kinds of
injustice, violence, insult, and exploitation. If the government does not represent the people and
supports dishonesty and terrorism, then it is necessary to compensate those who want to protect their
rights, they should be ready to bear all kinds of hardships. Wherever riots, injustice, exploitation, and
untruth are seen, there should not be any hesitation in making effective use of Satyagraha.

Self suffering:- Gandi understood that satya was reached through a complex dialogue in which reasoned
arguments had often to be reinforced with emotional and political pressure. Gandhi believed that
reason by itself couldn’t win an argument this is where self inflicted suffering plays an important role
like fasting for example. Large majority of Gandhi’s fasts were directed against those over whom he
believed that he had a strong emotional bond,he never used a fast to gain political concessions from the
british. He claimed that he fasted in order to make those who loved him reconsider their decisions. Self-
suffering is neither an inability nor a submission against his enemy. It is a fight against an evil system and
a tyrant with one’s soul force. ).Critics who said Satyagraha is the way of the cowards, to them Gandhi
replied, “I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise
violence.” (Gandhi, 1920) Self-suffering is clearly different from cowardice as well as violence against the
opponent. Self-suffering, in Satyagraha, is directed to resisting humiliation as well.

Personality of satyagrahi:- aim of stayagrahi must be avoid bitterness and resolve conflict by seeking
common truth. He will try to stay away from ability, anger, humiliation, self-respect, shame, fear, etc.
Even if the government puts him in jail, Satyagrahi will follow all those rules in jail which are not against
self-respect and will behave properly with the officers He should be revering Truth and Non-violence
with righteousness. He should lead a pure life and should always be ready to sacrifice his life and
property for his goal. He should be a habitual Khadi holder and he should keep away from all kinds of
intoxicants, so that his intellect is always pure and his mind is calm.

How is satyagraha different from other forms of non violent resistance:- according to Gandhi
satyagraha was different as it was not based on the appeal to narrow self and was all about “soul force”
and winning over the hearts of enemies .rather than bringing pressure s on enemies in a way that makes
it hard for them to operate their regimes, satyagraha works by genuine changing of hearts. there is no
scope for love in the passive resistance and there is scope for use of arms when the favourable occasion
arrives but in satyagraha physical force is forbidden even in the most favourable situation.
Fundamental rules of satyagraha:-

Self reliance is necessary

Reduction of demands to minimum consistent with truth

Progressive advancement of the movement through various steps and stages

Examination of weakness within the satyagrahi group

Cooperation with others

Different methods of satyagraha:-

Civil disobedience-, it is the duty of citizens under normal circumstances to obey the orders of the
government . But if the government ignores the sentiments of the people and uses unfair and immoral
means to suppress public opinion, then it becomes a duty of the citizens to non-cooperate with such a
government. 'Civil Disobedience 'Satyagraha is Non-cooperation's last resort when all other methods of
Satyagraha in use fails. That's why he believed that civil disobedience should be used by selected specific
individuals instead of common people. It was used by Gandhiji in 1931.

Non cooperation- He considers non-violent non-cooperation satyagraha as a means of obtaining

cooperation of the opponent for truth and justice. The basic concept of non-cooperation is that the
unjust can be successful in their exploitation work only if they get the cooperation of the exploited.
According to Gandhiji, the handful British could maintain their hold on India because they had the
support of the Indians. Therefore, Gandhi's first major non-violent mass movement against the British
was the non-cooperation movement.

Hijrat- '. The meaning of Hijrat is that a person should leave his permanent place of residence on his
own will. Gandhiji suggested the use of Hijrat for those who felt that they were being crushed and
suppressed and could not defend their self-respect at that place, because they lack strength. It is
important to clarify here that not only in the internal sphere, but also in the event of invasion by other
countries, Satyagraha can be used by Gandhiji.

Boycott- It is not to accept or to give up something. Boycott can happen both collectively and
individually. Many people boycotted English clothes under the leadership of Gandhiji. Apart from this,
English offices and courts were also boycotted.

Limits of satyagraha

Gandhiji's belief that suffering one's own suffering melts the heart of others is not necessarily true in all
situations.

In a certain context, satyagraha is more politically successful than many other technical forms, but it is
not necessarily successful in every situation. No satyagraha was started even after human bodies were
found in a Nazi camp." Gandhiji has considered only non-violence as the solution to all problems, but in
practice it appears that even a little violence in the circumstances is necessarily part of it and which
cannot be neglected.

Conclusion:-

Gandhiji has suggested to use different means in different situations in protest against injustice and
exploitation. By inventing and successfully using the weapon of Satyagraha, he showed to the world that
the country's independence could be achieved without being armed and without bloodshed. Satyagrahi
have been mentioned extensively by Gandhiji above and if they are followed, Satyagraha is a superior,
moral, non-violent, and highly effective infallible weapon for humankind. Which will not only pave the
way for human welfare, but will be a major step towards realizing Gandhiji's dream of Ram Rajya.

3.Q. what is gandhi’s idea of swaraj and its basic features and dimension.
Gandhi was an apostle of peace, non-violence and was ardent follower of Purna Swaraj or complete
independence. He had a vision of Swaraj and his concept of Swaraj was just like Rama Rajya or kingdom
of God on the earth.

He again and again defined and explained the concept of Swaraj as the goal of freedom struggle, in
terms of political, economic, social and moral rights of the downtrodden and exploited Indian masses.
By Swaraj, he meant freedom and self-rule which should be practiced at three levels,:-

 In case of individual Swaraj, it is self-control or Swaraj of the self.

 In case of the country, it is the freedom of India from the British clutch,
 and In case of community level, it is Gram Swaraj or freedom of village.

He was not limited with one aim only to end the British rule in India. His goals were greater
and more ambitious. One of his important goals was to achieve Swaraj, Purna Swaraj or
complete independence. The word Swaraj means self-rule. However, for Gandhi, Swaraj is the
content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life.
At the individual level - Swaraj is vitally connected with the capacity for dispassionate
selfassessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing swadeshi or self-reliance´.sawaraj as
self rule means three things –first that freedom is primarily individual and not a collective
quality second it includes the conventional civil liberties of press speech associations and
religion and third it distinguishes between inner and outer freedom.self rule , self restraint,
moral self determinism formed the basis of his swaraj.

From political point of view- Swaraj is self-government and not good government . For
Gandhi, good government is no substitute for self-government. Swaraj means continuous effort
to be independent of government control, whether it is foreign government or whether it is
national. Furthermore, it is sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority.
Parliamentary democracy should also be a participatory democracy this involved a democratic
structure of govt in which each individual enjoys maximum freedom of thoughts , expressions
and participated in decision making and implementation process. The people should also be
competent to retain political powers in hand in order to reduce the interference of govt to
minimum to establish self government . gandhi sought to build a democratic structure from the
grass root level, the sawaraj by making the mass aware about their power and dignity.

From economic point of view -Purna Swaraj is full economic freedom for the toiling millions.
According to Gandhi, "Swaraj of the people meant the sum total of the Swaraj (self-rule) of
individuals and so he clarified that for him Swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his
countrymen.
And in its fullest sense, Swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule,
self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.´
Achieving awaraj
Real Swaraj will come, not by the acquisition of authority but by the acquisition of the capacity
by all to resist authority when it is abused. In other words, Swaraj is to be attained by educating
the masses to a sense of their capacity to regulate and control authority´. Political liberty was
an essential precondition of the Swaraj. It is the first step to realise the goal of Swaraj. his vision
presented in Hind Swaraj was ideal for the realisation of selfrule and political independence
. Swaraj of his dream was to be built from grassroots level. For Gandhi it meant the elimination
of all forms of domination, oppression, segregation and discrimination. The Swaraj could
eliminate the active use of nonviolence. It could be achieved through the economic
regeneration of rural India through programmers like the revival and propagation of khadi and
other related villages industries.
Gandhiji founded voluntary organisations to carry out his constructive program. The All India
Spinners Association (AISA) and All India Village Industries Association (AIVIA), the Harijan
Sewak Sangh, the Leprosy Foundation etc., are the best voluntary organisations. Through these
organisations, Gandhi launched a massive programme of rural reconstruction to empower the
downtrodden people.
Gandhiji wanted to transfer the Congress from political organisation to a constructive work
organisation. He proposed to rename the Congress as Lok Sewak Sangh to mobilise the people
to work and struggle for Swaraj
In order to achieve swaraj BhoodanGramdan Movement under Vinoba and the Total
Revolution movement under Jayprakash Narayanan were established under the aegis of the
Sarvodaya Movement.
. Gandhi was undaunted by the task of implementing such a utopian vision in India. He believed
that by transforming enough individuals and communities, society at large would change.
Gandhi’s idea of gram swaraj
Gandhi favoured participatory democracy and advocated for 'a village-based political formation fostered
by a stateless, classless society' for the creation of Gram Swaraj. Gram Swaraj is an ideal non-violent
social order, in which self-sufficient, self-reliant, selfgoverning village-states function independently in
vital matters. It is a total revolution and a complete grassroots democracy in which people are awakened
to their capabilities and are fully empowered.

It is the formation of independent village units of Swaraj in the context of the present-day world. Gram
Swaraj is the practical embodiment of truth and non-violence in the spheres of politics, economics and
sociology. He considered Gram Swaraj as an ideal society which is a stateless democracy with liberal
governance where social life has become so perfect that it is self-regulated. "In the ideal state, there is
no political power because there is no State.

The concept of Gram Swaraj is not political; it touches all aspects of life: cultural, social, economic and
ecological. . According to Gandhiji, the Gram Swaraj is mancentred, unlike the Western economy, which
is wealth-centred. Gandhi does not seek only the decentralisation of political power. He rather pleads
for decentralisation of both economic and political power. For, the success of political decentralisation,
in his view, depends upon economic decentralisation. Gandhi said that panchayati raj represents the
true democracy realized.

Gandhi’s close associate, J. C. Kumarappa coins the term ‘villagism’, which Gandhi gladly accepts as an
essential framework of realising rural swaraj.

Conclusion

The preservation and strengthening of village independence will provide the solution of most of India's
socio-economic and political ills, and the village independence can be maintained only when the
Gandhian concept of Gram Swaraj is followed. Gram Swaraj is not something that can be achieved in a
short time. It is not just a change in the physical look of the village; it involves the total transformation of
the outlook of the people living there

Q4. Explain gandhigiri and its relevance in popular indian culture also
relevance of gandhi legacy in the contemp. World
Today, most of the youngster know Gandhiji as an idealistic man who preached us about non-violence.
Gandhiji believed in non-violence and he also practiced it. The path of violence always taking birth from
hatred and hatred always spread trouble and conflicts. His deep commitment and disciplined in non-
violent civil disobedience to oppose victimization that inspired the other politician like Martin Luther
King junior, Aung San Su Ki and Nelson Mandela to bring about changes in the world through the
principles of non-violence.

Gandhigiri is a neologism (ideology of gandhism), which is used to express the ideology of Mahatma
Gandhi. This term became popular in the movie ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ in 2006. Gandhigiri is a term
which attempts to summarise the ideologies of Gandhiji. We can say that truth and non-violence are the
twin pillars on which rested the whole framework of the Mahatma Gandhi’s glorious life and his work.
According to Mahatma Gandhi, truth and non-violence are the two sides of the same coin

. The neologism of Gandhigiri is used to express the tenets of Gandhism in contemporary world.

Visual narrative of gandhi: gandhigiri in LRMB

Unlike other films on gandhi new alternative narrative method is used in this film to propagate
Gandhism in a patriotic comic genre. In the age of globalisation and transforming ideas the film perfectly
reconstitute history making it seamlessly compatible with contemporary popular cultural space. Lage
Raho Munna Bhai (LRMB) presented the Gandhian principles in the foreground without any jingoism of
a patriotic film or a documentary style narrative technique hailed as cinematic tribute to Gandhi. The
film managed to escape the in fights prevailing among historians from different school of thoughts. Lage
Raho Munna Bhai marked a revival of Gandhian thought and was successful in unifying them to the
Indian way of thought that has been hybridized because of global influence The film shows the
apparition of Gandhi that is visible only to Munna, advising him in a very brief manner. The advices are
then used by Munna to guide common citizens to deal with their daily life issues. Munna’s Gandhigiri is
certainly more influential than that of any academic research on Gandhi. Gandhigiri revived the public
consciousness about Gandhi, especially among the youths, who started to follow Gandhigiri as a non
political tool to fight corruption and misappropriation of power. Gandhigiri has installed a moral way of
behaving among the contemporary generation.

Relevance of gandhigiri in the contemporary world:-

A personality such as Gandhi is an inspiring and motivating topic even in the new cultural space. In the
filmic universe Gandhi has reappeared as a powerful voice answering questions that Indians today are
presented with in their day to affair. As a tool for transforming the mankind in present age of
globalisation and digitization film makers have courageously restructured the Gandhian ethos to cater to
the auBy finding new meaning of the message the Gandhi that has been brought back in visual narrative
is not a political Gandhi, but a Gandhi who act as an inner conscience and moral guide. The showcasing
of the transformation of Gandhism to Gandhigiri has led to the creation of adherent of Gandhi cross-
section of societydience set in a dynamic ethico-cultural settings.

Global legacy- anti apartheid movement

Pacifist movement

Womens movement

5. Trusteeship
Gandhi’s economic ideas were part of his general struggle against poverty, exploitation against socio-
economic injustice, and deteriorating moral standards. Gandhi was an economist of the masses. His
approach was rooted in human dignity. His economic philosophy is a result of a number of experiments
which he conducted in the course of his life. His pragmatic approach gave a new direction to the existing
socio-economic problems in the process of protecting human dignity

According to Gandhi the landowner, rich men have to act as trustees of what they own, i.e. they have
dedicated the rights to their property and material goods to the common people. In spite of their wealth
they have to bring themselves down to the level of the common labour and earn their bread (livelihood)
by labour (hard work). For the workers he advocated that they should act as trustees for their labour
which means that they should believe that their productive efforts are for the welfare of the society

Trusteeship formula

i) Trusteeship provides a way of changing the present capitalist order of society into an egalitarian
one. It does not give importance to capitalism, but gives the present owner class a chance to
reform itself. It is based on the faith that human nature is never beyond redemption.
ii) It does not recognise any right of private ownership of property except so far as it may be
permitted by society for its own welfare.
iii) It does not exclude legislation of the ownership and use of wealth.
iv) Thus under state regulated trusteeship, an individual will not be free to hold or use his wealth
for selfish satisfaction while disregarding the interests of the society. 82 Gandhi’s Political
Concerns
v) Just as it is proposed to give a decent minimum living wage, a limit should be fixed for the
maximum income that would be allowed to any person in society.
vi) . Under Gandhi’s economic order, the character of production will be determined by social
necessity and not by personal greed.

Trusteeship in ancient india

Trusteeship, to Gandhi, was neither an economic expedient nor a make shift for him. It was a way of
life. He said: “My theory of trusteeship is no make shift, certainly no camouflage. I am confident that it
will survive all other theories. It has the sanction of philosophy and religion behind it.” . The philosophy
contained in the concept of ‘Ramarajya’ bears testimony to the fact that under the Indian cultural
heritage, the rulers wielded power not for their own sake but for the sake of their subjects. Bharat
reigned over Ayodhya during Ramachandra’s absence as the latter’s trustee. Lord Krishna acted as the
charioteer of Arjuna in the battle of Mahabharata, not with any ulterior motive or expectation of any
gains from the battle. He acted as a trustee of Arjuna to give satisfaction to the latter

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan has pointed out, “Property according to the Hindu View, is a mandate held by its
possessors for the common use and benefit of the commonwealth. The Bhagavata tells us that we have
a claim only to so much as would satisfy our hunger. If anyone desires more, he is thief deserving
punishment.

GANDHI AND VALUE FOR TRUSTEESHIP- gandhi believed that it is possible to appeal to good in every
person , however grasping and oppressing they might appear to be
He sought to inculcate a spirit of aparigraha or non possession . this would require that each would hold
whatever assets they possessed in the trust for good for society

Owner of means of production shouldn’t take more than was needed for a comfortable but not
extravagant life.

Criticism-

It has been highly criticized by Marxists who saw this as the familiar bourgeois essence showing through
the idealistic cover

The faith that gandhi placed in capitalist entrepreneurs as a class was highly misplaced.only a ew
exceoptional businessme of the day like jamnalal bajaj and JRD Tata may have said to approach this
idea.

Conclusion-

Gandhi in his concept of Trusteeship believes in the goodness of heart and humanitarian nature of other
fellowmen too. His concept of Trusteeship has been thus criticized for being naïve and not propagating
equality in society. Many critics and even his protégé Jawaharlal Nehru believed that the concept of
Trusteeship carried forward a feudal society and promoted capitalism. According to Professor J.J.
Anjaria, a sympathetic Gandhian economist, “Trusteeship as a short term measure was excellent, but in
the long-term coercion is ethically bad; on any large scale, it is also not expedient. But the run away
from the problem by merely appealing to the more fortunate ones to show a little more charity awful
word is no solution.

Q. Pacifist movement
The term Pacifism is derived from the word Pacific that translates into Peacemaking in Latin. It is based
on Paci- Peace and –ficus meaning making. The basic aim of Pacifism is to resolve disputes in a peaceful
manner and in most amicable way. Pacifism vehemently opposes war or military action or the use of
force. The basic belief is that the political, economic and social ends are not to be met using violence. It
rejects the use of force by government or any other organization to achieve their ends. Since the very
name suggests that it stands for peace, it is quite evident that pacifism is opposed to war and military
action. . The focus is both inward and outward that is at the individual level or towards a societal level,
pacifism has to be practiced if we are to live in peaces. The proponents of pacifism believe that this
ideal, if practiced by all, will lead to world peace and order. Their belief found further support when
world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King advocated and practiced them giving the
world a new hope to get freedom from oppression

. Pacifism helps in developing those virtues that are non-violent in nature and that which greatly
contribute to peace and order without going to war. The principles of pacifism inspired by Leo Tolstoy
had a great impact on Mahatma Gandhi’s mind. To him, it was an effective tool for resisting war. He
practiced it during his struggle for immigrant rights struggle in South Africa.
It originated in protests against the military- industrial complex during the first world war.after the war
anti war protestors came to see gandhi as shining example of pacifism in action.

A central figure within the newly emerging pacifist movement was bart de ligt .he persuaded gandhi to
join the paris based anti war organization RIGM

Although gandhi had supported the british during the first world war, he admitted his error soon as the
war was over he said that he was wrong to support a conflict that represented the very antithesis of
civilized values.initially gandhi thought that it was a war to end the war but later realized that force can
never banish force.

Gandhi had been an outspoken critique of nuclear weapons after American atomic bombing of japan in
1945

Gandhi was the first to divulge the merits of pacifism in the Indian context.

The ‘Royden Affair’ gives an excellent illustration of Gandhi’s unconditional pacifism during World War
II. Mude Royden, a British pacifist, decided late in 1941 that her capacity for nonviolence was not
sufficient for the circumstances in which she found herself. Following her interpretation of Christ’s idea,
she decided to support the war which she could not effectively diminish. When Gandhi learned of her
decision, he criticised her new position and asked her to repent and to return to her former unqualified
nonviolence. It does not seem that Gandhi understood that her personal incapacity to observe strict
pacifism was a condition to which he himself confessed in the 1920’s as one of his explanations for
supporting the British cause in World War I

d. He was critical of the war and the military action that ended in unprecedented violence. He was also
extremely pained at the use of atomic bomb and condemned it as a ghastly act. He said that war
criminals should be reformed so as to make them peace emissaries; the war criminals were ‘not
confined to the Axis Powers alone’. He said that Roosevelt and Churchill are equally responsible for war
and not just blame the Fascist leaders Hitler and Mussolini.

Gandhi was opposed to the war and its destruction. He said that it did not benefit anyone; instead it
wrought upon serious consequences to those who directly and indirectly participated in it leaving a trail
of loss in terms of people, finances and resources.

Conclusion –

The word Pacifism is not a common word in usage today. More often we hear nuclear disarmament,
anti-war campaigns, and conflict resolution and so on

e. Pacifism as a word might not be in usage. Pacifist Movements But its relevance stands as the most
viable alternative to war. This ideology is opposed to war. Its relevance has not faded; instead today the
problems of the world have multiplied. We have wars over different issues; we have wars to attain and
establish peace. In this conflict ridden world, pacifism stands as a relevant option in a different name in
different parts of the world. Pacifism was well rooted in European countries. Later on, it found
resonance through eminent leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and a galaxy of prominent leaders all over the
world

Q. women’s movement and gandhi role

In India women have long been embodied as ‘shakti’ the power of creation. In ancient India women
enjoyed equal rights in religious and cultural ceremonies. They were free to work outside the house and
exercise their rights and be vocal about any issue. As time passed due to various socio-cultural events
women’s status in the Indian society took a backseat. The role of women has been constructed and
reconstructed through reform movements, moral codes, normative values, education and ethics to
meet social aspirations and compulsions of times. Indians pray to women goddesses and yet social evils
against women such as dowry, domestic abuse, rape and harassment continue. This is despite the fact
that a high percentage of women are now educated and hold jobs outside homes to support their
families. Women in India excel in every field be it business, sports, academics etc., yet they are never
viewed on par with their male counterparts. The birth of a male child is still celebrated whereas the girl
child needs special measures from the government and society to be acknowledged and nurtured. This
duality towards the role and position of women in Indian society has led to various women’s movements
over the years. A number of women’s organizations have emerged over the years which are fighting for
women’s causes and their rights daily all over India. Some of such organizations are All India Women’s
Conference (AIWC),

GANDHI’S PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN-

6 He said, “To me women is not the weaker sex, she is nobler of the two, for even today she is the
embodiment of sacrifice, silent suffering, humility, faith and knowledge.”57 He encourages women to
follow the path of self-help and self-sufficiency to acquire a subjectivity of their own, independent of the
creation of man. He believed women can make a rightful place in society by their own efforts based on
principle of Satyagraha. He does not want any woman to consider herself as the object of lust for man,
to adorn herself even for her man, for then she will succumb to the order created by man and will
become an object instead of subject. Gandhi treats man and woman as one, their problems are in
essence one and they live the same life. Thus Gandhi wanted women to be active agents and not passive
and he emphasized the need of education for women

Nature of womens movement In india

There is a major difference between pre-independence and post-Independence women’s move-ments

in India. The pre-independence movements were mainly about social reforms that had been initiated by
men like Leaders of the Brahmo Samaj (Raja Ram Mohan Roy) and the Arya Samaj were concerned with
issues like sati, remarriage, divorce, female education, purdah system, polygamy, and dowry. Gandhi
collectively mobilized women to participate in the independence struggle and fight for political freedom
as well as their social and political rights. In the early 19th century questions regarding the status of
women in the Indian society were mainly raised by elite upper caste Hindu men. Issues like women’s
education, widow remarriage and campaigns against sati were popularized. In the 1920s Indian women
entered into a new phase of feminism leading to the creation of localized women’s associations that
worked on issues of women’s education, livelihood strategies for working class women, as well as
national level women’s associations such as the All India Women’s Conference

Chipko narmada bachao

Anti dowry nirbhaya etc