Book Spotlight- The Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj- Rajesh Talwar
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On February 21, 2025
Book Spotlight- The Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj- Rajesh Talwar
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The latest release of Author Rajesh Talwar is The Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj.
About The Book – The Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj
Gandhi’s 1909 manifesto, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, explores the idea of swaraj, or self-government. Gandhi believed that India should prepare itself for democracy, and that the laws should reflect the aspirations of the people. He also believed that freedom from fear could be achieved through non-violence and mutual trust.
The best-selling author and a legal advisor to the UN on human rights, Rajesh Talwar is back with his new book, “The Mahatma’s Manifesto” published by Om publication. This book presents an in-depth analysis of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas, particularly those outlined in his 1909 book “Hind Swaraj” which envisioned India’s path to independence. Talwar critiques Gandhi’s rejection of modernity, industrialization, and Western thought, arguing that these ideas are impractical and regressive.
Gandhi’s “Hind Swaraj” advocates for a return to a simpler, more traditional way of life, with a focus on self-sufficiency and passive resistance. However, Talwar contends that this vision is isolating and economically stifling, and that it denies the complexities and potential of a rapidly evolving world.
Talwar’s work has been praised by notable figures, including Khushwant Singh, who reviewed his book “The Judiciary on Trial” and recommended it as a must-read. With “The Mahatma’s Manifesto” Talwar continues to offer thought-provoking insights into the complexities of Indian history and politics.
Chapter 6
GANDHI ON MACHINERY
Machinery is like a snake-hole which may contain from one to a hundred snakes.
—Mahatma Gandhi
It’s clear from a reading of Hind Swaraj that Gandhi was opposed to the industrialisation of India. Not only did he look upon the railways as epitomising the evil inherent in Western civilisation, he was against machinery in itself.
How else can we interpret the following statement, issued by him in a chapter of Hind Swaraj simply titled ‘Machinery’?1 ‘It may be considered a heresy,’ he writes, ‘but I am bound to say that it were better for us to send money to Manchester and to use flimsy Manchester cloth than to multiply mills in India.’
In his view, if the entire world wished to get back to the Kingdom of Heaven, it would need to de-industrialise and return to primitive technology. Were it in his power, he would in one fell swoop get rid of trains, cars, aeroplanes, factories, and so forth.
‘Machinery has begun to desolate Europe,’ he wrote. ‘Ruination is now knocking at the English gates. Machinery is the chief symbol of modern civilisation; it represents a great sin.’
‘It represents a great sin.’
No arguments are advanced in support of his views; we only have his conclusion announced.
While Gandhi opposed industrialisation, at the same time he did not hesitate to take money from Indian industrialists, including—paradoxically enough—mill owners. Even the place where he breathed his last was Birla House, a powerful industrialist’s residence, which was later converted to Gandhi Smriti, a memorial in the Mahatma’s name.
Gandhi was alert to public perception. It would not do to only talk the talk; he needed to walk the talk. If he stayed at Birla House whenever he visited Delhi, people would—despite his dhoti—start talking. He therefore took care to alternate between Bhangi Colony and Birla House.5 ‘Bhangi’ was the Indian word for the Dalits who are traditionally employed in the task of sweeping or scavenging, and the residents of the Bhangi Colony were all Dalits.
Ironically enough, Nehru—Gandhi’s protégé, and the future PM of India—did not think industry was bad at all. Rather, he thought it was essential for progress. Post-Independence, he went to work setting up big public sector industries, describing them as ‘the temples of Modern India’.
However, Nehru and other Congress leaders understood that they could ignore Gandhi only at the peril of their own political fortunes. Through his dress code, the spiritual aspect of his persona, and various agitations and antics, he had captured the Indian imagination, towering over anyone else on the political firmament.
Did Gandhi seriously think that India would be better off without machines or industry? There is no doubt that he did.
When a questioner asked him how machine-made things are to be eventually given up, this is what he had to say: ‘What a few may do, others will copy, and the movement will grow like the coconut of the mathematical problem. What the leaders do, the populace will gladly do in turn.
The questioner points out how there are ‘innumerable’ machine-made things. Gandhi is not at all disconcerted.
My answer can be only one. What did India do before these articles were introduced? Precisely the same should be done today. As long as we cannot make pins without machinery, so long will we do without them. The tinsel splendour of glassware we will have nothing to do with, and we will make wicks, as of old, with home grown cotton and use handmade earthen saucers for lamps. So doing, we shall save our eyes and money and will support Swadeshi and so shall we attain Home Rule.
TOPICS Book ReviewBook spotlightRajesh TalwarThe Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj
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