Who is Sardar Vallabhai Patel?

• Vallabhai Patel (1875-1950) was a political and social leader of India who played a vital role in India’s struggle for independence and subsequently helped its integration into a united as well as an independent nation.
• He was called the “Iron Man of India”, and was often addressed as “Sardar” which means “chief” or “Leader” in many languages of India.
• Patel was a successful lawyer and he entered the Indian national movement after he was inspired by the work and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

What was his role in the Indian National Movement?

As INC secretary: In 1917, Sardar Vallabhai Patel was elected as the Secretary of the Gujarat Sabha, the Gujarat wing of the Indian National Congress.

Kheda Peasant Struggle: In 1918, he led a massive “No Tax Campaign” to ask the farmers not to pay taxes after the British insisted on tax after the floods in Kheda/Kaira, Gujarat.

• The peaceful movement made the British officials to return the land taken away from the farmers.
• His effort in this campaign to bring together the farmers of his area got him the title of ‘Sardar’.

Non-cooperation Movement, 1919-21: He actively supported the non-cooperation movement launched by Gandhi. Patel toured the country with him, recruited 3 lakh members and helped collect over Rs. 1.5 million.

Bardoli Satyagraha – In 1928, Bardoli farmers faced a problem of increase in tax rate. Farmers refused to pay the extra tax = the government seized their lands in retaliation. The agitation prolonged more than 6 months. After several rounds of negotiations by Patel, a deal was struck between the government and farmers’ representatives = lands were returned to farmers.

Civil Disobedience Movement: In 1930, Sardar Patel was among the leaders jailed for taking part in the famous Salt Satyagraha Movement launched by Gandhi. His inspiring speeches during the Movement transformed the outlook of several people, who later played a major part in making the movement successful. When Gandhi was put into jail, Patel led the Satyagraha movement across Gujarat. Later Patel was also imprisoned.

As President of INC: Patel was freed in 1931, after an agreement signed between Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India. The treaty was popularly known as the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.

• The same year, Patel was elected as the President of Indian National Congress in its Karachi session where the party deliberated its future path.
• In this session, the Congress committed itself towards defence of fundamental and human rights. It was also in this session that the dream of a secular nation was conceived.

1934 Legislative Elections: During this, Sardar Patel campaigned for the INC. Even though he did not contest, he helped his fellow party members during the election.

Quit India Movement 1942: Patel continued his unwavering support to Gandhi when many contemporary leaders criticized the latter’s decision to launch the movement.

• Patel travelled throughout the country propagating the agenda of the movement in a series of heartfelt speeches.
• He was arrested again in 1942 and was imprisoned in the Ahmednagar fort till 1945 along with other Congress leaders.

How was he contradictory to Nehru and Bose?

• Patel’s journey often saw a number of confrontations with other important leaders of the Congress.
• He openly voiced his annoyance at Jawaharlal Nehru when the latter adopted socialism in 1936.
• Patel was also wary of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and considered him to be “keen on more power within the party”.

Sardar Patel and the Partition of India

• The separatist movement led by Muslim League leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah resulted in a series of violent Hindu-Muslim riots all over the nation just before the independence.
• In Patel’s opinion, the open communal conflicts propelled by the riots had the potential to create a weak government at the Centre after independence which will be disastrous for consolidating a democratic nation.
• So Patel started working on a solution with V.P.Menon, a civil servant during December 1946 and accepted his recommendation of establishing a separate dominion with respect to the religious inclination of states.
• He also represented India in the Partition Council.

What were his contributions to Post-independence India?

As Home Minister: After India achieved independence, Patel became the 1^st Home Minister and also the Deputy Prime Minister.

Integration of India: Patel played a very important role in post-independence India by successfully integrating around 562 princely states under the Indian Dominion.

• The British Government had given the rulers of princely states with 2 options – they could join India or Pakistan, or they could stay independent.
• This clause made the integration process all the more difficult.
• Congress entrusted this daunting task to Patel who started the campaign for integration on August 6, 1947.
• He was successful in integrating all of the princely states except J&K, Junagarh, and Hyderabad. But eventually dealt with the situation with his sharp political skills and secured their accession.
• Therefore, the India that we see today was a result of the efforts put in by Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

Making of Constitution: Patel was a leading member of the Constituent Assembly of India and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was appointed on his recommendation.

Civil Service: He played an important role in establishing the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service.

Dealing with Pakistan:

• Patel dealt ruthlessly with Pakistan’s efforts to invade Kashmir in September 1947. He oversaw an immediate expansion of the army and made improvements in other infrastructural aspects.
• He often disagreed with Nehru’s policies, particularly about his dealings with Pakistan regarding the refugee issues.
• He organized many refugee camps in Punjab, Delhi and later in West Bengal.

How was he influenced by Mahatma Gandhi?

• Gandhi had a huge effect on Patel’s politics and thoughts.
• He pledged unwavering support to Gandhi and stood by his non-violent principles all through his life.
• While leaders like Nehru, C.Rajagopalachari and Maulana Azad criticized Gandhi’s idea that the Civil Disobedience Movement would drive the British out of the country, Patel provided his support to Gandhi.
• Despite the unwillingness of the Congress high command, Gandhi and Patel forced the All India Congress Committee to ratify the civil disobedience movement and launched it without delaying further.
• Upon Gandhi’s request, he gave up his candidacy for the post of the Prime Minister of India for Jawaharlal Nehru.
• He suffered a major heart attack after Gandhi’s death and the great soul left the world on 15 December 1950.

Awards and Honours

• Sardar Patel was posthumously conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 1991.
• His birthday, October 31, was declared Rashtriya Ekta Divas in 2014.

Practice Question

1. Examine the contributions of Sardar Vallabhai Patel towards post-independence consolidation.

Introduction

Bhagat Singh, also known as ‘Shaheed (martyr) Bhagat Singh’, was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter who fought against the British with extraordinary zeal and courage. He popularised the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ which eventually became a catchphrase of the Indian national movement. He played a crucial role in revolutionising India’s struggle for Independence and that is why the young martyr is treated as the hero of India’s Independence movement.

Early life and education

• Bhagat Singh’s full name was Bhagat Singh Sandhu. He was born on September 27, 1907, in a Jat Sikh family in Banga village of Faisalabad district (now Lyallpur), western Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan’s Punjab province).
• His parents were Kishan Singh and Vidyavati Kaur. Bhagat Singhs’s family had a legacy of active involvement in the freedom struggle. His father and uncles were freedom fighters and were jailed for taking part in India’s nationalist movement. They were members of the Ghadar party which was led by Kartar Singh Sarabha and Har Dayal.
  • At the time of birth of Bhagat Singh, his father Kishan Singh and his uncles Ajit Singh and Swaran Singh were serving prison sentences for opposing the Colonization Bill implemented in 1906.
• Given the family’s nationalist tendencies and patriotism, Bhagat Singh’s grandfather did not allow Bhagat Singh to enrol at any school which was loyal to the British government. Therefore, Bhagat Singh attended Dayanand Anglo-Vedic High School (operated by Arya Samaj) in Lahore for his school education and then joined National College in Lahore.
• From his early days, Bhagat Singh was a follower and admirer of Marxism and drew inspiration from the writings of Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Mikhail Bakunin.
• Bhagat Singh ardently followed Kartar Singh Sarabha who was a leader of the Ghadar party and an active participant in India’s freedom struggle. The latter was also a martyr of India, losing his life at the young age of 19.
• He was an avid reader as well. So was he fond of reading that till the very young age of 21, he had read around fifty books which included writings of Ram Prasad Bismil, and many Russian and European writers.
• The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy deeply moved Bhagat Singh. He visited the site when he was 12 years old.
• In 1921, he along with the villagers had taken part in the protest against the killing of a significant number of victims at Gurudwara Nankana Sahib.
• He was also a devout follower of Gandhi and his ideals of non-violence. However, Gandhi’s calling off the Non-Cooperation Movement made him unhappy and he joined the Young Revolutionary Movement.
• In 1923, Bhagat Singh joined the National College of Lahore where he began engaging in revolutionary nationalist activities. During these days, he also took part in college dramatics and writing competitions actively.
  • He also won an essay competition which was on the topic – “The Problems in Punjab due to Freedom Struggle in India.”
• In 1927, Singh’s parents planned to have him married but he rejected the idea saying: “my bride shall be only death” and left. After several reassurances from his parents that they wouldn’t force him to marry, he returned to Lahore.

Contribution to the national movement

• Bhagat Singh began to protest against British rule in India in his youthful days and soon fought for national independence.
• It was during his college days that he founded the Naujawan Bharat Sabha – Youth Society of India (a socialist organisation) in March 1926 to overthrow British rule in India. 
• In 1927, he was arrested on the charge of having been involved in the Lahore bombing case that took place in 1926. He was released after 5 weeks on a bond of 60,000 rupees. 
• After his release, he began writing and editing for Urdu and Punjabi newspapers which were published in Amritsar. He also wrote for Kirti (a journal published by Kirti Kisan Party) and for Veer Arjun under pseudonyms.
• His writings had a great influence on Indian youth which resulted in the Indians, especially youth opposing all British activities often causing huge disruptions.
• In 1928, he reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), which later became the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). Other members of the party included Ram Prasad Bismil, Shahid Ashfaqullah Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev.
• Bhagat Singh was deeply affected by Lala Lajpat Rai’s death which was the result of the severe injury that the latter suffered while holding a protest march against the British’s Simon Commission in Lahore in 1928. Bhagat Singh decided to take revenge by killing the police officer, James A.Scott (superintendent of police) who had ordered the lathi charge that resulted in Rai’s death.
• Bhagat Singh and other members of HSRA such as Sukhdev, Rajguru and Chandrashekhar Azad drew up a plan to kill the officer. On December 17, 1928, they executed the plan at the district police headquarters in Lahore. However, they mistakenly killed Scott’s assistant John P. Saunders.
• After the killing, he escaped from Lahore to Howrah disguising himself as a married man with Bhagwati Charan Vohra’s wife Durgavati Devi since the police were looking for an unmarried Sikh boy.
• On 8 April 1929, he along with Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs at Central Legislative Assembly to oppose the Public Safety Bill and Trade Dispute Bill. Their intent was not to kill anyone but only to scare the British though a few people suffered some injuries. After throwing bombs, they did not run away but stood there shouting the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (“Long live the revolution”). 
  • The plan was to get arrested and stand trial so they could further promote their cause.
  • They also showered leaflets which stated that ‘it takes a loud noise to make the deaf hear.’

Trial and execution

• Bhagat Singh along with his co-conspirator was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• During the trial, he offered no defence. However, due to further investigation, the police discovered the connection between Bhagat Singh and the murder of officer Saunders (also known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case) and he was re-arrested.
• Meanwhile, Singh was shifted from a Delhi prison to Mianwali where he and his co-prisoners protested against discrimination between Indian and European prisoners. 
  • In 1929, while serving the prison sentence, they went on a hunger strike and demanded better food, books, newspapers etc. arguing that they were political prisoners, not criminals.
• After several hearings in the Lahore Conspiracy case, Bhagat Singh along with Rajguru and Sukhdev was awarded the death sentence.
• Eventually, on March 23, 1931, Singh (at the age of 23) was executed along with Rajguru and Sukhdev in Punjab’s Hussainwala (now in Pakistan). This day is celebrated as ‘Shaheed Diwas’ (Martyrs’ Day) to pay tribute to the trio.
• Singh’s execution inspired numerous youths in India to take up the revolutionary path and played a vital role in energizing the fight against the British empire.

Ideology

• Bhagat Singh was a keen reader of Karl Marx, Angels, Lenin, Trotsky and Bakunin. The Marxist ideology left a deep imprint on him and he was influenced by anarchism and communism.
• He was a visionary, with a pluralist and egalitarian perception of independent India. He not only desired freedom from British rule but also poverty, untouchability, communal strife and all types of discrimination or exploitation.
• He as a journalist raised his voice against the aforementioned social evils in Kirti, Arjun and Pratap, some of the well-known newspapers of their times. His articles focused on the various aspects of the nationalist struggle, combating communalism, untouchability, students, world brotherhood, conditions of the working class and peasantry including language and politics etc.
• Some of the topics of his articles such as ‘Religion and our freedom struggle’, Achoot ka Sawaal (On Untouchability) and Sampradayik Dangeaurunka Ilaj (Communal riots and their solutions) show his concerns.
• His organisation, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) aimed at such a revolution which would usher in a new era, demolishing the existing socioeconomic and political structure of Indian society. Their revolution was not for anarchy or lawlessness but for social justice
• During his last days in prison, noticing recurrent Hindu-Muslim riots which led to the conflict between the two religions, Singh dropped his belief in religion and became an atheist considering religion to be a hindrance in the revolutionaries’ struggle for independence. 
• His article, ‘Why I am an Atheist’, written during his stay in prison made clear that the revolutionaries now need no religious inspiration as they have an advanced revolutionary ideology, based on reason instead of blind faith.
• His ideas of social and economic justice and his passionate desire to rise above narrow caste and religious considerations would always remain crucial as it is today.

Literary works

• “The Problem of Punjab’s Language and Script “(1923).
• “Vishv Prem” (“In love with the world”) (1924) and “Yuvak” (1925) published in Matwala.
• “Holi Ke Din Rakt Ke Chinte” (“Blood drops on Holi Day”) published in 1926.
• “The Red Pamphlet.”
• “Court Statements”.
•  “Letter to Young Political Workers”.
• “Why I Am an Atheist” (1931).
• “No Hanging, Please Shoot Us.”
• “Letter to Father.”
• “Introduction to Dreamland.”
• “The Fragrance of Freedom.”
• Manuscripts: “The Ideal of Socialism”, “Autobiography”, “History of Revolutionary Movement in India”, “At the Door of Death” and “Jail Notebook”.
• Others.

Famous quotes

• “I am a man and all that affects mankind is my concern.”
• “Revolution is an inalienable right of mankind. Freedom is an imperishable birth right of all”.

• “If the deaf have to hear, the sound has to be very loud”.
• “Merciless criticism and independent thinking are two traits of revolutionary thinking. Lovers, lunatics and poets are made of the same stuff”.
• “Bombs and pistols don’t make a revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas”.
• “People get accustomed to the established order of things and tremble at the idea of change. It is this lethargic spirit that needs be replaced by the revolutionary spirit”
• “Labour is the real sustainer of society”.
• “They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit”.
• “I am such a lunatic that I am free even in jail”.
• “Rebellion against king is always a sin according to every religion.”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a renowned freedom activist and a powerful political leader. He played an important role in India’s struggle for Independence against the British rule of India through non-violent means which ultimately led to Indian independence. He was also known as Father of India, Bapu (endearment for father), and Mahatma (Great Soul). He also improved the lives of India’s poor people and depressed classes. His ideology of truth and non-violence influenced many including Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela. His professions include lawyer (studied law at London, 1888), politician, activist, and writer.

Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi:

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, to Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai. At age 13, he married Kasturba Kapadia as part of an arranged marriage. She bore four sons and supported Gandhi’s endeavors until her 1944 death.

In September 1888 at age 18, Gandhi left India alone to study law in London. Gandhi also adopted vegetarianism and joined the London Vegetarian Society, whose intellectual crowd introduced Gandhi to authors Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. He was also deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana & Harishchandra, Bhagavad Gita, and Thirukkural (ancient Tamil literature) as they reflected the importance of truth. These books’ concepts set the foundation for his later beliefs.

Gandhi passed the bar on June 10, 1891, and returned to India. For two years, he attempted to practice law but lacked the knowledge of Indian law and the self-confidence necessary to be a trial lawyer. Instead, he took on a year-long case in South Africa.

Contributions of Mahatma Gandhi:

Gandhi’s Movement in South Africa:

• 1893: Gandhi went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. There he had first-hand experience of racial discrimination when he was thrown out of the first-class compartment of the train despite holding the first-class ticket because it was reserved for white people only and no Indian or black was allowed to travel in the first class. This incident had a serious effect on him. He also observed that this type of incident was quite common against his fellow Indians. Therefore, he decided to protest against racial discrimination in South Africa.
• 1894: Gandhi agrees to extend his stay in South Africa, and helps to establish the Natal Indian Congress. He assumes a prominent and vocal role in the local campaign for Indian rights.
• 1899: Gandhi forms the Indian Ambulance Corp to provide relief support for British soldiers during the South African War (formerly the Anglo-Boer War).
• 1901: Goes to India to attend a session of the Indian National Congress. He returns to South Africa the following year.
• 1902: Gandhi establishes law offices in Johannesburg.
• 1903: Gandhi begins printing the newspaper, Indian Opinion (later titled Opinion), in Johannesburg.
• 1904: Gandhi established The communal Phoenix settlement. Meets Herman Kallenbach (Architect & Gandhi’s associate).
• 1906: Gandhi gave birth to the idea of Satyagraha. He chaired a meeting in Johannesburg, in which the Indian community was called upon to resist new anti-Asiatic laws through acts of civil disobedience.
• 1908: Gandhi is arrested for not carrying a passbook. After he was released, he led thousands of Indians in burning their passbooks and registration papers at Johannesburg.
• 1910: Gandhi and Kallenbach established Tolstoy Farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg. It becomes Gandhi’s base in South Africa.
• 1913: After the Searle Judgement (under which marriages conducted under Indian law were declared invalid), many Indian women join the Satyagraha.
• 1914: Suspends Satyagraha, in return for the abolition of taxes, recognition of Indian marriages, and the freedom of movement of Indians.
• Movement in South Africa transformed Gandhi into a new person and it played an important role in the evolution of Satyagraha which was used in upcoming freedom struggles in India.

Gandhi’s Movement in India:

• 1915: Gandhi returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.
• 1916: He established the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad so that his followers could learn and practice the truth and non-violence.
• 1917: Champaran satyagraha –  marks Mahatma Gandhi’s first successful application of his method of ‘satyagraha’ in India. The indigo cultivators of Champaran, Bihar were greatly exploited by the planters who were largely European. The cultivators were bound by law to grow indigo on 3/20th (the tinkathia system) of the total area of their land and sell it to the planters at the price fixed by the latter. As a result of this system, the poor peasants were greatly distressed and approached Gandhi in order to lead their struggle against the planters. Gandhi accepted their request but was banned from entering the district by district authority orders. In protest, Gandhi did satyagraha. As a result of his campaign, an enquiry was conducted into the conditions of the peasants. This went a long way in giving the indigo cultivators some relief.
• 1918:
  • Ahmedabad Mill Strike: In February 1918, there was a conflict between mill owners and workers of the Gujrat Mill. Gandhiji organised satyagraha in favour of cotton mill workers in 1918 at Ahmedabad. It was one of the formative events in the political career of Mahatma Gandhi. 
  • Kheda Satyagraha of 1918: Gandhi organised this movement to support peasants of the Kheda district, Gujarat. The people of Kheda were unable to pay the high taxes levied by the British due to crop failure and a plague epidemic.
• 1919:
  • Young India was a weekly paper or journal in English started by Mahatma Gandhi. It was published from 1919 to 1931. Through this work, he desired to popularise India’s demand for self-government or Swaraj. He used Young India to spread his unique ideology and thoughts regarding the use of nonviolence in organising movements and to urge readers to consider, organise, and plan for India’s eventual independence from Britain. 
  • Navajivan (a new life) was weekly newspaper published by Gandhi, in Gujarati, from 1919 to 1931, from Ahmedabad.
• 1920-22: Non-Cooperation Movement – Gandhi launched this mass movement which involved participation from the nationalists as well as the public.  Factors that led to the formation of this movement were the oppressive policies of Britishers such as the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh incident in Amritsar. The campaign involves Indians revoking their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of inducing the British to grant self-governance (swaraj). The British government arrested Gandhi and sentenced him to six years in jail for sedition. Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement after the Chauri-Chaura Incident. After the non-cooperation movement ended, Gandhi withdrew from the political platform and focused on his social reform work.
• 1929: Navajivan Trust is a publishing house based in Ahmedabad, India. It was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1929 and has published more than 800 titles in English, Gujarati, Hindi and other languages to date. The objective of Navajivan Trust was to propagate peaceful means for the attainment of Hind Swaraj (Swaraj for India).
• 1930: Civil Disobedience Movement – The Simon Commission came to India in 1928. It was to look into the functions of the constitutional system in India. As there was no Indian member in it, it was boycotted by all political parties in the country. Later, in 1929, the Congress under the leadership of Nehru declared ‘Poorna Swaraj’ as its main goal. As nationalist feelings began to rise, Gandhi sent a letter containing eleven demands to Lord Irwin in 1930 asking him to accept it. When he refused, Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement. Civil disobedience implies the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, orders, and demands of a government. In the year 1930, Gandhi started this movement (Dandi) by violating the salt law. The movement was discontinued following the Gandhi Irwin Pact of 1931.
• 1932: 
  • Communal Award – Ramsay Macdonald announced communal award due to repeated failure of communities to decide on the proportion of representation. The award provided for a separate electorate for depressed classes. Gandhi condemned this award as it was based on Britishers’ Divide and Rule Policy and it will destroy Hinduism. He led a fast unto death which ultimately resulted in Poona Pact between Congress and depressed classes headed by B.R. Ambedkar. Poona pact provides for reservation of depressed classes in Hindu joint electorate.
  • As a result of the communal awards and Poona pact, Gandhi dedicated himself to the upliftment of depressed classes and untouchables. Gandhi founded Harijan Sevak Sangh (All India Anti-Untouchability League) in 1932. He also started a journal named Harijan which means “People of God”.
• 1934: Gandhi resigned from the Congress party membership as he did not agree with the party’s position on different issues.
• 1936: Gandhi returned to active politics in 1936 with the Lucknow session of Congress where Jawaharlal Nehru was the president.
• 1938: Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose’s principles clashed during the Tripuri session which led to the Tripuri crisis in the Indian National Congress.
• 1942: Quit India Movement – The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Also known as the Bharat Chhodo Andolan, this movement was a mass civil disobedience that took place in the country. Gandhi demanded that the British must leave India immediately or face dire consequences. As a part of this movement, a call for mass agitation was followed by violence that took over the country after which Indian National Congress leaders were arrested. The main reason for the Quit India Movement to begin was because the Britishers were planning to drag the country into World War II without consent to fight on behalf of the United Kingdom (UK). During that time, more than 87,000 Indian soldiers were martyred in World War II including people from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Also, the Cripps Mission which was led by Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the War Cabinet in March 1942, made an attempt to secure India’s cooperation in World War II. Following this, Cripps was sent to India to discuss and support the British Government’s Draft Declaration with Indian leaders. Moreover, the declaration also granted India Dominion Status after the war. To which, Congress denied discussing any terms unless given total freedom.
• 1947: India wins independence. Gandhi fasts as penance for inter-communal violence following the partition of India and Pakistan.

Gandhian Ideologies:

Gandhi developed a set of religious and social ideas first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914 and later in India. He developed these ideologies from various inspirational sources including Bhagavad Geeta, Jainism, Buddhism, Bible, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Tolstoy (His book The Kingdom of God is within you had a deep influence on Gandhi), John Ruskin (Gandhi paraphrased his book Unto the Last as Sarvodaya), among others. These ideologies have been further developed by later Gandhians most notably, in India by Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan, outside of India by Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and others. Major Gandhian ideologies are as follows.

Truth and Non-Violence: 

• They are the twin cardinal principles of Gandhian thoughts.
• For Gandhiji, the truth is
  • Relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed.
  • Absolute truth – the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth). Morality – the moral laws and code – its basis.
• Nonviolence is Active love, that is, the polar opposite of violence, in every sense. Nonviolence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.

Satyagraha:

• It is a method of securing rights through nonviolent action, that is, through personal suffering rather than inflicting injury on others.
• It means the exercise of the purest soul-force against all injustice, oppression, and exploitation.
• The origin of Satyagraha can be found in the Upanishads, and the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, and other greats including Tolstoy and Ruskin.

Sarvodaya:

• The term Sarvodaya means ‘Universal Uplift’ or ‘Progress of All’.
• It was first coined by Gandhiji as the title of his translation of John Ruskin’s book on political economy, Unto the Last.

Swaraj:

• Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhiji gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life.
• For Gandhiji, swaraj of people meant, 
  • The sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals.
  • Freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. 
  • Much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule and self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.
• He envisaged Ram Rajya where the swaraj is achieved for the people by the people.

Swadeshi:

• The word swadeshi is a conjunction of two Sanskrit words – ‘Swa’ means self or own and ‘desh’ means country. So Swadesh literally means one’s own country. But it can be loosely translated in most contexts as self-sufficiency.
• It is the focus on acting within one’s own community, both politically and economically.
• It is the interdependence of Community and Self-sufficiency.
• Gandhi believed this would lead to independence (swaraj) as the British control of India was rooted in control of her indigenous industries.
• Swadeshi was represented by the charkha or the spinning wheel, The “center of the solar system” of Mahatma Gandhi’s constructive program.

Trusteeship:

• It is a socio-economic philosophy propounded by Gandhiji.
• It provides a means by which the wealthy people would be the trustees of Trusts that looked after the welfare of the people in general.

Education:

• Gandhi believed that Education needs to be a lifelong experience.
• He developed a scheme on education named Nayee Taleem.
• He gave priority to vocational education, the idea of ‘earn & learn’, and the learnings like social forestry, nursing, home science, handicrafts, etc.

Death of Gandhi:

On 30th January 1948, Gandhi was on his way to address a prayer meeting in the Birla House New Delhi when a Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse fired three bullets into his chest from close range killing him instantly.

Legacy of Gandhi:

Gandhi always held on to non-violence and simple living throughout his life, in his principles, practices, and beliefs. He influenced several great leaders and the country respectfully addresses him as the father of the nation or Bapu. Rabindranath Tagore is said to have given the title of Mahatma to Gandhi. It was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who first addressed him as the Father of the Nation. Many great world leaders like Nelson Mandela followed Gandhiji’s teachings and way of life. Therefore, his impact on the world is still very high.

Literary Works of Gandhi:

1. Hind Swarajya (1909),
2. Indian Home Rule (1910),
3. Sermon on the Sea (1924 – the American edition of Hind Swaraj),
4. Dakshina Africana Satyagrahano Itihasa / Satyagraha in South Africa (1924-25),
5. Satyana Prayogo Athava Atmakatha / An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth (1924-25),
6. Mangalaprabhata (1930),
7. India’s Case for Swaraj (1931),
8. Songs from Prison: Translations of Indian Lyrics Made in Jail (1934),
9. The Indian States’ Problem (1941),
10. The Good life (1943),
11. Gandhi Against Fascism (1944),
12. From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances (1945),
13. Conquest of Self (1946),
14. Women and Social Injustice (1947),
15. Self-restraint v. Self-Indulgence (1947),
16. Gandhigrams (1947). 

Manabendra Nath Roy (M.N.Roy) was one of the most learned personalities during the freedom struggle and one of the few philosophers of modern India. He started as a Marxist but gradually moved towards Radical Humanism which is considered to be his biggest contribution. He is also one of India’s more colourful and unusual international revolutionaries. He was the founder of the Mexican Communist Party and the Communist Party of India (Tashkent group). He was a delegate to congress of the Communist International and Russia’s aid to China. He was one of the first leaders who injected Marxism into the practical politics of India. However, he was proved to be a complete failure in politics.

Early life and Education

Narendranath Bhattacharya, who later assumed the name Manabendra Nath Roy, was born on 21 March 1887, at Arbelia, West Bengal into a family of priests.

During his childhood, Roy visited maths and ashrams to educate himself. His father, Dinabandhu Bhattacharya, also taught him Sanskrit and ancient Indian texts.

He studied Engineering and Chemistry at the National college under Sri Aurobindo before moving to the Bengal Technical Institute. Much of his knowledge was gained through self-study.

Various phases of his life

1st Phase up till 1920: 

• At 14, Roy joined the underground revolutionary organisation Anushilan Samiti. After it was banned, he helped to organise the Jugantar Group under the leadership of Jatin Mukherjee.
• Roy also participated in a series of political dacoities against British rule. In November 1908, he shot dead Nandalal Banerjee, the police officer who had arrested revolutionary Khudiram Bose (who was hanged to death). 
• He spent 9 months in jail for the Howrah conspiracy case.
• Roy’s search for arms took him to the USA in 1916. Roy was tracked so closely by British Intelligence that the day he landed at San Francisco, a local newspaper published a report headlined, “Mysterious Alien Reaches America, Famous Brahmin Revolutionary or Dangerous German Spy.”
• This forced him to flee south to Palo Alto, California. It was here that he changed his name from Narendranath Bhattacharya and became Manabendra Nath Roy.
• He got influenced by radical socialist ideology. 
• When the United States participated in WWI, Roy was arrested for his anti-colonial leanings. He jumped bail and escaped to Mexico.
• In Mexico, he became a vocal advocate of the socialist state and founded the Mexican Communist Party in 1917.

2nd Phase (1920 to 1930): 

• In 1922, he prepared a detailed programme for the consideration of the Indian National Congress. In this, he proposed nationalization of railways, mines, waterways.
• Inspired by his experiences in Mexico, Roy founded the Communist Party of India in 1925 along with six other leaders at Tashkent now in Uzbekistan.
• He undertook a journey to Moscow to attend the second congress of Comintern (Communist International). 
• He criticised Lenin’s thesis on the National and Colonial Question. 
• By 1926, he was serving the policy-making bodies of Communist International.
• In 1927, he visited China to make the Chinese Communist Party implement guidelines by the Communist International and he was failed. Following this, he was expelled from the Communist International in September 1929.

3rd Phase (1930 to 1940): 

• He came back to India in 1930 as a Critical Marxist.
• Roy was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 1931 for his involvement in the 1924 Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy case.
• While in jail, Roy wrote Prison Manuscripts, a set of nine thick volumes. These have not been published in totality. 
• After his release in 1936, Roy joined the Indian National Congress. He tried to radicalize the congress from within towards the socialist goals.
• He left the party later in 1940 as a result of Congress’ reluctance to aid the British in World War II.

4th Phase (1940 onwards): 

• He created Radical Democratic Party in 1943.
• He criticised Gandhi and Marx.
• He developed his own philosophy called New Humanism (initially) and Radical Humanism (later).
• In 1946, Roy established the Indian Renaissance Institute at Dehradun in order to develop the Indian Renaissance Movement.
• Roy died of a heart attack on 25 January 1954.

Roy-Lenin Debate on Colonial Struggle

Lenin:

• Comintern should support nationalist parties like INC in India and Kuomintang in China.
• Once imperialist powers are expelled, then efforts should be made for bringing communism.

M.N.Roy:

• Roy was against Lenin’s view.
• According to him, these nationalist parties are bourgeoisies parties and hence the communist should rather focus on building communist parties.
• He advocated the responsibilities to the working class to bring the communist revolution to India.

M.N.Roy’s criticism of Gandhi and the Indian National Congress

• Roy criticised Gandhi as the leader of bourgeoisie and an instrument of the rich class.
• He attacked Gandhi’s call for harmony between classes.
• According to Roy, Swaraj of Gandhi equals Swaraj for the capitalist class.
• He blamed Gandhi for bringing religion into politics.

M.N.Roy’s criticism of Marxism

• According to M.N.Roy, communism had degenerated into nationalism in the Soviet Union.
• He criticised the economic interpretation of history given by Marx.
• According to Roy
  • Marx rejected the autonomy of the individual.
  • Neither socialism nor communism but freedom should be the ideal of civilized society.
  • The concept of revolution was outdated because the military power of the state had become great.
  • Revolution should be by consent and guided by philosophy with universal appeal.

M.N.Roy’s Radical Humanism

• Radical humanism revolves around the individual or man. 
• The individual should not be subordinated either to a nation or a class.
• Man has two basic traits:
  • Reason: echoes the harmony of the universe.
  • Want for freedom: as it leads him to a search for knowledge.
• Role of State:
  • Roy was aware of the coercive character of the state.
  • He wants to reshape the state on the basis of the principles of pluralism, decentralization, and democracy.
  • The state must exist and discharge its limited functions along with other equally important autonomous social institutions.
• Moral Man:
  • Politics should not be divorced from ethics.
  • Roy traces morality to rationality in man.
  • He advocates humanist politics.

M.N.Roy’s Partyless Democracy

• Roy criticises party politics because
  • It denies the opportunity for individuals to participate in politics.
  • It subsumes the power in itself.
  • The right to vote does not ensure political participation.
  • It leads to dishonesty and corruption.
• He formalised the notion of organised democracy and participant citizenship into a decentralised order, that is,
  • Functions of the state shall be performed by free and voluntary associations of enlightened people.
  • The state shall become advisory and administrative machinery.
• The new economic order under the new social setup should focus on:
  • Cooperative economy: economic activity to be done at local, regional, state, and national levels through cooperatives.
  • Centralised planning: Planning should be initiated at the grassroots level and so on.
  • Science and technology: should be used to reconcile problems of economic development and human urge for freedom.

M.N.Roy’s Materialism

• As a materialist, Roy deliberated life to be an end in itself.
• The main purpose of life is to live and to live is to have the power and resources to satisfy the desires that naturally spring in man’s mind.
• Roy was a Benthamite who addressed Indians to believe in concepts like self-denial, simplicity, and the joy of satisfying one’s desires.
• In a broad sense, Roy’s philosophy was in the tradition of materialism.
• Differences between Roy’s materialism and traditional materialism:
  • Roy’s materialism is a reinstatement of traditional materialism in the light of then-contemporary scientific knowledge.
  • According to Roy, “The substratum of the Universe is not matter as traditionally conceived: but it is physical as against mental or spiritual. It is a measurable entity. Therefore, to obviate prejudiced criticism, the philosophy hitherto called materialism may be renamed Physical Realism”.
• Roy has discussed the nature of philosophy and its relationship with religion and science in his books.

M.N.Roy’s Literary Works

1. M.N.Roy: Radical Humanist
2. India’s Message
3. The Historical Role of Islam
4. The Future of Indian Politics
5. The Communist International
6. India in Transition
7. Reason, Romanticism, and Revolution
8. Revolution and Counter-revolution in China
9. Beyond Communism
10. The Russian Revolution
11. What do we want, Labour Party
12. The Problem of Freedom
13. Poverty Or Plenty?
14. Materialism
15. War and Revolution: International Civil War
16. India and War
17. My Experiences in China
18. Fragments of a Prisoner’s Diary
19. From Savagery to Civilisation
20. The Way to Durable Peace
21. India’s Problem and its Solutions
22. Open Letter to C.R Das and Program for the Indian National Congress
23. Science and philosophy
24. People’s plan
25. On the congress constitution
26. National government or people’s government