Gandhi Criticism of Modernity

12 Gandhi: A Proponent of Pre-Modernity, Modernity or Post-Modernity? Ram Chandra Pradhan

This paper primaril primarily y seeks to examine examine the various various pers perspe pect ctiv ives es (ran (rangi ging ng from from pre-m pre-mod oder erni nity ty to post post-modernity) in which Gandhi's critique of modernity has been appraised and reappraised by different scholars To that end! " start my discussion by explaining three basic terms vi#! pre-modernity! modernity and post-modernity whic which h woul would d freq freque uent ntly ly occu occurr in the the pape paper r This This is followed by a summari#ed version of Gandhi's critique of modernity as enunciated in '$ind %wara&' ll this provides the intellectual backdrop from the scholarly interpretations that follow "n the process! " offer my own views on the issues involved in the debate Towards the end! end! " underl underline ine the perenn perennia iall natur nature e of the Ga Gandh ndhi's i's crit critiq ique ue of mode modern rnit ity y whic which h alon alone e coul could d expl explai ain n its its continued relevance "n pla plain lan langua guage! the the ter term tra traditi dition onp prremodernity is used to indicate the way of life (and the worl worldd-vi view ew unde underp rpin inni ning ng it) it) of any any peop people leg gro roup up institutionassociation which goes on from generation to generation without being marked by any radical change

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Reflections on Hind Swaraj

$ence! the emphasis is more on continuity rather than on any radical change! though natural and gradual change is taken to be subsumed in the process $owever! as a more spatial-temporal specific term! it is used to underline the stat state e of soci social al orde order rsy syst stem emc cus usto toms msb bel elie iefs fs whic which h prevailed in pre-modern *uropean society before it was overtaken by three ma&or intellectual revolutions vi# the renaissance! the reformation and the enlightenment "n historical terms! it refers to the *uropean society as it existed prior to +,th+th century %imilarly! %imilarly! the simple meaning of modernity is taken to be the recent developments as against they existed in the past $erein the emphasis is on the radical change rather than on continuity in terms of values! world view! customs customs and technolog technology y etc To put it more succinctly! succinctly! it symbolises the changed and new way the people think! live and act .nce again! in historical terms! it refers to the transi transitio tion n of the *urope *uropean an societ society y from from mediev medieval al time timess to the the mode modern rn time timess that that occu occurr rred ed from from the the sevent seventeen eenth th centur century y onward onwards s *ssent *ssentia ially lly!! modern modernity ity came came to be asso associ ciat ated ed with with the the rise rise of conc concep epts ts like like secu secula lari rism sm (thi (thiss worl worldl dlin ines esss as agai agains nstt the the othe otherr worldliness ess)! instru trumental ration tiona ality and its concomita concomitants! nts! scientifi scientificc and technologi technological cal revolution revolutions! s! democracy with its emphasis on life! liberty and fraternity of the people! the instillation of the state as the final arbiter of human affairs! and the egocentric concept of man man with with prim primar ary y emph emphas asis is on his his self self-i -int nter eres est t The The entir entire e proces processs starte started d in the wake wake of the renais renaissan sance ce

Gandhi: A Proponent of…

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around +/th +,th century %ome of the important figures were were 0iet 0ietar arch ch!! 1ant 1ante! e! 2aph 2aphae ael! l! 3eon 3eonar ardo do da 4inc 4inci! i! 5ichelangelo and others 2enaissance was marked by a process of revival of art! music and literature based on clas classi sica call patt patter ern n of 2oma 2oman n and and Greek Greek trad tradit itio ion n The The proc proces esss was was refi refine ned d and and stre streng ngth then ened ed by othe otherr two two revo evoluti lution onss of 2efo 2eforrmat mation ion and *nl *nlight ighten enm ment ent 2eformation was related to a movement led by 5artin 3uther for radical reform in the 2oman 6atholic 6hurch "t led led to the the emer emerge genc nce e of the the 0rot 0rotes esta tant nt sect sect with within in 6hristianity *nlightenment refers to a new intellectual movement in +th +7 th century *urope! which underlined the centra centralit lity y of human human reason reason!! scient scientifi ificc knowl knowledg edge! e! individualism and firm faith in the concept of continuous progress and re&ection of traditional belief-system "t had its intellectual roots in writings of 1escartes! 3ocke and 8ewt 8ewton on and and its its prom promin inen entt expo expone nent ntss incl includ uded ed 9a 9ant nt!! Goethe! 4oltaire! 2ousseau and dam %mith 0ost-modernitypost-modernism refers to another intellectual movement! which has come up in the later part of the :;th century ean ean ?rancois 3yotard! >acques 1errida! >ean >ean  $a $aber bermas mas and others others They are greatly distrustful of the grand narrativesgrand

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theoriesi theoriesideolo deologies gies

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?or a detailed interpretation of Gandhi@s critique of modern modernity ity!! we presen presentt below below its summar summari#e i#ed d versi version on They areA (i) (i) 5oder odern n civ civili# li#ation tion is bas basica ically mat materi erialis listic tic $enc $ence! e! it is ever ever enga engage ged d in inve invest stig igat atin ing g the the resources and laws of the material world with a view to meet its ever spiraling hunger for wealth! and worldly pleasures@ %uch a relentless pursuit of mater terial ial progr ogress ess resu esults lts in cutcut-th thrroat oat competition from individual individual level level to international level "n the process! it breeds only violence and culture of oppression! exploitation and domination s a result! it leads to colonialism and impe imperi rial alis ism m in the the atte attemp mptt to find find mark market et for for finished goods and search for cheap raw materials for its factories (ii) (ii) t the indi indivi vidu dual al level level!! it promo promote tess a conc concep eptt of egoc egocen entr tric ic man man ever ever enga engage ged d in the the task task of finding new avenues for enhancing his possessions and pleasures %uch a naked pursuit of self self-i -int nter eres estt make makess all all talk talkss of reli religi gion on and and moral morality ity irrel irreleva evant nt nd which which is why modern modern civili#ation becomes devoid of religion! morality and spirituality
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posing a serious threat to the very existence of humankind .nly a handful of the rich and the powerful have mostly benefited and millions have been marginalised in the process The means of rapid rapid transpor transportation tation and communica communications tions have uproote uprooted d a large large number number of people people from from their their original habitats! depriving them of warmth and safety from their own community 5an is ever willing to go to the end of the earth to seek new avenue enuess for the sati satisf sfa action tion of his anima imal appetites and passions which have hardly left him with any chance for higher aspirations (iv) 5odern 5odern civili#ati civili#ation on has resulted resulted in the emergenc emergence e of an elite group which is only interested in selfpromotion 5edicine! law! politics! commerce and in fact all these walks of human activities have degenerated and the elite from all these groups are are only only inte intere rest sted ed in ensl enslav avin ing g the the comm common on people to serve their interests (v) (v) The The inst instit itut utio ions ns of poli politi tica call repr repres esen enta tati tion on have have turned into instruments for the self-promotion of their their members members "t is for this reason reason that in Hind Swaraj ! Gandhi described the

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parties and they in turn are controlled by their leaders 0eople have hardly much role to play in the entire entire proces processs except except occas occasion ionall ally y castin casting g their votes at the time of periodic elections (vi)
There are many scholars and others who believe that his critiques of modernity and the alternatives he offered were nothing but an attempt to take back the human society to medieval times $ence! he could be

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taken as a thinker thinker of pre-modern pre-modernist ist sensibil sensibilities ities Their arguments run on the following linesA (i) Gandh Gandhi@s i@s criti critique que of mode modern rn civil civili#a i#atio tion n is total total as he does not hardly find much positive elements in it $e debunks science and technology! casts grave aspersions on representative institutions! attacks indus ndustr triialis alism m and und undermi ermin nes the the role ole of instru instrumen mental tal ratio rational nality ity in human human affai affairs rs %uch %uch biased and strong criticism of modern civili#ation only proves his determination to push the clock of human history backward (ii) (ii) This This becomes becomes all all the more more obvio obvious us if one one looks looks at the kind kind of alter alternat native ivess he sugges suggests ts as again against st modernity $is lifelong obsession with rural life! a life-style based on limited needs! his preference of the minimal state and trusteeship constitute some of the ma&or components of his alternative vision ccording to the critics of Gandhi! this is nothing but but an idea ideali lise sed d vers versio ion n of an idyl idylli licc rura rurall life life which which hardly hardly existe existed d anywh anywhere ere else else apart apart from from Gandhi@s own imagination (iii) (iii) $e keeps keeps on on talki talking ng of Ramrajya as an ideal social order and also pinned his unstinted faith in the efficacy of Ramnam This was nothi thing but bringing religion into politics with all its irra irrati tion onal alit ity y and and blin blind d fait faith h This This was was also also an attempt to push back the human society to the medieval times when there was free intermingling of religion and politics


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(iv) (iv) $is th theor eory of brahmacharya is another proof of his unscientific outlook $e not only practiced it himsel himself! f! but even even sub&ec sub&ected ted young young women women like like 5anu Gandhi as an instrument of his experiment 8ot only that! he even recommended it to some of his young young marri married ed follow followers ers like like 0rabh 0rabhava avati! ti! wife of >ayaprakash 8arayan and %ucheta! wife of cha chary rya a 9rip 9ripal alan anii and and to a host host of his his oth other followers ll this is against the modern! scientific theories of human sexuality This is also a standing proof oof of his being eing a man man of pre-m e-moder oderni nisst sensibilities (v) $e li lived in in hi his ashrams based on the old pattern of hermitage $is re&ection of law courts! modern medicine! modern education! his preference for natu naturo ropa path thy y only only goes goes to prov prove e that that he was was totally in the grip of pre-modernist mentality "t was on all these counts that most of his ideas were were re&e re&ect cted ed even even by his his clos close e foll follow ower erss like like 8ehru and 0atel in their schemata for the postindependent era That only goes to prove that he was not taken as a proponent of mode modern rnit ity ymo mode dern rni# i#at atio ion n even even by his his clos close e followers! not to talk of his critics like 58 2oy! 2 0 1utt! *5% 8amboodiripad! who raised some of the critical points as mentioned above 3et 3et us exam examin ine e some some of thes these e poin points ts in larg larger er perspe perspecti ctive ve of Ga Gandh ndhi@s i@s life life and and work work $oweve $owever! r! one initi nitia al poin oint need needss to be clar larifi ified ed "t need needss to be

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unde underl rlin ined ed that that rela relati tion onsh ship ip betw between een trad tradit itio ion n and and mode modern rnit ity y is much much mor more comp comple lexx than than it is usua usuall lly y unde unders rsto tood od "n a part partic icul ular ar soci societ ety! y! ther there e coul could d be mod moder erni nity ty of trad tradit itio ion@ n@ or trad tradit itio ion n of mode modern rnit ity y inherent in the very nature of tradition There could be tradition of the periodic renewal of the traditional pattern of life There are many scholars like 2udolphs who believe that "ndian society is counted as being one of them "n such such a soci societ ety y ageage-ol old d cult cultur ural al symb symbol ols! s! myth mythss and and folklores folklores get deeply rooted in the racial memories memories of the people They have all the potentials to work as great emotive symbols "f handled with ingenuity and creative application! they could work as the powerful instruments of change "t is in the above perspective! the question of Gandh Ga ndhii being being a man of pre-mo pre-moder dernis nistt its sensib sensibili ilitie tiess coul could d be deal dealtt with with  clos close e stud study y of "ndi "ndian an nati nation onal al movement and Gandhi@s role in it would go a long way to prove that his radical critique of modern civili#ation was not a call to push back the clock of human history "t was an attempt to anticipate and apprehend the disastrous consequences flowing from the modern civili#ation not only only for for "ndi "ndia a but but also also for the the enti entire re huma humank nkin ind d $is $is critique of modern civili#ation arose in the context of the plea of the "ndian elite to put the "ndian society on the

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role of a great moderniser both in political and religious fiel field d s a poli politi tica call lead leader er he play played ed a cruc crucia iall role role in making the 6ongress a modern and vibrant organi#ation! raised an army of freedom-fighters! provided them with a new goal of independence and a new weapon of national struggle vi# satyagraha s a socio-religious reformer! his contributi contribution on to time-mana time-managemen gement! t! hygiene-bo hygiene-both th private private and public! hard and systematic work ethics! punctuality in private and public life! his attempt to raise a number of single aim organi#ation like Harijan Sevak Sangh only go to prove that his was the single most biggest attempt to modernise every walk of our national life "n the religious field field his fight fight again against st untouc untoucha habil bility ity and his work work for communal harmony are too well-known to be discussed here They only underline his role of a moderniser of the "ndian "ndian society society The reasons reasons for his alterna alternative tive vision vision of social order being re&ected is not far to seek $is people oriented modernising programmes could have adversely affected the vested interests of the "ndian elite as they are to be started from below and not from the top $ence their re&ection was inevitable $is brahmacharya was an integral part of faith in his inner inner swaraj or or self-rule@ $e firmly held the opinion that a perfect brahmachari could could release immense moral force to affect his environment %o much so that violence and other human weaknesses could not be sustained in his presence "n his case! it could not be taken as a fad! in no case as a fraud! as he demonstrated its efficacy in 8oakhali! 6alcutta and 1elhi even in the worst days of

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partition riots prompting 3ord 5ountbatten to describe him as one man boundary force@ The critics! who take being unscie unscienti ntific fic!! forget forget that that even even brahmacharya as being %igmund ?reud in his book 6ivili#ation and 1iscontent@ had underlined the fact of sublimation of sexual instincts "f we look look at the the prob proble lems ms of our our time timess vi# vi# clim climat atic ic change and other ecological imbalances! marginalisation of the millions of the people! violence overtaking every walk of human life! breaking of families and communities resulting in the emergence of atomised individuals etc! we coul could d have have bett better er appr apprec ecia iati tion on of his his crit critiq ique ue of mode modern rnit ity y as well well as the the mode modern rnis isin ing g natu nature re of his his alte altern rnat ativ ives es This This is what what $a $ard rdim iman an call callss Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s alternative modernity@ "n any case! his was not even the remotest attempt at revivalism Parekh’s Views on Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity

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civi ivili#a i#ation tion!! he could ould bring ing a deep deep and com comple plete intellectual perspective and sensibility which was denied to them 8ot only that! he stood at a vantage point even compared to his preceding compatriots like %8
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violence-breeding with its excessive and irrational faith in inst instru rume ment ntal al rati ration onal alit ity y

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the case of the organi#ational side of modern civili#ation "ts excesses have only succeeded in robbing the man of his finer aspect including his moral! ethical and spiritual sides "n short! according to 0arekh! Gandhi was willing to acce accept pt some some of the the ma&o ma&orr posi positi tive ve cont contri ribu buti tion onss of modern civili#ation
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intellectual foundation and institutional set-up put him in the pitfalls of contradiction 0arekh 0are kh@s @s crit critiq ique uess of Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s perc percep epti tion on of mode modern rn civi civili li#a #ati tion on coul could d be faul faulte ted d on a numb number er of counts "n the first place! while underlining complex and intricate character of modern civili#ation! 0arekh ignores its fundamental and essential character (as perceived by Gand Ga ndhi hi)! )! whic which h it has has not not succ succee eede ded d in shed sheddi ding ng out out desp despit ite e the the best best effor efforts ts of its its prop propon onen ents ts %eco %econd ndly ly!! 0arekh also fails to see that Gandhi was looking at the whole problem from the vantage point of daridranarayan! who till today remains at the margin of the the mode modern rn civi civili li#a #ati tion on Thir Thirdl dly! y! view viewed ed from from the the perspe perspecti ctive ve of the wret wretche ched d of the earth@ earth@!! Ga Gandh ndhia ian n alter alterna nati tive ve does does not not appe appear ar as nonnon-vi viab able le as 0a 0are rekh kh thinks Today! Today! Gandhian Gandhian alternative is being appreciated more than 0arekh is willing to accept Hardiman on Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity $ardiman is another scholar who has gone into a detailed investigation of Gandhi@s critique of modernity "n his book Gandhi: in his time and ours ! he has proposed a thesis that Gandhi through his critique has offered a vision of an alternative modernity $is basic argument is that that there there is no fundam fundament ental al dichot dichotomy omy betwee between n the value-system of modern civili#ation and that of Gandhi@s Gandh Ga ndhii was was in tune tune with with many many aspect aspectss of modern modernist ist@s @s vision visionDna Dnamel mely! y! human human rights rights!! fundam fundament ental al equali equality ty between man and man! the basic principle of


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repr repres esen enta tati tion on and and univ univer ersa sall fran franch chis ise! e! demo democr crat atic ic dial dialog ogue ue and and pers persua uasi sion on!! rath rather er than than comm comman and d and and coer coerci cion on "n fact fact!! his his basi basicc grie grieva vanc nce e was was tha that the the metropolitan powers have failed to live up to some of these principles! particularly in respect to their colonies $enc $ence! e! his his rela relati tion onsh ship ip with with mode modern rnit ity y was was dial dialog ogic ic rather than antagonistic $ardiman is critical of 0arekh@s eval evalua uati tion on of Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s crit critiq ique ue of mode modern rnit ity y as he (0ar (0arek ekh) h) fail failss to see see that that whil while e crit critiq iqui uing ng mode modern rn civi civili li#a #ati tion on!! Ga Gand ndhi hi was was actu actual ally ly offe offeri ring ng a mode modell of alt alter erna nati tive ve mode modern rnit ity@ y@ $e adva advanc nces es a numb number er of arguments in support of his contention .ne! that Gandhi was only against the evils@ of modern civili#ation and was not totally against it per se $a $ard rdim iman an quot quotes es the the statement of Gandhi made in +E:, that "ndians could assimilate many ideas from the Best and his opposition was only to its indiscriminate thought@ imitation Two! $ardiman advises the modernist critics of Hind Swaraj not not to take take some some of its its formu formula lati tion onss in the the lite litera rall sens sense e ccording to $ardiman! through Hind Swaraj ! Gandhi was prima primaril rily y argu arguing ing with with the "ndian "ndian politi political cal elite elite who! who! irrespective of their ideological positions! appeared to be too too enam enamou oure red d of the the Best Bester ern n ways ways incl includ udin ing g its its fasc fascin inat atio ion n for the the use use of viol violen entt mean means s $enc $ence! e! his his excess statements@ were made to dissuade the "ndian eli elite from from fall falliing into into the the pitfa tfalls of the the mode moderrn civili#ation nd it is not for nothing that it opened a new path for "ndia in the subsequent years Thirdly! this could be also supported by the fact that in subsequent years! Gand Ga ndhi hi mode modera rated ted his his view viewss firs firstt vent ventil ilat ated ed in Hind

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Swaraj Swaraj on many issues including machinery and %wara& Towards the end of his life (+E/F) he made it clear that the use of railways! hospitals and law courts could not be avoided and all that one could do was to make their use mini minima mal l "t is clea clearr from from the the abov above e that that he was was not not making a fetish@ of his own critique of mode odern civil civili#a i#atio tion n Thus! Thus! Ga Gandh ndhii has a selec selectiv tive@ e@ rathe ratherr than than totalisti totalistic@ c@ approa approach ch to modern modern civili#a civili#ation tion ?ourthly! ?ourthly! $ardi $a rdiman man argu argues es to say that that Ga Gandh ndhii was not again against st scientific and technological innovations $e was willing to support them with two conditions .ne! that they should be engaged for the promotion of scientific knowledge and were not to be used for the material gains $is support to Gora! one of his atheist followers! for the dissection of frog frogss in the the ashram premises as a part of his scientific experiments speaks volumes for it Two! he wanted all these innovations to be used in the interests of the poor and the dispossessed and not for those of the rich and the powerful

"n fact! fact! $a $ardi rdima man n makes makes a very very novel novel argume argument nt when he says that Gandhi@s critiques of materialistic and imperialistic use of science and technology very well fits into into the the grea greatt deba debate te betw betwee een n the the prop propon onen ents ts of imperialistic science and the rcadian sensibility Bhile the former group was not willing to look at science more than a mere quantitative and mechanistic ploy@ to be used for meeting the physical needs and pleasures! the latte tter group@s emphasis was on man@s need for


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harmonious co-existence with nature and his search for the ultimate purpose of life
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 close close perusal perusal of $ardima $ardiman@s n@s line of argument argumentss reveals that he is still arguing within the broad framework of modern modernity ity $e is not totall totally y disill disillusi usione oned d with with the modernist pro&ects $e fails to reali#e that if Gandhi@s argument ents and vision are taken to their logical conclusions! they would yield nothing but a broad outline of a new civili#ation based on counter-cultural values Roy’s nterpretation of Gandhi’s Critique of Modernity "t is in the above perspective that 2amashray 2oy@s view viewss on Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s perc percep epti tion on of mode modern rnit ity y beco become me relevant 2oy in his two books on Gandhi ( Self and Society and Gandhi: Soundings in Political Philosophy ) makes very perceptive observations on the issues involved $e is one of the most trenchant "ndian critiques of modernity and dives deep in modern *uropean tradition to prove his basic formulations $e makes a basic point that Gandhi@s criti critique que of modern modernity ity is entire entirely ly differ different ent in tone tone and tenor from the other critiques presented in this regard ?or him the real distinctiveness of Gandhi@s critique lies in the fact that it is based on a world view in which self knowledge is the ultimate purpose

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it starte started d treati treating ng man as autono autonomou mous! s! self-d self-defi efinin ning g sub&ect instead of taking him to be the part of larger order 6onsequently! man was left with his own devices to apprehend truth and also his own grounds for action "n the process! man emerged as self-defining and@ selfsufficient sub&ect taking society as one of the means for realising his own purposes Thus! social order! man-made institutions as well as natural order was to be subdued and made to serve his purpose "n the process! social engi engine neer erin ing g beca ecame the the most most prom promin inen entt huma human n endeavour and rationality was assigned an instrumental role as an aid to human purpose
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freedom to manage and manipulate the material world entirely to his advantage Thus! the promotion of selfintere interest@ st@ becam became e the guidin guiding g norm norm from from indivi individua duall to national level "t was such a world view which provided foundation for modern civili#ation and it was its re&ection which hich lies lies beh behind ind Gandhi@ dhi@ss cri critiqu tiques es of moder odern n civili#ation 2oy lists lists three three main main chara characte cteri risti stics cs of Gandhi Gandhi@s @s critiques of modernity .ne! he has the foresight to locate violence in the very womb of modern civili#ation Two! his critiques should be taken more as his moral response to the evils of modern civili#ation and not so as scholarly exam examin inat atio ion n of the the enti entire re spec spectr trum um of the the issu issues es involved involved Three! his critique was total and penetrati penetrating ng rather than being moderate "n fact! unlike many of its critics! he chose to challenge the very central organising principle of modern civili#ation Bhat was more! he even presented an alternative vision of a true civili#ation and which is why his re&ection sounds total and final ccording to 2oy! Gandhi locates the basic malaise of modern civili#ation in its insatiable hunger for wealth and worldly pleasures nd that leads to a situation of depr depriv ivat atio ion n and and domi domina nati tion on from from indi indivi vidu dual alss to the the cosmic level $e characterised it as satanic civili#ation@ Cnlike 0arekh and $ardiman! 2oy finds Gandhi@s re&ection of modern civili#ation as total as he re&ects both its tenets as well as its institutional set-up and other manifestations $ence! it must go lock! stock and barrel


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cco ccord rdin ing g to 2oy! 2oy! Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s crit critiq ique uess coul could d be taken as a prelude prelude to his presentatio presentation n of the contours of an alternative and desirable society nd his vision was rooted in his own world view The essence of that world view was his assertion assertion that man! despite being rooted in the animal world! was capable capable of rising over it and a being enga engage ged d in ethi ethico co-r -rel elig igio ious us purs pursui uits ts "n the the proc proces ess! s! Gand Ga ndhi hi pins pins his his hope hope in huma human n ende endeav avou ourr towa toward rdss perf perfec ecti tibi bili lity ty $owe $oweve ver! r! in Ga Gand ndhi hi@s @s worl world d view view!! the the phenomenal world is not to be re&ected in the name of finding transcendental centre for man "n fact! one has to engage in the challenging task of transforming it in accord with with the transc transcend endent ental al centre centre nothe notherr dimens dimension ion of Gandhi@s world view was that man could only apprehend relative truth and not the absolute truth %uch a position could lead one to the sensible path of non-violence  fourth dimension of Gandhi@s world is that human society is essentially organic@ in its nature and structure and as such such it coul could d be base based d on mutu mutual al co-o co-ope pera rati tion on and and resp respec ectt free free from from domi domina nati tion on and and expl exploi oita tati tion on This This would be possible as man in Gandhi@s world view is not egocentric rather with endowed with an extended self@ $enc $ence e the the inter interes ests ts and and aspi aspira rati tion onss of man man and and the the soci societ ety y are are not not mutu mutual ally ly excl exclus usiv ive e 5a 5an! n! by his his very very nature and locale could always reach out to the other@ %uch a perspective of self and society@ hardly leaves any scope for separating morality from religion ccording to 2oy! Gandhi@s critique critique of modern civili#ation could be fully understood only in such a perspective

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The The real real str stren engt gth h of 2oy 2oy@s @s int inter erpr pret etat atio ion n of Gandhi@s critique of modernity lies in the fact that he provi provides des a sound sound philos philosoph ophica icall backgr backgroun ound d for its full full understanding $is conclusions are based on his in-depth study of *uropean philosophy which lies at the root of modern modern civili civili#at #ation ion %imila %imilarl rly! y! he delves delves deep deep also also in "ndian philosophical tradition to locate the real roots of Gandhi@s alternative vision Gandhi and Post-modernism: Rudo!phs’ nterpretation "n the the begi beginn nnin ing g of the the pape paperr we have have brie briefl fly y deli deline neat ated ed the the basi basicc cont contou ours rs of post post-m -mod oder erni nism sm 2ecently! 2udolphs-3loyd and %usanne! have produced a Post-modern n Gandhi Gandhi whic new book! Post-moder which h also also part partly ly includ includes es their their earlie earlierr work work !he "odernity of !radition  They pick a number of strands from post-modern thought and put forward the main thesis that Gandhi could very well fit the bill of being a post-modern thinker both in epis episte temo molo logi gica call and and hist histor oric ical al term terms s cco ccord rdin ing g to 2udo 2udoph phs! s! Ga Gand ndhi hi was was one one of the the earl earlie iest st thin thinke kers rs to challenge the modernist central tenet of progress@ which has been re&ected by the post-modern thinkers Gandhi@s critique of modernity in Hind Swaraj and his subsequent writings could be read as post-modernist treatise treatise Thus! in historical terms he could be taken as one of the earliest propo proponen nentt of post-m post-mode oderni rnism sm 8ot only only that! that! he also also challe challenge nged d modern modernist ist thinke thinkers rs that that it is throug through h their their epistemological tools that one could arrive at universal and ob&ective knowledge and grand! master narratives


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2udolphs recall that it was around seventeenth century that the proponents of modernity started arguing that thei theirr scie scient ntif ific ic thin thinki king ng alon alone e coul could d yiel yield d ob&e ob&ect ctiv ive e knowle knowledge dge and univer universal sal truth truth %uch %uch a view view could could be prima primaril rily y locate located d in 8ewton 8ewtonian ian physic physics! s! 1escar 1escartes tesian ian philos philosoph ophy y and and $obbes $obbesia ian n libera liberalis lism m %ubseq %ubsequen uently tly!! a number number of scient scientifi ificc think thinkers ers and and write writers rs &oined &oined them them Their work and methods claimed to produce knowledge which which was taken taken to be exact exact and positi positive ve They They also also asserted that every phenomenon could be explained on the basis of hypothesis! observation and experimentation %uch view of certainty in respect of knowledge has been challenged by a number of post modern thinkers who assert that nature of truth is contigental and contextual 2udolphs recall that Gandhi@s concept of relative truth is of the same genre and fully fits in the post-modernist perspe perspecti ctive ve of situa situatio tiona nal! l! contig contigent ental al and and contex contextua tuall trut truth h "n this this resp respec ectt he is near nearer er to post post-m -mod oder erni nist st hermeneutics Gandhi Gand hi not not only only re&e re&ect cted ed mode modern rnis istt view view of ob&ective and universal truth! but also the universalism of revealed! sacred and scriptural truth as claimed by the religi religious ous texts texts 2udolp 2udolphs hs refer refer to Ga Gandh ndhi@ i@ss delibe delibera rate te choice of vegetarianism or freedom which he displayed in presentin presenting g his own interpretat interpretation ion of the #hagavad Gita to suppor supportt the viewpo viewpoin int t Ga Gandh ndhii refuse refusess to accep acceptt a literal meaning of the Gita and offe offerred his his own own inte interp rpre reta tati tion ons s That That is very very near near to post post-m -mod oder erni nist st hermeneutics Gandhi also made religion and morality as

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a ma&or theme of the discourse on human affairs Thus! he not only exploded modernist triumphal progressivism but also its erasure of religion morality and myth 2udolphs are not willing to accept Hind Swaraj &ust &ust as a mere nationalist tract which was merely meant to re&ect the

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Gandhi Gand hi coul could d be take taken n as bein being g very very near near to post post-modernist vision of truth! history and social thinking .ne .ne need need not necess necessar arily ily agree agree with with 2udol 2udolphs phs views that the roots of partition lay in 8ehru@s vision of mode modern rnit ity y 0erh 0erhap aps! s! 5usl 5uslim ims@ s@ lead leader ersh ship ip was was too too conscious of their ex-ruler complex and too scared of $indu domination! that their demand and insistence on partition was inevitable
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interpreta interpretations tions in the contradic contradictory tory nature nature of Gandhi@ Gandhi@ss thin thinki king ng They They only only reve reveal al the the pere perenn nnia iall natu nature re of Gandhian ideas= and which is why they continue to echo and re-echo in different historical contexts as well as in different intellectual traditions That alone could explain their continuing persistence and relevance

Referen"es %ritings 1elhi! (8ew nthony nthony > 0arel! Hind Swaraj and $ther %ritings 1elhiA 6ambridge Cniversity 0ress! +EE)

Phil Philos osop ophy hy

'

(rit (ritic ical al

6laude 5arkovits! The ,ngandhian Gandhi: !he ife and afterlife of the "ahatma (8ew 1elhiA 0ermanent
* 5 % 8amboodiripad! !he "ahatma and the .sm ! (8ew 1elhiA 0eople's 0ublishing $ouse! +EFE) $ire $iren n 5ukh 5ukher er&e &ee! e! Gandhi: ' Study (8ew (8ew 1elhiA 1elhiA 0eopl 0eople's e's 0ublishing $ouse! +E,;) Gandhi hi:: His life life and and !hou !hough ght t ! (8ew > < 9ripa ripallani! ani! Gand (8ew 1elh 1elhiA iA 0ublications 1ivision! Government of "ndia! +E,7)

>> 1oke! GandhiA GandhiA 'n .ndian patriot in South 'frica ! (8ew 1elhiA 0ublications 1ivision Government of "ndia! +EE/) >awaharlal 8ehru! ' #unch of $ld etters (3ondon! +EF7)


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3lyod 3lyod " 2udolph 2udolph and %usanne $ 2udolph! 2udolph! Postmodern Gandhi and $ther )ssays: Gandhi in the %orld and at Home (.xfordA Cniversity 0ress! :;;,) Satyag agra raha ha in Sout South h 'fri 'frica ca (hmedabadA 59 Gandhi! Saty 8ava&ivan 0ublishing $ouse! +EF)

59 Gandhi! 'n 'utobiography or !he Story of "y )*periments with !ruth! (hmedabadA 8ava&ivan 0ublishing $ouse! +E77) 59 Gandhi 59 Gandhi!! Hind Swaraj or .ndian Home Rule ! (hmedabadA 8ava&ivan 0ublishing $ouse) 8ageshwar 0rasad (ed) Hind Swaraj: ' /resh ook (8ew 1elhiA Gandhi 0eace ?oundation! +E7F) 2 0 1utt! "ndia Today! (
2aghav 2aghavan an "yer! "yer! !he "oral and Political %ritings of "ahatma Gandhi (8ew HorkA .xford Cniversity 0ress! +E7) Selected ed %orks %orks of "ahatm "ahatma a Gandhi Gandhi ! %hrim %hriman an 8arayan 8arayan!! !he Select 4olu 4olume me thre three e A the the

Gandhi Criticism of Modernity

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