m.k. gandhi and travel narratives "if we indians could only spit in unison, we would form a...
TRANSCRIPT
M.K. Gandhi and Travel Narratives
"If we Indians could only spit in unison, we would form a puddle big enough to drown 300,000 Englishmen.”
M.K. Gandhi
Vinayak ChaturvediDepartment of History
Ideas I introduce in every class
a. Our historical contexts as historians
b. Historians are actors and narrators
c. The concepts we use are not “fixed”
d. History doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending
M.K. Gandhi• 1869: Born in Porbandar, Gujarat• 1888-1891: England• 1893-1915: South Africa (~25 years)• 1917-1918: Leads 3 Local Satyagrahas• 1919: First All-India Satyagraha• 1920-1922: Adopts non-cooperation• 1930: Salt March• 1942: Quit India Movement• 1947: Independence/Partition• January 30, 1948: Assassinated
Map of British IndiaPink=British controlled territory
Yellow=Princely States
Context of Travel in 19th Century
• ~30 million Indians traveled outside of India in the 19th century
• Links to British Empire
1. Army
2. Labor
3. Merchants
4. Education• Britain, British Guyana, East Africa, South
Africa, Burma, Southeast Asia, Fiji
What did travel mean for Gandhi?
• A Question of Caste
(kala pani=black water)
• Education and Class
• Vegetarianism
• Religion
• Empire and Racism
• Politics and Nationalism
Gandhi’s Writings(Travel Writings/Writings about Travel?)
• Letters
• Newspaper Articles
• Books
• Petitions
• Legal Documents
*Autobiography: My Experiments with Truth
*Hind Swaraj, or Indian Home Rule
Autobiography:My Experiments with Truth
• Written in prison (1925)
• Anti-autobiography
• >2/3 of text on experiences outside of India
• Book ends in 1921
• Truth=God
• Public vs. Private
Hind Swaraj (HS)
• Perhaps the most important text written by Gandhi• Original English title “Indian Home Rule”• Only book Gandhi translates into English
• Provides an introduction to Gandhi’s ideas• Articulates his positions on non-violence, passive
resistance, and satyagraha• He fine tunes this text throughout his lifetime• If you are going to read one text by Gandhi, this is it!
Some details about HS
• Written in Gujarati in 1909 while returning to S.Africa from England
• Originally published in the
Indian Opinion
• Gujarati text banned in India
The Form of HSQ. What do I mean by “form”?A. The shape and structure of an object ; the design, structure, or pattern of work.
HS is a dialogue between 2 individuals1. Newspaper Editor—Gandhi2. Newspaper Reader—Unknown figure or a
composite of several individuals
Why did Gandhi choose this form?“To make it easy reading, the chapters are written in the
form of a dialogue between the reader and the editor.” (p. 11) [Also, see his comments on pages li, 6]
More on Dialogue…
“These views are mine, and yet not mine.” (see full quote on p. 10)
“If the readers…who may see the following chapters will pass their criticism on to me, I shall feel obliged.” (11)
“The only motive is to serve my country, to find out the Truth, and to follow it.” (11)
Why has HS been written according to Gandhi?
• “My countrymen believe that they should adopt modern civilisation and modern methods of violence to drive out the English. HS has been written to show that they are following a suicidal policy, and that, if they would but revert to their own glorious civilisation, either the English would adopt the latter and become Indianised or find their occupation in India gone.” ( 7)
• (Also see xv: “I have written because I could not restrain myself.”)
The Historical Context in which HS was written
1. Modern Civilization
2. Politics of South Africa
3. The Politics of Expatriate Indians
4. The Indian Nationalist Movement
**Consider Gandhi’s definition of civilization: “that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.” (p. xix)
A bit about the title
Hind=India in this context
Hind the root for Hindu and India
All of the above derived from Indus River
Swaraj (swa=self) + (raj=rule)
The root “swa” is translated as “home” by Gandhi
The title Hind Swaraj becomes Indian Home Rule
More on swaraj
A purpose of the book was to clarify the meaning of swaraj
(swa=self) + (raj=rule)= self-rule(swa=home) + (raj=rule)=home-rule(swa=self) + (raj=government)=self-government
Here is the tricky part: Gandhi adds “improvement” to the understanding of “raj”. Hence, swaraj also means self-improvement!!
Indian Self Rule Indian Home RuleIndian Self Government Indian Self-Improvement
Brute Force
• “…the force of love and pity is greater than the force of arms.” (84)
• One of the aims of non-violence is the moral regeneration of the pertpetrator/oppressor
Passive Resistance (Satyagraha)
• (Sat=Truth/God/Soul)+ (agraha=force)• Sacrifice of self (90) [vs. sacrifice of
others]• “Real home rule is possible only where
passive resistance is the guiding force of the people. Any other rule is foreign rule.” (96)
Passive Resistance, continued…
• “Those who want to become passive resisters for the country have to observe… (see 96-99)
1. Perfect chastity(Celebacy)
2. Adopt poverty (Simplicity)
3. Follow truth (God)
4. Cultivate fearlessness
ConclusionReader: This is a large order. When will all carry it out?
(118)Editor: You make a mistake. You and I have nothing to do
with the others. Let each do his duty. If I do my duty, that is, serve myself, I shall be able to serve others.
Editor: I bear no enmity towards the English, but I do towards their civilization.
Gandhi’s definition of “true” civilization: Civilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty.
Some Web Sites
• Digital South Asia Library: dsal.uchicago.edu• M.K. Gandhi: www.gandhiserve.org• B.R. Ambedkar: www.ambedkar.org• Google Video: www.video.google.com• Voice of the Shuttle: vos.ucsb.edu• Maps: Linked through VOS• Maps II: www.worldatlas.com• Centers for South Asia