Political Ideologies: Gandhism

Social and political ideologies of Gandhi ji is multidimensional. His political philosophy was a deep-seated departure from the past in the sense that it was neither constitutional loyalist of the Moderates nor extremism of the revolutionary terrorists. In his speech of Indian nationalism, he sought to incorporate the emergent constituencies of nationalist politics that remained peripheral in the past era. Gandhi was the only effective nationalist leader who truly attempted to go beyond the class conflicts by creating a method which for the first time, brought about the national aggregation of an all India character. His social and political ideas were the consequence of his serious engagement with issues reflective of India's peculiar socio-economic circumstances. Gandhi concurrently launched movements not only against the British rule but also against the terrible social structures, customs, norms and values, justified in the name of Indian's ancient traditions. Therefore, Gandhi's thought is neither purely political nor absolutely social, but a complex combination of the two.

Gandhian philosophy was a thoughtful engagement with modernity and its drawbacks. Against the troubles of industrialisation, materialism and selfish pursuits, Gandhiji suggested swaraj, swadeshi, trusteeship and a minimal state vested only with co-coordinative powers. He was a genuinely a religious man. This standpoint shaped his politics his economic ideas and his view of society. However, the religious approach that he absorbed was significantly different from other religious man. He accepts the inner oneness of all existence in the cosmic spirit, and saw all living beings as representatives of the everlasting divine reality. Gandhiji believed that man's ultimate goal in life was self- realisation. According to him, Self-realisation meant seeing God face to face, i.e., realising the absolute truth or, knowing oneself. He believed that it could not be attained unless man identified himself with the whole of mankind. This necessarily involved participation in politics.

Gandhism ideology in contemporary period