Gandhi

Throughout Hind Swaraj, the reader is able to view the opinions of Gandhi through the dialogue between a newspaper reader and editor; it is understood that the editor is Gandhi and represents his ideals. The selected reading covers the “loss” of India to England, the loss of religious piety, and the dividing power of railways, as well as a host of other topics. Gandhi asserts that India’s status as an English colony is a result of their willingness to “keep” the English rather than the strength of English rule. Gandhi also states that England’s ability to increase the commerce was part of India’s inclination to allow India’s imperialism; he says that the poverty in India drove the citizens to be “tempted at the sight of their silver” (40). He also delves into the religious aspect by insisting that “many problems can be solved by remembering that money is [the English’s] God” (41). Gandhi expands on this idea of religion by stating that India’s poor condition is a direct result of its “becoming irreligious.” And although he admits that religious superstition and the wars it has incited are detrimental to society, he believes that civilization is even worse. He does not deny that the many different religious groups in India have their differences, but rather states that there is no area in the world with a homogenous group of people with the same ideologies. Another fault in civilization that Gandhi addresses is railways that he thinks divide the people in India in ways that weren’t present prior to the interference of the English. Railways are inherently disadvantageous to humanity because they defy God’s creation of man with limited ability to travel long distances; railways are “a distributing agency for the evil one only,” allowing the unfaithful ability to travel to holy areas easily. Basically, Gandhi believes that there are many obstacles that the Indian people need to overcome in order to achieve “Hind Swaraj” or Indian Home Rule.