GANDHIAN IDEOLOGY: FOR BPSC MAINS EXAM.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

• Gandhian ideology is the set of religious and social ideas adopted and developed by M.K. Gandhi, first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914 and later in India.
• Gandhian philosophy is not only simultaneous political, moral, and religious, it is also traditional and modern, simple, and complex. It embodies numerous western influences to which Gandhi Ji was exposed, but is rooted in ancient Indian culture harnessing universal moral and religious principles.
• The philosophy exists on several planes, the spiritual or religious, moral, political, economic, social, individual, and collective.
• The spiritual or religious elements and God are at its core.
• Human nature is regarded as fundamentally virtuous.
• All individuals are believed to be capable of high moral development and reform.
• Gandhian ideology emphasizes not on idealism but on practical idealism.
• Gandhian philosophy is a double-edged weapon, its objective is to transform the individual and society simultaneously in accordance with the principles of Truth and non- violence
• Gandhi Ji developed these ideologies from various inspirational sources vis Bhagvat Geeta, Jainism, Buddhism, Bible, and ideas from Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Tolstoy, John Ruskin among others.
• Tolstoy's book, The Kingdom of God within You, had a deep influence on M.K. Gandhi.
• Gandhi Ji paraphrased Ruskin's book, Unto this Last, as Sarvodaya.
• These ideas have been further developed by later Gandhians most notably, in India by Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan, and outside India by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. 
• He said that he loves English people but abhorred their despicable way of governance, he justified non-voilence as "I do not believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence I do opt violence".

Major Gandhian Ideologies:

• Truth and non-violence: They are twin cardinal principles of Gandhian thoughts. 
• For Gandhi Ji, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the ultimate reality.  
• The ultimate truth is God (as God is also the truth) and morality - the moral laws and code- its basis. 
• Non-violence: It is for from meaning, mere peacefulness, or the absence of overt violence, it is understood by M.K. Gandhi to denote active love- the pole opposite of violence in every sense. Non- violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.
• Satyagraha: It means the exercise of the purest soul force against all injustices, oppression, and exploitation.
• It is the method of securing the rights by personal suffering and not inflicting injury on others.
• The origin of satyagraha can be found in Upanishads, and in the teachings of the Buddha, Mahavira's, and a number of other greats including Tolstoy and Ruskin.
• Sarvodaya: It is a term meaning "universal uplift" or progress of all, The term was first coined by Gandhi Ji as the title of his translation of John Ruskin's political economy "unto this last".
• Swaraj: Although the word swaraj means self- rule, Gandhi Ji gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life.
• For Gandhi Ji, swaraj of people means, the sum total of swaraj of individuals and so he clarified that for him swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen and in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, and it is self- rule, self- restraint and could be equated with Moksha or salvation. 
• Trusteeship: It is a socio-economic philosophy that was propounded by Gandhi Ji.
• It provides a means by which the wealthy people could be the trustees of trusts that looked after the welfare of people in general.
• This principle reflects Gandhi Ji's spiritual development, which he owed partly to his deep involvement with and the study of the theosophical literature and the Bhagavad Geeta.
• Swadeshi: The word swadeshi derives from Sanskrit and is a conjunction of two Sanskrit words " Swa means self and deshi means the country ".
• So swadeshi means one's own country, swadeshi is the focus on acting within and from one's own community, both politically and economically.
• It is the interdependence of the community and self-sufficient.
• Gandhi Ji believed this would lead to independence, as British control of India was rooted in the control of her indigenous industries.
• Swadeshi was the key to the independence of India and was represented by the charkha or the spinning wheel. The centre of the solar system, of Mahatma Gandhi constructive program.

Relevance in Today's context:

His ideals of truth and non-violence, which underpin the whole philosophy are relevant to all humankind and are considered as universal by the Gandhians. More than ever, before, M.K. Gandhi's teachings are valid today, when people are trying to find solutions to the rampant greed, widespread violence, and runaway consumptive style of living. The Gandhian technique of mobilising people has been successfully employed by many oppressed societies around the world under the leadership of people like.

Martin Luther King in the united states, Nelson Mandela in South Africa, and Aung San SUU in Myanmar, which is an eloquent testimony to the continuing relevance of Mahatma Gandhi.

Dalai Lama said- we have a big war going on today between world peace and world war between the force of mind and force of materialism, between democracy and totalitarianism, it is precisely to fight these big wars that the Gandhian philosophy needed in contemporary times.

Gandhian ideology shaped the creation of institutions and practices where the voice and perspective of everyone can be articulated, tested, and transformed. According to him, democracy provided the weak with the same chances as the strong.

Functioning on the basis of voluntary cooperation and dignified and peaceful co-existence was replicated in several other modern democracies, also his emphasis on political tolerance and religious pluralism holds relevance in contemporary Indian politics.

Truth and non-violence, Sarvodaya, Satyagraha, and their significance constitute Gandhian philosophy and are the four pillars of Gandhian thought.

Before the Champaran movement:

1. Moderate-extremist conflicts.
2.  Congress was not a mass organization.
3. Economic exploitation merely mentions on paper.
4. No connection with farmers or villages.
5. It contributed to the development of nationalism.

After the Champaran movement:

1. The advent of Gandhi Ji.
2. Use of non-violence, satyagraha, etc.
3. Civil disobedience.
4. Recognition of peasants' problems.
5. Welfare works.
6. Mass movements.
7. Capable leadership like- Rajendra Prasad, JB kripalani< Brijkishore Prasad as a national leader, etc.