Gandhi’s Swaraj and a Century of an Organisation

Memories that this organisation rejected the tricolor, found the Constitution unacceptable, and opposed a Dalit thinker leading the Constitution Drafting Committee.

Notably, this organisation was founded on Vijayadashami, the same day Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism.

The organisation has its own ideological framework. Its founders believed that diverse cultural and religious philosophies cannot form a single nation, akin to the German dictator of that era who couldn’t tolerate Jews and Germans coexisting.

Here, it’s not just about religion. The organisation holds that only those speaking languages derived from Sanskrit have a rightful claim to this land, with a stronger affinity to the "fatherland" than the "motherland," dismissing feminine perspectives.

This ideology created an environment where the vibrant proponent of Swaraj met a tragic end. Even now, efforts to render that figure irrelevant persist—his glasses are used as a symbol for Swachh Bharat, but social media comments from the organization’s so-called fringe reveal their disdain, portraying the Swaraj advocate as Ravana, targeted with arrows.

Such rhetoric leads innocent schoolchildren to cheer scenes of his assassination with three bullets. Statues of the assassin are now being erected.

This evokes no regret, for globally, this proponent’s nonviolent struggle against racial authoritarianism and economic-political slavery has inspired collective consciousness.

Bitterness and enslavement have been transcended, ensuring his immortality. India’s grace didn’t depend on that path alone; like the Buddhist way, his followers have spread to every corner. We may forget, but they endure.

The real question is: Why does this proponent trouble them? A 78-year-old would eventually pass, but his dream of Swaraj remains terrifying to those who wish to keep the masses chained.

He taught farmers, laborers, and women to question, to organise, to understand that Swaraj means equitable resource distribution, equality, liberation from caste, and gender justice.

How could status-quoists accept this? His campaign against social untouchability shook them. How could they tolerate the erosion of their social dominance? The first blow against him came when he travelled across the country fighting untouchability.

His vision of Ram Rajya was evident in the Sabarmati Ashram’s system, where a Dalit family was entrusted with the kitchen. When residents began to leave, he calmly said they could go, funding could stop, but even if only he and that family remained, his resolve wouldn’t waver. This strength is what Gandhi represents—not the work of the weak.

This ideology finds Swaraj’s path troubling. It stands firm against the arrogance of untruthful regimes and attempts to impose slavery. That’s why this proponent sought not just independence but Swaraj, so the common person could practice Satyagraha against even an elected government.

Swaraj isn’t confined to representation; it’s a medium for equal participation. If a tribal, Dalit, or minority gets an opportunity, it’s a start. But we must ask if the caste hierarchy has been challenged, or if it’s merely a ploy to seat compliant status-quoists.

In Swaraj, there’s no room for fear.

Doors and windows remain open for noble ideas. Even while nurturing roots, one doesn’t become rigid. In contrast, fear-based systems draw lines between “us” and “them,” crafting political-social narratives to gain power easily.

But in such an environment, love, fraternity, justice, and rights cannot survive. This year, October 2 coincides with Dussehra.

Call it the wheel of time, perhaps.

Why would someone who breathed his last chanting Ram’s name envision Ram Rajya? Ram’s journey challenged the greed and fear-based dominance of Lanka’s golden city. His life partner was found by a plow-wielding king, not a billionaire hosting a multi-billion wedding.

His foreign policy wasn’t about aiding a business tycoon’s global expansion. His friends were Sugriva and the vanaras.The Ramayana doesn’t speak of Ayodhya’s grandeur. When Ram chased a golden deer, liberation slipped away, leading to captivity and new struggles.

In Ayodhya’s Ram Rajya, locks were unnecessary—people’s hearts were open, fearless. But when narrow-mindedness crept in diligence collapsed.

The story shows that Swaraj demands daily vigilance. It’s not static; its movement is subtle, its struggle ongoing.

A moment’s lapse leads to slavery.

Over a century, the organization has polished its rhetoric and principles superficially, but its language of power remains unchanged. Under the guise of “good governance,” it strives to maintain the dominance of the privileged. Yet, Gandhi’s path remains unaffected. It will continue to illuminate humanity.

(Reference: We and Our Nationhood Defined, M.S. Golwalkar, pp. 83–98, original edition)