Hind Swaraj

Civilizations rise and fall, and even the greatest and most powerful die away. Britain, with its industrial marvels and vast riches, cannot assume that it is somehow exempt. Only one great culture has passed the test of time, says Gandhi, and that one is India, which, among nations, possesses an unparalleled sophistication, especially compared to the mechanized and arrogant Europeans.

Civilization, to Gandhi, is all about character—good character equals a good civilization. India’s, he believes, is among the best in the world precisely because it elevates character. Its age-old traditions uphold positive human traits such as compassion, humility, chastity, and self-restraint. British civilization, on the other hand, is, in Gandhi’s view, among the worst. Its heavy reliance on machinery and acquisitive commerce distorts people’s relationships to nature and to one another; it encourages them to pursue possessions and self-indulgence instead of humility and restraint.

Gandhi doesn’t blame the English; he believes they simply have fallen into a civilizational trap of their own making and may someday escape it. The problem Gandhi addresses is that Britain has meanwhile entangled India in the crazed English culture.

Not only do traditional Indian culture and values have no peer in the world, says Gandhi, but a return to the old virtues will imbue Indians with the forthrightness to reject the diseased European civilization and oust the British once and for all.