Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule is a book written by Mahatma Gandhi in 1909. In it he expresses his views on Swaraj, modern civilization, mechanisation, among other matters. In the book, Gandhi repudiates European civilization while expressing loyalty to higher ideals of empire ("moral empire"). The book was banned in 1910 by the British government in India as a seditious text.

Background

Mahatma Gandhi wrote this book in his native language, Gujarati, while traveling from London to South Africa on board SS Kildonan Castle. It has also been translated to French.

Key arguments

Gandhi's Hind Swaraj takes the form of a dialogue between two characters, The Reader and The Editor. The Reader (specifically identified by the historian S. R. Mehrotra as Dr Pranjivan Mehta) essentially serves as the typical Indian countryman whom Gandhi would have been addressing with Hind Swaraj. The Reader voices the common beliefs and arguments of the time concerning Indian Independence. Gandhi, The Editor, explains why those arguments are flawed and interject his own arguments. As 'The Editor' Gandhi puts it, "it is my duty patiently to try to remove your prejudice." In the dialogue that follows, Gandhi outlines four themes that structure his arguments.

Censorship

The Gujarati version of Hind Swaraj was banned by the British authorities, on its publication in India.

Reception

In September 1938, the philosophical magazine The Aryan Path published a symposium on Hind Swaraj. The contributors were several noted writers: Frederick Soddy, Claude Houghton, G. D. H. Cole, C. Delisle Burns, John Middleton Murry, J. D. Beresford, Hugh Fausset, Gerald Heard and Irene Rathbone. Their responses to Hind Swaraj varied from "enthusiasm to respectful criticism".