Opinion: Gandhi’s idea of Gram Swaraj

The harsh reality of the villages isn’t hidden where caste hinders equality in every sense

By Manish Narwade

MK Gandhi was not only a freedom fighter but is also known as a social reformer. His Gram Swaraj idea and that of Non-Violence have inspired the world. Gandhi was addressed as the ‘father of the nation’ by another benevolent identity, Subash Chandra Bose. He was called ‘Mahatma’, for the first time by Rabindranath Tagore. The first image of Gandhi that comes to mind is with Charkha in hand, which signified the emancipation of Indians and their liberation from imperialist forces.

Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj is an essential aspect in the Constitution – the Directive Principles of State Policy, Part IV of the Constitution, which acts as the guide to the State in planning and executing policies. The Gandhian thought in the Constitution includes Organisation of Village Panchayats (Article 40), promotion of cottage industries in rural areas (Article 43), management of cooperative societies (Article 43B), prohibition on the consumption of intoxicating drinks (Article 47) and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and improve their breeds (Article 48).

Importance of Community

Gandhi claims that the real India is not found in its citizens but in the seven lakh villages, emphasising more on community rather than individualism. His belief in Panchayat Raj was so firm that he thought public opinion will do what violence can never do. In Gandhi’s model of Gram Swaraj there is no such system of punishment – the constituted Panchayat will play the role of Judiciary, Executive and Legislative, which give all the powers to the village panchayats. His idea states that every village is a republic of its own which has full powers and every village is capable of managing its own affairs.

Gandhi talks about agriculture without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. He is clear that using organic manure will promote cleanliness and health. The Zero Budget natural farming, which consists of important factors like Jeevamrutha, Bijamitra, Acchadana (Mulching) and Whapasa, is inspired by Gandhi’s model of Gram Swaraj. It is part of organic farming and relies on agro-ecology.

Jayprakash Narayan, who contributed to the Gandhian school of thought and to his thinking of local self-governments, argued that representative political institutions should be constituted in such a way that it represents no individual but the communities which shall begin with the village and go outwards embracing wider circles. Gandhi’s ideas and sermons are still relevant across the world due to their universality and compassion for all mankind. His ethical ideals in society and politics harmonise the individual’s objective of spiritual growth with his social and political obligations. As a result, it appears to be most relevant and necessary for the development and establishment of a just political society through waking individuals and making them aware of their “true selves,” as well as humanising and socialising them in spiritual and ethical principles.

Critique of Gram Swaraj

Gandhi is known as the prophet of an abstract society and an abstract individual as his ideas mainly consisted of religion and politics and introduced elements of irrationality, conservation and orthodoxy. Religion and politics are poles apart, and mixing them has always created havoc in society.

The architecture of Indian villages is unique in the sense because of its discriminatory nature. It is a casteist society where Maharwada, Mangwada is common, this means that the houses of Mahars and Mangs (depressed classes) and any other ‘untouchable’ community are either outside the village boundary or they have different locality. With these types of architecture, they are not only socially boycotted but are also denied basic rights such as drinking water from the common well, and restricted to graze their cattle from grazing lands.

They are also kept out of commodity exchanges, for example, no one would purchase milk from them. Gandhi’s idea of Gram Swaraj gives no rights to these communities but instead relies on morality. In Indian villages, morality is based on religion and the ‘Chaturvarna’ system, which is part of the Hindu religion, even though Gandhi believed in the ‘Chaturvarna system.. Gandhi has less emphasis on freedom and equality, but he concentrates on the idea of religion through ‘Ram-Rajya’ and the ‘Chaturvarna’ system.

Ambedkar was a harsh critic f the Gandhian Gram Swaraj and panchayat models citing that villages are a sink of localism, din of ignorance along with communalism and narrow-mindedness. Nehru equally critiqued the idea of Gram Swaraj stating it was outdated and unsuited to modern parliamentary ethos.

One of the biggest oppositions to the Gram Swaraj model was that the Panchayat must not be elected through ‘one person one vote’ but through a consensus. However, there is no possibility that such a consensus model would have worked. As every village is different, one village may take the consensus of women into consideration, while the other may not. Every village has common religious sanctions on depressed classes, so the consensus model would have definitely ruined the untouchables. Already the upper caste has soaked all the blood from the bodies of untouchables. Gandhi’s model which gives Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers in the hands of Panchayats based on consensus would have taken the lives and degraded untouchables to the condition of starveling.

In Gandhi’s Panchayat Raj giving Legislative powers to Panchayat so that they can work on their own law-making is somewhat absurd in the Indian Parliamentary system. The panchayats in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh are recognised as Khap Panchayat, whose head is either hereditary or presided over by an elder. It has passed many acts which are inhuman to women, tries to institutionalise honour killing and instances of social boycott are common. Giving them the power of institution, and transforming this informal institution into a formal one would be devastating.

Gandhi claims a good zamindar with people’s cooperation will improve the conditions of the village without government assistance. The word ‘good zamindar’ itself is vague (it is like calling an evil a good evil). Zamindar is hereditary in nature (Chandra, 1988). They have soaked the blood of the depressed classes and are grabbing lands if they are unable to pay the loans, whose interest rates itself are inhuman. Giving zamindars any authority would increase inequality and turn villages into authoritarian rule. In the Harijan column of 1937, Gandhi suggests the worker voluntarily be Bhangi. The comment itself is biased – there is no possibility that privileged classes would be calling themselves ‘Bhangi’ even for a few seconds. In addition, it points to the division of labourers. By making such a statement, Gandhi is again signifying the caste-ridden jobs.

Gandhi’s school of thought is not only philosophical but also novel in the Indian context. Gandhi is overwhelmed with the morality and idea of self-discipline. “Beware of Gandhi”, Dr BR Ambedkar warns all the depressed classes, in his essay ‘Gandhi and his Fast’.

It cannot be denied that real India still lives in rural areas. The pandemic which led to the migration of all the labourers has shown the reality. But as soon as the pandemic shock subsided, the nation saw reverse migration of labourers from villages to cities, due to a lack of opportunities in the villages. This migration causes over-urbanisation, which leads to the development of slums. The harsh reality of the villages isn’t hidden. Caste issues are still evident. Caste hinders equality in every sense; denying the equality of opportunity in every sense.

To grow India in the real sense, it is important to organise villages. While speaking to Arjun Rao, Gandhi states that “You should become like Ambedkar. You should work for the removal of untouchability and caste. Untouchability must go at any cost.” While Ambedkar was concerned about removing untouchability by annihilating the caste, Gandhi was more specific about the removal of untouchability rather than caste. Gandhi tried to remove the pain without treating sickness, while Ambedkar treated the sickness.

Even though the Gandhian model of Gram Swaraj has faced harsh criticism and many scholars did not agree with his concept of Panchayat, Gandhi’s stature and prominence are so important in the Indian context that no one dared to ignore him.