f ôSwarajö or home rule. In Hind Swaraj and Other Writings, Gandhi (1938) argues that people living in ôcivilizationö tend to ômake bodily welfare the object of lifeàThis civilization takes note neither of morality nor of religionö (5). In these words, IndiaÆs great champion of ôSwarajö condemned European and British civilization and its underpinning moral and ethical postures. In writing these words, Gandhi was leveling a strong indictment against the British and others who were not part of Indian civilization, which he characterized as ôunquestionable the bestö (Gandhi 1938, 6).
For Gandhi, the British colonial occupation of India was accomplished not solely or even primarily because of BritainÆs putative ôsuperiorityö or its capacity to govern effectively. Rather, Britain gained control of India because the Indian people themselves succumbed to the myriad temptations of modern Western civilization. As he wrote, ôWhy do you forget that our adoption of their civilization makes their presence in India at all possible?ö (Gandhi 1938, 7). Thus, while critical of the ômodernityö and lack of tradition and religious values in British civilization, Gandhi was equally critical of those Indians who had ôadoptedö this civilization and then called for a violent uprising to rid India of the British.
With respect to India herself, Gandhi (1938) saw his country and her people as strong and capable of independence, noting that ôwhen other civilizations have succumbed, the Indian has survived many a shockö (7). He felt that the English, were they to become ôIndianizedö, should be welcomed in India. However, he rejected the ideology that what India needed was ôEnglish rule without the Engli
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