Page 75 - EducationWorld March 2023

ism, which was responsible critiques the modern idea and describes his nation- opposition to science and
for conquest of countries of religion and national- alism as ‘civic’, based on technology, and no serious
like India. ism. Gandhi’s idea of ek praja. deliberation of the caste
Ajay Skaria proposes He asserts that defining Parel asserts that for system.
that Gandhi’s critique religion by pitting people Gandhi, a nation is people The chapters present a
of modern civilisation against each other makes neutral toward religion higher level of academic
should be understood as religion worthless. He and ethnicity, and can ac- discussion and analysis
a fierce critique of secular viewed himself as sana- commodate diversities. about the different facets
humanism, which posits tani, defined as continu- Weber argues that of Hind Swaraj, and they
that human beings have ously pluralist. ‘civic’ obscures the key demand deep academic
freedom and the capacity So, he opposed reli- feature of Gandhi’s training to grasp the argu-
of infinitisation. gious rivalry and mutual idea of nationalism, ments presented by them.
Gandhi believed that demonisation. However, i.e, accommodation of However, they also
contemporary civilization he was not a proponent of diversities. So, Weber establish the relevance
based on such ideas is religious conversion be- prefers to use the term of Hind Swaraj for the
pitiable and threatens cause he saw it as changing ‘pluralist nationalism’ contemporary world.
the very foundation compartments without any to describe Gandhi’s It presents a complete
of civilisation and has moral enhancement. nationalism. framework to understand
degraded and ruined the It is also noteworthy Though this book the complexity of modern
nations of Europe. that Gandhi clearly re- is comprehensive and civilisation and emphasises
Hind Swaraj also jected the European idea of touches upon most of overhaul change to create a
emphasises that modern nation states and religious the important aspects of better society.
civilisation has instrumen- nationalism. Hind Swaraj, it lacks a KAMAL NAYAN CHOUBEY
talised human relations Anthony Parel under- full chapter that discusses is associate professor,
and reduced them to con- lines that Gandhi rejected critiques of this book more department of political sci-
tractual, commercial trans- the idea that religion can systematically, particularly ence, Dayal Singh College,
actions. Gandhi severely be the basis of nationalism, in the context of Gandhi’s Delhi (The Book Review)

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