Mahatma Gandhi's fundamental work - a key to understanding both his life and thought, and South Asian politics in the twentieth century.

This volume presents an original account of Mahatma Gandhi's four meanings of freedom: as sovereign national independence, as the political freedom of the individual, as freedom from poverty, and as the capacity for self-rule or spiritual freedom. In this volume, seven leading Gandhi scholars write on these four meanings, engaging the reader in the ongoing debates in the East and the West and contributing to a new comparative political theory.

Dennis Dalton's classic account of Gandhi's political and intellectual development focuses on the leader's two signal triumphs: the civil disobedience movement (or salt satyagraha) of 1930 and the Calcutta fast of 1947. Dalton clearly demonstrates how Gandhi's lifelong career in national politics gave him the opportunity to develop and refine his ideals. He then concludes with a comparison of Gandhi's methods and the strategies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, drawing a fascinating juxtaposition that enriches the biography of all three figures and asserts Gandhi's relevance to the study of race and political leadership in America. Dalton situates Gandhi within the "clash of civilizations" debate, identifying the implications of his work on continuing nonviolent protests. He also extensively reviews Gandhian studies and adds a detailed chronology of events in Gandhi's life.

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest global icons of all times, is known as much for his successful leadership of India’s non-violent anti-colonial freedom movement as for his virtue and simplicity. His ideals have inspired diverse social and political movements across the world: against apartheid in South Africa, racial segregation in the United States, several state policies and actions in India and nuclear weaponisation, and for environmental sustainability and world peace. Hence, a pertinent question is often raised by media and academia: How would Gandhi have responded to the contemporary Indian and global situation marked by ethnic conflicts, terrorism, economic insecurity under the dominance of a global neo-liberal economic order and moral degeneration in private and public lives? Addressing this question in this volume through critical and variant re-readings of Hind Swaraj (1909), his key manifesto of socio-political transformation, social scientists, political philosophers and social activists seek to establish a social and academic dialogue with Gandhi, interrogating his thoughts, values and vision, and examining their relevance to present-day problems. In spotlight is a contentious issue: the relationship between modernity and emancipation of subalterns, in the light of his critique of modern civilisation, the central thesis of the text. This book will be of interest to those in Gandhian studies, political science, history, philosophy, sociology, development studies, as well as activists, policy makers and the lay reader.

9/11 marked the beginning of a century that is defined by widespread violence. Every other day seems to be a furthering of the already catastrophic present towards a more disastrous tomorrow. With climate change looming over us, frequent economic instability, religious wars, and relentless political mayhem, life for what we have made of it seems more and more unsustainable. Douglas Allen insists that we look to Gandhi, if only selectively and creatively, in order to move towards a nonviolent and sustainable future. Is a Gandhi-informed swaraj technology, valuable but humanly limited, possible? What would a Gandhian world—a more egalitarian, interconnected, decentralized—of globalization look like? Focusing on key themes in Gandhi’s thinking such as violence and nonviolence, absolute truth and relative truth, ethical and spiritual living, and his critique of modernity, the book compels us to rethink our positions today.