The world of socio-aesthetics is the serene world of human ascent and excellence. To Mahatma Gandhi, a poignant aesthetic visionary par excellence, the orbit of socio-aesthetics incorporates careful and cautions cultivation of nobler sentiments and finer sensibilities like Truth, Goodness, Beauty and so on for endless advancement of man in the efforescence of myticism. The fusion of Sarvodaya, Non-violence, religion, education and symbolism for the desirable end-in-view of socio-aesthetics as Gandhi advocates and translates till the last day of his life, bears ample testimony to the socio-aesthetic fullness of vision of humankind.

This book is about Madeleine Slade (1892-1982) and Catherine Mary Heilemann (1901-1982), two English associates of Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi (1869-1948), known in India as Mira Behn and Sarala Behn. The odysseys of these women present a counternarrative to the forces of imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and globalized development. The book examines their extraordinary journey to India to work with Gandhi and their roles in India’s independence movement, their spiritual strivings, their independent work in the Himalayas, and most importantly, their contribution to the evolution of Gandhian philosophy of socio-economic reconstruction and environmental conservation in the present Indian state of Uttarakhand. The author shows that these women developed ideas and practices that drew from an extensive intellectual terrain that cannot be limited to Gandhi’s work. She delineates directions in which Gandhian thought and experiments in rural development work and visions of a new society evolved through the lives, activism, and written contributions of these two women. Their thought and practice generated a new cultural consciousness on sustainability that had a key influence in environmental debates in India and beyond and were responsible for two of the most important environmental movements of India and the world: the Chipko Movement or the movement against commercial green felling of trees by hugging them, and the protest against the Tehri high dam on the Bhagirathi River. To this day, their teachings and philosophies constitute a useful and significant contribution to the search for and implementation of global ideas of ecological conservation and human development.

Gandhian Thought Can Be Evaluated In Two Perspectives. One Is What Gandhi Basically Stands For. He Distrusted Industrialism And Had The Courage To Decry Industrialization With Mass Production Even When It Was At Its Peak. In That Spirit Gandhian View Of Human Society Is An Alternative To Modern Industrial Society.In The Other Perspective, Gandhian Thought Is Evaluated In Terms Of The Needs And Requirements Of The Existing Society And An Attempt Is Made To Reinterpret It To Suit Those Requirements. In This Endeavour, The Basic Spirit Of Gandhian Ideals, Very Often, Is Sacrificed Or Compromised.The Present Book Gandhian Theory Of Social Reconstruction Analyses Gandhian Thought In The First Perspective And Thereby Provides A Rational And Viable Framework Of Post-Industrial Human Society After Gandhian Ideals.It First Establishes That There Is The Need To Find An Alternative To Industrial Society And That The Alternative Could Be Based On Spirituality. The Concept Of Spirituality Is Discussed Here In Secular And Sociological Terms Avoiding All Jargons Of Various Religions And Philosophy.Further, The Book Propounds A New Unconventional Classification Of Human Motivation Encompassing The Entire Gamut Of Motivational Urge.It Also Introduces The Concept Of Soul Force As A New Dimension To The Realms Of Theory And Practice Of Social Reconstruction. This Is Based On The Awakening Of The Soul To Its Potential Or Force That Gives Strength To The Individual At Least To Uphold One S Dignity And Self-Respect Which Are Being Violated In The Present Society Whether Of The West Or Of The East. For Creating And Sustaining Soul Force, This Theory Provides Appropriate Instruments And Methods.The Book Also Outlines The Constitution Of A Non-Violent Society Incorporating Such Ingredients As May Lead To The Emergence Of A Non-Violent And Spiritual Social Order. The Book Then Goes On To Discuss The Method Of Non-Violent Action In The Manner Of A Process As A Gandhian Technique For Conflict Resolution, Fighting Against Social Injustice And Exploitation And Rebuilding The New Society.One May Ridicule The Theory As Utopian. But The Goals Should Always Be Set On The Highest Side Even Though They May Never Be Realized In Their Completeness. One Should Constantly Try To Reach Them As High As Possible To The Best Of One S Capacity. The Goals Should Never Be Set On The Lower Level.This Book Opens Up Many New Vistas For Research And Joins The Current Debate In Political And Economic Fields On Social Reconstruction Going On Since The Second World War And More So After The Collapse Of Communism In Soviet Russia And The 9/11 Events That Have Agitated The Human Conscience.