“The views I venture to place before the reader are, needless to say, held by many Indians…and they are also held by thousands of Europeans.” ~ Gandhi, Hind Swaraj

Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj, or Indian Home Rule, in 1909 while on board the Kildonan Castle taking him from England to South Africa. Written in Gujarati, and printed by his own printing press at first, it was banned in India. So Gandhi instead published it in English, which, as the paradox of repression always works, actually gave it a wider readership and much more publicity. Written in dialogue form between an Editor (Gandhiji) and Reader (any of us, but particularly Dr. Pranjivan Mehta, with whom he had argued in India), the piece is a strong critique of imperialism, Indian and English violence, and industrial society in general. Reviewing various subjects from the partition of Bengal to medical science, he paints a picture of an empowered, thriving Indian society, while reasoning carefully against much of the thinking that was inhibiting people from resisting nonviolently.

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About Daily Metta

Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with nonviolence.

Our 2016 Daily Metta continues with Gandhi on weekdays. On weekends, we share videos that complement Michael Nagler’s award-winning book, The Search for a Nonviolent Future: A Promise of Peace for Ourselves, Our Families, and Our World. To help readers engage with the book more deeply, the Metta Center offers a free PDF study guide.

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