For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Communism and Mahatma Gandhi

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net;

dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

Communism and Mahatma Gandhi

It seems to me that the motive behind these prosecutions is not to kill Communism, it is to strike terror. If by Communism is meant seizure of power and property by violent means, public opinion was successfully fighting that demon. The Congress creed, indeed the creed of all political parties, is attainment of political liberty through non-violent means. But the Government by its action has given strength to the cult of violence which it never possessed. They are shrewd enough to know that such was bound to be the case. The motive behind these arrests has therefore to be searched in another direction. One thing is certain. Terrorism like plague has lost its terror for the public. The movement of swaraj has found too deep a root in the public mind to be shaken or destroyed. It is bound to gain strength through these arrests and the other similar indications of the Government’s intention to strike a death-blow at the liberty movement. For, the prosecution of Sjt. Sambamurti and Sjt. Khadilkar, the proscription of Pandit Sundarlal’s volume, the police conduct at Shraddhanand Park and such other incidents that may have escapade my notice cumulatively point in but one direction. 1

You claim to be Communists, but you do not seem to live the life of communism. I may tell you that I am trying my best to live up to the ideal of communism in the best sense of the term. And communism does not, I fancy, exclude courtesy. I am amongst you today, within a few minutes I will leave you. But if you want to carry the country with you, you ought to be able to react on it by reasoning with it. You cannot do so by coercion. You may deal destruction to bring the country round to your view. But how many will you destroy? Not tens of millions. You may kill a few thousands if you had millions with you. But today you are no more than a handful. I ask you to convert the Congress if you can and to take charge of it. But you cannot do so by bidding goodbye to the elementary rules of courtesy. And there is no reason why you should be lacking in ordinary courtesy, when it is open to you to give the fullest vent to your views, when India is tolerant enough to listen patiently to anyone who can talk coherently. 2

If you follow the rule that you cannot avail yourself of facilities which other prisoners who keep bad health would not get, you can do nothing to improve your health. I can understand that you would not like to ask for special facilities for yourself but it does not seem right to me that you should not avail yourself of facilities which may be offered to you when you explain to the authorities the condition of your health. When you are outside, you enjoy more facilities than the countless millions and never think about the matter. I ask for and enjoy, both in jail and outside, facilities which they can never hope to get, and am fully aware that I do so. But I do not feel that I violate dharma thereby. If an elephant tries to crawl like an ant, he will not succeed in becoming an ant thereby and will cease to be an elephant, which means that he will have lost his true nature. An elephant like me, however, would humbly accept his big size and consume food weighing more than thousands of ants and would also draw, without the least effort, loads which those ants could never draw. An elephant is entitled to consume food which the size of his body requires. Only, he must not waste that food by not giving proportionate service in return. That is, he should carry loads proportionate to his strength. If he does that, he will have consumed as much food and given as much service as an ant. This is communism. If, therefore, you can secure the food which your body requires by legitimate means and without humiliating yourself for the purpose, you should do so and improve your health, and then serve other people to the best of your ability. 3

As you know full well I have no sympathy with Communism, most of the Meerut prisoners were daggers at me. They missed no occasion to vilify or insult me. But that is of no consequence. They have been punished for holding particular opinions, not for any act that they have done! And what a punishment! But that is merely symptomatic of the deep-seated disease. There is no intention whatsoever on the part of the Indian Civil Service to give up power and all it means, nor for that matter is there any intention on the part of Mr. Baldwin or Sir Samuel Hoare to do otherwise. 4 However, as the instinct for self-preservation is ingrained in human nature, man will escape this fate by taking recourse to varnadharma. Everyone will live practising the profession to which he is born, without regarding any profession as high or low. In that case it would matter little if people were to be known not as Brahmins or Kshatriyas but by some other names. Instead of four, there may be only two varnas, or, even more than four. One thing is obvious that by observing the great law of varna, we guard ourselves against conflicts arising out of capitalism communism, etc, In such a structure, there would not be, on the one hand, excessive greed, concentration of wealth or arrogance and, on the other helplessness, destitution or poverty. All would live in harmony and no one would regard anyone else as high or low. 5

The rich can help the poor by using their riches not for selfish pleasure, but so as to subserve the interests of the poor If they do so there will not be that unbridgeable gulf that today exists between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. Class divisions there will be, but they will then be horizontal, not vertical. Let us not be obsessed with catchwords and seductive slogans imported from the West. Have we not our own distinct Eastern traditions? Are we not capable of finding our own solution to the question of capital and labour? What is the system of varnashrama but a means of harmonizing the difference between high and low, as well as between capital and labour? All that comes from the West on this subject is tarred with the brush of violence. I object to it because I have seen the wreckage that lies at the end of this road. The more thinking set even in the West today stand aghast at the abyss for which their system is heading. And I owe whatever influence I have in the West to my ceaseless endeavour to find a solution which promises an escape from the vicious circle of violence of exploitation. I have been a sympathetic student of the Western social order and I have discovered that underlying the fever that fills the souls of the West there is a restless search for truth. I value that spirit. Let us study our Eastern institutions in that spirit of scientific inquiry and we shall evolve a truer socialism and a truer communism than the world has yet dreamed of. It is surely wrong to presume that Western socialism or communism is the last word on the question of mass poverty. 6

Class war is foreign to the essential genius of India which is capable of evolving a form of communism broad based on the fundamental rights of all and equal justice to all. The Ramarajya of my dream ensures the rights alike of prince and pauper. Socialism and communism of the West are based on certain conceptions which are fundamentally different from ours. One such conception is their belief in the essential selfishness of human nature. I do not subscribe to it, for I know that the essential difference between man and brute is that the former can respond to the call of spirit in him and can rise superior to the passions that he owns in common with the brute and therefore superior to selfishness and violence which belong to brute nature and not to the immortal spirit of man. That is the fundamental conception of Hinduism, which has years of penance and austerity at the back of the discovery of their truth. That is why whilst we had had saints who have burnt out their bodies and laid down their lives in order to explore the secrets of the soul, we have none as in the West who have laid down their lives in exploring the remotest or highest regions of earth. Our socialism or communism should therefore be based on non-violence and on the harmonious co-operation of labour and capital and the landlord and the tenant. 7

I have read enough about communism to satisfy me. What we shall need in swaraj I can tell only when I see the swaraj. Any opposition from me that you may notice will be concerning the question of truth-untruth and violence-non-violence. 8 Communism of the Russian type, that is communism which is imposed on a people, would be repugnant to India. I believe in non-violent communism. If communism came without any violence, it would be welcome. For then no property would be held by anybody except on behalf of the people and for the people. The millionaire may have his millions, but he will hold them for the people. The State could take charge of them whenever they would need them for the common cause. 9

As I have contended, socialism, even communism, is explicit in the first verse of Ishopanishad. What is true is that when some reformers lost faith in the method of conversion, the technique of what is known as scientific socialism was born. I am engaged in solving the same problem that faces scientific socialists. It is true, however, that my approach is always and only through unadulterated non-violence. It may fail. If it does, it will be because of my ignorance of the technique of non-violence. I may be a bad exponent of the doctrine in which my faith is daily increasing. The A.I.S.A. and the A.I.V.I.A. are organizations through which the technique of non-violence is being tested on an all-India scale. They are special autonomous bodies created by the Congress for the purpose of enabling me to conduct my experiments without being fettered by the vicissitudes of policy to which a wholly democratic body like the Congress is always liable. Trusteeship, as I conceive it, has yet to prove its worth. It is an attempt to secure the best use of property for the people by competent hands. 10

He would not have been worse off if he had done so. What I mean is, one born a scavenger must earn his livelihood by being a scavenger, and then do whatever else he likes For a scavenger is as worthy of his hire as a lawyer or your President. That, according to me, is Hinduism. There is no better communism on earth, and I have illustrated it with one verse from the Upanishads which means: God pervades all animate and inanimate. Therefore renounce all and dedicate it to God and then live. The right of living is thus derived from renunciation. It does not say, ‘When all do their part of the work I too will do it’. It says, ‘Don’t bother about others, do your job first and leave the rest to Him’. Varnadharma acts even as the law of gravitation. I cannot cancel it or its working by trying to jump higher and higher day by day till gravitation ceases to work. That effort will be vain. So is the effort to jump over one another. The law of Varna is the antithesis of competition which kills. 11

Has it? I do not see it. But if it does, and if it is not the Russian model, I do not mind it. For what does communism mean in the last analysis? It means a classless society—an ideal that is worth striving for. Only I part company with it when force is called to aid for achieving it. We are all born equal, but we have all these centuries resisted the will of God. The idea of inequality, of ‘high and low’ is an evil, but I do not believe in eradicating evil from the human breast at the point of the bayonet. The human breast does not lend itself to that means. 12 If you mean that you do not as a party believe in violence, then you should make that statement. All your literature that I have studied clearly says that there is no independence without resort to force. I know that there is a body of communists that is slowly veering round to non-violence. I would like you to make your position absolutely plain and above board. I have it from some of the literature that passes under the name of communist literature that secrecy, camouflage and the like are enjoined as necessary for the accomplishment of the communist end, especially as communism has to engage in an unequal battle against capitalism which has organized violence at its beck and call. I would, therefore, like you, if you can, to make it plain that you do not believe in these things I have mentioned. 13

I have not studied socialism. I have read no books on the subject; I have read one by Jayaprakash. I have also read one book given by Masani. Sampurnanandji has written a very good book. He sent it to me very lovingly and I read that too. This is all my study of socialism. They say countless books have been written on socialism and communism. I have read nothing at all about communism. I do not know how many of you have read books about it. 14 All communisms is not dangerous. I do not know that Shri K. C. George is a communist. I warn the Dewan against being prejudiced by the mere name. I know many friends who delight in calling themselves communists. They are as harmless as a dove. I call myself a communist in their company. The underlying belief of communism is good and as old as the hills. But I have strayed. 15 There is to be no stage after that. It will continue indefinitely and I will send in as many as I can. Sometimes I get a little worried about the mentality of our young men. I know they are impatient. They might do something stupid. Communism appeals to youth, unfortunately. 16

You must learn to distinguish between communism and communists. Besides, Marx stands for one thing, Lenin for another and Stalin for a third. The followers of the last are again divided into two groups. Gandhi is one thing, Gandhism is another and Gandhiites are a third thing. There are always, and will remain, such differences. Immature people may identify themselves with one or the other group. 17 So do the socialists. My communism is not very different from socialism. It is a harmonious blending of the two. Communism, as I have understood it, is a natural corollary of socialism. 18 This question can be answered in two ways: they can and cannot take part in politics. If they want to serve, they should not take part in politics. There is Congress rule in the country at present (it may be socialism or communism in future). Now, supposing it is necessary to sell spinning-wheels or khadi for the sake of propaganda in the villages, women can take part in such activities. But supposing the intentions of the Congress go wrong and instead of khadi it wants to sell liquor in the villages, the sevika would certainly not take part in such an activity. Rather, they would start a Satyagraha campaign against it if it became necessary. Women can take part in any activity which is in the interest of the country irrespective of the ‘ism’ of the ruling party. 19

In the end I would only say that under swarajya efforts should be made for providing everyone at least with a square meal, enough clothing to cover him and a house to live in. At present while some have utensils of gold and silver, others have not even post of clay— some have garments of silk and brocade whereas others have not even enough clothing to cover their nakedness. The constructive programme, as presented by me, is the only solution for the removal of such gross inequalities. Instead we are showing a leaning towards Russian communism which draws its strength from the pistol. That is the way of violence. Even there it has not proved successful as yet. If we adopt that method here the handful of capitalists that we have will become paupers, while a vast majority is already living in a state of poverty. Instead, if we propagate economic equality through nonviolent means as suggested by me, these capitalists will out of shame realize that they ought not to eat sweets and don brocades while their brethren were without food and clothing. This will naturally foster a feeling of fraternity and serve the larger interests of the nation. 20

Socialism is a term of the modern age but the concept of socialism is not a new discovery. Lord Krishna preaches the same doctrine in the Gita. One need have in one’s possession only what one requires. It means that all men are created by God and therefore entitled to an equal share of food, clothing and housing. If does not require huge organizations for the realization of this ideal. Any individual can set about to realize it. First of all in order to translate this ideal into our lives we should minimize our needs, keeping in mind the poorest of the poor in India. One should earn just enough to support oneself and one’s family. To have a bank balance would thus be incompatible with this ideal. And whatever is earned should be earned with the utmost honesty. Strict restraint has to be kept over small matters in our lives. Even if a single individual enforces this ideal in his life, he is bound to influence others. Wealthy people should act as trustees of their wealth. But if they are robbed of this wealth through violent means, it would not be in the interest of the country. This is known as communism. Moreover, by adopting violent means we would be depriving society of capable individuals. 21

Since the last two days socialists have been coming to me. I have been telling them the same things. I say that if they are keen on bringing about socialism in the country, they should forget their internal differences, do physical labour and develop character by thoroughly examining their private and public lives. Socialism will not come by occupying positions of power and by delivering speeches from the platform. They must carefully examine every moment of their lives from the time they get up in the morning to the time they retire to bed at night. They must have before them a clear and perfect goal. And if truth and non-violence are not observed scrupulously the socialism which they are trying to bring about would be just shattered and no trace would be left of their existence. The same thing applies to the Congress. If the Congressmen and the Socialists, beautiful both in name and implication, do not follow their principles in action, there will be a revolt in the country and communism will make inroads. I shall not live to see it. But expand your activities in such a way that the future generations do not curse you. 22

My communism will be full of dignity and courage. To cause harm clandestinely is unmanly and barbarous. It suggests cowardice. If we examine our history we shall find that when the Rajputs fought them fought bravely in the field and at sunset they stopped combat and men of both sides met each other as friends. What does the legend of the Mahabharata show? There may be differences of opinion about the truth of the actual events narrated in this epic created by our ancestors but the idea behind it and its moral are wonderful. Besides, socialism or communism is in our very blood. Our prayers, our Vedas and Shastras provide innumerable instances of it. What do we say in our morning prayers? 23

God has sent us here so that we should get rid of our sins, our meanness and narrow-mindedness. There is only one way of doing that and it is prayer. You can pray in any way you like. If you want you can call Him Allah or Rama or Shiva. It is all the same. I feel that if only the leaders would realize it we have a golden opportunity here. If we but make up our minds and come together and calmly, without casting aspersions on one another, consider things and set actively to work, we shall add lustre to truth and non-violence, the power with which we secured our freedom, and the whole world will begin to look up to India for advice. We have no need for any ‘isms’. Codes of conduct given in our scriptures are replaced by ‘isms’of modern times. That little book Gita teaches us that those who eat without doing any work are thieves, that those who eat while their neighbours starve eat sin and that we should look upon everyone with an equal eye. I do not believe that communism or socialism of Russia, America of England can teach us anything more than this. Our scriptures are full of religion and philosophy. We are heirs of those who wrote such great books. But without caring to see what we have, we run to others. It is not as if those others had achieved perfection. 24

The communists have got hold of something to keep themselves busy. Hardly one man in a thousand can be found who practises communism in everyday life. Communists have come to consider it their supreme duty, their supreme service, to create disaffection, to generate discontent and to organize strikes. They do not see whom this discontent, these strikes, will ultimately harm. Half knowledge is one of the worst evils. The best is either full knowledge or ignorance. We are thus caught in isms and take pride in them and consider it a fashion to belong to this or that ism. People seek knowledge and instruction from Russia. Our communists seem to be in this pitiable state. I call it a pitiable rather than shameful state, for I feel that they are to be pitied, rather than blamed. For, because of our slavery, they have had no opportunity to get full knowledge. And now when we have got our freedom everybody has got an opportunity to thrust himself forward to such an extent that a sixteen-year-old boy or girl can identify himself or herself with some ism and become a leader. These people have now been fanning the fire of disunity bequeathed to us by the British. Soon they will find that they cannot control the flames. What we have to do is to find out what will suit our ignorant masses and act accordingly. For instance we need food grain. If the youth of the country would only learn the techniques of farming and engaged themselves in producing more food they would have no time for quarrelling and the country would become prosperous. 25

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