Hind Swaraj

Mohandas K. Gandhi—also known as Mahatma Gandhi (“Great Soul Gandhi”) to India and the world and, affectionately, Gandhiji to his close followers—appears in the book as the Editor, patiently instructing his intelligent but often misguided Reader on the best strategy for attaining Indian independence. Hind Swaraj is Gandhi’s written testament to his beliefs, strategies, and faith in India’s ultimate political liberation from Britain. From 1909, the year of the book’s first publication, until his death in 1948, Gandhi works tirelessly for Indian freedom, applying the philosophy and techniques of nonviolent passive resistance, or Satyagraha, a strategy that bears fruit in 1947, when India becomes a sovereign nation. 

Co-founder of the Indian National Congress and widely considered the “Grand Old Man of India,” Naoroji plants the seeds of Indian nationalism and its striving for independence. A member of the ancient Parsi faith who rises to Member of Parliament in Britain, he advocates cooperation between the British and India and is therefore sometimes criticized for allegedly fostering appeasement with the colonial rulers. 

Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905, is chiefly remembered for his Partition of Bengal, which separates eastern India into two regions—one mainly Muslim, the other mostly Hindi. Curzon is arrogant toward Indian protest delegations; boycotts and riots break out; ultimately the partition is rescinded. The incident forms a seed of the Indian independence movement. 

These are two revolutionaries in the Italian campaign for liberation from the Austrian Empire. Mazzini, the theoretician, preaches nationalism and republicanism, while Garibaldi, the warrior, skillfully rouses the people to rebellion. Gandhi believes they have merely replaced one European tyranny, Austria, for another, the Italian king.