Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of India's nonviolent independence movement (1869 to 1948); lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist; author of Hind Swaraj.
Mahatma Gandhi did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
The line under a date shows how recently it was said: empty within a month, full after three years.
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Our reading
Railways and hospitals are not a test of high civilization and are at best a necessary evil
Their wordsNeither railways nor hospitals are a test of a high and pure civilization. At best they are a necessary evil.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 2nd of 10 in this piece
- 20 months earlier
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Their wordsSatyagrah—the law of love is the Law of life. Departure from it leads to disintegration. A firm adherence to it leads to regeneration.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 1st of 10 in this piece
- 10 years earlier
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Our reading
Self-rule that copies English institutions without the English would only make India English
Their wordsYou want the tiger's nature, but not the tiger; that is to say, you would make India English, and when it becomes English, it will be called not Hindustan but Englistan. This is not the Swaraj that I want.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 3rd of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsIt is my deliberate opinion that India is being ground down not under the English heel but under that of modern civilization.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 4th of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsIndia cannot cease to be one nation because people belonging to different religions live in it. The introduction of foreigners does not necessarily destroy the nation, they merge in it.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 5th of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsCivilization is that mode of conduct which points out to man the path of duty. Performance of duty and observance of morality are convertible terms.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 6th of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsIt is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. It is therefore in the palm of our hands.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 7th of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsThe means may be likened to a seed, the end to a tree; and there is just the same inviolable connection between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the tree.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 8th of 10 in this piece
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Our reading
Passive resistance secures rights through personal suffering and is the opposite of armed resistance
Their wordsPassive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 9th of 10 in this piece
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Their wordsMachinery is the chief symbol of modern civilization; it represents a great sin.
↗Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj) (tr. M. K. Gandhi, 1910; 5th ed. 1922)gutenberg.org 10th of 10 in this piece
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