“THE life of Gandhiji, right from childhood to old age, was full of struggle. But he never deviated from morality and ethics. Hind Swaraj is the essence of that ethical life,” said RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale. He was participating in a panel discussion organised by Centre for Policy Studies on Hind Swaraj in New Delhi on May 4.
The Centre for Policy Studies has published three editions of Hind Swaraj. It includes original Gujarati version transcribed directly from the facsimile of Gandhiji’s handwritten manuscript; a rendering of Gujarati version in Devanagari script along with a verbatim Hindi translation printed in parallel, and Gandhiji’s translation of Hind Swaraj published from the International Press Phoenix in 2010 with supplementary material comprising a comparison of the original with later editions and some explanatory notes. All these three editions have been published in a single volume.
Shri Dattatreya Hosabale further said those who question the relevance of Hind Swaraj today must read it first. “If they go through it, they will definitely find its relevance in every chapter. It is basically the essence of Gandhiji’s personal life,” he said. Underlining the love of Gandhiji for swabhasha, swadharma, swadeshi and swadesh, he said “Gandhiji wrote the original Hind Swaraj in Gujarati because he loved his mother tongue,” he added.
Former Governor Shri TN Chaturvedi said the presentation of original Gujarati version of Hind Swaraj makes the volume unique. Describing Hind Swaraj a siddha grantha Shri Pyaremohan Tripathi said the original content has been intact in the volume. “If we have to live a peaceful life we have no other option but to return to the Hind Swaraj,” he said. BJP MP Shri Tarun Vijay said anything that can introduce India is the Hind Swaraj. Shri Anupam Mishra and Shri Banwarilal also spoke on the occasion.
Presiding over the function, Smt Radha Mohan Bhatt, chairperson of Gandhi Peace Foundation, expressed concern that the swaraj that Gandhiji had dreamed is not seen anywhere in India today. Rather we are going against that thinking. “If we are honest, we must introspect and see where are we going today,” she asked. “Today we see so many problems in the form of global warming, pollution, poor condition of rivers. But Gandhiji had warned in 1909 itself that the western culture would ruin the entire world. It is proving true now. Better late, we should return to Hind Swaraj now itself,” she added.
In the beginning, introducing the volume Dr JK Bajaj, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said the prime objective of publishing the editions is to make the original Gujarati and English versions of Hind Swaraj available in an unaltered form and to help the Hindi readers access and appreciate the original Gujarati which has an intensity and flow that is impossible to preserve in any translation. Another objective is to underline the sanctity and importance of Hind Swaraj as a foundational text of modern India. (FOC)
