Gandhi-An Anti/Postcolonial Thinker

Abstract

M.K. Gandhi was an activist with a difference, playing by subverting and destabilising the imperial norms and ideology on which the foundation of British colonialism was based. He resisted the British Empire, invoking and reviving Indian culture, its religion and philosophy. His political strategy included resistance through gender, dress, language, and not the least through use of modern technology, especially the printing press which he was so much against when he wrote his seminal work Hind Swaraj in 1909. By following the principle of androgyny and femininity which is congruent with Indian culture, he challenged the masculinity of the West. He proved that femininity or shakti was the weapon, not of the weak, but of the strong minded people. Gandhi resisted the British rule by his scanty clothing. By doing this he could rej ect the Western modernisation as well as connect with the Indians, in particular with the peasants. Influenced by Irish nationalism, he too stressed on cultural revival and the use of one's own language. He advocated the use of indigenous languages. Gandhi was the one who made great use of media for his political campaigns, what made the difference was that he used it as a forum for non-violent tactics of resistance.