Gandhi and the heritage of enlightenment: non-violence,secularism and conflict resolution

This essay re-examines the democratic Enlightenment as a multi-dimensional, heterogeneous, non-Eurocentric and living heritage. Gandhi's political contribution to the Enlightenment heritage is assessed in terms of values, epistemology and practice. Practically, this concerns the French Revolutionary heritage as a paradigm of political action, and Gandhian innovations in terms of mass movements based on the philosophy and practice of non-violence. The essay contends that Gandhi, far from merely an heir to the Enlightenment tradition, also radically challenged, expanded and transformed it. This transformation belongs to a broader re-evaluation of Enlightenment in terms of growth over final ends, held in common with thinkers such as John Dewey. The article critiques predominant arguments that Gandhi was an ‘anti-modern’, whether in a heroic ‘post-modern’ posture or as an enemy of ‘scientific modernity’. It argues for a more sociologically nuanced and historically grounded view of Gandhi in the historical comparative perspective of modern independence struggles, civil society formation and nation-making.