Difference between revisions of "Concepts:Swaraj"

Revision as of 02:13, 15 December 2025

Swaraj is a concept from South Asia, most notably articulated by Mahatma Gandhi, that literally means “self-rule” (swa = self, raj = rule).

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Concepts
-|concepts:ethimology=Swaraj is a concept from South Asia, most notably articulated by Mahatma Gandhi, that literally means “self-rule” (swa = self, raj = rule). While it has been used in nationalist movements to signify political independence from colonial rule, Gandhi and later thinkers gave it a deeper ethical, social, and ecological meaning: not merely the transfer of power to a state, but the capacity of individuals and communities to govern themselves in harmony with each other and with nature. Swaraj emphasizes autonomy, decentralization, and self-reliance, where villages and local communities become the foundation of democratic life through direct participation, mutual aid, and subsistence-based economies. In this broader sense, Swaraj is both a philosophy of freedom and responsibility, and a practice of reclaiming dignity, justice, and sustainability outside the logics of domination and exploitation.
+|concepts:ethimology=Swaraj is a concept from South Asia, most notably articulated by Mahatma Gandhi, that literally means “self-rule” (swa = self, raj = rule).
 |concepts:type=commonterms, alternativeworldviews, praxes
 |concepts:categories=Decentralization, Decolonization, Self Governance, Solidarity, Struggle