Analysis on “M.K. Gandhi From Hind Swaraj” and C.L.R. James “Beyond a Boundary”

M.K. Gandhi’s “Hind Swaraj” discusses about the conflict of whether the colonizers or the concept of development within the empirical mindset is the true enemy of the people as well as how to achieve freedom. C.L.R. James “Beyond a Boundary” discusses about how the author decides to question and challenge the norms and ideas that are instilled in them by their colonizer’s. Reading these two narratives made me question whether it's the man or the mentality that deems individuals as evil. Yet, both people have displayed forms of everyday resistance through their own ideas and perspectives. M.K. Gandhi displays forms of resistance by reevaluating his thought and perception of the colonizers, acknowledges the colonizer’s misdeeds as trials to overcome rather than challenges that burden, and feeling sorry for his oppressors for straining himself while attempting to restrain others. A quote that struck me was when he stated, “We cannot condemn mill-owners; we can but pity them” (Gandhi 203).  I had to read Hind Swaraj a few times with different approaches and lens of the narrative in order to understand the scope of the situation. The first time I read the article, I thought Gandhi’s advice sounded foolish due to the fact that if oppressors don’t care or acknowledge their actions nor the concern of others, they will continue to oppress and restrain the people of the land by ignoring and rewriting their narrative. The second time I read the article, I had the idea that if the British didn’t colonize India, who is to say that no other major empire would come to colonize India or if India would become an empire and colonize other nations. This made me think that the idea of conquest and colonization is a mentality that extends beyond Europe and is instilled upon humans who strive to progress and develop in their societies through the use of technology. Although Gandhi states that machines are considered bad, I find technology as a tool of both harm and a necessity for the survival and advancement of society. Yet, what is important is to recognize and understand the way that technology is used within our society. In terms of labor, the idea of first world “convenience” comes at the price and sacrifice of labor workers who risk their lives to produce the clothes we wear, the gadgets we use, and the water and electricity we exploit without acknowledging or understanding the origins of its sources. Even at Davis, as I look at the phones that people use, the jeans that they wear , or the car that they use, I wonder if they acknowledge what it took for them to own and utilize these luxuries. It also advocates the notion that even as some people disdain an institution that oppresses them, they also benefit and privilege from a system that oppresses others in order to survive and conform to society. C.L.R. James’s expresses a similar form of resistance by evaluating and questioning the actions and disciplines that the institution has placed on him. A situation that struck me was when Dewhurst was chosen over George John due to alcoholism and laziness. This reminded me that even when the British colonizes and rules Trinidad, the British and its institution still look down on people who aren’t of European descent and continue to ingrain stereotypes on people based on the color of their skin rather than the morality of their character or the value of their skill.