Vinay Lal - Moral & Political Thought of Gandhi, Lecture 9 of 19, April 26, 2016

University of California, Los Angeles. We resume our discussion of Gandhi's fundamental treatise, Hind Swaraj. Why did Gandhi take up the dialogue form? What did Gandhi mean by Hind Swaraj? What is his critique of railways? What does Indian Home Rule mean? Rule over one's nation and rule over one's self? What is the nature of freedom for Gandhi? What is Gandhi's relationship to Western «authorities»? Is it only India that has to be liberated or is it the British too who have to be liberated?  What is the nature of «modernity» and what is Gandhi's critique of it? Towards the end of the lecture, we review the political situation in 1919-20.  What did Gandhi mean by non-cooperation?  To understand that, we have to understand in part the nature of oppression? Vinay Lal is an Indian historian. He is a professor of history and Asian American studies at UCLA. He writes widely on the history and culture of colonial and modern India, popular and public culture in India, cinema, historiography, the politics of world history, the Indian diaspora, global politics, contemporary American politics, the life and thought of Mohandas Gandhi, Hinduism, and the politics of knowledge systems.