Gandhi: Struggling for Autonomy

This introduction to Gandhi’s political thought goes beyond his well-known writings to present a much broader portrait of this extraordinary man. Using the principle of individual autonomy -rather than civil disobedience, Indian independence, or duty - as an analytical lens, Ronald J. Terchek offers a completely original interpretation of his subject’s political thought. Terchek argues that Gandhi’s thought is animated by a concern for the equal respect and regard for all persons, and he describes how Gandhi’s writings illuminate several critical discourses in political theory, debates that overlap with many Western writers to whom Gandhi is seldom compared. Throughout the book, Terchek demonstrates that the teachings and work of Gandhi continue to be relevant today, and that he should be viewed as a significant political thinker not only within the Hindu tradition but in the broader context of 20th-century political thought.