Abstract

Like Samiksha Goyal, many have asked—was Gandhi a Philosopher, deeply committed to moral principles, or a mass leader who was political strategist par excellence? In my response, I argue that scholars have created a false dichotomy between Gandhi the philosopher and Gandhi the pragmatic politician because usually these two are considered as different as chalk and cheese. Politicians are not expected to be moral and spiritual persons are not expected to be pragmatic. But, this article explains that it is wrong to even think in terms of such a dichotomy because Gandhi evolved as a unique combination of a philosopher who had a highly moral and spiritual position that was necessarily political, and a shrewd pragmatic politician who had a political position that was necessarily moral and spiritual. Hence, the mixture was the essence.