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Gandhi’s ideal State was a non-violent state of

enlightened anarchy
In many ways Gandhi’s concept of ideal St at e exhibit ed anarchist out look. In his words: “The St at e
represent s violence in a concent rat ed and organised form. The individual has a soul, but as t he St at e
is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence t o which it owes it s very exist ence.”
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Enlightened anarchy:

Gandhi’s ideal St at e was a non-violent st at e of enlight ened anarchy where social life would remain
self-regulat ed. In t hat St at e t here is no ruler, no subject , no government or no governed. It is a
perfect St at e consist ing of enlight ened persons, self-regulat ed and self-cont rolled following t he
principles of non-violence.

Role of manual work:

The ideal St at e of Gandhi was t o be governed, by t he principle of manual work. Every individual
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should t ake up manual work for rendering his/her service t o t he St at e and wellbeing of his fellow
individuals inside t he St at e. This will promot e his service in t he direct ion of welfare of t he St at e.

Village as the unit of State:

The ideal St at e of Gandhi should consist of villages which are from unit s. Each village, a component
part of t he St at e, should be a village consist ing of non-violent Sat yagrahis. They would form t he
life-breat h of an ideal St at e and preserve and prot ect non-violence and t rut h in t heir ent iret y
t hroughout t he St at e.
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Decentralization of authority:
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In an ideal St at e, aut horit y should be decent ralized. Gandhi was against cent ralizatClose and
ion for acceptt o
it leads
absolut ism. In decent ralizing t he aut horit y, Gandhi gave scope t o individual libert y. The St at e should
guide t he individuals by appealing t o t heir moralit y. If St at e resort s t o violence, it will damage t he
ent husiasm, init iat ive, courage, creat iveness and non­violent mind of individuals and as such, t he St at e
cannot prosper.

Selflessness and Swadeshi:

An individual in Gandhian ideal St at e should be selfless. He should not accumulat e wealt h.

Accumulat ion of bread and cont rolling labour will bring povert y t o t he St at e. Thus, in t he villages,
means of product ion should be commonly won. This should generat e love among t he people of t he
localit y binding t hem in t he-common t ie of love. Swadeshi should be promot ed because t hat is t he
charact erist ic feat ure of Gandhian ideal St at e.

Spiritualized democracy:

Gandhi envisaged t hat t he principle of non-violence should be t he basis of St at e. Nat urally, a

democracy t hat will emerge out of it , will give vent t o t he majorit y of opinion. Here, neit her propert y
nor st at us or posit ion but manual work should be t he qualificat ion of village republic. It will be a
St at e devoid of corrupt ion and hypocrisy. In a simple st at ement , democracy will be spirit ualized.

State and people – means and ends relationship:

To Gandhiji, St at e is not an end it self; it is rat her a means t o t he end. It is meant t o do great est good
of great est number of t he people. Neit her force nor absolut e sovereignt y is t he basis of St at e.
Gandhi’s ideal of a welfare St at e is always ready t o promot e t he condit ion of it s subject s.
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Critic of western democracy:
 Gandhiji vehement ly opposed t he parliament ary democracy of west ern t ype. He crit icized t he
universal suffrage syst em of t he elect ion held in west ern count ries. The Parliament is not st able t o
t he change of minist ry from t ime t o t ime. Furt her, t he Prime Minist er is always concerned about his
own int erest and t he int erest of his part y members for ret aining his power. So, Gandhi crit icized it
and as such, west ern democracy has no place in Gandhi’s welfare St at e.

Verna system:

Following t he doct rine of Git a, Mahat ma Gandhi t old t hat t he Varna syst em should form t he basis of
t he ideal St at e. As Varna is relat ed t o birt h, every Varna should render it s labour t o t he bet t erment
of t he St at e. That will result in non-possession and economic equalit y. This will bring complet e
social and economic equalit y.

Impor tance of dharma:

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Dharma is a novel aspect of Gandhi’s ideal st at e. It is not a religion of a part icular sect or creed;
rat her it is moral and et hical code of conduct which preserves t he cult ure of t he nat ion. Furt her, it
holds t oget her t he social order and brings harmony among t he people uplift ing t heir pot ent ialit ies.

Role of police:

Gandhiji prescribed for a minimum int ervent ion of police force in t he act ivit ies of t he St at e. To him,
crime is a disease and it must be cured. Accordingly, appeal t o t he conscience of t he criminals will
change t heir mind but not t he police at rocit y. Out and out , t he St at e should be governed by t he
principle of Ahimsa where virt ually, t here is no place > of coherence.
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Emphasis on duty and resor ting to natural means:

Gandhiji put emphasis on dut y rat her t han right s. If one becomes caut ious for his dut ies, t hen right s
will aut omat ically be t aken due care by t he St at e. Right s are not hing but opport unit ies for self-
realisat ion. It is t he link of one’s spirit ual unit y wit h ot hers by serving t hem. The role of doct ors and
machines was t o be ignored and t radit ional met hod it t o be adopt ed for curing t he diseases.

Basic education:

Gandhiji laid emphasis on basic educat ion. By t hat he want ed t o spread vocat ional educat ion in t he
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nook andout
T o find corner of t he count
more, including how to ry. Gandhi
control hadsee
cookies, realized t hatPolicy
here: Cookie t his will improve small-scale indust ry, which
in t urn, will bring a self-sufficient economy for every count ry.
 Thus, Gandhi’s concept of ideal St at e was based on non-violence and t rut h. Spirit ualized democracy,
emphasis on dut ies, considering St at e as a means t o an id et c. were some of t he fact ors which
made Gandhi’s ideal St at e dist inct .

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The ideally non-violent state will be an ordered anarchy. —M. K. Gandhi

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