Marx and Gandhi C.1

Nearly all the leading Indian political thinkers and politicians of the twentieth century have been subjected to dual influences of Marx and Gan dhi. While Marx's 'Scientific Social ism' had its obvious attraction for those who wanted to bring about a 'revolutionary transformation' of human society, they found that in the Indian conditions, Gandhi's 'experi ments with truth' were far from 'un scientific' or 'outmoded'. These con flicting influences explain to a large extent the schizophrenia of Indian politics.

In this short analysis, the author, himself leading political figure, a brings together with telling effect the views of these two great thinkers under the following heads: Thrust of Human History, Basic Economic Con cepts, Methodology of Change, Pro phecy and Reality, Power to the Grass-roots, Peasant Barrier or Architect?, Divergence in Perspec tives and Relevance to Our Times.

As the author points out, a close scrutiny of all these questions would inevitably lead to the imperative need of exploring a system which will com bine the early liberating influence of Marx with the humane and demo cratic methodology and institutions urged by Gandhi with his emphasis on the initiative of man and flowering of human personality.