History is full of binary oppositions. Professor Chateurvedi is teaching us about the differences between Mohandas Gandhi and Vinayak Sarvarkar. Gandhi is all about using nonviolence to maintain the British Empire and working with them to make India a better place. On the other hand, Sarvarkar wants the British Empire out of India and completely destroyed so India can rule herself, doing whatever is necessary to get there, even violent acts. This type of binary opposition is seen many times throughout history and very prominently in the United States’ Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
King advocated for equal rights for African-Americans through pacificity and nonviolence, similarly to Gandhi. They both believed that through love and resistance without violence society would change and the oppressors of their peoples would rule themselves and have equality. Although the pairs of King and X and Gandhi and Sarvarkar fight for the same outcome, their philosophies are different and the way they plan on achieving the goals and the lengths they are willing to go to vary extremely.
Gandhi and Sarvarkar both used the word “swaraj” to convey the messages they wanted to get out into the world about Indian home-rule and self-government,. Although they had this similarity, they disagreed on the meaning of the word. Gandhi, for example, used the word coupled with “swadeshi” to instill the idea of self-sufficiency and reclaiming India as their own home by emancipation. Sarvarkar used the word “swadharma” alongside “swaraj” to show the love and protection of religion and for the two ideas to work together to start a revolution.
"Ligaya" of Life 