Gandhian Conception of Swaraj and its Post-Independence Re/Interpretations by Jayaprakash Narayan and Rammanohar Lohia

Swaraj has a prominent place in modern India's socio-political imagination. Its multiple interpretations by the leaders and organisations, often on the opposite spectrum of political ideologies, have shaped the nation's socio-cultural, political, and economic thinking and intellectual life. This paper examines the Gandhian conception of swaraj by comparing it with other equally important concepts in Gandhian lexicons of politics, such as truth, nonviolence, satyagraha, and sarvodaya. It underlines the significance of the socio-economic conception of swaraj, which Gandhi expressed through constructive programmes. The second part of this paper examines its re/interpretations by the two prominent socialist leaders - Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-1979), popularly known as JP, and Rammanohar Lohia (1910-1967). They were founding members of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), formed in 1934. Although inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's (1869-1948) leadership and programme, JP and Lohia were, at one point, ideologically opposed to Gandhian ideals and methods. However, in their distinct ways, both re/interpreted the Gandhian conception of swaraj in postindependence India for the 'reconstruction' of its polity and society

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