Swaraj

Swarāj (IAST: svarāja, lit.'self-rule') can mean, generally self-governance or self-rule. The earliest use of the term is attributed to Shivaji in the context of Hindavi Swarajya and the phrase lies at the heart of his legacy. However, scholars are divided on the authenticity of the specific document recording Shivaji's use of the phrase. Regardless of such controversies, the document was widely used to construct a cohesive narrative of Maharashtrian and Indian nationalism, framing Shivaji not just as a Maharashtrian hero, but as a visionary builder of a sovereign nation state.

Swarajya was used, in its modern political sense, as early as 1852. A mention of that term appears in the Anglo-Marathi journal or the periodical Dnyanodaya (The Dnyanodaya, Bombay, 1852, vol. xi, pp. 154–155). Swaraj was also used synonymously with home rule. Mahatma Gandhi's 1909 book Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, which describes Gandhi's views about Indian independence, uses swaraj as an Indian equivalent for the Irish/British concept of home rule. However Gandhi reinterprets that term in his book. His Swaraj lays stress on governance, not by a hierarchical government, but by self-governance through individuals and community building. The focus is on political decentralisation. Since this is against the political and social systems followed by Britain, Gandhi's concept of Swaraj advocated India's discarding British political, economic, bureaucratic, legal, military, and educational institutions. S. Satyamurti, Chittaranjan Das and Motilal Nehru were among a contrasting group of Swarajists who laid the foundation for parliamentary democracy in India.

Although Gandhi's aim of totally implementing the concepts of Swaraj in India was not achieved, the voluntary work organisations which he founded for this purpose did serve as precursors and role models for people's movements, voluntary organisations, and some of the non-governmental organisations that were subsequently launched in various parts of India. The student movement against oppressive local and central governments, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Udit Swaraj and the Bhoodan movement, which presaged demands for land reform legislation throughout India, and which ultimately led to India's discarding of the Zamindari system of land tenure and social organisation, were also inspired by the ideas of Swaraj.