Constructive programs of Mahatma Gandhi was not just against Britishers but also social and moral injustices. To achieve Swaraj, in 1941, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a book “Constructive Program” and through this book, he suggested different topics which were supposed to make the masses more independent and provide them with a better lifestyle.
The topics include: Communal Unity, Popularization of Khadi and Village Industries, Rural Sanitation and Education in Health and Hygiene, Emancipation of Women and Role of Adult education, Improving the plight of Kisaan and Laborers, Mass Student Participation, Harijan Sevak Sangh and Prohibition of Alcohol and Opium.
Constructive programmes of Mahatma Gandhi
1. Communal Unity: Gandhi vouched for “Unbreakable heart unity”. He asked congressmen to cultivate personal friendships with people from different religious faiths and respect every community like his own.
2. Popularization of Khadi and Village Industries: The use of Khadi was not only to produce indigenous textile but also to promote the idea of the Swadeshi mentality. It averted the exploitation of thousands of textile workers by providing cheap and self-contained alternatives. Gandhi also made, Khadi a national symbol. A symbol for indigenous identity.
3. Rural Sanitation and Education in Health and Hygiene: The message of sanitation was not only for the environment but for the mind too, in the sense of purifying one’s mind from evil thoughts and enabling an individual to practice nonviolence.
4. Emancipation of Women and Role of Adult education: Gandhi’s idea of Satyagraha emancipated women all over the nation. There was huge participation of women in civil disobedience and the Non-Cooperation Movement.
5. Improving the plight of Kisaan and Laborers: India was an agrarian society and to make political independence more impactful, Gandhi believed if Farmers were made politically aware, it would result in a prominent nonviolent movement against Britishers.
6. Mass Student Participation: Students organized huge processions against the government. They also boycotted foreign goods and clothes. They led a powerful agitation against the Cunningham circular which asked students and their parents to submit undertaking of good behavior.
7. Harijan Sevak Sangh: Mahatma Gandhi’s grave concern was the practice of untouchability in Hinduism. For the abolition of untouchability, he urged individuals to approach orthodox Hindus with “friendliness”. To attain Swaraj, Harijans were to be befriended and included in the civil disobedience and noncooperation movement.
8. Prohibition of Alcohol and Opium: Women and students were requested to morally pursue addicts to give up the bad habits. Call for a prohibition of alcohol brought the addicts back to society, strengthened the freedom struggle, and bound families together.
Conclusion:
Through the constructive programs, Gandhi laid the groundwork for Swaraj and reached even the isolated rural communities. It played a pivotal role in the nonviolent campaign for India’s independence and helped the Satyagraha movements to achieve their goals.
