Gandhi on Rights and Duties: An Intertwined Philosophy

Mahatma Gandhi approached the relationship between rights and duties in a way that set him apart from Western political thinkers. While most liberal philosophers argued that rights exist independently and must be claimed, Gandhi believed that rights are earned through the faithful performance of duties. This perspective drew heavily from Indian philosophical traditions while engaging with modern concepts of equality and freedom.

Rights as a result of duty well performed 🔗

Gandhi’s distinctive position was that rights and duties cannot be separated-they are two sides of the same coin. In a letter to Julian Huxley in 1947, Gandhi wrote that the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world, and from this fundamental statement, every right can be correlated to some corresponding duty that must be performed first.

This was not mere philosophical speculation for Gandhi. He applied this principle throughout his political activism. Whether fighting for the rights of Indians in South Africa, opposing the Rowlatt Act, or campaigning against untouchability, Gandhi always emphasized that those seeking rights must first demonstrate their commitment to corresponding responsibilities.

The concept of corresponding rights 🔗

Gandhi developed what he called the concept of corresponding duties and rights. When British writer H.G. Wells sought Gandhi’s support for a proposed bill of rights during World War II, Gandhi suggested instead a cosmopolitan charter of duties-a statement of what citizens of the world owe to each other. He argued that beginning with duties would naturally lead to rights, just as spring follows winter.

In his 1909 work Hind Swaraj, Gandhi noted that real rights are a result of the performance of duty. He criticized the English who had obtained voting power through violence, arguing that they had not acquired the fitness that should correspond to such rights, making those rights a burden rather than a blessing.

Practical applications 🔗

Gandhi applied this framework to everyday situations. In a 1921 speech to striking laborers in Madras, he acknowledged their right to fair wages, fresh water, education for their children, and leisure time. However, he immediately added that they had corresponding duties: rendering diligent and faithful service to employers and caring for employers’ property as if it were their own.

This balance between asserting rights and fulfilling duties was central to Gandhi’s approach to social justice. He believed that rights exist within duties in an embryonic sense-that when we fulfil our obligations, we automatically receive our rights.

Duty as dispassionate action 🔗

Gandhi’s understanding of duty was deeply influenced by the Bhagavad Gita’s concept of nishkama karma-selfless or desireless action. This principle holds that one should perform duties without attachment to results, focusing on the action itself rather than its outcomes.

The Gita’s teaching on non-attachment 🔗

The Bhagavad Gita states that you have the right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Gandhi called this principle of anasakti (non-attachment) the principal message of the Gita. He memorized verses expressing this teaching and considered the Gita his spiritual dictionary.

Gandhi referred to the Gita’s philosophy as the Gospel of Selfless Action. He believed that self-realization could be achieved through desireless action, by renouncing the fruits of action and dedicating all activities to a higher purpose.

Freedom from anxiety 🔗

For Gandhi, performing duty with detachment offered a profound form of freedom. When action is performed with a degree of detachment, one is not bound by anxiety about future consequences. This non-attachment does not mean indifference but rather doing one’s duty without selfish motives or fear of consequences.

Gandhi himself demonstrated this principle through his willingness to launch movements without knowing their outcomes. He believed that if the means were pure, faith would guide the action to its proper end. This approach freed him from the paralyzing fear that often prevents people from taking moral action.

Liberal individualism with a Gandhian twist 🔗

Gandhi did not reject Western liberal ideas entirely. He accepted the core principles of human equality and the moral worth of every person-ideas central to rights-based individualism. However, he fused these principles with responsibilities, creating a distinctive approach to human dignity.

Rejecting ascriptive hierarchies 🔗

Gandhi strongly opposed the idea that moral worth depends on birth circumstances like caste, gender, or economic status. He saw the caste system as a gross violation of the principle of equality because it denied individuals their basic dignity based on birth. He campaigned tirelessly for the rights of Dalits, whom he called Harijans (children of God), advocating for their inclusion in all aspects of society.

This rejection of ascriptive properties placed Gandhi squarely within the modern liberal tradition that emphasizes universal human dignity. Every person, regardless of background, possessed inherent worth and was capable of moral agency.

Rights fused with responsibility 🔗

Where Gandhi departed from Western liberalism was in his insistence that rights come packaged with responsibilities. While Western rights discourse often begins with individual entitlements, Gandhi’s framework started with duties and the ethical responsibility each person bears toward others.

Gandhi warned that rights claimed without acknowledging corresponding duties created an unbalanced and ultimately unsustainable social order. He believed that the exclusive focus on individual entitlements could foster selfishness and social fragmentation rather than harmony and mutual care.

Individuals as interdependent members of community 🔗

Unlike many autonomy theorists who focus primarily on individual freedom from interference, Gandhi emphasized how persons are treated and how institutions affect individual choices. He saw individuals not as isolated atoms but as interdependent members of a community.

The ideal of interdependence 🔗

Gandhi stated that interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. He recognized that human beings are fundamentally social creatures who cannot achieve completeness in isolation. True fulfillment comes through mutual respect, cooperation, and service to others.

Gandhi believed that human beings find fulfillment through service to others rather than accumulation of personal wealth or status. This community-centric approach would replace atomized individualism with networks of mutual support and shared responsibility.

Institutions and moral development 🔗

Gandhi paid careful attention to how institutions shape moral character. He emphasized a society where individuals believed more in learning about their duties and responsibilities rather than demanding rights and privileges. For Gandhi, democracy was not just a system of government but a way of promoting both individuality and the self-discipline of the community.

His concept of Sarvodaya-universal uplift or progress of all-reflected this vision. True development meant the physical, moral, and spiritual growth of every member of society, not just aggregate economic progress. This required institutions that fostered cooperation rather than competition and that treated the welfare of the weakest as the measure of success.

Self-realization through service 🔗

Gandhi emphasized the importance of seva (selfless service) as the means through which individuals could contribute to the well-being of society. Through serving others, especially the marginalized, one could transcend selfish desires and cultivate a sense of unity and interdependence.

This was not sacrifice for its own sake but a path to self-realization. Gandhi believed that by reducing the ego and serving the common good, individuals could achieve both personal fulfillment and contribute to building a just society where all are treated with dignity.

What do you think? Can a society truly flourish if its members focus primarily on claiming rights rather than fulfilling duties? How might Gandhi’s framework of corresponding rights and duties address contemporary challenges like economic inequality or environmental degradation?

References

1. https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/gondutiesrights.php
2. https://www.gandhiashramsevagram.org/gandhi-articles/gandhi-on-freedom-rights-and-responsibility.php
3. https://politicsforindia.com/gandhi-political-thoughts-psir/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nishkam_Karma
5. https://americanvedantist.org/2014/articles/mahatma-gandhi-and-the-bhagavad-gita/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita
7. https://polsci.institute/political-theory/gandhi-duties-rights-dharma-swaraj/
8. https://philosophy.institute/indian-philosophy/gandhis-vision-non-violent-society-state/
9. https://thelaw.institute/human-rights-in-india/gandhis-vision-rights-duties-modern-human-rights/
10. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/494991-interdependence-is-and-ought-to-be-as-much-the-ideal
11. https://philosophy.institute/gandhian-philosophy/gandhis-hind-swaraj-indian-self-rule/
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practices_and_beliefs_of_Mahatma_Gandhi
13. https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper4/gandhian-ideologies