Contemporary democracies are increasingly confronted with a complex constellation of interconnected challenges, including crises of political legitimacy, deepening ideological polarization, declining public trust in democratic institutions, growing socioeconomic inequalities, majoritarian tendencies, political violence, ecological insecurity and the erosion of meaningful citizen participation. These developments have generated renewed scholarly interest in normative approaches capable of reconciling political power with ethical responsibility, democratic participation with social justice, and individual freedom with collective welfare. Against this backdrop, the political philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi acquires significance not merely as a historical legacy of India’s anti- colonial struggle, but as a distinctive normative framework for critically rethinking the nature of democracy, the exercise of political power, the legitimacy of resistance and the ethical foundations of public life. The proposed study would examine Swaraj, Satya, Ahimsa, Satyagraha, Sarvodaya, decentralization, trusteeship and ethical politics as interconnected and mutually reinforcing dimensions of Gandhian political thought.

Rather than interpreting these concepts as isolated moral principles or historically specific instruments of the Indian freedom movement, the study would conceptualize them as elements of an integrated political-ethical philosophy concerned with human dignity, participatory self-government, responsible citizenship, distributive justice, social harmony and sustainable coexistence. In particular, Swaraj would be examined not simply as political independence but as a broader conception of self-rule, self- restraint and democratic agency; Satyagraha as an ethically disciplined mode of political resistance; Ahimsa as a principle of conflict transformation rather than mere abstention from physical violence; Sarvodaya as a normative commitment to the welfare and dignity of all; and trusteeship as an alternative ethical conception of economic power, property and social responsibility.

The study would further investigate the contemporary theoretical applicability of Gandhian political philosophy to democratic governance, peaceful political mobilization, civil resistance, social movements, economic justice, environmental sustainability and conflict transformation. Particular attention would be given to the extent to which Gandhian ideas can illuminate contemporary forms of democratic dissent, including mass movements, decentralized civic mobilization and emerging youth-led movements that increasingly operate through digital networks. Such an inquiry would also critically assess the tensions between Gandhian political ethics and the contemporary realities of electoral competition, centralized state power, identity politics, digital polarization, consumerism and market-driven inequality.