This PPT is based on the Presentation of Semester 3 Submitted to DoE, MKBU. Paper no. 203 The Postcolonial Studies topic is 'Gandhi and Fanon: Divergent Paths of Decolonialism' in the context of Postcolonial Studies.

1. Gandhi and Fanon:
Divergent Paths of
Decolonialism
18th October 2023

2. ● Name: Rajeshvariba H. Rana
● Roll No. : 16
● Enrollment No. : 4069206420220023
● Semester: 3rd
● Paper No.: 203
● Paper Code: 22408
● Paper Name: Postcolonial-Studies
● Topic: Gandhi and Fanon: Divergent Paths of Decolonialism
● Submitted to: Smt. S.B.Gardi, Department of English, MKBU
● E-mail: rhrana148@gmail.com
● Date: 18th October 2023
Academic Information

3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 02
03 04
Introduction M.K. Gandhi
Frantz Fanon Different Decolonial
Process
05
Conclusion

4. Frantz Fanon
● Background: Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a Martinican psychiatrist, philosopher,
and writer who played a significant role in the field of post-colonial studies.
● Colonialism and Racism: Fanon is known for his critical analysis of the
psychological and social effects of colonialism and racism. He explored how
colonialism led to the dehumanization of both colonizers and the colonized.
● The Wretched of the Earth: His most famous work, "The Wretched of the Earth"
(1961), is a seminal text in post-colonial theory. In this book, he discusses the
violent and psychological aspects of colonial oppression and the necessity of
revolutionary violence to overthrow it.
● Violence and Decolonization: Fanon's ideas on violence were controversial. He
argued that violence was a necessary tool for decolonization, as it could help to
break the psychological chains of colonization.
.
● Influence on Liberation Movements: Fanon's writings had a profound impact on many liberation
movements, particularly in Africa. Leaders like Malcolm X and Amílcar Cabral drew inspiration from his
ideas.
● Legacy: Fanon's work continues to be influential in various academic disciplines, including post-colonial
studies, sociology, and psychology. His emphasis on the psychological and cultural dimensions of
oppression remains relevant in contemporary discussions of colonialism and its aftermath.

5. M.K. Gandhi ● Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi,
was a prominent figure in India's struggle for independence from British
colonial rule and a globally recognized advocate for nonviolence and
civil disobedience
● Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar.
● Education: He studied law in England and worked as a lawyer in South
Africa, where he first experienced racism and discrimination. These
experiences played a significant role in shaping his activism.
● Nonviolent Resistance: Gandhi is most famous for his philosophy of
nonviolent resistance, which he called "Satyagraha." He believed that
nonviolent civil disobedience was the most powerful weapon against
oppression.
● Indian Independence: In the struggle of Independence. His leadership on nonviolent
side.
● Legacy: Gandhi's legacy is significant both in India and worldwide. He is celebrated for
his commitment to truth, nonviolence, and social justice. His methods of peaceful
resistance have inspired civil rights movements and leaders around the world.

6. The two men are not worlds apart from each other in their outlooks on
life. Both grew up under the rule of a colonial power, Fanon in French-
controlled Martinique and Gandhi in British-controlled India. Both men
experienced discrimination throughout their lives due to the color of
their skin, despite both being highly educated and in well-respected
professions. Finally, both men recognized the need for colonized
people to reject the culture of their colonial masters, and embrace
their indigenous heritage. (Walsh)
Two anti-colonial figures, Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) and Frantz Fanon (1925-1961), are
noteworthy in that they interrogated these complex and often fraught relationships
between decolonisation, violence, and agency.
Fanon’s theory of violence effectively mobilised anti-colonial support, but the new Algerian
society it constructed ironically
replicated colonial power dynamics.
Gandhi’s influence on Indian nation-building, by contrast, inspired an attempt to transcend
these dynamics.

7. Fanon’s theory also makes a normative one: violence is an
important, morally justifiable tool in achieving national liberation. This
shifts the focus of his argument from determinism to the agency of the
Front de Libération Nationale, National Liberation Front.
In his most famous work, ‘The Wretched of the Earth’, Fanon states
“decolonization is always a violent phenomenon”. It is the complete
upending of the social order, and the total replacement of the colonial
class with the natives to whom the land of the nation truly belongs.
“Friendly understanding”, as Fanon puts it, cannot accomplish this goal,
given the circumstances of colonialism in which the colonizer sees the
colonized as subhuman, bordering on evil. (Walsh)
"National liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of
nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the
headings used or the new formulas introduced, decolonization is
always a violent phenomenon." (Fanon)
x

8. A number of scholars have made claims that in his work as a whole Fanon uses
the term “violence” in ways ranging from the most literal to the most symbolic
meaning. (Gibson)
For Fanon, violence is just an instrument to be used with political
farsightedness.

9. Meaning of Satyagraha:
Satyagraha, according to Gandhi who originated the term, means
'the force which is born of truth and love of non-violence'. It
involves the belief that self-suffering is the only true and effective
means of securing lasting reforms and triumph over opponents.
(Addo-Fening)
As Gandhi himself explained it:
It involves self-chosen suffering and humiliation for the resisters.
I it is effective, it is so by working on the conscience of those
against whom it is being used, sapping their confidence in the
exclusive right ness of their case, making their physical strength
impotent, and weakening their resolution by insinuating a sense
of guilt for the sufferings they have a part in causing."(Addo-
Fening)
Nonviolent
Martiality

10. These are some of the key nonviolent movements and campaigns that
played a significant role in India's struggle for independence from British
colonial rule.
● Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922)
● Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-1934)
● Quit India Movement (1942)
● Khilafat Movement (1919-1924)
● Champaran Satyagraha (1917)
● Ahimsa Satyagraha in Nagpur (1923)
● Bardoli Satyagraha (1928)

11. Globally, youth must be empowered to be resilient to violence, and to become
citizens of the world. Human rights violations, conflicts between countries and
escalating intolerance has to be combated. In a globally connected and
interdependent world, education needs to focus on not merely cognitive
knowledge, but encompass communication skills and create belongingness with
humanity as a whole. Global Citizenship Education (GCED) fosters these values.
(“Ahmisa (Non-Violence), Gandhi and Global Citizenship Education (GCED)”)

12. United Nations Secretary-General, U Thant, said:
The ideas of Mahatma Gandhi have profoundly influenced
movements in other parts of the world, including the civil rights
movement in the United States... Gandhiji's philosophy, to me,
has a meaning and a significance far beyond the confines of his
country or of his time... and I hope that the passing years will
show that his faith in the efficacy of non-violent pressure as an
agent for peaceful change is as justified to-day and over the
world as it was in his time in India.' (Addo-Fening)

13. One of the achievements to which British
imperial theorists tended to give a good deal
of emphasis was the role of the British in
producing a united India. In this analysis, India
was a collection of fragmented kingdoms until
British rule made a country out of these
diverse regimes. It was argued that India was
previously not one country at all, but a
thoroughly divided land mass. It was the British
empire, so the claim goes, that welded India
into a nation. Winston Churchill even remarked
that before the British came, there was no
Indian nation. “India is a geographical term. It is
no more a united nation than the equator,” he
once said. (Sen)

14. V/S
Despite their similarities, Fanon and Gandhi arrived at very different conclusions
when pondering the path to independence for the colonized peoples of the world.
Their differences centered not just on the effectiveness of violence vs. non-violence
in decolonization. (Walsh)
It is Fanon’s concession to colonial violence that constitutes the greatest moral flaw
of his argument—Notwithstanding its useful function in achieving Algerian
independence. (“Gandhi + Fanon essay - for submission”)
By contrast, Gandhi’s commitment to a recognisable form of moral humanity is
consistent with anti-colonial hopes of a better world—although it was an ideal that
proved hard, even impossible, to achieve.
(“Gandhi + Fanon essay - for submission”)

15. Conclusion
In modern times, nonviolent methods
have been a powerful tool for social
protest and revolutionary social and
political change. (Kurlansky)

16. References
Addo-Fening, Robert. “GANDHI AND NKRUMAH: A STUDY OF NON-VIOLENCE AND NON-CO-OPERATION CAMPAIGNS IN INDIA AND GHANA AS
AN ANTI-COLONIAL STRATEGY.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, vol. 13, no. 1, 1972, pp. 65–85. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.
“Ahmisa (Non-Violence), Gandhi and Global Citizenship Education (GCED).” UNESCO, 25 June 2020, https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/ahmisa-non-
violence-gandhi-and-global-citizenship-education-gced. Accessed 18 October 2023.
“Decolonising the Self: Gandhi and Fanon on Violence and Agency.” SeS Home,
https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/15877/Venour%20V%20Nathan%20Prize_Sarah%20Charak_430349696.pdf;sequence=1.
Accessed 18 October 2023.
Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Richard Philcox, Grove Press, 2021.
Gibson, Nigel C. The Meanings of Violence: From Critical Theory to Biopolitics. Edited by Gavin Rae and Emma Ingala, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.
Kurlansky, Mark. Nonviolence. Random House Publishing Group, 2008.
Sen, Amartya. Home in the World: A Memoir. WW Norton, 2022.
Walsh, Ross. “The 1789 Discourse: Fanon VS Gandhi On Violence In Decolonization — Modern Treatise.” Modern Treatise, 28 July 2020,
https://www.moderntreatise.com/opinion/2020/7/28/the-1789-discourse-fanon-vs-gandhi-on-violence-in-decolonization. Accessed 18 October
2023.

17. Thankyou