Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia : Inside the mind of an original Socialist thinker

Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia
(1910-1967)

Lohia was the stormy petrel of Indian politics. He was an original thinker who accepted Marxism and Gandhism in parts, but not in totality. He questioned the fundamentals of both and went beyond these horizons. He had a blossoming mind of his own and razor sharp intellect that could cut in all directions like a saw, in realm of knowledge, ideas and praxis. Lohia was well versed in dialectics and his German apprenticeship under Werner Sombart, Schumacher, Wermard, Desnaur and Onckeln etc made him a different kind of thinker who was creative and artistic.


Appreciation and rejection of Karl Marx : 


He was deeply impressed by the genius of Karl Marx in expanding the Laws of Capital Development but he found their explanation inadequate. The materialistic interpretation of History, the Theory of Surplus Value, the Theory of violent revolution he rejected. But agreed upon the historical character of class struggle and vision of Marx of Socialism as a new civilisation which would usher in a new era of liberty, equality and prosperity where the world would observe the end of exploitation of man by man. Lohia questioned the fundamental premises of Marxian analysis of capital development. He was against private ownership of means of production.



Lohia on Gandhi ji : 

The Salt March, Getty images

From the tender age of eight, Lohia came under the influence of Gandhi and followed the work of Gandhi in Dandi March in 1930 in breaking the widely hated Salt Laws imposed by the British. By carrying out the Salt March, Gandhiji set and example of fearlessness and inspired millions to violate the unjust laws imposed by the British that impoverished them. Lohia's father was also part of the march. Lohia's mind in Berlin, got convinced that non-violence was a potent method of revolution. He embraced the practice of Ahimsa and Satyagraha but rejected Gandhi's theory of trusteeship and prosperity relations.




I. Philosophical ideas : 

He argued that the material and spiritual were not entirely different and separate worlds. They coexist and human beings move further in the quest of happiness from material to spiritual existence. Life is a continuous becoming within which you find a pattern of evolution of the being.
He said human beings are free but live in an environment that puts limitations on their freedom. Once they become aware of these shackles, they break it. Human destiny cannot be determined by prophets or political leaders, neither capitalism nor communism can determine the fate of man. Man makes his own world in the pursuit of happiness in overcoming the shackles put on him.
His important philosophical contribution is the Theory of Immediacy. While he did not rule out the utility of utopia and long term planning, he emphasised on immediate action taken as fundamental to success of the programme. In the long term, revolution might occur but who knows, by then people might be dead. 

Lohia pleaded that the justification of immediate action should be sought in its immediate aims and outcomes and then further relate to the future. The way Stalin justified killing of 12 million kulaks (peasent in Russia) not only distored the aims of the Russian Revolution but also dehumanized it but also collapsed agriculture.

II. Political ideas : 

Artististic expression of Decentralization 

• Wanted decentralisation of power for self-directed action and expression of people at 4 levels. Federal, Regional or State, District and Panchayat level.
• In the realm of Foreign policy, he advocated the ideas of Non-alignment.
• Lohia opined that people dont revolt & attack different forms of social injustice, they would be divided without any common values & goals.
• His most important contribution is in regard to permanent Satyagraha and civil disobdience. He asserted that immanent injustice as well as external injustice can be corrected by permanent civil disobedience. There has been strong criticism against this idea, as frequent violation of laws could lead to anarchy.

III. Economic ideas :

• The development of capitalism in U.K is an integral part of world capitalist development. The world capitalist system emerged by looting the colonies and sending them back to underdevelopment.
• The convergence of capitalism & communism in the use of capital intensive technology was brought out by Lohia. Joseph Stalin and Henry Ford use the same kind of technology which cannot be adopted by the poor countries like India as they would face massive unemployemeny and poverty.
• Lohia questioned the fundamental premises of Marxian analysis of capital development. He was against private ownership of means of production.
• In his important thesis of origins of capitalism and imperialism he argued that the capital development in Britain was not due to industrial revolution but due to its world trade, with the other major cause being exploitation of the British colonies,especially India. Thus, British capital development was located in colonization of Indian resources and imperial decisions made by the Queen through the East India company.

IV. Social & Cultural ideas : 

Filmindia cartoon (1952), mocking Prasad's actions

• Looks at Hinduism as a Catholic religion but corrupted by priests, rituals and the caste system. Wanted Hindus to come out of their traditional ideas and open their minds to modern innovations & techniques.
• Provided a vision of mankind based on removal of caste and class inequalities, physical and cultural approximation of mankind and harmonious fusion of spirit and matter.
• Lohia was against performing of Hindu rituals. Such as breaking coconuts at the opening ceremonies. He even criticised President Prasad for having washed the feet of 14 Brahmins with water of the Ganges in Benaras.
• He never travelled by a rickshaw pulled by another man. This he considered an act of vicious slavery.
• Man-woman equality, economic equality, against weapons for civil disobedience, protection of private life from state intervention and strengthening of democracy formed the basis of his social and cultural ideas.

This article covered some of the basic ideas of Dr.Lohia and his views on certain matters. A mind as original and intellectually sharp as his sprouted numerous ideas that cannot be covered in a single article. Hence, more articles will be published on Dr.Lohia later. After all, it is difficult of find original thinkers nowadays.