Highlight the differences in the approach of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle for freedom. (UPSC 2016)

Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Chandra Bose shared the aim of Swaraj, but their methods and state visions were sharply different. Gandhi relied on moral force, while Bose preferred decisive political and military action.

• Method of struggle: Gandhi used ahimsa, satyagraha, civil disobedience and mass mobilisation. Bose believed armed struggle and the Indian National Army could speed up independence.
• Role of means: For Gandhi, means had to be as pure as the end. For Bose, achieving freedom was the priority, even through strategic alliances during World War II.
• Economic vision: Gandhi supported village industries, Gram Swaraj and decentralised self-reliance. Bose favoured state-led planning, modern industry and rapid economic transformation.
• Political model: Gandhi imagined a decentralised, near-stateless order based on panchayats. Bose wanted a strong central state to unite and modernise India.

Thus, Gandhi’s approach was ethical and mass-based, while Bose’s was pragmatic, militant and nation-building in outlook. Both were patriotic, but they represented two distinct paths to freedom.