Gandhiji's Views on Equality Explained

This question asks us to identify what Mahatma Gandhi did not believe in, based on the provided passage about his philosophy on equality and earnings.

Understanding Gandhiji's Philosophy

The passage highlights several key points about Gandhiji's perspective:

• Equal Opportunity: Gandhiji believed that everyone should have an equal chance or equal opportunity.
• Different Capacities: He recognized that people possess different abilities or capacities. This means some individuals might be able to earn more than others due to their talents.
• Wise Use of Talent: Gandhiji felt that talented individuals should use their abilities productively for the benefit of society.
• Allowing Higher Earnings (with a condition): He was okay with people with intellect earning more, but he strongly believed that the majority of these larger earnings should contribute to a common fund for the welfare of all.
• Trusteeship: This concept, where those with talent and wealth act as trustees for the benefit of society, was central to his economic and social thinking. He extended this idea broadly.

Analysing the Options in Light of the Passage

Let's examine the options based on the passage:

• Social equality: While the passage focuses on opportunities and earnings, the underlying idea of trusteeship implies a social structure aimed at fairness, but it doesn't explicitly deny or affirm social equality in every dimension. However, it does differentiate based on capacity and earnings.
• Political equality: The passage does not mention anything about political equality.
• Complete equality in all respects: This option suggests sameness across every aspect of life. The passage clearly contradicts this by stating that people have different capacities and that talented individuals could earn more. Gandhiji's system allowed for differences in earnings, provided the surplus was used for the common good. This is not complete equality.
• Equality of opportunities: The passage explicitly states, "Gandhiji recognised that while all men should have equal opportunity". Therefore, he did believe in this.

Conclusion on Gandhiji's Beliefs

Based on the passage, Gandhiji advocated for equality of opportunity but acknowledged differences in individual capacities and earnings. His concept of trusteeship aimed to bridge the gap created by these differences, ensuring that societal benefit was prioritized. This clearly shows he did not believe in complete equality in all respects, as different capacities and differentiated (though socially directed) earnings were part of his vision.

Therefore, the statement that aligns with what Gandhiji did not believe in is Complete equality in all respects.