Section Article

MAHATMA GANDHI’S RHETORIC: INSPIRING COLLECTIVE ACTION THROUGH POLITICAL ORATORY
Author(s): Vinod Kumar

Abstract
Mahatma Gandhi’s political oratory remains one of the most influential rhetorical traditions of the twentieth century shaping mass consciousness mobilising collective action and transforming India’s anti-colonial struggle into an ethical and moral movement. Gandhi’s rhetoric did not rely on conventional persuasive devices of emotional agitation or ideological aggression rather it deployed a unique integration of truth nonviolence moral appeal and ethical reasoning to motivate millions. This study explores Gandhi’s rhetoric as a socio-political instrument that transcended linguistic persuasion and functioned as a catalyst for nationwide mobilisation. It examines how Gandhi employed spiritual language ethical symbolism narrative simplicity and collective identity formation to unify diverse groups across caste class religion gender and regional divides. His speeches appealed simultaneously to reason moral conscience and cultural memory making them accessible to both educated elites and marginalized masses. Through interdisciplinary analysis grounded in communication theory political psychology and historical discourse analysis the study highlights the transformative power of Gandhian rhetoric and its long-term influence on democratic protest moral politics and collective resistance movements in India and beyond.