Beyond Division: Gandhian Cosmopolitanism and the Future of Global Solidarity

In an age marked by intensifying conflict, fractured solidarities, and contested visions of justice, Gandhian thought offers a strikingly cosmopolitan lens for reimagining moral autonomy and global responsibility. At the root of Gandhi’s philosophy lies a sustained effort to reconcile the apparent contradictions between the ‘self’ and the ‘others.’ His insistence on swaraj (self-rule) was never a retreat into insularity, but rather a call to cultivate autonomy through ethical openness, relationality, and nonviolence. This alternative account of moral autonomy resists the binaries of individualism versus collectivism and nationalism versus universalism, situating the self within a web of obligations that extend across boundaries of culture, nation, and faith. By foregrounding Gandhi’s cosmopolitan practice—anchored in dialogue, empathy, and nonviolent resistance—this paper advances not only an alternative vision of global justice but also a constructive framework for nurturing social cohesion in times of crisis. Gandhi’s ethic transforms fractured identities into bonds of mutual recognition, enabling communities to withstand conflict without collapsing into division. His cosmopolitanism is not abstract universalism but a lived ethic of solidarity, practiced through everyday acts of cooperation, trust-building, and resistance to exclusionary politics. In a world increasingly defined by polarization, violence, and ecological precarity, Gandhi’s vision provides both a critique of dominant paradigms of justice and a practical pathway toward collective resilience. It invites us to rethink autonomy as interdependence, justice as lived responsibility, and solidarity as the foundation of global order.