Inclusion as Strategy: A Study of Mahatma Gandhi’s Contribution to Cross-Class Solidarity in the Indian Freedom Movement.

The Indian freedom struggle witnessed the participation of diverse social groups—peasants, workers, women, industrialists, students, and intellectuals. Yet this broad participation was not spontaneous; it was the result of deliberate political strategies that fostered unity across class divisions. This paper examines inclusion as a conscious political method in Gandhi’s leadership and explores how he mobilized multiple social strata into a shared anti-colonial struggle. By analysing campaigns such as Champaran, Kheda, Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Constructive Programme initiatives, the study argues that Gandhi’s emphasis on moral legitimacy, participatory politics, symbolic practices, and decentralized mobilization helped bridge class divides. The research concludes that cross-class solidarity under Gandhi was not merely ideological but was institutionally nurtured through inclusive political culture, enabling the nationalist movement to transform into a mass movement. Key-words: - Indian freedom, social groups, political strategies, anti-colonial struggle