Aundh Experiment

The Aundh Experiment was an early test of village-level self-government in British India which began in 1938. Mohandas Gandhi, and Maurice Frydman helped to draft the November Declaration, which handed over rule of Aundh State from the Raja to the residents, and became law in the Swaraj Constitution of Aundh in 1939. The Aundh Experiment was an unusual idea in pre-independence India, where the rulers of princely states were loath to hand over their power.

At the time, Aundh was a princely state in British India, ruled by generations of Rajas since 1699. Unlike the Provinces of India, which were ruled directly by the British government, the princely states had a certain degree of autonomy—with each state making its own treaty with the British Monarch. In 1938, the ruler of Aundh, Raja Bhavanrao, was approached by Frydman (also known as Swami Bharatananda), a Polish engineer who was a disciple of Gandhi. According to the Raja's son, Apa Pant, "Frydman had great influence with my father, and on his seventy-fifth birthday he said, 'Raja Saheb, why don't you go and make a declaration to Mahatma Gandhi that you are giving all power to the people because it will help in the freedom struggle.'"

Raja Bhavanrao was a strong supporter of the Indian independence movement, and stood up for the welfare of the people of Aundh, "in sharp contrast to the attitude and behavior of the majority of Maharajas and Rajas", according to Indira Gandhi. The Raja readily endorsed the idea of self-government, Frydman wrote a draft declaration, and the Raja and his son traveled to Wardha to see Gandhi. There, Gandhi dictated the final draft of the constitution, which was sent to the state assembly to be ratified on January 21, 1939.

The Raja was a self-proclaimed nationalist, and the beginning of the experiment in 1938 caused concern among the British rulers, who reprimanded him for being a friend of Gandhi, who they called "the rebel against the Raj." In response, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Indian National Congress offered their support to the Raja.

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