Sharma : You could not close your eyes to it.
Chavan : How you can do that, it was a reality and we had to accept it and then try to face it so far as possible. I did not agree with the Commuist theory that only through class struggle everything would be solved.
I could not reach that state, though at a later stage in 1939-40, at the time of the Second world war, I was thinking of joining the communist Party for some time. That is a different story altogether. These were the ideas that were developing in my mind.
Sharma : J. C. Kumarappa has defined Gandhism something like this : Communism minus violence is equal to Gandhism.
Chavan : This sort of definitions do not lead any where. Because in the ultimate analysis that may be so, but class struggle in inseparable from Marxism, and class struggle does not completely eschew violence, not that it necessarily means violence. With Gandhiji, non-violence is very important because it is linked with his ideas of ends and means. But in a struggle sometimes violence is imposed on the expoited people. not that they want it. I am not justifying violence, but sometimes it is inevitable therefore, marxism and class struggle do not vouchsafe non-violence.
Sharma : Was Acharaya Javadekar also there?
Chavan : No, Acharya Javadekar was not there. There were Acharya Javadekar's articles in jail. Javadekar and Acharya Bhagwat were very close friends and associates, in thinking also. So many times, Acharya Bhagwat used to tell us about Acharya Javadekar's thinking, about his book Adhunik Bharat in Marathi. I do not know how many people know about it outside the Marathi-speaking areas.