DSE-gandhi assignment

SOURCES OF THE IDEA OF SATYAGRAHA

Satyagraha, based on the principles of Ahimsa (non-violence), was the
founding principle of Gandhi's political ideology. It drew from various sources
including Jainism, Buddhism, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita. The concept
emphasizes truth, non-violence, and love to overcome hatred and injustice.
Gandhi reshaped this concept into a powerful tool against oppression. He was
also influenced by Thoreau, Tolstoy, and Ruskin, who advocated non-
cooperation against tyrannical governments. Gandhi applied these ideas
practically in his struggles against colonial rule in Africa and India.
As Gandhi himself stated: "I do not claim to have originated any new principle
or doctrine. I have simply tried in my own way to apply this eternal principle to
our daily life and problems. Truth and non-violence are as old as hills. All I have
done is to try experiments on as vast a scale as I could" (Harijan, March 28,
1936).

SATYAGRAHI
Satyagraha is a way of life guiding political activism. Individually, it demands
truth, chastity, detachment, and diligence. Politically, it employs non-violent
methods to persuade opponents rather than coerce them.
A Satyagrahi aims to reveal injustice to wrongdoers, transforming them or at
least halting their obstruction. Tactics include picketing, non-cooperation,
peaceful demonstrations, and civil disobedience. The Satyagrahi's path is
clear: remain steadfast amid challenges.

Reverence to the opposition was a unique feature of Gandhi's Satyagraha. A

true Satyagrahi had to resist hardships with patience, never stooping to anger,
and defend their faith even at the cost of life. Satyagrahis needed to maintain a
pure and simple life, with Gandhi's own life serving as an example. Violence,
abuses, and sensual pleasures were to be avoided. Everyone was expected to
work for their food and clothes (bread-labour). Wearing Khadi, leading a simple

DSE-gandhi assignment 1
 life, practicing secularism, and eradicating untouchability were also key
characteristics. Through these principles, Gandhi believed Indians could pursue
a truly non-violent revolution.

Satyagraha or struggle against injustice could be individualistic or on a mass

scale. Gandhi
felt that a Satyagrahi had to obey the laws of the society intelligently, and of his
own free
will. For mass civil disobedience it was necessary to create a band of well tried,
pure
hearted volunteers who thoroughly understood the strict conditions of
Satyagraha. Patience
and sleepless vigilance were required for the same. Gandhi was also aware of
the
difficulties in organising devoted volunteers, in a continued struggle. Gandhi set
up
Satyagraha Ashram at Kochrab with 25 men and women as the first inmates to
train
Satyagrahis.

Satyagrahi and his Opponent

Gandhi emphasized that a Satyagrahi's suffering should melt "the stoniest

heart" of the opponent (Young India, June 4, 1925). The Satyagrahi appeals to
the opponent's better nature through self-suffering, not retaliation (Harijan, July
26, 1942). "It is never the intention of a Satyagrahi to embarrass the wrongdoer.
The appeal is never to his fear; it is, must be, always to his heart. The
Satyagrahi's object is to convert, not to coerce, the wrongdoer" (Harijan, March
25, 1939).

A Satyagrahi must be willing to make sacrifices, provide a face-saving "way

out" for opponents, and aim to discover truth and justice rather than achieve
victory. They should be fearless and trust their opponent, even after repeated
betrayals, as implicit trust in human nature is essential to their creed.

DSE-gandhi assignment 2
 SATYAGRAHA IN SOUTH AFRICA

Gandhi’s Satyagraha experiment began in South Africa in 1906. The non-white

immigrants
were expected to register themselves in the Registrar of Asiatics and the
government
issued a certificate of registration with their identity and fingerprints. Failure to
comply with
the regulation resulted in forfeiture of their right to live in Transvaal and the
defaulter was
liable to a fine of 100 pounds and deportation. Gandhi was determined to
oppose this
black ordinance and goaded the Indians not to submit to the ordinance if it
became law.
While speaking before 3,000 Indians gathered at a theater in Johannesburg on
September
11, 1906, Gandhi organised a strategy of nonviolent resistance to oppose racist
policies
of the South African Government. Satyagraha was born and since then, it has
been
adopted by many around the world to resist social injustice and oppression. On
July 1,
1907, the ordinance came into effect and the Indians were required to get
themselves
registered by July 31. Gandhi and his followers stoutly opposed the move. The
Transvaal
Indian Association organised boycott, dissuaded Indians from registering and
as a result
only 100 out of 1500 registered in July. Leaders of the movement including
Gandhi were
imprisoned. General Smuts assured Gandhi that in case the Indians would
voluntarily
register, the Registration Act would be repealed. On Gandhi’s advice, the
Indians
voluntarily registered by April 1908. However, Smuts went back on his promise
and
refused to repeal the act. Popular movement was resumed and Gandhi
announced his

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 decision to burn the certificates collected earlier. Soon, women, working class
and the
peasants joined the Satyagraha movement against oppression and injustice
meted out by
the White rulers towards the coloured people. Gandhi devised and gave
concrete shape
to his doctrine of Satyagraha and between 1907 and 1914 he initiated a number
of civil
resistance movements which revealed the effectiveness of organised
nonviolent resistance
against a more powerful opponent.

SATYAGRAHA MOVEMENTS IN BRITISH INDIA

The British Government's Rowlatt Commission recommended curbing civil

liberties in India. The Imperial Legislative Council passed two bills granting
sweeping powers of preventive detention and criminalizing possession of
seditious literature. Gandhi opposed these 'black bills' by proclaiming April 6 as
Satyagraha Day, calling for hartal (suspension of business), fasting, and mass
meetings. This non-cooperation evoked widespread response.

On April 13, 1919, British army officer General Dyer ordered troops to fire on
people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh. This massacre, described by Nehru as "a
long horror and terrible indignity", resulted in 1,202 deaths and 3,600 wounded.
Eruption of violence among the masses during the course of the popular
movement in
different parts of the country made Gandhi to realise the need for teaching the
people of
civil disobedience and Satyagraha and launched massive training programme.
In Young
India he called the public attention “to constructive Satyagraha as also
sometimes
cleansing Satyagraha”.

16.6.1 Champaran Satyagraha

Under the Tinkathia system the peasants of Champaran in Bihar were bound by
law to

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 grow indigo on 3/20th of their land and sell it to the British planters at prices
arbitrarily
fixed by the latter. They were liable to unlawful extraction and oppression by
the planters.
Gandhi went into a systematic enquiry into their grievances and took up their
cause. His
activities forced the local administration to appoint a committee of inquiry and
as a result,
Champaran Agrarian Bill and subsequently Act was passed protecting the
interests of the
poor peasants.

16.6.2 Kheda/ Kaira Satyagraha

The crops had failed in Kaira district of Gujarat in 1918 but the officers insisted
on full
collection of land revenue. Gandhi organised the peasants to offer Satyagraha
and goaded
them to refuse to pay taxes and to suffer all consequences. Even those who
could afford
to pay declined to pay as a matter of principle, on the face of all threats of
coercion and
attachment. The government was forced to yield to the pressure and to arrive
at a
settlement with the peasants.

16.6.3 Ahmedabad Mill Worker’s Strike

Gandhi led the mill-workers of Ahmedabad in a strike against the mill-owners

who had
refused to pay them higher wages and exploited them severely. He rallied
behind them by
under-taking a fast and this united all so firmly that the mill-owners gave in on
the fourth
day of the fast and agreed to a 35 per cent wage increase.

DSE-gandhi assignment 5
 16.6.4 Bardoli Satyagraha

The Bardoli Satyagraha, led by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with undisputed zest,
marks an
important movement with non-violence as its hallmark. In 1928, the taluka
contained 137
villages with some parts of it rich in crops like cotton, rice etc. The peasants of
the region
were incensed by a large increase in land revenue announced by the British
government.
The non-violent movement started after two years of petitioning and protesting,
with the
peasants moving a resolution on non-payment of taxes until the government
considered
withdrawing the increase in revenue. Large number of men and women
participated in this
Satyagraha movement wherein they were threatened by the government that
their land
would be forfeited. An iron will is said to have prevailed in Bardoli with mass
resignations
from the village headmen and the subordinate officers. After a four-month
battle and a
spate of observations, threats of arrests and continuous assessment of
situation, peace was
opted for and led to the reinstatement of the headmen and talatis and release
of arrested
Satyagrahis. Following a careful scrutiny of official records and taking stock of
the
situation, the government annulled the increase which they tried to enforce at
any cost.
The leadership acumen of Patel was recognised by one and all and earned him
the credit
of being a true disciple of Gandhi. Sarojini Naidu, a prominent leader, noted that
Patel
‘translated Gandhi’s teachings into practical, dynamic action’ (cited in Rajmohan
Gandhi,
Patel, pp.168-9).

DSE-gandhi assignment 6
 16.6.5 Salt Satyagraha

The British had decided to take the Indian salt back to Britain and refine it and
repackage it and sell it back to the Indian people at about 20 times the price.
The
enormous taxes imposed on salt, an essential commodity that everybody needs
every day,
was perceived by one and all totally unjust, and made Gandhi to decide to defy
the salt
tax. He decided to break the infamous salt law as it affected everybody, Hindus
and
Muslims, rich and poor. Gandhi calculated that movement against oppressive
salt laws
would unite the people irrespective of their religion, region or economic status.
The Salt Satyagraha was organised in 1930, when Gandhi announced to the
nation that
he was going to defy the salt laws enacted by the British and defy the British
government.
When Gandhi began the march, 247 miles to the sea, on March 12, 1930, it just
caught
the imagination of the people and millions poured out into the streets; the
response was
so tremendous that the Congress doubters also began to see the wisdom of it,
and the
British government was taken completely by surprise. It turned out to be a
turning point
in the freedom struggle in India. Gandhi’s Satyagraha reached the pinnacle of
success, and
the Indian Nationalist movement reached a feverish pitch, forcing the
government to initiate
procedures towards the Gandhi-Irwin pact, followed by the Second Round
Table
Conference, where Gandhi gave one of his greatest speeches exposing the
evils of the
British rule and endorsing the methods of Satyagraha.

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 16.6.6 Individual Satyagraha

From his experience, Gandhi understood that every individual is not fit to be a
‘Satyagrahi’ by inclination and temperament and so, there was a virtual need for
training
and conditioning. He was aghast with the mass violence in retaliation of use of
force by
the state agencies like police. As such, in October 1940, when he thought of
launching
a fresh Satyagraha movement, it was decided that the campaign should be
limited to
selected individuals who were trained to be Satyagrahis. To his credit, Vinoba
Bhave was
selected by Gandhi to be the first leader to offer Satyagraha. Satyagraha by
that time has
gained wide popularity, and there were committed Satyagrahis all over the
country. The
Quit India Movement reclaimed the ideals of Satyagraha, which finally went a
long way
in securing Indian independence by August 15, 1947.

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