Indian-Nordic Encounters 1917-2006 - Det danske Fredsakademi

agreement. Daechsler was allowed to speak to the pupils at 4 pm in the
assembly-hall after school time but only in front of pupils from the two oldest
age groups who were regarded as mature enough for the issue at hand.” 24
Soon two young theosophist, Jan Fjellander and Anders Struwe organised Sveriges elevers
press, SVEP (Swedish Pupils Press) to defend freedom of speech at the schools. At this time
stencil newspapers were not included in the rights of expression and thus headmasters could
interfere, stopping pupils from expressing themselves in their own newspapers. Soon the
rights for grown-ups that could afford printed newspapers was also extended to pupils that
only had stencil copying as their tool for making their voices heard to many.
Thus freedom of speech was brought to Swedish schools by a mixture of Indian Gandhian and
Theosophical inspiration and radical pacifism. Daechsler’s stubbornness and the stencil
machine in the hands of the pupils and their negotiation capacity gave result. Through a sitdown
action to prevent the police in their work and an occupation of a headmaster’s office
freedom of speech was secured and the radical pacifist could speak in front of the students.
The same kind of actions to support freedom of speech is generally regarded as the basis for
the whole rebellion among youth and students in the 1960s. But then it is the student actions
at the Berkley University that is stated as the first of its kind although it took place three years
after in 1964.
The young theosophists continued to live in the midst of international contacts and Indian
inspiration. In 1961, a meeting in Lebanon established the World Peace Brigade according to
Gandhian thoughts. The Asian section intervened in the Chinese – Indian border conflict
being harassed by both governments. A training camp was set up in Tanzania. Here a team
should be sent to Northern Rhodesia to intervene non-violently in the conflict between white
settlers and the black majority. At
Tived in the forest in the middle of
Sweden a camp was also set up in
1962 to train people to participate in
the action. But the liberation
movement was successful enough on
its own and the action was called off.
The third intervention by Peace
brigade was to send a vessel to
Soviet Union to protest against
atomic weapons. The sailing ship
Everyman III visited Stockholm and
the crew stayed at von Malmborgs’
house in Saltsjöbaden both on its
way to Leningrad and on their way
back. Button for Everyman III
The kind of nonviolent interventions as a ”living wall” according to Gandhi’s ideas continued
to grow as a tool for interventions in social conflicts all over the world and is today better
established.
24 Interview with Roland and Christer von Malmborg, 2004.
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