E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

130 Contextualising Gandhian ThoughtHis code was clear: "And I owe it to the country that myviews should be clearly known and taken for what they may beworth. I must shed the timidity that has almost led to selfsuppression.I must not fear ridicule, and even loss ofpopularity or prestige. If I hide my belief, I shall never correcterrors of judgment. I am always eager to discover them, andmore than eager to correct them. "No one, therefore, had tospeculate about Gandhi. The world knew where he stood.Take for instance, an unprecedented situation like theEmergency. No one can say what lead or programme of actionGandhi would have given to the country. But everyone willagree that it was an unprecedented situation. When one setsaside one's likes and dislikes about Indira Gandhi andJayprakash Narayan, and one's opinion on what actions led towhat reactions or responses, certain facts stand etched in one'smemory, and will perhaps stand etched in history. Theconstitution was amended to alter the balance between theGovernment and the Judiciary, and between the Governmentand the citizen. Habeas Corpus was suspended. Freedom ofspeech and other fundamental rights were taken away from thecitizen. The judiciary lost the right to protect the citizen fromthe ire and caprice of the Government. An effort was made toplace the Ruler above Laws. Civil rights were extinguished. Itwas argued on behalf of the State that the citizen had no rightof protection from the judiciary even if he was shot withouttrial. All this constituted an undeniable attack on civil rights,freedom and the ideals of the struggle for freedom. Could aSatyagrahi, as defined by Gandhi, have been a silent andhelpless witness?To Gandhi, civil rights were not a charter of bourgeoisfreedom. He described civil rights as the water of life. "Civilliberty consistent with the observance on non-violence, is thefirst step towards Swaraj. It is the breath of political and sociallife. It is the foundation of freedom. There is no room there for