E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Five Fallacies … 139should take shape on the basis of specific ideologies andprogrammes. Gandhi knew that the withdrawal of theBritish had not created the conditions that one expects in astateless society. He knew his revolution was, had to be, agradual revolution, an 'evolutionary revolution'.(B) Another fallacy is to argue that Gandhians should not takepart in electoral politics, since they are revolutionaries, andbelieve in revolutionary means of action. A revolutionary and autopian or a reformer may believe in the same ultimate goals;but the revolutionary is willing to resort to extra-constitutionalmethods to achieve his goals. He may even consider them basicto his strategy. But his readiness to take to extra-constitutionalaction does not mean unwillingness to use venues ofconstitutional action. He is not against constitutional venues, heis against confining himself to them. He believes in taking fulladvantage of whatever constitutional means can offer him topresent and advance his case, but where these are inadequate helaunches on extra constitutional action. A classic examinationof this fallacy can be found in Lenin's Left Wing Communism -an infantile disorder.A Satyagrahi is expected to use all peaceful means tocreate public opinion and enable public opinion to assert itself;but he should not allow the temptations of electoral powerpolitics to get the better of his commitment to revolution. Inother words, electoral politics is meant to capture and use theexisting power structure; revolutionary politics is meant to alterthe existing power structure. The objective in the field ofelectoral politics can only be to advance the objectives ofrevolutionary politics; that is to prevent an increase in thepower of the forces that have to be overcome if the revolutionis to succeed. The· first is therefore secondary, and the secondis primary.The goal of the Gandhian revolution is to create a