E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

140 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughtsociety in which people will always retain the capacity to resistthe abuse of power, through non-violent means. This capacitycannot be created through the capture or use of power. For theGandhian revolutionary, therefore power itself, is secondary; itis the ability to control power that is primary. That is all themore reason why the Gandhian must be concerned at theemergence or continuance of a Government that erodes theright and the capacity of the citizen to resist any possible abuseof power.VIThe fifth fallacy is to overlook the rights and wrongs ofan issue merely because both contending parties are usingmeans that are unacceptable to the Satyagrahi. The Satyagrahiis no doubt committed to unadulterated non-violence. Hebelieves that two opposing forces, violence and non-violencecan not work concurrently to help each other. They are likely tocancel each other. This entitles the Satyagrahi to refrain fromparticipating in the actual physical combat on either side; but itdoes not entitle him to condemn both parties and take a stanceof neutrality or equidistance, as far as the basic issue itself isconcerned. To the Satyagrahi, there can be no neutrality on aquestion of Truth or Justice. Though both parties may be usingviolence, one of them may be fighting for truth (or relativetruth) and justice, and the Satyagrahi cannot put both these inthe same basket and condemn them without acknowledging themoral superiority of the one who is fighting for justice. Whiledissociating himself from and condemning the violent meansadopted by both, he has to identify which one of them isfighting for a just cause. He should not hide or suppress hissympathy for the just cause.One can cite a number of instances in support of thisstatement: the attitude that Gandhi took during the SecondWorld War indentifying the superiority of the cause of the