E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

144 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughtcontrol. We are committed to the creation of a non-violentsociety. But our society today is in the grip of violence andterror. Violence seems to have entered the warp and the woofof our social fabric; manifesting itself in railway compartments;educational institutions; industrial relations, legislative bodies,court-rooms and struggles for social justice. It seems to haveacquired sharper dimensions of cruelty and inhumanity.Kidnapping, torture, blinding attacks with bombs and acid,extraction of ransom and the like have become the order of theday. The law of the jungle seems to have taken the place of thelaw of civilised society, posing a serious threat to the integrityof the nation and to the forces of cohesion and unity that sustainin our society.Various popular movements - ranging from movementsto redress local grievances or local manifestations of injusticeto movements for the formation of new states are resorting toviolent means of struggle. Groups that advocate secession, andextremist groups that act in the name of social justice, aretaking to violent means that include terrorism, insurgency andguerilla action. The state is often responding in kind,suspending or circumventing civil rights, and meeting terrorismwith 'encounters', torture and massive repression.Demands for autonomy and secession may compel aredefinition of the kind of federalism that can preserve unitywhile respecting the diversity that characterizes India. We havenot found an effective way to work for justice, peace andreconciliation in such situations. Our Shanti Sena, such as it is,has not been able to cope with the situation,We believed that Independence and democracy wouldsee power return to the Gram Sabhas or Panchyats. But we arestill in the grip of centralisation and all the violence andcorruption that have become characteristic of centralisedsystems. Our movement for Gram Swaraj has made no dent on