E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Is There an Alternative to… 187relation between ends and means, all of which are pertinent andhighly relevant.I think we have now arrived at a point where the futilityand the suicidal character of available violent variants are clear.If violent means are counter-productive, we have to turn tonon-violent means. It is not my intention in this talk to presenta blueprint for non-violent action. My purpose is to show thatwe have reached a stage where, (i) nothing but the active andorganised intervention of the people can achieve the objectivesof the struggle for independence, viz., (to build) a just society,and (ii) nothing but non-violent action can preserve social andnational cohesion and provide the clinching force that can workas an instrument of change as well as catalysis. The consensusor acquiescence that launched the system has been eroded. Anew consensus or basis for acquiescence can be created onlythrough non-violent methods.But, here it becomes necessary for one to revert to thedistinction between unarmed action and the truly non-violentaction that Gandhi called Satyagraha. Though unarmed actionslike bandhs and gheraos and chakka jams brought aboutthrough terror have the appearance of being non-violent, a littlethought will show the difference in motivation, execution, andeffect. Relay fasts and jail bharos are a parody that vainlyhopes to produce the effect or aura of Satyagraha. In the lastfew years, we have witnessed so much of this parody and solittle of the genuine that we have succeeded in creating a moodof cynicism about non-violent action itself. One sees too littleof persistence, too little of purity, too little of earnestness inwhat goes by the name of Satyagraha today. One will thereforehave to rediscover the virtuosity of the non-violent method if itis to be accepted as the only effective alternative.No action can be regarded as non-violent, and can hope