E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi’s Non-violence… 37liberties with the tradition of non-violence. Gandhi presentedthe vision of an alternative polity based on completedecentralisation. He looked upon state as a soulless machineand symbol of organised violence. His alternative system wasbased on his concept of oceanic circle which tries to reconcilethe interest of the individual with those of the community byputting the former at the centre. His system will not be like a‘pyramid’ in which the base is overweighed by the top.Gandhi’s method of Satyagraha was the exercise of thepurest soul-force against injustice and oppression at all levels.It relied on truth, non-violence, value of suffering, faith inhuman goodness and fearlessness. For Gandhi it was not just apolitical weapon but a way of life. He kept on sharpening hisfocus on Satyagraha and innovated various techniques to copewith different situations. It is a method of conversion, based onnon-violence and love. For him, ”Satyagraha is a process ofeducating public opinion, such that it covers all the elements ofsociety and in the end makes itself irresistible. Violenceinterrupts the process and prolongs the real revolution of thewhole social structure.” 11Violence is multi-dimensional and includes physicaland psychological as well as structural and cultural violence. Inthe long run it does more harm than the good. The so calledgood it appears to serve is only temporary. It invades like acancer eating into the vitals of the society. When people are fullof hate and anger, violence is expressed in their socialbehaviour. Gandhi holds the view that attaining victory throughviolence inflicts harm to all concerned.Non-violence of the BraveGandhi states that his “creed of non-violence is anextremely active force. It has no room for cowardice orweakness. There is hope for a violent man to be some day nonviolent,but there is none for a coward.” 12 His criticism of the