Non-violence, Satyagraha, and Peace
This domain tests the theory and discipline of nonviolence. Expect definitions, methods, and the reasons Gandhi called off or limited movements.
Key concepts
- Ahimsa is non-injury in thought, word, and deed; it is not cowardice or passivity.
- Satyagraha means holding firmly to truth; it seeks conversion of the opponent, not defeat or humiliation.
- Means and ends are inseparable: violent means corrupt the goal.
- Self-purification, fearlessness, discipline, and willingness to accept suffering are prerequisites.
- Methods include non-cooperation, civil disobedience, boycott, picketing, fasting, and constructive work.
Discipline
Satyagraha is open, non-secret, and non-coercive. Fasting is self-purification, not pressure on an opponent. A satyagrahi accepts legal penalty rather than evading it.
Worked example
After the Chauri Chaura violence in February 1922, Gandhi suspended Non-Cooperation. A question asks why. Reason: mass civil disobedience had outrun nonviolent discipline; continuing would betray the method. He later called this a Himalayan miscalculation about readiness. The correct inference is that satyagraha is judged by means, not only by pressure on the Raj.
Traps
- Defining satyagraha as passive resistance; it is active and truth-seeking.
- Saying ahimsa is only avoiding physical blows; economic exploitation and contempt also count.
- Treating fasting as a hunger strike to force concessions; Gandhi used it as self-purification.
- Assuming nonviolence is a tactic of the weak; Gandhi required courage.