,,mahatma ,,gandhi    ,,the ,,man ,,who 
,,became ,,one  ,,with ,,the ,,universal
 ,,being      ,,by    ,,romain ,,holland
        ,,translated ,,by    ,,catherine
 ,d4 ,,groth    ,,the ,,century ,,co4   
,new ,york  ,london          ,,mahatma  
,,gandhi          ,illustration3        
,mohandas ,karamchand ,gandhi           
,in connection with the present essay ,i
 wish to tender my affectionate  thanks 
to my faithful collaborator1 my sister1 
and to my friend1 ,kalidas  ,nag1 whose 
deep knowledge and indefatigable        
kindness have guided my  steps through  
the forest of ,indian thought4    ,i    
also wish to thank the publisher1 ,s4   
,ganesan of ,madras1 for having  placed1
 spontaneously1 his publications at my  
disposal4          ,,part ,,one         
,the literal translation of ,mahatma1   
the name which the people of ,india     
gave to ,gandhi1 is the great ,soul1    
maha1 great2 atma1 soul4 ,the  word goes
 back to the ,upanishads1 where it is   
used in speaking of the  ,supreme       

,being1 and1 through communion of       
,knowledge and ,love1 of those  who     
become ,one with ,him3      ,he is the  
,one ,luminous1 ,creator of ,all1       
,mahatma1  ,always in the hearts of the 
people enshrined4  ,revealed through    
,love1 ,intuition1 and ,thought1        
,whoever knows ,him1 ,immortal          
becomes4444      ,tagore1 on a visit to 
,ashram1 ,gandhi's favorite retreat1    
quoted  this stanza1 referring to the   
,apostle4          ,,mahatma ,,gandhi   
,,part ,,one           #a      ,dark1   
tranquil eyes4 ,a small frail man1 a    
thin face with large  protruding ears4  
,his head covered with a little white   
cap1 his body  clothed in coarse white  
cloth1 barefooted4 ,he lives on rice and
 fruit  and drinks only water4 ,he      
sleeps on the floor--sleeps very little1
 and  works incessantly4 ,his body does 
not seem to count at all4 ,there is     
nothing striking about him1 at first1   
except his expression of great  patience
 and great love4 ,w4 ,w4 ,pearson1 who  

met him in ,south ,africa in  #aiah1    
instinctively thought of ,st4 ,francis  
of ,assisi4 ,there is an almost         
childlike simplicity about him4#a ,his  
manner is gentle and courteous  even    
when dealing with adversaries1#b and he 
is of immaculate  sincerity4#c ,he is   
modest and unassuming1 to the point of  
sometimes  seeming almost timid1        
hesitant1 in making an assertion4 ,yet  
you feel his  indomitable spirit4 ,he   
makes no compromises and never tries to 
hide a  mistake4 ,nor is he afraid to   
admit having been in the wrong4         
,diplomacy  is unknown to him2 he shuns 
oratorical effect or1 rather1 never     
thinks  about it2 and he shrinks        
unconsciously from the great popular    
demonstrations organized in his honor4  
,literally ill with the multitude  that 
adores him1#d he distrusts majorities   
and fears mobocracy and  the unbridled  
passions of the populace4 ,he feels at  
ease only in a  minority1 and is        
happiest when1 in meditative solitude1  

he can listen to  the still small voice 
within4#e    ,this is the man who has   
stirred three hundred million people to 
revolt1  who has shaken the foundations 
of the ,british ,empire1 and who has    
introduced into human politics the      
strongest religious impetus of the  last
 two thousand years4           #b       
,his real name is ,mohandas ,karamchand 
,gandhi4 ,he was born in a little       
semi-independent state in the           
northwestern part of ,india1 at         
,porbandar1  the ,white ,city on the sea
 of ,oman1 ,october #b1 #ahfh4 ,he comes
 of an  ardent and active race1 which to
 this day has been split by civil       
strife2 a practical race1 commercially  
keen1 which established trade  relations
 all the way from ,aden to ,zanzibar4   
,gandhi's father and  grandfather were  
both leaders of the people and met with 
persecution  because of their           
independent spirit4 ,both were forced to
 flee for  safety1 their lives in peril4
 ,gandhi's family was well-to-do and    

belonged to a cultivated class of       
society1 but it was not of superior     
caste4 ,his parents were followers of   
the ,jan school of ,hinduism1 which     
regards ahimsa1#f the doctrine of       
non-injury to any form of life1 as  one 
of its basic principles4 ,this was the  
doctrine which ,gandhi was to  proclaim 
victoriously throughout the world4 ,the 
,janists believe that  the principle of 
love1 not intelligence1 is the road     
which leads to ,god4  ,the ,mahatma's   
father cared little for wealth and      
material values1 and  left scarcely any 
to his family1 having given almost      
everything away to  charity4 ,gandhi's  
mother was a very devout woman1 a sort  
of ,hindu ,st4  ,elisabeth1 fasting1    
giving alms to the poor1 and nursing the
 sick4 ,in  ,gandhi's family the        
,ramayana was read regularly4 ,his first
 teacher was a  ,brahman who taught him 
to memorize the texts of ,vishnu4#g ,in 
later  years ,gandhi expressed regret at
 not being a better ,sanskrit scholar1  

and one of his grievances against       
,english education in ,india is that it 
makes the natives lose the treasures of 
their own language4 ,gandhi  became1    
however1 a profound student of ,hindu   
scriptures1 although he  read the ,vedas
 and the ,upanishads in translation     
only4#h    ,while still a boy he passed 
through a severe religious crisis4      
,shocked  at the idolatrous form        
sometimes assumed by ,hinduism1 he      
became1 or  imagined he became1 an      
atheist1 and to prove that religion     
meant nothing  to him he and some       
friends went so far as to eat meat1 a   
frightful  sacrilege for a ,hindu4 ,and 
,gandhi nearly perished with disgust and
  mortification4#i ,he was engaged at   
the age of eight and married at the  age
 of twelve4#aj ,at nineteen he was sent 
to ,england to complete his  studies at 
the ,university of ,london and at the   
law school4 ,before his  leaving ,india1
 his mother made him take the three vows
 of ,jan1 which  prescribe abstention   

from wine1 meat1 and sexual intercourse4
    ,he arrived in ,london in           
,september1 #ahhh1 and after the first  
few months  of uncertainty and          
deception1 during which1 as he says1 he 
wasted a lot  of time and money trying  
to become an ,englishman1 he buckled    
down to  hard work and led a strictly   
regulated life4 ,some friends gave him a
  copy of the ,bible1 but the time to   
understand it had not yet come4 ,but  it
 was during his stay in ,london that he 
realized for the first time the  beauty 
of the ,bhagavad ,git4 ,he was carried  
away by it4 ,it was the  light the      
exiled ,hindu had been seeking1 and it  
gave him back his faith4  ,he realized  
that for him salvation could lie only in
 ,hinduism4#aa    ,he returned to ,india
 in #ahia1 a rather sad home-coming1 for
 his mother  had just died1 and the news
 of her death had been withheld from    
him4  ,soon afterward he began          
practicing law at the ,supreme ,court of
 ,bombay4  ,he abandoned this career a  

few years later1 having come to look    
upon it  as immoral4 ,but even while    
practicing law he used to make a point  
of  reserving the right to abandon a    
case if he had reason to believe it     
unjust4    ,at this stage of his career 
he met various people who stirred in him
 a  presentiment as to his future       
mission in life4 ,he was influenced by  
two  men in particular4 ,one of them was
 the ,uncrowned ,king of ,bombay1 the   
,parsi ,dadabhai1 and the other         
,professor ,gokhale4 ,gokhale was one of
 the  leading statesmen in ,india and   
one of the first to introduce           
educational  reforms1 while ,dadabhai1  
according to ,gandhi1 was the real      
founder of  the ,indian nationalist     
movement4 ,both men combined the highest
 wisdom  and learning with the utmost   
simplicity and gentleness4#ab ,it was   
,dadabhai who1 in trying to moderate    
,gandhi's youthful ardor1 gave him1  in 
#ahib1 his first real lesson in ahimsa  
by teaching him to apply  heroic        

passivity--if two such words may be     
linked--to public life by  fighting     
evil1 not by evil1 but by love4 ,a      
little later we will discuss  this magic
 word of ahimsa1 the sublime message of 
,india to the world4           #c       
,gandhi's activity may be divided into  
two periods4 ,from #ahih to #aiad its   
field was ,south ,africa2 from #aiad to 
#aibb1 ,india4    ,that ,gandhi could   
carry on the ,south-,african campaign   
for more than  twenty years without     
awakening any special comment in ,europe
 is a proof  of the incredible          
short-sightedness of our political      
leaders1  historians1 thinkers1 and     
believers1 for ,gandhi's efforts        
constituted a  soul's epopee1 unequaled 
in our times1 not only because of the   
intensity  and the constancy of the     
sacrifice required1 but because of the  
final  triumph4    ,in #ahij-ia some    
#aej1jjj ,indian emigrants were settled 
in ,south ,africa1  most of them having 
taken up abode in ,natal4 ,the white    

population  resented their presence1 and
 the ,government encouraged the         
xenophobia of  the whites by a series of
 oppressive measures designed to prevent
 the  immigration of ,asiatics and to   
oblige those already settled in ,africa 
to  leave4 ,through systematic          
persecution the life of the ,indians in 
,africa  was made intolerable2 they were
 burdened with overwhelming taxes and   
subjected to the most humiliating police
 ordinances and outrages of all  sorts1 
ranging from the looting and destruction
 of shops and property to  lynching1 all
 under cover of white civilization4     
,in #ahic ,gandhi was called to         
,pretoria on an important case4 ,he was 
not  familiar with the situation in     
,south ,africa1 but from the very first 
he  met with illuminating experiences4  
,gandhi1 a ,hindu of high race1 who had 
always been received with the greatest  
courtesy in ,england and ,europe1  and  
who until then had looked upon the      
whites as his natural friends1  suddenly

 found himself the butt of the vilest   
affronts4 ,in ,natal1 and  particularly 
in ,dutch ,transvaal1 he was thrown out 
of hotels and trains1  insulted1 beaten1
 and kicked4 ,he would have returned to 
,india at once if  he had not been bound
 by contract to remain a year in ,south 
,africa4  ,during these twelve months he
 learned the art of self-control1 but   
all  the time he longed for his contract
 to expire1 so that he might return  to 
,india4 ,but when at last he was about  
to leave1 he learned that the           
,south-,african ,government was planning
 to pass a bill depriving the  ,indians 
of the franchise4 ,the ,indians in      
,africa were helpless1 unable to  defend
 themselves2 they were completely       
unorganized and demoralized4  ,they had 
no leader1 no one to guide them4 ,gandhi
 felt that it was his  duty to defend   
them4 ,he realized it would be wrong to 
leave4 ,the cause  of the disinherited  
,indians became his4 ,he gave himself up
 to it1 and  remained in ,africa4       

,then began an epic struggle between    
spirit on one side and governmental     
power and brute force on the other4     
,gandhi was a lawyer at the time1 and   
his first step was to prove the         
illegality of the ,asiatic ,exclusion   
,act  from the point of view of law1 and
 he won his case despite the most       
virulent opposition4 ,in this connection
 he had huge petitions signed2 he       
organized the ,indian ,congress at      
,natal1 and formed an association for   
,indian education4 ,a little later he   
founded a paper1 ,indian ,opinion1      
published in ,english and three ,indian 
languages4 ,finally1 in order to  work  
more efficaciously for his compatriots  
in ,africa1 he decided to  become one of
 them4 ,he had a lucrative clientele in 
,johannesburg  7,gokhale says ,gandhi   
was making at that time about five or   
six thousand  pounds a year74 ,he gave  
it up to espouse poverty1 like ,st4     
,francis4 ,he  abandoned all ties in    
order to live the life of the persecuted

 ,indians1  to share their trials4 ,and 
he ennobled them thereby1 for he taught 
them  the doctrine of non-resistance4   
,in #aijd he founded at ,phoenix1 near  
,durban1 an agricultural colony along   
,tolstoian lines4#ac ,he called upon    
his compatriots1 gave them land1 and    
made them take the solemn oath of       
poverty4 ,he took upon himself the      
humblest tasks4    ,for years the silent
 colony resisted the ,government4 ,it   
withdrew from  the cities1 gradually    
paralyzing the industrial life of the   
country1  carrying on a sort of         
religious strike against which          
violence--all  violence--was powerless1 
just as the violence of imperial ,rome  
was  powerless against the faith of the 
first ,christians4 ,yet very few of     
these early ,christians would have      
carried the doctrine of love and        
forgiveness so far as to help their     
persecutors when in danger1 as  ,gandhi 
did4 ,whenever the ,south-,african state
 was in serious difficulties  ,gandhi   

suspended the non-participation of the  
,indian population in  public services  
and offered his assistance4 ,in #ahii1  
during the ,boer  ,war1 he organized an 
,indian ,red ,cross1 which was twice    
cited for bravery  under fire4 ,when the
 plague broke out in ,johannesburg in   
#aijd1 ,gandhi  organized a hospital4   
,in #aijh the natives in ,natal         
revolted4 ,gandhi  organized and served 
at the head of a corps of brancardiers1 
and the  ,government of ,natal tendered 
him public thanks4    ,but these        
disinterested services did not disarm   
the hatred of the  whites4 ,gandhi was  
frequently arrested and imprisoned1#ad  
and shortly  after official thanks had  
been proffered for his services during  
the war  he was sentenced to            
imprisonment and hard labor1 after being
 beaten by  the mob and left behind as  
dead4#ae ,but no abuse1 no persecution1 
could  make ,gandhi renounce his ideal4 
,on the contrary1 his faith in it grew  
stronger for his trials4 ,his only reply

 to the violence meted out to him  in   
,south ,africa was the famous little    
book1 ,hind ,swaraj1#af published  in   
#aijh4 ,this pamphlet on ,indian home   
rule is the gospel of heroic love4      
,for twenty years the struggle lasted1  
reaching its bitterest phase from  #aijg
 to #aiad4 ,although the most           
intelligent and broad-minded ,englishmen
  in ,africa were opposed to it1 in     
#aijf the ,south-,african ,government   
hastily passed a new ,asiatic law4 ,this
 led ,gandhi to organize  non-resistance
 on a large scale4    ,in ,september1   
#aijf1 a huge demonstration took place  
at ,johannesburg1 and  the assembled    
,indians solemnly took the oath of      
passive resistance4 ,the  ,chinese in   
,africa joined the ,hindus2 and         
,asiatics of all races1  religions1 and 
castes1 rich and poor alike1 brought the
 same enthusiasm  and abnegation to the 
cause4 ,the ,asiatics were thrown into  
prison by the  thousand1 and as the     
jails were not large enough1 they were  

hurled into  the mine-pits4 ,but it was 
as if the prisons fascinated these      
people whom  ,general ,smuts1 their     
persecutor1 called conscientious        
objectors4 ,three  times ,gandhi was    
thrown into jail1#ag while others died  
as martyrs4 ,the  movement grew4 ,in    
#aiah it spread from the ,transvaal to  
,natal4 ,huge  strikes and monster      
meetings1 masses of ,hindus marching    
across  ,transvaal1 alarmed and excited 
public opinion in ,africa and ,asia4    
,all  ,india was stirred to indignation1
 and the viceroy1 ,lord ,hardinge1      
driven  by public opinion1 finally      
lodged a protest against the ,government
 of  ,south ,africa4    ,the indomitable
 tenacity and the magic of the ,great   
,soul operated and  won out3 force had  
to bow down before heroic gentleness4#ah
 ,the man  most bitterly opposed to the 
,indians1 ,general ,smuts1 who in #aiji 
had  said he would never erase from the 
statutes a measure prejudicial to the   
,indians1 confessed1 five years later1  

in #aiad1 that he was glad to do  away  
with it4#ai ,an imperial commission     
backed ,gandhi up on almost  every      
point4 ,in #aiad an act abolished the   
three-pound poll-tax1 while  ,natal was 
opened to all ,indians desirous of      
settling there as free  workers4 ,after 
twenty years of sacrifice non-resistance
 was triumphant4           #d      ,when
 ,gandhi returned to ,india he had the  
prestige of a leader4    ,since the     
beginning of the century the movement   
for ,indian independence  had been      
steadily gaining ground1 ,thirty years  
before1 a few broadminded  ,englishmen1 
among whom were ,a4 ,o4 ,hume and ,sir  
,william ,wedderburn1 had  organized a  
,national ,indian ,congress4 ,victorian 
,liberals1 they had given  the ,congress
 a loyalist stamp and had tried to      
consolidate ,india's  claims with the   
demands of ,england's sovereignty4 ,in  
the meantime1  however1 ,japan's victory
 over ,russia had awakened the pride of 
,asiatic  peoples1 and ,indian patriots 

resented ,lord ,curzon's provocative    
attitude4 ,an extremist party was formed
 in the heart of the ,congress1  and its
 more aggressive nationalism            
corresponded to a general sentiment     
throughout the country4 ,until the war  
of #aiad1 however1 the old              
constitutional part remained under the  
leadership of ,g4 ,k4 ,gokhale1 who  was
 a great ,indian patriot1 although he   
believed in loyalty to ,england4        
,although the ,indian ,congress1        
reflecting general sentiment1 was in    
favor  of home rule1 or ,swaraj1 the    
various members disagreed as to the form
  this home rule should take4 ,some     
members believed in cooperation with    
,england2 others wanted to drive the    
,english out of ,india4 ,some advocated 
the dominion system1 as in ,canada1     
while others asserted that ,india       
should aspire to become an independent  
nation like ,japan4 ,gandhi  proposed a 
solution4 ,it was religious rather than 
political1 but at  bottom it was more   

radical than any of the others4 ,the    
principles are to  be found in his ,hind
 ,swaraj4 ,but as this solution was     
based on  conditions in ,south ,africa1 
,gandhi realized it would have to be    
modified  to suit conditions in ,india4 
,he also realized that while his stay in
  ,south ,africa had made him unfamiliar
 with conditions in ,india1 it had      
proved what an irresistible weapon      
ahimsa1 non-violence1 could be4 ,and  he
 determined1 therefore1 to study        
conditions in ,india in order to adapt  
the weapon of ahimsa to them4#bj    ,at 
this time ,gandhi felt no antagonism for
 ,england4 ,on the contrary1  when the  
war broke out in #aiad1 he went to      
,london to organize an ,indian          
ambulance corps4 ,as he explained in a  
letter written in #aiba1 he  honestly   
believed himself a citizen of the       
empire4 ,he refers to his  attitude     
again and again1 as in his letter       
addressed to ,every  ,englishman in     
,india1 published in #aibj4 ,no         

,englishman1 he says1 served  the       
,government more faithfully than he     
during twenty-nine years of  public     
life4 ,he risked his life four times for
 ,england1 and until #aiai  he sincerely
 believed in cooperating with the       
,government4 ,but now he can  do so no  
longer4    ,gandhi was not the only one 
to experience this change of feeling4   
,in  #aiad all ,india had been carried  
away by the hypocritical idealism of the
  so-called war for justice4 ,in asking 
for ,india's support the ,english       
,government had held out the most       
brilliant hopes4 ,the granting of home  
rule1 which the people longed for1 was  
said to depend on ,india's  attitude in 
the war4 ,in ,august1 #aiag1 the clever 
,indian secretary1 ,e4 ,s4  ,montagu1   
promised ,india a government responsible
 to the people4 ,a  consultation took   
place1 and in ,july1 #aiah1 the viceroy1
 ,lord  ,chelmsford1 and ,mr4 ,montagu  
signed an official report recommending  
constitutional reform in ,india4 ,the   

,allied armies were in a most           
precarious position in the early days of
 #aiah4 ,on ,april #b ,lloyd ,george    
had sent an appeal to the people of     
,india1 while the war conference1       
sitting at ,delhi in the end of the same
 month1 had hinted that the hour  of    
,india's independence was near4 ,and    
,india had replied as one man while     
,gandhi promised ,england his loyal     
backing4 ,india contributed #ihe1jjj men
  and made tremendous sacrifices4 ,and  
she waited confidently for the  promised
 reward4    ,the awakening was terrible4
 ,danger was over in the end of #aiah1  
and gone  was the memory of services    
rendered4 ,after the signing of the     
armistice  the ,government saw no reason
 for feigning any longer4 ,instead of   
granting the promised liberties1 it     
suspended whatever freedom already      
existed4 ,the ,rowlatt bills1 proposed  
at the ,imperial ,legislative ,council  
at ,delhi1 expressed an insulting       
distrust of the country which had given 

so many proofs of its loyalty4 ,these   
bills aimed to establish  definitively  
the provisions of the ,defense ,act     
imposed on ,india dining  the war1 and  
made secret police services1 censorship1
 and all the  tyrannical annoyances of a
 real state of siege into a permanent   
reality4  ,there was one burst of       
indignation all over ,india4 ,the revolt
 began4#ba  ,gandhi led it4    ,hitherto
 ,gandhi had been interested in social  
reforms only1 devoting  himself         
particularly to the conditions of       
agricultural workers4 ,at  ,kaira1 in   
the ,gujarat1 and at ,champaran1 in     
,behar1 he had almost  unnoticeably and 
with success tried out the formidable   
weapon which he  was soon to use in     
national struggles4 ,this weapon was the
 will of  active passionate             
non-resistance4 ,we will study it later 
under the name  of ,satyagraha1 which   
,gandhi has given it4    ,until #aiai1  
however1 ,gandhi did not participate    
actively in the ,indian  nationalist    

movement4 ,having been united in #aiaf  
by ,mrs4 ,annie ,besant1  the most      
advanced elements soon outdistanced her 
and rallied under the  leadership of the
 great ,hindu1 ,lokamanya ,bal          
,gangadhar ,tilak1 a man of             
extraordinary energy1 uniting1 as in a  
triple sheaf of iron1 a great  mind1 a  
strong will1 and a high character4 ,his 
intelligence was perhaps  even keener   
than ,gandhi's1 or1 rather1 it was more 
solidly nourished on  old ,asiatic      
culture4 ,he was an erudite1 a          
mathematician1 who had  sacrificed all  
personal ambitions to serve his country4
 ,like ,gandhi1 he  sought no personal  
recognition and longed only for the     
triumph of his  ideal in order to be    
able to retire from the political field 
and go back  to his scientific work4 ,as
 long as he lived he was the undisputed 
leader  of ,india4 ,who can say what    
would have happened if he had not met   
with an  untimely death in #aibj8 ,if   
,tilak had lived1 ,gandhi1 who revered  

,tilak's  genius1 while differing       
radically from him in regard to methods 
and  policies1 would no doubt have      
remained religious leader of the        
movement4  ,how magnificently the people
 of ,india could have marched on under  
such a  double leadership6 ,they would  
have been irresistible1 for ,tilak was a
  master of action1 just as ,gandhi is a
 master of spiritual power4 ,but  fate  
decided otherwise4 ,it is1 perhaps1 to  
be regretted1 not only for  ,tilak's    
sake1 but for ,india's and even for     
,gandhi's4 ,the rle of  minority leader1
 of leader of the moral lite1 would have
 been more in  accordance with ,gandhi's
 inmost desires and nature4 ,he would   
have been  happy to let ,tilak rule the 
majority1 for ,gandhi never had any     
faith in  majorities4 ,but ,tilak had4  
,tilak1 a born mathematician and master 
of  action1 believed in numbers4 ,he was
 democratic instinctively4 ,he was      
resolutely a politician1 who left       
religious considerations aside4 ,he     

claimed that politics were not for      
sadhus 7saints1 pious men74 ,this       
austere scientist would have sacrificed 
truth to patriotism4 ,and this          
scrupulously honest and upright man1    
whose personal life was one of  spotless
 purity1 did not hesitate to say that in
 politics everything is  justified4 ,it 
might be said that ,tilak's conception  
of politics and that  of the dictators  
of ,moscow have something in common4    
,not so with  ,gandhi's ideal4#bb       
,tilak's and ,gandhi's discussions      
brought out their  different points of  
view4 ,between men as sincere as they   
there is bound  to be irreconcilable    
opposition1 since their methods are     
based on their  convictions1 which are  
in fundamental opposition4 ,each man    
respected and  revered the other4 ,but  
,gandhi felt that if it came to the     
point he would  always set truth first  
before liberty and even before his      
country1  whereas ,tilak set his country
 above everything4 ,gandhi feels that no

  matter how great his love for his     
country may be1 his faith in his  ideal1
 in religion as expressed in ,truth1 is 
greater still4    ,as he says on ,august
 #aa1aibj3      ,i am wedded to ,india  
because ,i believe absolutely that she  
has a mission  for the world 444 ,my    
religion has no geographical limits4 ,i 
have a  living faith in it which will   
transcend even my love for ,india       
herself4#bc      ,these noble words give
 the key to the struggle which we now   
will  describe4 ,they prove that the    
,apostle of ,india is the ,apostle of   
the  ,world1 and that he is one of us4  
,the battle the ,mahatma began fighting 
four years ago is our battle4#bd        
#e      ,it should be noted that when   
,gandhi stepped into the political field
 as  leader of the opposition to the    
,rowlatt bills1 he was moved only by a  
desire to spare the country from        
violence4#be ,the revolt was bound to   
come2 he knew there was no possibility  
of avoiding it4 ,the point1  therefore1 

was to turn it into non-violent         
channels4    ,to understand ,gandhi's   
activity1 it should be realized that his
 doctrine  is like a huge edifice       
composed of two different floors or     
grades4 ,below  is the solid groundwork1
 the basic foundation of religion4 ,on  
this vast  and unshakable foundation is 
based the political and social campaign4
 ,it  is not the ideal continuation of  
the invisible foundation1 but it is the 
best structure possible under present   
conditions4 ,it is adapted to           
conditions4    ,in other words1 ,gandhi 
is religious by nature1 and his doctrine
 is  essentially religious4 ,he is a    
political leader by necessity1 because  
other leaders disappear1 and the force  
of circumstances obliges him to  pilot  
the ship through the storm and give     
practical political expression  to his  
doctrine4 ,these developments are       
interesting1 but the essential  part of 
the edifice is the crypt1 which is deep 
and well built and meant  to uphold a   

very different cathedral from the       
structure rapidly rising  above it4 ,the
 crypt alone is durable4 ,the rest is   
temporary and only  designed to serve   
during the transition years1 until the  
plans for a  cathedral worthy of the    
groundwork can be worked out4 ,an       
understanding  of the principles on     
which the vast subterranean crypt is    
based is  essential1 therefore1 for here
 ,gandhi's thought finds its real       
expression4 ,it is into the depths of   
this crypt that he descends every  day  
to seek inspiration and strength to     
carry on the work above4    ,gandhi     
believes in the religion of his people1 
in ,hinduism4 ,but he is  not a scholar1
 attached to the punctilious            
interpretation of texts1 nor  is he a   
blind believer accepting unquestioningly
 all the traditions of  his religion4   
,his religion must satisfy his reason   
and correspond to the  dictates of his  
conscience4      ,i would not make a    
fetish of religion and condone evil in  

its  sacred name4#bf    ,my belief in   
the ,hindu scripture does not require me
 to accept every  word and every verse  
as divinely inspired4 ,i decline to be  
bound by any  interpretation however    
learned it may be if it is repugnant to 
reason or  moral sense4#bg      ,nor    
does he look upon ,hinduism as the only 
religion1 and this is a  very important 
point4      ,i do not believe in the    
exclusive divinity of the ,vedas4 ,i    
believe the  ,bible1 the ,koran and the 
,zend-,avesta to be as divinely inspired
 as the  ,vedas4444 ,hinduism is not a  
missionary religion4 ,in it there is    
room for  the worship of all the        
prophets in the world 444 ,hinduism     
tells every  one to worship ,god        
according to his own faith or ,dharma   
and so it  lives in peace with all      
religions4#bh      ,he sees the errors  
and vices that have crept into religion 
through the  centuries1 and he brands   
them1 but he adds3      ,i can no more  
describe my feeling for ,hinduism than  

for my own wife4 ,she  moves me as no   
other woman in the world can4 ,not that 
she has no faults2  ,i dare say1 she has
 many more than ,i see myself4 ,but the 
feeling of an  indissoluble bond is     
there4 ,even so ,i feel about ,hinduism 
with all its  faults and limitations4   
,nothing elates me so much as the music 
of the  ,git or the ,ramayana by        
,tulasidas1 the only two books in       
,hinduism ,i may  be said to know4 ,i   
know that vice is going on to-day in all
 the great  ,hindu shrines but ,i love  
them in spite of their failings4 ,i am a
  reformer through and through4 ,but my 
zeal never takes me to the  rejection of
 any of the essential things of         
,hinduism4#bi      ,what are the        
essential things in which ,gandhi       
believes8 ,in an article  written       
,october #f1aiba1 ,gandhi defines his   
conception of ,hinduism3      #a4 ,he   
believes1 he says1 in the ,vedas1 the   
,upanishads1 the ,puranas and  all that 
goes by the name of ,hindu scriptures4  

,he believes1 therefore1  in ,avataras  
and rebirth4    #b4 ,he believes in the 
,varnashrama ,dharma#cj or the          
,discipline of the  ,castes1 in a sense 
which he considers strictly ,vedic1 but 
which may  not correspond to the present
 popular and crude sense4    #c4 ,he    
believes in the protection of the cow in
 a much larger sense than  the popular4 
#d4 ,he does not disbelieve in idol     
worship4      ,every ,occidental who    
reads ,gandhi's ,credo and stops at     
these lines is  apt to feel that they   
reveal a mentality so different from    
ours and so  far removed in time and    
space as to make comparison with our    
ideals  impossible1 owing to the lack of
 a common measure4 ,but if he will read 
on1 he will find1 a few lines below1 the
 following words1 which express  a      
doctrine more familiar to us3      ,i   
believe implicitly in the ,hindu        
aphorism that no one truly knows the    
,shastras who has not attained          
perfection in ,innocence ,ahimsa1       

,truth ,satya1 and ,self-,control       
,brahma-,charya and who has not         
renounced all acquisition or possession 
of wealth4      ,here the words of the  
,hindu join those of the ,gospel4 ,and  
,gandhi was  aware of their similarity4 
,to an ,english clergyman who asked him 
in #aibj  which books had influenced him
 most1 ,gandhi replied1 ,the ,new       
,testament4#ca    ,the last words of    
,gandhi's ,ethical ,religion are a      
quotation from the  ,new ,testament1#cb 
and he claims that the revelation of    
passive  resistance came to him after   
reading the ,sermon on the ,mount in    
#ahic4cc ,when the clergyman asked him1 
in surprise1 if he had not found  the   
same message in ,hindu scriptures1      
,gandhi replied that while he has  found
 inspiration and guidance in the        
,bhagavad ,git1 which he reveres  and   
admires1 the secret of passive          
resistance was made clear to him        
through the ,new ,testament4 ,a great   
joy welled up in him1 he says1 when  the

 revelation came to him1 and again when 
the ,git confirmed this  revelation4#cd 
,gandhi also says that ,tolstoi's ideal1
 that the kingdom  of ,god is within us1
 helped him mold his own faith into a   
real  doctrine4#ce    ,it should not be 
forgotten that this ,asiatic believer   
has translated  ,ruskin#cf and ,plato#cg
 and quotes ,thoreau1 admires ,mazzini1 
reads  ,edward ,carpenter1 and that he  
is1 in short1 familiar with the best    
that  ,europe and ,america have         
produced4    ,there is no reason why a  
,westerner should not understand        
,gandhi's  doctrine as well as ,gandhi  
understands those of our great men1     
provided  the ,westerner will take the  
trouble to study ,gandhi a little       
deeply4 ,it  is true that the mere words
 of ,gandhi's creed may surprise him1   
and that  two paragraphs1 in fact1 if   
read superficially1 may seem so         
different  from our mentality as to form
 an almost insurmountable barrier       
between  the religious ideals of ,asia  

and ,europe4 ,one of these paragraphs   
refers  to cow-protection and the other 
to the caste system4 ,as for ,gandhi's  
reference to idol-worship1 it requires  
no special study4 ,gandhi explains  his 
attitude when he says that he has no    
veneration for idols but  believes      
idol-worship to be part of human nature4
 ,he considers it  inherent to the      
frailty of the human mind1 because we   
all hanker after  symbolism and must    
needs materialize our faith in order    
really to  understand it4 ,when ,gandhi 
says he does not disbelieve in          
idol-worship1  he means no more than    
what we countenance in all our          
ritualistic  churches of the ,west4     
,cow-protection1 says ,gandhi1 is the   
central fact of ,hinduism4 ,he looks    
upon it as one of the most wonderful    
phenomena of human evolution4  ,why8    
,because the cow1 to him1 is taken as   
the symbol of the entire  sub-human     
world4 ,cow-protection means that man   
concludes a pact of  alliance with his  

dumb brethren2 it signifies fraternity  
between man and  beast4 ,according to   
,gandhi's beautiful expression1 by      
learning to  respect1 revere1 an animal1
 man is taken beyond his species and is 
enjoined to realize his identity with   
all that lives4    ,if the cow was      
selected in preference to other         
creatures it was because  in ,india the 
cow was the best companion1 the giver of
 plenty4 ,not only  did she give the    
milk but she made agriculture possible4 
,and ,gandhi sees  in this gentle animal
 a poem of pity4    ,but there is       
nothing idolatrous about ,gandhi's      
cow-worship1 and no one  condemns more  
harshly than he the fetishism of many   
so-called believers1  who observe the   
letter of cow-worship without exercising
 a spirit of  compassion for the dumb   
creatures of ,god4 ,whoever understands 
the  spirit of compassion and           
fellow-feeling that ,gandhi would have  
men feel  for their dumb brethren1--and 
who would have understood this better   

than  the poverello ,assisi8--is not    
surprised that ,gandhi lays such stress 
on cow-protection in his creed4 ,from   
this point of view he is quite          
justified in saying that cow-protection 
is the gift of ,hinduism to the  world4 
,to the precept of the gospel1 ,love thy
 neighbor as thyself1  ,gandhi adds1    
,and every living being is thy          
neighbor4#ch    ,gandhi's belief in the 
caste system is almost more difficult   
for a  ,european or ,western mind to    
understand--it seems more foreign1      
almost1  than the idea of the fellowship
 of all living beings4 ,i should perhaps
  say ,european or ,western mind of     
to-day1 for while we still believe in  a
 certain equality1 ,heaven knows how we 
will feel in the future1 when we  become
 thoroughly imbued with the consequences
 of the evolution1  democratic in name  
only1 which we are undergoing6 ,i do not
 imagine that  at our present stage of  
development my explanation of ,gandhi's 
views  will make them seem acceptable as

 regards the caste system2 nor am ,i    
anxious to have them seem so4 ,but ,i   
would like to make it clear that        
,gandhi's conception of the caste system
 is different from what we  usually mean
 by that term1 since he does not base it
 on pride or vain  notions of social    
superiority1 but on duties4      ,i am  
inclined to think he says that the law  
of heredity is an eternal  law1 and that
 any attempt to alter it must lead to   
utter confusion 444  ,varnashrama or the
 caste system1 is inherent in human     
nature4 ,hinduism  has simply reduced it
 to a science4      ,gandhi believes in 
four classes or castes4 ,the ,brahmans1 
the  intellectual and spiritual class2  
the the military and governmental       
class2 the ,vaishyas1 the commercial1   
industrial class2 and the  ,shudras1    
manual workers and laborers4 ,this      
classification does not  imply any      
superiority or inferiority4 ,it simply  
stands for different  vocations4 ,these 
classes define duties1 they confer no   

privileges4#ci      ,it is against the  
genius of ,hinduism to arrogate to      
oneself a higher  status or assign      
others to a lower4 ,all are born to     
serve ,god's  creation1 the ,brahman    
with his knowledge1 the ,kshatriya with 
his  power of protection1 the ,vaishya  
with his commercial ability1 the        
,shudra with his bodily labor4    ,this 
does not mean that a ,brahman is        
absolved from bodily labor but it  does 
mean that he is predominantly a man of  
knowledge and fittest by  training and  
heredity to impart it to others4 ,there 
is nothing again to  prevent a ,shudra  
from acquiring all the knowledge he     
wishes4 ,only he  will best serve with  
his body and need not envy others their 
special  qualities for service4 ,a      
,brahman who claims superiority by right
 of  knowledge falls and has no         
knowledge4 ,varnashrama is              
self-restraint and  conservation of     
economy and energy4444      ,gandhi's   
caste system is based1 therefore1 on    

abnegation and not on  privileges4 ,it  
should not be forgotten1 moreover1 that 
according to  ,hinduism reincarnation   
reestablishes a general equilibrium1 as 
in the  course of successive existences 
a ,brahman becomes a ,shudra1 and  vice 
versa4    ,the caste system1 which deals
 with different classes of equal rank1  
bears no relation whatsoever to the     
attitude of ,hindus to the              
untouchables1 or pariahs4 ,we will study
 later on ,gandhi's passionate  appeals 
for the pariahs4 ,his campaign in favor 
of the suppressed  classes is one of the
 most appealing phases of his           
apostleship4 ,gandhi  regards the pariah
 system as a blot on ,hinduism2 it is a 
vile  deformation of the real doctrine1 
and he suffers intolerably by it4       
,i would rather be torn to pieces than  
disown my brothers of the  suppressed   
classes4444 ,i do not want to be reborn1
 but if ,i have to be  reborn1 ,i should
 be untouchable so that ,i may share    
their sorrows1  sufferings and the      

affronts leveled at them in order that  
,i may endeavor  to free them from their
 miserable condition4      ,and he      
adopts a little untouchable girl and    
speaks with emotion of  this charming   
little imp of seven who rules the       
household with her gay  prattle4        
#f      ,i have said enough to show     
,gandhi's great evangelical heart       
beating  under his ,hindu creed4 ,gandhi
 is a ,tolstoi in a more gentle1        
appeased1  and1 if ,i dared1 ,i would   
say1 in a more ,christian sense1 for    
,tolstoi is  not so much a ,christian by
 nature as by force of will4    ,the    
resemblance between the two men is      
greatest1 or perhaps ,tolstoi's         
influence has been strongest1 in their  
condemnation of ,european and           
,occidental civilization4    ,ever since
 ,rousseau our ,western civilization has
 been attacked by the  freest and       
broadest minds of ,europe4 ,when ,asia  
began to wake to a  realization of her  
own power and revolt against ,western   

oppression1 she  had only to peer into  
,europe's own files to compile          
formidable records  of the iniquity of  
her so-called civilized invaders4       
,gandhi did not fail  to do so1 and in  
his ,hind ,swaraj he cites a list of    
books1 many of  which were written by   
,englishmen1 condemning ,european       
civilization4 ,but  the document to     
which there can be no rejoinder is that 
which ,europe  herself has traced in the
 lifeblood of races oppressed and       
despoiled in  the name of lying         
principles and1 above all1 in the brazen
 revelation of  ,europe's lies1 greed1  
and ferocity as unfolded during the last
 war1  called the ,war for              
,civilization4 ,and in it ,europe sank  
to such depths  that in her insanity she
 even invited the peoples of ,asia and  
,africa to  contemplate her nudity4     
,they saw her and judged her4      ,the 
last war has shown as nothing else has  
the ,satanic#dj nature of the           
civilization that dominates ,europe     

to-day4 ,every canon of public  morality
 has been broken by the victors in the  
name of virtue4 ,no lie  has been       
considered too foul to be uttered4 ,the 
motive behind every  crime is not       
religious or spiritual but grossly      
material444 ,europe  to-day is only     
nominally ,christian4 ,in reality it is 
worshipping  ,mammon4#da      ,you will 
find sentiments such as these expressed 
again and again1 during  the last five  
years1 both in ,india and ,japan4       
,leaders too prudent to  voice them     
openly show by their attitude that such 
is their inmost  conviction4 ,this is   
not the least disastrous result of the  
,pyrrhic  victory of #aiah4    ,gandhi1 
however1 had seen the real face of      
,western civilization long  before      
#aiad4 ,it had revealed itself to him   
unmasked during his twenty  years'      
campaign in ,south ,africa1 and in      
#aijh1 in his ,hind ,swaraj1 he  calls  
modern civilization the great vice4     
,civilization1 says ,gandhi1 is         

civilization in name only4 ,in reality  
it  corresponds to what ancient         
,hinduism called the dark ages4 ,it has 
set  material well-being up as the only 
goal of life4 ,it scorns spiritual      
values4 ,it maddens ,europeans1 leads   
them to worship money only1 and         
prevents them from finding peace or     
cultivating the best within them4       
,civilization in the ,western sense     
means hell for the weak and for the     
working classes4 ,it saps the vitality  
of the race4 ,but this ,satanic         
civilization will destroy itself4       
,western civilization is ,india's real  
enemy1 much more than the ,english1 who1
 individually1 are not bad1 hut  simply 
suffer from their civilization4 ,gandhi 
criticizes those of his  compatriots who
 would want to drive out the ,english1  
to develop ,india  themselves1 and      
civilize her according to ,european     
standards4 ,this1 he  says1 would be    
like having the nature of a tiger       
without the tiger4  ,india's aim should 

be to repudiate ,western civilization4  
,in his arraignment of ,western         
civilization ,gandhi scores three       
categories of men particularly3         
magistrates1 doctors1 and teachers4     
,gandhi's objection to teachers is quite
 comprehensible1 since they have        
brought the ,hindus up to scorn or      
neglect their own language and to       
disown their real aspirations2 in fact1 
the teachers in ,india have  inflicted a
 sort of national degradation on the    
schoolchildren in their  charge4        
,besides1 ,western teachers appeal to   
the mind only2 they neglect  the        
education of the heart and of the       
character4 ,finally1 they  depreciate   
bodily labor1 and to spread a purely    
literary education in a  country where  
eighty per cent of the population is    
agricultural and ten  per cent          
industrial is positively criminal4      
,the profession of magistrate is        
immoral4 ,in ,india the courts are an   
instrument of ,british domination2 they 

encourage dissensions among  ,indians1  
and in a general way they foster and    
increase misunderstanding  and          
animosity4 ,they stand for a fattening1 
lucrative exploitation of the  worst    
instincts4    ,as for the medical       
profession1 ,gandhi admits he was       
attracted to it at  first1 but he soon  
realized it was not honorable4 ,for     
,western medical  science is concerned  
with giving relief to suffering bodies  
only4 ,it  does not strive to do away   
with the cause of suffering and disease1
  which1 as a rule1 is nothing but vice4
 ,in fact1 ,western medical science  may
 almost be said to encourage vice by    
making it possible for a man to  satisfy
 his passions and appetites at the least
 possible risk4 ,it  contributes1       
therefore1 to demoralize people2 it     
weakens their  will-power by helping    
them to cure themselves with black magic
  prescriptions instead of forcing them 
to strengthen their character by        
disciplinary rules for body and soul4#db

 ,in opposition to the false  medical   
science of the ,west1 which ,gandhi has 
often criticized unfairly1  he places   
preventive medical science4 ,he has     
written a little pamphlet  on the       
subject entitled ,a ,guide to ,health1  
which is the fruit of  twenty years'    
experience4 ,it is a moral as well as a 
therapeutic  treatise1 for1 according to
 ,gandhi1 disease is the result of our  
thoughts as much as of our acts4 ,he    
considers it a relatively simple  matter
 to establish certain rules that will   
prevent disease4 ,for all  disease      
springs from the same origin1 i4 e41    
from neglect of the natural  laws of    
health4 ,the body is ,god's             
dwelling-place4 ,it must be kept pure4  
,there is truth in ,gandhi's point of   
view1 but he refuses a little too       
obstinately to recognize the efficacy of
 remedies that have really  proved to be
 useful4 ,his moral precepts are also   
extremely rigid4#dc           #g        
,but the nucleus of modern civilization1

 its heart1 so to speak1 is  machinery4 
,age of iron6 ,heart of iron6 ,the      
machine has become a  monstrous idol4   
,it must be done away with4 ,gandhi's   
most ardent desire  is to see machinery 
wiped out of ,india4 ,to a free ,india1 
heir to ,british  machinery1 he would   
prefer an ,india dependent on the       
,british market4 ,it  would be better to
 buy materials manufactured in          
,manchester than to set  up ,manchester 
factories in ,india4 ,an ,indian        
,rockefeller would be no  better than a 
,european capitalist4 ,machinery is the 
great sin which  enslaves nations1 and  
money is a poison as much as sexual     
vice4    ,indian progressives1 however1 
imbued with modern ideas1 ask what would
  become of ,india if she were to have  
no railroads1 tramways1 or  industries8 
,to this ,gandhi asks if ,india did not 
exist before they were  invented8 ,for  
thousands of years ,india has resisted1 
alone1 unshaken1  the changing flood of 
empires4 ,everything else has passed4   

,but thousands  of years ago ,india     
learned the art of self-control and     
mastered the  science of happiness4 ,she
 has nothing to learn from other        
nations4 ,she  does not need the        
machinery of large cities4 ,her ancient 
prosperity was  founded on the plow and 
the spinning-wheel1 and on a knowledge  
of ,hindu  philosophy4 ,india must go   
back to the sources of her ancient      
culture4  ,not all at once1 of course1  
but gradually4 ,and every one must help 
in  the evolution4#dd    ,this is       
,gandhi's fundamental argument4 ,it is a
 very important one1 and  demands       
discussion4 ,for it stands for a denial 
of progress and1  virtually1 of         
,europe's scientific achievement4#de    
,this medieval  conception is apt1      
therefore1 to clash with the volcanic   
forward march  of the human mind and    
incurs the risk of being blown to bits4 
,but1 first  of all1 it would perhaps be
 wiser to say1 the forward march of a   
certain phase of the human mind1 for if 

one may believe1 as ,i  believe1 in the 
symphonic unity of the universal spirit1
 one must  realize that it is made up of
 many different voices1 each one singing
  its own part4 ,our youthful ,occident 
carried away by its own score1 does  not
 realize sufficiently that it has not   
always led the song1 nor that  its own  
law of progress is subject to eclipses1 
backslidings1 and  recommencements2 that
 the history of human civilization is   
really a  history of human              
civilizations1 and that while within the
 domain of each  civilization a certain 
progress may be discernible1 a progress 
irregular1 chaotic1 broken1 and at times
 completely halted1 it would be  wrong  
to say that the predominance of one     
great civilization over  another        
necessarily implies general human       
progress4    ,but without entering into 
a discussion as to the ,european dogma  
of  progress and merely bearing in mind 
that this dogma1 such as it is1         
conflicts with ,gandhi's faith1 we must 

realize that no conflict will  weaken   
,gandhi's faith4 ,to believe anything   
else would be to show a total  ignorance
 of the workings of the ,oriental mind4 
,as ,gobineau says3  ,asiatics are much 
more obstinate than we1 in every way4   
,they will wait  centuries1 if          
necessary1 for the fulfilment of their  
ideal1 and when it  rises triumphant    
after such a long slumber it does not   
seem to have aged  or lost any of its   
vitality4 ,centuries mean nothing to a  
,hindu4 ,gandhi  is prepared for the    
triumph of his cause within the year4   
,but he is  equally prepared for it     
within the course of several centuries4 
,he does  not force time4 ,and if time  
makes haste slowly1 he regulates his    
gait by  its march4    ,if1 therefore1  
in the course of his campaign ,gandhi   
finds ,india  insufficiently prepared to
 understand and practise the radical    
reforms  he wishes to impose1 he will   
adapt his doctrine to conditions4 ,he   
will  bide his time4 ,that is why it is 

not astonishing to hear the             
irreconcilable enemy of machinery       
declare1 in #aiba3      ,i would not    
weep over the disappearance of machinery
 or consider this a  calamity4 ,but for 
the time being ,i have no designs on    
machinery as  such4#df      ,or3        
,the law of complete ,love is the ,law  
of my being4 ,but ,i am not preaching   
this final law through the political    
measures ,i advocate4 ,i know that  any 
such attempt is foredoomed to failure4  
,to expect a whole mass of men  and     
women to obey that law all at once is   
not to know its working4#dg ,i  am not a
 visionary4 ,i claim to be a practical  
idealist4#dh      ,gandhi never asks men
 for more than they can give4 ,but he   
asks for all  that they can give4 ,and  
this is much in a nation like ,india--a 
formidable nation1 through its numerical
 power1 its force of duration1  and its 
abysmal soul4 ,from the very first      
,gandhi and ,india have formed a  pact2 
they understand each other without      

words4 ,gandhi knows what he can  demand
 of ,india1 and ,india is prepared to   
give whatever ,gandhi may  demand4      
,between ,gandhi and ,india there       
reigns1 first of all1 absolute agreement
  as to goal3 ,swaraj1 home rule1 for   
the nation4#di    ,i know1 he says1 that
 ,swaraj is the object of the nation and
 not  non-violence4    ,and he          
adds--words amazing on his lips1 ,i     
would rather see ,india freed  by       
violence than enchained like a slave to 
her foreign oppressors4    ,but1 he     
continues1 correcting himself at once1  
this is an impossible  supposition1 for 
violence can never free ,india4 ,swaraj 
can only be  attained by soul-force4    
,this is ,india's real weapon1 the      
invincible  weapon of love and truth4   
,gandhi expresses it by the term        
,satyagraha1  which he defines as       
truth-force and love-force4#ej ,gandhi's
 genius  revealed itself when1 by the   
preaching of this gospel1 he revealed to
  his people their real nature and their

 hidden strength4    ,gandhi used the   
word ,satyagraha in ,south ,africa to   
explain the  difference between his     
ideal and that of passive resistance4   
,particular  stress must be laid on the 
difference between these two movements4 
,nothing is more false than to call     
,gandhi's campaign a movement of        
passive resistance4 ,no one has a       
greater horror of passivity than this   
tireless fighter1 who is one of the most
 heroic incarnations of a man  who      
resists4 ,the soul of his movement is   
active resistance--resistance  which    
finds outlet1 not in violence1 but in   
the active force of love1  faith and    
sacrifice4 ,this threefold energy is    
expressed in the word  ,satyagraha4     
,let not the coward try to hide his     
cowardice under ,gandhi's banner6       
,gandhi drives him out of the community4
 ,better violence than cowardice6       
,where there is only a choice between   
cowardice and violence ,i advise        
violence4444#ea ,i cultivate the quiet  

courage of dying without killing4  ,but 
to him who has not this courage ,i      
advise that of killing and of  being    
killed1 rather than that of shamefully  
fleeing from danger4 ,for he  who runs  
away commits mental violence2 he runs   
away because he has not  the courage to 
be killed while he kills4#eb    ,i would
 risk violence a thousand times rather  
than emasculation of the  race4#ec ,i   
would rather have ,india resort to arms 
to defend her honor  than that she      
should in a cowardly manner become or   
remain a helpless  victim to her own    
dishonor4#ed    ,but ,i believe that    
non-violence is infinitely superior to  
violence1  forgiveness more manly than  
punishment4 ,forgiveness adorns a       
soldier4  ,abstinence is forgiveness    
only when there is power to punish2 it  
is  meaningless when it pretends to     
proceed from a helpless creature4444 ,i 
do not believe ,india to be helpless4   
,one hundred thousand ,englishmen  need 
not frighten three hundred million human

 beings4    ,besides4    ,strength does 
not come from physical capacity4 ,it    
comes from an  indomitable will4        
,non-violence does not mean meek        
submission to the will  of the evil-doer
 but the putting of one's whole soul    
against the will of  the tyrant4        
,working under this law of our being it 
is possible for a  single individual to 
defy the whole might of an unjust empire
 and lay  the foundation for that       
empire's fall or its regeneration4      
,but at the cost of what8 ,of           
suffering--the great law4               
,suffering is the mark of the human     
tribe4 ,it is an eternal law4#ee ,the   
mother suffers so that her child may    
live4 ,life comes out of death4 ,the    
condition of wheat growing is that the  
seed grain should perish4 ,no  country  
has ever risen without being purified   
through the fire of  suffering4444 ,it  
is impossible to do away with the law of
 suffering  which is the one            
indispensable condition of our being4   

,progress is to be  measured by the     
amount of suffering undergone 444 the   
purer the  suffering1 the greater is the
 progress4#ef    ,non-violence in its   
dynamic condition means conscious       
suffering4444 ,i  have ventured to place
 before ,india the ancient law of       
self-sacrifice1  the law of suffering4  
,the ,rishis who discovered the law of  
non-violence in the midst of violence   
were greater geniuses than ,newton1     
greater warriors than ,wellington4      
,having themselves known the use of     
arms they realized their uselessness and
 taught a weary world that  salvation   
lay not through violence but through    
non-violence4444 ,the  religion of      
non-violence is not meant merely for the
 ,rishis and  saints4 ,it is meant for  
the common people as well4 ,non-violence
 is the  law of our species as violence 
is the law of the brute4 ,the dignity of
  man requires obedience to a higher    
law--to the strength of the  spirit4444 
,i want ,india to practise non-violence 

being conscious of her  strength and    
power4 ,i want ,india to recognize that 
she has a soul that  cannot perish and  
that can rise triumphant above every    
physical weakness  and defy the physical
 combination of a whole world4#eg       
,exalted pride1 his proud love of       
,india1 demands she should scorn        
violence as unworthy and be ready to    
sacrifice herself4 ,non-violence is  her
 title of nobility4 ,if she abandons it 
she falls4 ,gandhi cannot bear  the     
thought4      ,if ,india made violence  
her creed ,i would not care to live in  
,india4 ,she  would cease to evoke any  
pride in me4 ,my patriotism is          
subservient to my  religion4 ,i cling to
 ,india like a child to its mother's    
breast because ,i  feel that she gives  
me the spiritual nourishment ,i need4   
,if she were to  fail me1 ,i would feel 
like an orphan1 without hope of ever    
finding a  guardian4 ,then the snow     
altitudes of the ,himalayas must give   
what rest  they can to my bleeding      

soul4444#eh           #h      ,but      
,gandhi does not doubt ,india's         
endurance4 ,in ,february1 #aiai1 he     
decided to start the ,satyagraha        
movement1 whose efficacy had already    
been tested during the agrarian revolt  
in #aiah4    ,the campaign is not at all
 political1 as yet3 ,gandhi is still a  
loyalist4 ,and he remains one as long as
 he retains a grain of faith in         
,england's loyalty4 ,until ,january1    
#aibj1 he advocated cooperation with    
the empire1 even though the nationalists
 criticized him bitterly  therefore4#ei 
,gandhi's arguments are inspired by his 
sincere  conviction1 and during the     
first year of his campaign against the  
,government he could truthfully assure  
,lord ,hunter that he believed the      
disciples of ,satyagraha to be the most 
loyal supporters of the  ,constitution4 
,only the narrow-minded obstinacy of the
 ,government forced  ,india's moral     
guide finally to tear up the contract of
 loyalty by which  he considered himself

 hound4    ,to begin with1 therefore1   
the ,satyagraha campaign takes the form 
of  constitutional opposition to the    
,government4 ,it is a respectful appeal 
for certain urgent reforms4 ,the        
,government is guilty of passing an     
unjust law4 ,the ,satyagrahi1 who are   
law-abiding people1 will disobey  this  
law deliberately1 because they consider 
it unjust4 ,if their  attitude does not 
convince the ,government of the         
necessity of repealing  the law1 they   
will extend their disobedience to other 
laws1 and  eventually they may cease all
 cooperation with the ,government4 ,but 
how  different is the meaning which     
,india gives to this word from that     
which  we in the ,west give to it6 ,such
 extraordinary religious heroism as is  
contained in it6    ,as the ,satyagrahi 
are not allowed to use violence in      
advancing their  cause 7the idea being  
that the adversary1 too1 is sincere1    
since what  seems truth to one person   
may seem untruth to another1 while      

violence  never carries conviction71#fj 
they must rely solely on the love-force 
that radiates from their faith and on   
their willingness to accept  suffering  
and sacrifice joyously1 freely4#fa ,this
 constitutes  irresistible propaganda4  
,with it the cross of ,christ and his   
little  flock conquered the ,roman      
,empire4    ,in order to emphasize the  
religious character of the people's     
willingness to sacrifice themselves for 
the eternal ideals of justice  and      
liberty1 the ,mahatma inaugurated the   
movement by setting ,april #f1  #aiai1fb
 aside as a day of prayers and fasting1 
by imposing a hartal  of all ,india4#fc 
,this was the first step4    ,this first
 step went right to the heart of the    
people1 stirred their  inmost           
consciousness4 ,for the first time all  
classes of ,india united in  the same   
ideal4 ,india found herself4    ,order  
reigned everywhere4 ,at ,delhi only     
there were a few  disturbances4#fd      
,gandhi set out to quiet them4 ,but the 

,government had  him arrested and sent  
him back to ,bombay4 ,the news of his   
arrest caused  riots in ,punjab2 at     
,amritsar some houses were looted1 and a
 few people  were killed4 ,in the night 
of ,april #aa ,general ,dyer arrived    
with his  troops and occupied the city4 
,order reigned everywhere4 ,the         
fifteenth  was a great ,hindu feast-day4
 ,a meeting was to take place at an open
  space called ,jallianwalla ,bagh4 ,the
 crowd was peaceful and numbered many   
women and children4 ,the night before   
,general ,dyer had sent out an order    
forbidding public meetings1 but no one  
had heard about it4 ,the general1       
however1 came to ,jallianwalla ,bagh    
with his machine-guns and without       
warning opened fire on the defenseless  
mass of people4 ,the firing lasted      
about ten minutes1 till the ammunition  
was used up4 ,as the grounds were       
surrounded by high walls1 no one could  
escape4 ,from five to six hundred       
,hindus were killed1 and a much larger  

number wounded4 ,there was no one  to   
care for the dead and wounded4 ,as the  
result of the massacre1 martial  law was
 proclaimed1 and a reign of terror      
spread over ,punjab4  ,aroplanes threw  
bombs on the unarmed crowds4 ,the most  
honorable  citizens were dragged to     
court1 flogged1 and forced to crawl on  
their  knees1 and subjected to the most 
shocking indignities4 ,it was as if a   
wind of madness swept over the ,english 
rulers4 ,it was as if the law of        
non-violence1 proclaimed by ,india1     
stirred ,european violence to frenzy4   
,gandhi saw bloodshed and suffering were
 ahead4 ,but he had not promised  to    
lead his people to victory along a white
 road4 ,he had warned them  that the    
path would be washed with blood4        
,jallianwalla ,bagh was only the        
beginning3      ,we must be prepared to 
contemplate with equanimity not a       
thousand  murders of innocent men and   
women but many thousands before we      
attain a  status in the world that shall

 not be surpassed by any nation4444 ,we 
hope1 therefore1 that all concerned will
 take rather than lose heart and  treat 
hanging as an ordinary affair of        
life4#fe      ,owing to the rigorous    
military censorship1 the news of the    
horrors of  ,punjab did not leak out for
 several months4 ,but when it did leak  
out#ff  a wave of indignation swept over
 ,india and alarmed even ,english       
opinion4  ,an investigation was ordered1
 and ,lord ,hunter presided over the    
commission4    ,in the meantime1 the    
,national ,indian ,congress formed a    
subcommission to  carry on              
investigations independently of the     
,government1 but along the  same lines4 
,it was to the obvious interest of the  
,government1 as all  intelligent        
,englishmen realized1 to punish those   
guilty of the massacre  of ,amritsar4   
,gandhi did not demand as much as that4 
,in his admirable  moderation he did not
 ask for the punishment of ,general     
,dyer and the  guilty officers4 ,while  

denouncing them1 he felt no bitterness  
and sought  no vengeance4 ,one bears no 
ill will to a madman4 ,but one must put 
him  where he can do no damage4 ,gandhi1
 therefore1 merely asked that ,general  
,dyer be recalled4 ,but quos vult       
perdere4444 ,before the results of the  
investigation could be published1 the   
,government passed an indemnity act  to 
protect official employees4 ,though     
,dyer was removed from his post1 he  was
 rewarded with money contributed from   
private sources4    ,while ,india was   
still in effervescence after the ,punjab
 affair1 a second  conflict arose       
between the ,government and the people1 
a more serious one  this time1 because  
it implied a flagrant violation of      
solemn promises4  ,the ,government's    
attitude shattered whatever confidence  
,india still had  in the good faith of  
the ,english rulers1 and brought on the 
great  revolt4    ,the ,european ,war   
had placed the ,moslems of ,india in a  
very painful  dilemma4 ,they were torn  

between their duty as loyal citizens of 
the  empire and faithful followers of   
their religious chief4 ,they agreed to  
help ,england when she promised not to  
attack the sultan's or the  caliph's    
sovereignty4 ,it was the sense of       
,moslem opinion in ,india that  the     
,turks should remain in ,turkey in      
,europe and that the sultan should      
retain not only authority over the ,holy
 ,places of ,islam1 but over ,arabia  as
 delimited by ,mohammedan scholars with 
the enclaves of ,mesopotamia1  ,syria1  
and ,palestine4 ,this ,lloyd ,george and
 the viceroy solemnly  promised4 ,when  
the war was over1 however1 all pledges  
were forgotten4  ,and when the rumors of
 the peace terms to be imposed on       
,turkey began to  circulate in #aiai1   
the ,moslems in ,india began to grow    
restless1 and  their discontent finally 
started the ,khilafat or ,califat       
movement4    ,it began ,october #ag1aiai
 7,khilafat day71 with an imposing      
peaceful  demonstration1 which was      

followed1 about a month later 7,november
 #bd71 by  the opening of an ,all-,india
 ,khilafat ,conference at ,delhi4       
,gandhi  presided4 ,with his quick      
glance he had realized that the ,islamic
  agitation might be made into the      
instrument of ,indian unity4 ,the       
problem  of uniting the various races in
 ,india was a most difficult one4 ,the  
,english had always taken advantage of  
the natural enmity between ,hindus  and 
,moslems2 ,gandhi even accuses them of  
having fostered it4 ,at any  rate1 they 
had never tried to conciliate the two   
peoples1 who challenged  each other     
childishly4 ,to annoy the ,mohammedans1 
for instance1 the  ,hindus used to make 
a point of singing when they passed the 
mosques  where silence should reign1    
while the ,mohammedans lost no          
opportunity of  jeering the ,hindus'    
cow-worship4 ,mutual ill will and       
persistent  animosity reigned between   
the two races1 who never associated with
 each  other and were not allowed to    

intermarry or even eat in common4 ,the  
,english ,government rested sweetly on  
the cushion of implicit trust in  the   
impossibility of the two ever agreeing  
and adopting a common policy4  ,when    
,gandhi's voice1 therefore1 proclaimed  
the identity of the ,hindu and  the     
,moslem cause1 it awoke with a start4   
,in an outburst of generosity1  which   
happened to be sound politics1 ,gandhi  
urged the ,hindus to do all  in their   
power to advance ,mohammedan claims4    
,hindus1 ,parsees1 ,christians1 or      
,jews1 if we wish to live as one nation1
  the interest of any one of us must be 
the interest of all4 ,the only  deciding
 consideration can be the justice of a  
particular cause4      ,mohammedan blood
 had already mixed with that of the     
,hindus in the tragic  massacre of      
,amritsar4 ,the two people now had to   
seal their alliance1 an  unconditional  
alliance4 ,the ,moslems were the most   
advanced and audacious  element in      
,india4 ,and they were the first to     

announce1 at this ,khilafat             
,conference1 that they would refuse to  
cooperate with the ,government if  their
 demands were not met4 ,gandhi approved 
of this measure1 but in his  innate     
horror of going to extremes he refused  
at the time to advocate  the boycott of 
,british goods1 for he looked upon the  
boycott as an  expression of weakness or
 thirst for vengeance4 ,a second        
,khilafat  ,conference met at ,amritsar 
in the end of ,december1 #aiai1 and     
decided to  send a deputation to ,europe
 to inform the ,english ,government and 
the  ,supreme ,council of ,india's      
attitude4 ,it also voted for the sending
 of an  ultimatum to the viceroy1       
warning him of trouble if the peace     
terms  should prove unsatisfactory4     
,finally a third conference1 meeting in 
,bombay in ,february1 #aibj1 issued a   
manifesto which1 in its violent         
arraignment of ,great ,britain's policy1
 was a forerunner of the coming  storm4 
,gandhi realized the storm was brewing1 

and instead of trying to call it  forth 
he did all in his power to break its    
violence4    ,it seemed as if ,england  
also realized the danger4 ,by belated   
concessions she seemed to be making     
desperate efforts to avert the          
consequences of her former attitude4 ,an
 ,indian ,reform ,act based on the      
,montagu-,chelmsford report gave the    
people in ,india more influence in the  
,central ,government as well as in local
 administrations4 ,the king  approved   
the act by a proclamation of ,december  
#bd1 #aiai1 in which he  invited the    
people of ,india and the functionaries  
to cooperate with the  ,government in   
every way1 while he also urged the      
viceroy to pardon  political offenses   
and recommended a general amnesty4      
,gandhi1 always  ready to believe in the
 adversary's good faith1 interpreted    
these  measures as signifying a sort of 
tacit agreement to deal more justly     
with ,india1 and he called upon the     
people to welcome the reforms4 ,he      

confessed that they were insufficient1  
but he said they should be  accepted as 
the starting-point for greater          
victories4 ,he urged the  conference to 
approve them unreservedly4 ,after a     
heated debate the  ,national ,indian    
,congress adopted his view4    ,but soon
 it became evident that ,gandhi's hopes 
were built on illusions4  ,the viceroy  
did not heed the king's appeal for      
clemency1 and instead of  setting       
prisoners free1 the doors of the jails  
opened only for  executions4 ,it became 
evident that the promised reforms would 
remain  inoperative4    ,on top of this 
came the news of the peace conditions   
imposed on ,turkey1  ,may #ad1 #aibj4   
,in a message to the people the viceroy 
admitted they would  prove              
disappointing1 but he advised the       
,moslems to resign themselves to  the   
inevitable4    ,then came the           
publication of the official report on   
the ,amritsar  massacres4 ,it was the   
last straw4    ,india's national        

consciousness was aroused4 ,all ties    
were broken4    ,the ,khilafat          
,committee1 meeting at ,bombay1 ,may    
#bh1 #aibj1 passed a  resolution        
adopting ,gandhi's non-cooperation      
policy1 and this resolution  was        
ratified unanimously by the ,moslem     
,conference of ,allahabad1 ,june #hj1   
#aibj4    ,gandhi1 in the meantime1     
wrote an open letter to the viceroy     
informing  him that the movement of     
non-cooperation would begin4 ,he        
explained why  he had recourse to it1   
and his arguments are worth studying1   
for they  prove that even then ,gandhi  
was hoping to avoid a break with        
,england4 ,in  the bottom of his heart  
he still hoped that the ,government     
might be  brought to mend its ways by   
purely legal methods3      ,the only    
course open to me is either in despair  
to sever all connection  with ,british  
rule or1 if ,i still retain faith in the
 inherent  superiority of the ,british  
,constitution1 to adopt such means as   

will  rectify the wrong done and thus   
restore confidence4 ,i have not lost    
faith in the superiority of the ,british
 ,constitution and it is because ,i     
believe in it that ,i have advised my   
,moslem friends to withdraw their       
support from ,your ,excellency's        
,government1 and advised the ,hindus to 
join them4      ,and this noble citizen 
of the empire the blind pride of the    
empire  spurned4          ,footnote #a3 
,as ,c4 ,f4 ,andrews says1 ,he laughs   
like a child and  adores children4      
,footnote #b3 ,few can resist the charm 
of his personality4 ,his bitterest      
enemies become courteous when confronted
 with his beautiful courtesy4  7,joseph 
,j4 ,doke47    ,footnote #c3 ,every     
departure from truth1 no matter how     
trifling1 is  intolerable to him4 7,c4  
,f4 ,andrews47    ,footnote #d3 ,he is  
not a passionate orator2 his manner is  
calm and  serene and he appeals         
particularly to the intelligence4 ,but  
his serenity  places the subject he     

discusses in the clearest light4 ,the   
inflexions of  his voice are not varied 
but they are intensely sincere4 ,he     
never makes  any gestures with his arms1
 in fact he rarely even moves a finger4 
,but  his luminous words1 expressed in  
terse1 concise sentences1 carry         
conviction4 ,he never abandons a subject
 before he feels that he has made  it   
perfectly clear4 7,joseph ,j4 ,doke47   
,footnote #e3 ,young ,india1 ,march #b1 
#aibb4 ,the dates cited in the motes  of
 this volume refer to the date of       
publication of ,gandhi's articles  in   
,young ,india4    ,footnote #f3 ,a1     
privative1 himsa1 to do evil4 ,hence1   
ahimsa1  principle of not harming any   
form of life1 nonviolence4 ,it is one of
  ,hinduism's most ancient precepts1    
proclaimed by ,mahavira1 the founder of 
,janism1 by ,buddha1 as well as by the  
disciples of ,vishnu4    ,footnote #g3  
,he attended the elementary school of   
,porbandar till the age  of seven and   
then the public school of ,rajkot till  

ten4 ,after that he  went to the high   
school of ,katyavar until1 at the age of
 seventeen1 he  entered the ,university 
of ,ahmedabad4    ,footnote #h3 ,he     
described his childhood in a speech at  
the ,pariah  ,conference1 ,april #ac1   
#aiba4    ,footnote #i3 ,long afterward 
he told ,joseph ,doke of the anguish he 
had  suffered after eating meat4 ,he was
 unable to sleep2 he felt like a        
murderer4    ,footnote #aj3 ,he is not  
in favor of child marriages1 however1   
and made a  campaign against them1 on   
the ground that they weaken the race4   
,in  exceptional cases1 however1 he says
 that such unions1 sealed before the    
individual's character is molded1 may   
build up between husband and wife  an   
exceptionally beautiful relationship of 
sympathy and harmony4  ,gandhi's own    
wife is an admirable example of this4   
,mrs4 ,gandhi shared  all her husband's 
trials and adversities with unfailing   
steadfastness of  purpose and           
indomitable courage4    ,footnote #aa3  

,speech of ,april #ac1 #aiba4           
,footnote #ab3 ,these two men1          
precursors1 have suffered from the      
ingratitude and forgetfulness of younger
 generations4 ,their political  ideal   
having been surpassed1 their efforts in 
paving the way have been  deprecated4   
,gandhi1 however1 always realized their 
contribution to the  cause and remained 
true to them1 particularly to ,gokhale1 
for whom he  felt a deep and almost     
religious affection4 ,he frequently     
speaks of  ,gokhale and ,dadabhai as men
 whom ,young ,india should venerate4    
7,see ,hind  ,swaraj1 ,letter to the    
,parsecs1 ,young ,india1 ,march #bc1    
#aiba1 and the  ,confession of ,faith1  
,july #ac1 #aiba47    ,footnote #ac3 ,a 
long letter from ,tolstoi to ,gandhi is 
published in the  ,golden ,number of    
,indian ,opinion4 ,it was written       
,september #g1 #aiaj1  shortly before   
,tolstoi's death4 ,tolstoi had read     
,indian ,opinion1 and  he was gratified 
to hear of the ,indian non-resisters4   

,he praised their  campaign and says    
that non-resistance is the law of love1 
an aspiration  to form part of the      
communion of human souls4 ,it is the law
 of ,christ  and of all the spiritual   
leaders of the world4    ,my friend     
,paul ,biroukoff found several other    
letters from ,tolstoi to  ,gandhi in the
 ,tolstoi archives at ,moscow4 ,he is   
planning to publish them  in a volume   
entitled ,tolstoi and the ,orient1      
adding them to several  other letters   
written by ,tolstoi to various great men
 of the ,east4    ,footnote #ad3 ,gandhi
 himself tells in his quiet humorous way
 of his  experiences in prison in a     
curious article printed in the volume1  
,speeches and ,writings of ,m4 ,k4      
,gandhi1 ,natesan1 ,madras1 pp4         
#aeb-agh4    ,footnote #ae3 ,in #aijg   
,gandhi was the victim of the violence  
of his own  compatriots1 for his        
moderation was eyed with suspicion by   
certain  ,indians1 while1 the           
,government1 on the other hand1 did all 

in its power  to compromise him4        
,gandhi1 therefore1 suffered from the   
violence of the  oppressed as well as of
 the oppressors4    ,footnote #af3 ,i   
will dwell on ,hind ,swaraj a little    
more at length1  later on4    ,footnote 
#ag3 ,joseph ,j4 ,doke1 interesting     
because of his interviews with  ,gandhi1
 tells in the last chapter of his book  
how1 in #aijh1 ,gandhi was  led to the  
fort of ,johannesburg in prison garb and
 thrown into a cell  with ,chinese      
common-law criminals of the worst sort4 
,footnote #ah3 ,two high-minded         
,englishmen1 ,c4 ,f4 ,andrews and ,w4   
,w4  ,pearson1 seconded ,gandhi's       
efforts by all means within their power4
    ,footnote #ai3 ,gandhi refers to    
this in an article dated ,may #ab1      
#aibj4    ,footnote #bj3 ,shortly before
 he died1 ,gokhale1 ,gandhi's beloved   
master1  had suggested that ,gandhi make
 a trip through ,india and study        
conditions  at first hand1 before going 
into politics4 ,and ,gandhi had promised

 not  to take an active part in the     
political life of ,india for a year4    
,footnote #ba3 ,the ,satyagraha movement
 may be said to have begun  ,february   
#bh1 #aiai4    ,footnote #bb3 ,gandhi   
explained his attitude toward           
,bolshevism on  ,november #bd1 #aiba4   
,footnote #bc3 ,august #aa1 #aibj3      
,gandhi protests against the doctrine   
of the sword4    ,footnote #bd3         
,humanity is one4 ,there are different  
races1 but the  higher a race the       
greater its duties4 7,ethical ,religion7
    ,footnote #be3 ,november #e1 #aiai4 
,footnote #bf3 ,october #bg1 #aibj4     
,footnote #bg3 ,october #f1 #aiba4      
,footnote #bh3 ,all religions are like  
different roads leading to the same     
goal4 7,hind ,swaraj47 ,all religions   
are founded on the same moral  laws4 ,my
 ethical religion is made up of laws    
which bind men all over the  world4     
7,ethical ,religion47    ,footnote #bi3 
,october #f1 #aiba4    ,footnote #cj3   
,etymologically1 varna1 color1 class or 

caste2 ashrama1  place of discipline2   
dharma1 religion4 ,society1 in other    
words1 stands  for discipline of the    
castes4    ,footnote #ca3 ,february #be1
 #aibj4 ,in a second line ,gandhi adds1 
,ruskin  and ,tolstoi4    ,footnote #cb3
 ,seek the ,kingdom of ,god and ,his    
righteousness and all  these things     
shall be added unto you4    ,footnote   
#cc3 ,young ,india1 ,february #be1      
#aibj4    ,footnote #cd3 ,he says to    
,joseph ,j4 ,doke in #aijh that ,god has
 been  incarnate throughout the ages1 in
 different forms1 because1 as explained 
in the ,git1 ,krishna says3 ,when       
religion falls into decadence and       
unbelief prevails1 ,i manifest myself4  
,for the protection of all that is      
good1 and the destruction of all that is
 evil1 for the establishment of         
,dharma1 ,i must be born and reborn1 for
 ever and ever4 ,christianism is  part  
of ,gandhi's theology4 ,christ is a     
radiant revelation of ,god4 ,but  not   
the only revelation4 ,he is not seated  

on the throne alone4    ,footnote #ce3  
,the ,hind ,swaraj contains a list of   
about sixty of  ,tolstoi's works which  
,gandhi recommends to his followers1    
among them1  ,the ,kingdom of ,god ,is  
within ,you1 ,what ,is ,art8 and ,what  
,shall ,we ,do8  ,he tells ,joseph ,doke
 that ,tolstoi influenced him deeply1   
but that he  does not agree with        
,tolstoi's political ideals4 ,to a      
question asked him  in #aiba as to his  
feeling for and opinion of ,count       
,tolstoi1 ,gandhi  replies 7in ,young   
,india of ,october #be1 #aiba71 ,my     
relation to him was  that of a devoted  
admirer who owes him much in life4      
,footnote #cf3 ,he was particularly fond
 of ,ruskin's ,crown of ,wild  ,olives4 
,footnote #cg3 ,apologia and ,death of  
,socrates1 translated by ,gandhi1  was  
one of the books confiscated by the     
,indian ,government in #aiai4           
,footnote #ch3 ,in regard to cow-worship
 see ,young ,india1 ,march #af1 ,june   
#h1 ,june #bi1 ,august #d1 #aibj1 and   

,may #ah1 ,october #f1 #aiba4 ,in regard
 to  castes see articles ,december #h1  
#aibj1 and ,october #f1 #aiba4          
,footnote #ci3 ,this is in accordance   
with the ,upanishads1 for when the      
primitive classes hardened into proud   
castes1 in the course of  centuries1    
these ,hindu scriptures express protest 
and disapproval4    ,footnote #dj3 ,a   
term often used by ,gandhi4             
,untouchability is an  invention of     
,satan4 7,june #ai1 #aiba47    ,footnote
 #da3 ,september #h1 #aibj4    ,footnote
 #db3 ,it should not be forgotten that  
one of ,gandhi's main  arguments against
 the medical science of ,europe is its  
use of  vivisection1 which he brands as 
man's blackest crime4    ,footnote #dc3 
,particularly in regard to sexual       
relations4 ,gandhi's  doctrine resembles
 that of ,st4 ,paul in its rigorism4    
,footnote #dd3 ,hind ,swaraj4           
,footnote #de3 ,although ,gandhi does   
not approve of ,european science1 he    
realizes the necessity of scientific    

achievement4 ,he admires the            
disinterested zeal and the spirit of    
self-sacrifice of ,european men of      
science and frequently calls their      
abnegation greater than that of ,hindu  
believers4 ,but he disapproves the goal 
they are pursuing even though he        
admires their state of mind4 ,there is  
an evident antagonism between  ,gandhi  
and ,european science4 ,and in this     
connection we will see1 later  on1 how  
,tagore protests against ,gandhi's      
medievalism4    ,footnote #df3 ,january 
#ai1 #aiba4    ,footnote #dg3 ,march #i1
 #aibj4    ,footnote #dh3 ,august #aa1  
#aibj4    ,footnote #di3 ,etymology3    
,swa1 self2 raj1 government1 autonomy4  
,the  word is as old as the ,vedas1 but 
it was adopted by ,dadabhai1 ,gandhi's  
,parsee master1 who made it part of the 
political vocabulary4    ,footnote #ej3 
,etymology3 ,satya1 just right2 ,agraha1
 attempt1 effort4  ,hence1 ,satyagraha1 
a just effort1 in the sense of meaning  
non-acceptation of or resistance to     

injustice4 ,gandhi defines it1          
,november #e1 #aiai1 as meaning holding 
on to truth1 hence1 truth-force4  ,and  
he adds1 ,i have also defined it as     
love-force or soul-force4    ,footnote  
#ea3 ,august #aa1 #aibj4    ,footnote   
#eb3 ,october #bj1 #aiba4    ,footnote  
#ec3 ,august #d1 #aibj4    ,footnote    
#ed3 ,august #aa1 #aibj4 ,one of the    
rules of the ,satayagraha  ,ashram1 the 
school founded by ,gandhi1 is absence of
 fear4 ,the spirit  must be freed from  
fear of kings1 nations1 castes1 family1 
men1 wild  beasts1 and death4 ,it is    
also the fourth condition of non-violent
  resistance in the ,hindra4 ,the others
 are chastity1 poverty1 and truth4      
,footnote #ee3 ,june #af1 #aibj4        
,footnote #ef3 ,august #aa1 #aibj4      
,footnote #eg3 ,april #f1 #aiba4        
,footnote #eh3 ,a few months before his 
imprisonment ,gandhi replies to the     
criticisms as to illogic of his conduct4
 ,his critics jeer at the  assistance he
 tendered ,england in ,south ,africa and

 during the ,world ,war4  ,gandhi1 in   
replying1 does not try to evade the     
issue4 ,he honestly  believed1 he says1 
that he was a citizen of the empire2 it 
was not his  business to judge the      
,government4 ,he would consider it wrong
 for every  man to look upon himself as 
justified in criticizing the            
,government4 ,he  had confidence in     
,england's wisdom and loyalty as long as
 possible4 ,the  ,government's          
aberration has destroyed his faith in   
it4 ,let the  ,government take the      
consequences6 7,november #ag1 #aiba47   
,footnote #ei3 ,april #f1 #aiba4        
,footnote #fj3 ,on the contrary1        
violence degrades the person who makes  
use of it4 ,the ,allies' violence made  
them like unto the ,germans1 whose  acts
 they flayed1 in the beginning of the   
war4 7,june #i1 #aibj47    ,footnote    
#fa3 ,the hardest fiber must melt in the
 fire of love4 ,if it  does not melt it 
is because the fire is not strong       
enough4 7,march #i1  #aibj47 ,those     

joining the ,satyagraha movement had to 
promise to disobey  the laws declared by
 the ,satyagraha committee to be unjust1
 to follow  in the path of truth1 and to
 abstain from all violence against the  
lives1 persons1 or property of their    
adversaries4    ,footnote #fb3 ,march   
#bc1 #aiai4    ,footnote #fc3 ,this     
,hindustani word of ,mohammedan origin  
means  cessation of work4    ,footnote  
#fd3 ,delhi1 incidentally1 made a       
mistake in the date  of the hartal and  
celebrated it ,march #cj4    ,footnote  
#fe3 ,april #g1 #aibj4    ,footnote #ff3
 ,gandhi1 to quiet the effervescence    
instead of trying to  exploit it as an  
ordinary revolutionary leader would have
 done1  suspended the movement on ,april
 #ah4          ,,part ,,two           #a
      ,on ,july #bh1 #aibj1 ,gandhi     
announced that non-coperation would be  
proclaimed ,august #a1 and as a         
preparatory measure he ordered that a   
day  of fasting and prayer be held the  
day before4 ,he had no fear of          

governmental fury1 but he feared the    
fury of the populace1 and he bent  every
 effort to have order and discipline    
reign within the ,indian ranks4  ,he    
declared3      ,effective non-coperation
 depends upon complete organization4    
,disorderliness comes from anger4 ,there
 must be no violence4 ,violence  means  
retrogression in our case1 and useless  
waste of innocent lives4  ,above        
everything else1 there must be complete 
order4      ,the tactics of             
non-coperation had been defined two     
months before by  ,gandhi and the       
committee of non-coperation1 and they   
included the  following measures3       
7#a7 ,surrender of all titles of honor  
and honorary offices4    7#b7           
,non-participation in government loans4 
7#c7 ,suspension by lawyers of practice1
 and settlement of court disputes  by   
private arbitration4    7#d7 ,boycott of
 government schools by children and     
parents4    7#e7 ,boycott of the        
reformed ,councils4    7#f7             

,non-participation in government parties
 and other official  functions4    7#g7 
,refusal to accept any civil or military
 post4    7#h7 ,agreements to spread the
 doctrine of ,swadeshi4#fg    ,in other 
words1 the negative part of the program 
should be completed by  constructive    
measures1 which would lead to the       
building up of the new  ,india of the   
future4    ,this program specified the  
first steps to be taken1 and we must    
admire  the prudent sagacity of the     
leader who1 after cranking up the       
enormous  machine of ,hindu revolt1     
stops it short1 so to speak1 and holds  
it back1  pulsating1 at the first turn1 
a method in startling opposition to that
  of our ,european revolutionaries4     
,gandhi is not planning civil           
disobedience for the present4 ,he knows 
civil disobedience4 ,he has  studied it 
in ,thoreau1 whom he quotes in his      
articles1 and he takes  pains to explain
 the difference between it and          
non-coperation4 ,civil  disobedience1 he

 says1 is more than a mere refusal to   
obey the law4 ,it  means deliberate     
opposition to the law2 it is an         
infraction of the law1  and can be      
carried out only by an elite1 while     
non-coperation should  be a mass        
movement4 ,gandhi means to prepare the  
masses in ,india for  civil disobedience
 but they must be trained for it by a   
gradual process4  ,he knows that at     
present people are not ripe for it1 and 
he does not  want to set them loose     
before he feels sure that they have     
mastered the  art of self-control4 ,so  
he launches non-coperation4             
,non-coperation1  in this first stage1  
does not include a refusal to pay taxes4
 ,gandhi is  biding his time4    ,august
 #a1aibj1 ,gandhi gives the signal for  
the movement by his famous  letter to   
the viceroy1 surrendering his           
decorations and honorary titles3        
,it is not without a pang that ,i return
 the ,kaisar-i-,hind ,gold ,medal       
granted to me by your predecessor for my

 humanitarian work in ,south  ,africa1  
the ,zulu ,war ,medal1 granted in ,south
 ,africa for my services as  officer in 
charge of the ,indian ,volunteer        
,ambulance ,corps in #aijf1 and  the    
,boer ,war ,medal for my services as    
assistant superintendent of the  ,indian
 ,volunteer ,stretcher-bearer ,corps    
during the ,boer ,war of  #ahii-aijj4   
,but1 he adds1 after referring to the   
scenes that took place in the  ,punjab  
and the events back of the ,khilafat    
movement3      ,i can retain neither    
respect nor affection for a ,government 
which has  been moving from wrong to    
wrong in order to defend its            
immorality4444  ,the ,government must be
 moved to repentance4    ,i have        
therefore ventured to suggest           
non-coperation which enables  those who 
wish to disassociate themselves from the
 ,government and which1  if unattended  
by violence1 must compel the ,government
 co retrace its  steps and undo its     
wrongs4      ,and ,gandhi expresses the 

hope that the viceroy will see his way  
to do  justice1 and that he will call a 
conference of the recognized leaders of 
the people1 and consult with them4      
,gandhi's example was immediately       
followed4 ,hundreds of magistrates sent 
in their resignations1 thousands of     
students left the colleges1 the  courts 
were abandoned1 the schools were        
emptied4 ,the ,all-,india ,congress1    
meeting in special session in ,calcutta 
in the beginning of ,september1         
approved ,gandhi's decisions by an      
overwhelming majority4 ,gandhi and his  
friend ,maulana ,shaukat ,ali toured the
 country and met with tremendous        
ovations everywhere4    ,never did      
,gandhi show himself a greater leader   
than during the first  year of his      
action4 ,he had to hold back the        
violence that lay  smoldering1 ready to 
leap into flame at the slightest        
provocation4  ,gandhi fears and abhors  
mob violence more than anything else4   
,he  considers mobocracy the greatest   

danger that menaces ,india4 ,he hates   
war1 but would rather have it than the  
insane violence of ,caliban4 ,if  ,india
 has to achieve her freedom by violence1
 let it be by the  disciplined violence 
named war1 not by mob revolts4 ,gandhi  
looks with  disfavor upon all           
demonstrations and mass-meetings1 even  
in celebration  of some joyous event1   
for out of a large crowd filled with    
noise and  confusion frenzied violence  
may burst for no apparent reason4 ,and  
he  insists on the necessity of         
maintaining strict discipline4 ,we must 
evolve order out of chaos1 he says1     
introduce people's law instead of  mob  
law4 ,and the mystic with the clear1    
firm eyes1 whose sound  practical sense 
equals that of the great ,european      
mystics who founded  religious orders   
and dominated the souls of men1 gives   
precise1 detailed  rules as to how to   
canalize the torrents of popular        
meetings and  demonstrations4    ,one   
great stumbling-block1 he says1 speaking

 of the organization of  mass-meetings1 
is that we have neglected music4 ,music 
means rhythm1  order4 ,unfortunately1 in
 ,india1 music has been the prerogative 
of the  few4 ,it has never become       
nationalized4444 ,i would make          
compulsory a  proper singing1 in        
company1 of national songs4 ,and to that
 end ,i would  have great musicians     
attending every congress or conference  
and teaching  mass music4 ,nothing is so
 easy as to train mobs1 for the simple  
reason  that they have no mind1 no      
meditation4    ,gandhi makes a list of  
suggestions4 ,no raw volunteers should  
be accepted  to assist in the           
organization of the big demonstrations4 
,none but the  most experienced should  
be at the head4 ,volunteers should      
always have a  general instruction-book 
on their persons4 ,they should be       
dispersed  among the crowd and should   
learn flag and whistle signaling to pass
  instructions4 ,national cries should  
be fixed and raised at the right        

moment4 ,crowds should be prevented from
 entering the railroad stations2  they  
should be taught to stand back and leave
 a clear passage in the  streets for    
people and carriages4 ,little children  
should never be  brought out in the     
crowds1 etc4    ,in other words1 ,gandhi
 makes himself the orchestra leader of  
his oceans  of men4#fh           #b     
,but while the mob may break out into   
violence1 unconsciously1 blindly1  moved
 by a sudden unreasonable impulse1 there
 is a political faction  which advocates
 violence deliberately and consciously4 
,many of the best  men in ,india believe
 that national independence can be      
reached only by  violent methods4 ,this 
faction does not understand ,gandhi's   
doctrine and  does not believe in its   
political efficacy4 ,it demands action1 
direct  action4 ,gandhi receives        
anonymous letters urging him to stop    
advocating  non-violence1 and1 worse1   
others implying cynically that his      
doctrine of  non-violence is merely a   

mask and that the time has now come to  
throw it  aside and give the signal for 
battle4 ,gandhi replies vehemently4 ,he 
discusses the arguments passionately4#fi
 ,in a series of beautiful  articles he 
censures the doctrine of the sword4 ,he 
denies that ,hindu  scriptures and the  
,koran approve violence4 ,violence is   
not part of the  doctrine of any        
religion4 ,jesus is the prince of       
passive resistance4 ,the  ,bhagavad ,git
 does not preach violence1 but the      
fulfilment of duty even  at the cost of 
one's life4#gj ,as man has not been     
given the power to  create1 he has not  
the right to destroy the smallest       
creature that  lives4 ,there must be no 
hatred for any one1 not even for the    
evil-doer2  but this does not mean that 
one should tolerate evil4 ,gandhi would 
nurse  ,general ,dyer if he were ill1   
but if his own son lived a life of      
shame1  he would not help him by        
continuing to support him4 ,on the      
contrary1 my  love for him would require

 me to withdraw all support from him1   
although  this might even mean his      
death4 ,no one has the right to compel  
another  by physical force to become    
good4 ,but one is under the obligation  
to  resist him by leaving him1 no matter
 what may happen1 and by welcoming  him 
to one's bosom if he repents4#ga        
,while ,gandhi curbs the violent        
elements1 he stimulates the hesitating4 
,he reassures those who are afraid of   
taking a decisive step3      ,never has 
anything been done on this earth without
 direct action4 ,i  rejected the word   
passive resistance because of its       
insufficiency4444  ,it was1 however1    
direct action in ,south ,africa which   
told1 and told so  effectively that it  
converted ,general ,smuts to sanity4    
,what was the  larger symbiosis that    
,buddha and ,christ preached8           
,gentleness and love4  ,buddha          
fearlessly carried the war into the     
enemy's camp and brought down  on its   
knees an arrogant priesthood4 ,christ   

drove out the money-changers  from the  
temple of ,jerusalem and drew down      
curses from heaven upon the  hypocrites 
and the ,pharisees4 ,both were for      
intensely direct action4 ,but  even as  
,buddha and ,christ chastened1 they     
showed unmistakable gentleness  and love
 behind every act of theirs4#gb         
,gandhi also appeals to the generosity  
and the common sense of the             
,english4#gc ,he calls the ,english his 
dear friends and points out that  he has
 been their faithful companion for more 
than thirty years4 ,he asks  them to    
make up for the ,government's perfidy1  
which by its treachery has  completely  
shattered his faith in its good         
intentions4 ,but he still  believes in  
,english bravery and in ,english respect
 for other people's  bravery4 ,bravery  
on the battle-field is impossible for   
,india1 but  bravery of the soul remains
 open to us4 ,non-coperation means      
nothing  less than training in          
self-sacrifice4 ,i expect to conquer you

 by my  suffering4    ,in the first four
 or five months' preliminary campaign   
,gandhi was not  trying to paralyze the 
,government through non-coperation2 his 
idea was  rather to lay the foundation  
for the building up of a new ,india     
which  would be independent mentally1   
morally1 and economically4 ,gandhi      
expresses the idea of ,india's economic 
independence by the term  ,swadeshi1 and
 he takes the word in its narrow and    
physical sense4    ,india must learn to 
go without many comforts and to accept  
hardships  without a murmur4 ,a salutary
 discipline1 this2 necessary moral      
hygiene4  ,the nation's health as well  
as its character will benefit thereby4  
,gandhi's first move is to free ,india  
from the curse of drink4 ,groups  must  
be formed to advocate temperance4       
,european wines must be boycotted2      
liquor-dealers must be induced to       
surrender their licenses4#gd ,all       
,india responded to the ,mahatma's      
appeal4 ,such a strong wave of          

temperance swept over ,india that       
,gandhi had to interfere to prevent the 
crowds from sacking and looting the     
wine-shops and closing them by  force4  
,you must not try to compel another by  
physical force to become  good1 he      
explained to the masses4    ,but if it  
was a relatively easy matter to rid     
,india of the curse of  drink1 it was   
much more difficult to provide her with 
means of  subsistence4 ,if cooperation  
with ,england ceased1 what would ,india 
live  on8 ,what would she clothe herself
 in if ,european products were tabooed8 
,gandhi's solution is one of utmost     
simplicity and reveals the medieval     
turn of his mind3 he undertakes to      
reestablish the old ,indian industry  of
 home spinning1 introduce the           
spinning-wheels4    ,this patriarchal   
solution of the social problem has      
naturally met with  ridicule4#ge ,but   
conditions in ,india and ,gandhi's      
interpretation of the  term charka must1
 be taken into consideration4 ,gandhi   

has never  claimed that spinning alone  
would constitute a means of livelihood  
except for the very poor2 but he does   
claim that it could supplement          
agriculture during the months when work 
in the fields is at a  standstill4      
,india's problem is not theoretical1 but
 real and pressing4  ,eighty per cent of
 the population of ,india is            
agricultural1 and is  therefore without 
employment virtually four months of the 
year4 ,one  tenth of the population is  
normally exposed to famine4 ,the middle 
class  is underfed4 ,what has ,england  
done to remedy these conditions8        
,nothing4  ,on the contrary1 she has    
aggravated them1 for ,english           
manufactures have  ruined local         
industries1 pumped the resources of     
,india1 bleeding the  country for more  
than sixty million rupees a year4       
,india1 who grows all  the cotton she   
requires1 is forced to export millions  
of bales to ,japan  and ,lancashire1    
whence it is returned to her in the form

 of manufactured  calico1 which she must
 buy at exorbitant prices4 ,the first   
thing for  ,india to do1 therefore1 is  
to learn to do without ruinous foreign  
goods1  and in order to do this she must
 organize workshops of her own to give  
employment and food to her people4      
,there is no time to lose4 ,now1        
nothing can be organized more rapidly   
and economically than the industry  of  
spinning and weaving at home4 ,the idea 
is not to induce well paid  agricultural
 laborers to give up their work and to  
spin1 but to urge the  unemployed1 and  
all those who do not have to work for a 
living1 such as  women and children1 as 
well as all ,hindus who may have some   
spare time  during the day1 to spin in  
their leisure hours4 ,gandhi orders1    
therefore1 7#a7 the boycotting of       
foreign goods1 7#b7 the teaching of     
spinning and weaving1 7#c7 the buying of
 hand-woven cloth only4    ,gandhi gives
 himself up tirelessly to this idea4 ,he
 says spinning is a  duty for all       

,india4#gf ,he wants poor children to   
pay for their tuition  at school by a   
certain number of hours of spinning2 he 
wants every one1  man and woman1 to     
contribute at least one hour a day1 as  
charity1 to  spinning4 ,he gives the    
most precise directions as to the choice
 of  cotton1 spinning-wheels1 etc41 and 
information on all sorts of technical   
details of spinning and weaving2 he     
gives practical advice to those who     
wish to buy hand-woven cloth1 to the    
fathers of large families1 as well  as  
to pupils in the schools4 ,he explains1 
for instance1 how one may  start a      
,swadeshi shop--a shop dealing in the   
products of ,hindu  industry--with but  
little capital1 make ten per cent       
profits1 etc4 ,he  becomes lyrical when 
he describes the music of the           
spinning-wheel1#gg  the oldest music in 
,india1 which delighted ,kahir1 the     
poet-weaver1 and  ,aureng-,zeb1 the     
great emperor1 who wove his own caps4   
,gandhi was able to fire public         

enthusiasm4 ,the great ladies of ,bombay
  took up spinning4 ,hindu and ,moslem  
women agreed to wear only national      
cloth1 which became all the fashion4    
,tagore1 too1 praised this khaddar  or  
khadi1 as the hand-woven cloth was      
called1 which he said was in  excellent 
taste4 ,orders poured in4 ,some came    
from as far as ,aden and  ,baluchistan4 
,but the disciples of ,swadeshi went a  
little too far when they began          
boycotting foreign materials1 and even  
,gandhi1 usually sane and well          
balanced1 was carried away4 ,in ,august1
 #aiba1 he ordered the binning of  all  
foreign goods in ,bombay1 and as in the 
days of ,savonarola in  ,florence1      
,christo regnante1 magnificent family   
heirlooms1 priceless  stuffs and        
materials1 were piled into huge heaps   
and devoured by the  flames in the midst
 of riotous cheers and enthusiasm4 ,in  
this connection  one of the most        
broad-minded ,englishmen in ,india1 ,c4 
,f4 ,andrews1 a great  friend of        

,rabindranath ,tagore1 wrote a letter to
 ,gandhi4 ,while  expressing his great  
admiration for the ,mahatma1 he deplored
 that such  valuable materials should   
have been burned instead of having been 
given  to the poor4 ,he added that he   
believed the process of destruction     
called  forth the worst instincts of the
 masses1 and he protested against the   
outbursts of a nationalism which        
virtually set destruction up as a       
religious dogma4 ,he could not help     
feeling that it was sinful to destroy   
the fruits of human toil4 ,andrews had  
approved ,gandhi's campaign and had     
even begun wearing khaddar but now he   
wondered whether it was right to        
continue to do so4 ,the burning cloth in
 ,bombay had shaken his faith in  the   
,mahatma4    ,in publishing ,andrews's  
letter in ,young ,india ,gandhi said he 
regrets  nothing4 ,he does not bear ill 
will to any race whatsoever1 nor does he
  demand the destruction of all foreign 
goods4 ,he merely wants to  destroy the 

goods which harm ,india4 ,millions of   
,indians have been ruined  by ,english  
factories1 which1 by taking work away   
from ,india1 have turned  thousands upon
 thousands of ,indians into pariahs and 
mercenaries and  their women into       
prostitutes4 ,india is already inclined 
to hate her  ,british dominators4       
,gandhi does not wish to strengthen this
 hatred4 ,on  the contrary1 he wants to 
side-track it1 to turn it away from     
people to  things4 ,the ,indians who    
bought the materials are as guilty as   
the  ,british who sold them4 ,the       
materials were not burned as an         
expression of  hatred for ,england1 but 
as a sign of ,india's determination to  
break with  the past4 ,it was a         
necessary surgical operation4 ,and it   
would have been  wrong to give these    
poisonous materials to the poor1 for the
 poor too1  have a sense of honor4      
#c      ,india's economic life must     
first be freed from foreign domination4 
,but  the next step is to liberate the  

mind1 create a real1 independent ,indian
  spirit4 ,gandhi wants his people to   
shake off the yoke of ,european         
culture1 and one of his proudest        
achievements is the laying of the       
groundwork of a truly ,indian education4
    ,under ,english rule the smoldering 
embers of ,asiatic culture had lain     
dormant in various colleges and         
universities4 ,for more than forty-five 
years ,aligarh had remained a           
,hindu-,mussulman university1 a center  
of  ,islamic culture in ,india4 ,khalsa 
,college was the center of ,sikh        
culture1  while the ,hindus had the     
,university of ,benares4 ,but these     
institutions1  more or less antiquated1 
were dependent on the ,government1 which
  subventioned them1 and ,gandhi longed 
to see them replaced by purer  hearths  
of ,asiatic culture4 ,in ,november1     
#aibj1 he founded the national          
,university of ,gujarat at ,ahmedabad4  
,its ideal was that of a united  ,india4
 ,the ,dharma of the ,hindus and the    

,islam of the ,mohammedans were  its two
 religious pillars4 ,its object was to  
preserve the dialects of  ,india and to 
use them as sources of national         
regeneration4#gh ,gandhi  felt1 with    
full justice1 that a systematic study of
 ,asiatic culture is  no less essential 
than the study of ,western sciences4    
,the vast treasures  of ,sanskrit and   
,arabic1 ,persian and ,pali and         
,magadhi1 have to be  ransacked to      
discover wherein lies the source of     
strength for the  nation4 ,the ideal is 
not merely to feed on or repeat the     
ancient  cultures1 but to build a new   
culture based on the traditions of the  
past  and enriched by the experiences of
 later times4 ,the ideal is a synthesis 
of the different cultures that have to  
come to stay in ,india1 that have       
influenced ,indian life1 and that1 in   
their turn1 have themselves been        
influenced by the spirit of the soil4   
,this synthesis will naturally be  of   
the ,swadeshi type1 where each culture  

is assured its legitimate  place1 and   
not of the ,american pattern1 where one 
dominant culture  absorbs the rest and  
where the aim is not toward harmony1 but
 toward an  artificial and forced unity4
 ,all ,indian religions were to be      
taught4  ,the ,hindus were to have an   
opportunity of studying the ,koran and  
the  ,mussulmans the ,shastras4 ,the    
national university excludes nothing    
except  a spirit of exclusion4 ,it      
believes that there is nothing          
untouchable  in humanity4 ,hindustani is
 made compulsory1 because it is the     
national  blend of ,sanskrit1 ,hindi1   
and ,persianized ,urdu4#gi ,a spirit of 
independence was to be fostered1 not    
only by the methods of study1 but  by a 
careful vocational training4    ,gandhi 
hopes to organize1 gradually1 higher    
schools that will spread  education     
broadcast throughout the towns and      
filter it down to the  masses1 so that  
444 ere long the suicidal cleavage      
between the educated  and the uneducated

 will be bridged4 ,and as an effect of  
giving an  industrial education to the  
genteel folks and a literary education  
to  the industrial classes1 the unequal 
distribution of wealth and social       
discontent will be considerably checked4
    ,in opposition to ,european         
educational methods1 which neglect      
manual  proficiency and develop the     
brain only1 ,gandhi wants manual work to
 he  part of the curriculum of all the  
schools from the lowest grades up4 ,he  
believes it would be excellent for      
children to pay for their tuition by  a 
certain amount of spinning4 ,in this way
 they would learn to earn their  living 
and become independent4 ,as for         
education of the heart1 which  ,europe  
neglects absolutely1 ,gandhi would have 
stress laid upon it from  the very      
first4 ,but before the pupils can be    
properly trained1 the right  sort of    
teachers must be provided4    ,the      
object of the higher institutions which 
,gandhi seems to look upon as  the      

keystones of the new education is to    
train teachers4 ,these  institutions    
will be more than schools or colleges2  
they might rather be  called convents1  
where the sacred fire of ,india will be 
concentrated in  order afterward to     
radiate throughout the world1 just as in
 former days  great religious pioneers  
radiated from the ,benedictine          
monasteries in  the ,west1 conquering   
souls and territory4    ,the rules which
 ,gandhi prescribes for the school of   
,satyagrah  ,ashram1#hj or place of     
discipline1 at ,ahmedabad1 his model    
institution1 concern the teachers more  
than the pupils1 and bind the  former by
 monastic vows4 ,whereas these vows in  
ordinary religious orders  have a purely
 negative character1 here they throb    
with an active spirit  of sacrifice and 
with the pure love that inspires the    
saints4 ,the  teachers are bound by the 
following vows3    #a4 ,the vow of      
truth4 ,it is not enough not to resort  
ordinarily to  untruth4 ,no deception   

may be practised even for the good of   
the country4  ,truth may require        
opposition to parents and elders4    #b4
 ,the vow of ,ahimsa 7non-killing74 ,it 
is not enough not to take the  life of  
any living being4 ,one may not even hurt
 those whom he believes  to be unjust2  
he may not be angry with them1 he must  
love them4 ,oppose  tyranny but never   
hurt the tyrant4 ,conquer him by love4  
,suffer  punishment even unto death for 
disobeying his will4    #c4 ,the vow of 
celibacy4 ,without it the two foregoing 
are almost  impossible to observe4 ,it  
is not enough not to look upon woman    
with a  lustful eye4 ,animal passions   
must be controlled1 so that they will   
not  be moved even in thought4 ,if a man
 is married1 he will consider his wife  
a lifelong friend and establish with her
 the relationship of perfect  purity4   
#d4 ,the control of the palate4         
,regulate and purify the diet4 ,leave   
off  such foods as may tend to stimulate
 animal passions or are otherwise       

unnecessary4    #e4 ,the vow of         
non-stealing4 ,it is not enough not to  
steal what is  commonly considered other
 men's property4 ,it is theft if we use 
articles  which we do not really need4  
,nature provides us from day to day just
  enough and no more for our daily      
needs4    #f4 ,the vow of               
non-possession4 ,it is not enough not to
 possess and not to  keep much1 but it  
is necessary not to keep anything which 
may not be  absolutely necessary for our
 bodily wants4 ,think constantly of     
simplifying life4    ,to these main vows
 are added a few secondary rules3    #a4
 ,swadeshi4 ,use no articles about which
 there is a possibility of  deception4  
,do not use manufactured articles4      
,laborers suffer much in  mills1 and    
manufactured articles are products of   
misery exploited4  ,foreign goods and   
goods made by complicated machinery     
should be tabooed  by a votary of       
,ahimsa4 ,use simple clothes1 made      
simply in ,india4    #b4 ,fearlessness4 

,he who is acted upon by fear cannot    
follow truth or  ,ahimsa4 ,he must be   
free from the fear of kings1 people1    
caste1  families1 thieves1 robbers1     
ferocious animals1 and death4 ,a truly  
fearless man will defend himself against
 others by truth-force or  soul-force4  
,once established the main points of    
this iron foundation1 ,gandhi refers    
rapidly to the other requirements1 of   
which the two most remarkable are  that 
the teachers must set the example of    
performing bodily labor1  preferably    
agricultural work1 and that they must   
know the principal  ,indian tongues4    
,as for the pupils1 who can enter the   
,ashram from the age of four up         
7students will be admitted at any age71 
they must remain in the ,ashram  for the
 whole course of studies1 which lasts   
about ten years4 ,the  children are     
separated from their parents and        
families4 ,the parents  renounce all    
authority over them4 ,the children never
 visit their  parents4 ,the pupils wear 

simple clothes1 eat simple food of a    
strictly  vegetarian nature1 have no    
holidays in the ordinary sense of the   
word1  though once a week they are      
allowed a day and a half in which to do 
individual creative work4 ,three months 
of the year are spent in  traveling on  
foot through ,india4 ,all pupils must   
study the ,hindi and  ,dravidian        
dialects4 ,as a second language1 they   
must learn ,english1 and  they must also
 familiarize themselves with the        
characters of the five  ,indian         
languages 7,urdu1 ,bengali1 ,tamil1     
,telugu1 and ,davanagri74 ,they are     
taught1 in their own dialect1 history1  
geography1 mathematics1  economics1 and 
,sanskrit4 ,at the same time they are   
taught agriculture  and spinning and    
weaving4 ,it goes without saying that a 
religious  atmosphere pervades the whole
 education4 ,when they have completed   
their  studies1 the pupils are allowed  
to choose between taking the vows1 like 
their teachers1 or leaving the school4  

,the tuition is entirely free4    ,i    
have described ,gandhi's educational    
system rather fully because it  shows   
the high spirituality of his action1 and
 because he considers this  system the  
mainspring of the whole movement4 ,to   
build a ,new ,india1 a new  soul1 strong
 and pure1 must be wrought out of       
,indian elements4 ,and this  soul can   
only be developed by a sacred legion of 
apostles who1 like  those of ,christ1   
will be as the salt of the earth4       
,gandhi1 unlike our  ,european          
revolutionaries1 is not a maker of laws 
and ordinances4 ,he is a  builder of a  
new humanity4          #d      ,like all
 governments under similar conditions1  
the ,english ,government  had no        
realization of what was going on4 ,at   
first its attitude was one  of ironical 
disdain4 ,the viceroy1 ,lord            
,chelmsford1 characterized the  movement
 in ,august1 #aibj1 as the most foolish 
of all foolish schemes4  ,but these     
heights of comfortable condescension had

 to be abandoned  before long4 ,in      
,november1 #aibj1 the ,government       
published a surprised and  slightly     
alarmed proclamation1 where threats and 
paternal advice  commingled1 warning the
 people that while the leaders of the   
movement  had not been molested so far  
because they had not preached violence1 
orders had now been given to arrest any 
one who overstepped the bounds  and     
whose words might stir up revolt or in  
other ways incite to  violence4    ,the 
bounds were soon overstepped1 but by the
 ,government4 ,the  non-coperation      
movement had been growing and gathering 
momentum1 and  the ,government was      
beginning to be seriously alarmed4 ,in  
,december  affairs took a decidedly     
dangerous turn4 ,until then non-violent 
non-coperation had been looked upon as  
an experiment of a more or less         
temporary nature1 and the ,government   
had flattered itself that when the      
,national ,indian ,congress met at      
,nagpur for its ,december session1      

non-coperation would be vetoed4 ,but far
 from disapproving of  non-coperation1  
the congress incorporated the idea in   
the constitution  by making the first   
paragraph read3      ,the object of the 
,indian ,national ,congress is the      
attainment of  ,swaraj--,home ,rule--by 
the people of ,india by all legitimate  
and  peaceful means4      ,the congress 
thereupon confirmed the non-coperation  
resolution passed  in the special       
session in ,september1 and enlarged upon
 it4 ,while the  principle of           
non-violence was upheld absolutely1 the 
general feeling was  that every effort  
must be made to unite all the elements  
in ,india in  view of a common1         
sustained action1 and the congress not  
only called  upon ,hindus and           
,mussulmans to collaborate loyally1 but 
urged a  rapprochement between the      
privileged and suppressed classes4 ,in  
addition to this the congress made      
fundamental changes in the              
constitution1 which virtually amounted  

to the organization of a  representative
 system for all ,india4#ha    ,the      
congress did not try to conceal the fact
 that it regarded  non-coperation in its
 present form as a preliminary step     
only1 to be  followed1 at a time to be  
determined later1 by complete           
non-coperation1 including a refusal to  
pay taxes4 ,until then1 however1  and in
 order to pave the way1 it urged that   
the boycott be sharpened1  spinning and 
weaving be encouraged1 while an appeal  
was sent out to  students1 parents1 and 
magistrates inviting them to practise   
non-coperation with greater zeal4 ,those
 who did not live up to the  decisions  
of the congress were to be barred from  
public life4    ,the resolutions of the 
congress implied the virtual            
establishment of a  state within a      
state1 the setting up of real ,indian   
rule in opposition  to the ,british     
,government4 ,england could not         
countenance this4 ,she had  to do       
something4 ,the ,government had to fight

 or negotiate4 ,a compromise  could     
easily have been reached by negotiation 
if the ,government had been  willing to 
go half-way4 ,the congress had declared 
that it hoped to reach  its goal with   
,england1 if possible1 but otherwise    
without her4 ,but  as is always the case
 when ,european politics involve foreign
 races1 no  attempt was made to         
negotiate4 ,force was resorted to4      
,pretexts for armed  oppression were    
sought4 ,there was no lack of them4     
,despite the principle of non-violence  
established by ,gandhi and the          
congress1 a few riots occurred in       
various parts of ,india4 ,it is true    
that they bore little or no relation to 
the non-coperative movement1  but1      
still1 there had been and were troubles4
 ,in the ,united ,provinces             
7,allahabad7 there were agrarian        
uprisings1 revolts of the tenants       
against the landowners1 and the police  
had to interfere1 and there was  some   
bloodshed4 ,soon afterward the ,akali   

movement of the ,sikhs1 although  of a  
purely religious character1 adopted     
non-coperative methods1 and  as a result
 of the agitation some two hundred      
,sikhs were massacred in  ,february1    
#aiba4 ,no one in good faith could have 
held ,gandhi or his  disciples          
responsible for this drama of           
fanaticism1 but the ,government         
considered it a good opportunity4 ,in   
,march1 #aiba1 the repression began1    
and it became more and more oppressive  
as the months passed4 ,the  ,government 
justified its intervention by the       
necessity of protecting the  liquor     
dealers from the fury of the mobs4 ,this
 was not the first time  for ,european  
civilization and alcohol to march hand  
in hand4 ,the  volunteer non-coperation 
organizations were dissolved4 ,a law was
 made  prohibiting seditious meetings4  
,in certain provinces the police had    
given carte blanche in suppressing the  
movement1 which was called              
revolutionary and anarchistic4          

,thousands of ,indians were arrested1   
and  some of ,india's most respected    
citizens were summarily jailed and      
brutalized4 ,naturally1 this procedure  
stirred up bad blood1 and here and      
there the people and the constables     
clashed4 ,some houses were burned and   
people pounded4 ,this was the situation 
in ,india when the committee of  the    
,all-,indian congress met at ,bezwada in
 the end of ,march to discuss  civil    
disobedience4 ,with rare moderation and 
foresight it voted against  it1 on the  
ground that the country was not yet     
prepared to wield this  double-edged    
sword4 ,civil disobedience would be     
urged later4 ,for the  present there    
could only be a sort of civil and       
financial mobilization4    ,meanwhile   
,gandhi continued more and more actively
 his campaign for the  unity of ,india4 
,he tried to unite all religions1 races1
 parties1 and  castes4 ,he called upon  
the ,parsees1#hb the rich1 prosperous   
merchant  class1 more or less tainted1  

as he expressed it1 with the spirit of  
,rockefeller1 and he called upon ,hindus
 and ,mussulmans to form a solid        
alliance4 ,the relations between ,hindus
 and ,mussulmans were continually       
embittered by prejudices1 mutual fear1  
and suspicion4 ,gandhi devoted  himself 
to bringing the two races into          
harmonious collaboration1#hc and        
without advocating or desiring an       
impossible fusion between the two       
peoples1 he tried to unite them in      
friendship4#hd    ,his keenest efforts1 
however1 were given to the regeneration 
of the  suppressed classes1 the pariahs4
 ,his passionate appeals for the        
pariahs1 his cries of sorrow and        
indignation at the monstrous social     
iniquity which oppressed them1 would1   
alone1 immortalize his name4 ,his       
feeling for the outcasts dates back to  
his boyhood4 ,he tells how1 when  he was
 a boy1#he a pariah used to come to the 
house to do all the  coarse work4 ,as a 
boy ,gandhi was told never to touch the 

pariah without  purifying himself       
afterward by ablutions4 ,he could not   
understand why1  and often asked his    
parents about it4 ,at school he         
frequently touched  the untouchables1   
and his mother told him that he could   
escape the  consequences of this unholy 
touch only by touching a ,mohammedan4   
,to  ,gandhi it all seemed absurdly     
unfair1 cruelly unjustified4 ,at the age
 of  twelve he made up his mind to wipe 
this stain off ,india's conscience4 ,he 
planned to come to the rescue of his    
degraded brothers4 ,and never has       
,gandhi's mind revealed itself clearer  
and more unbiased than when he  pleads  
their cause4 ,what their cause means to 
him may be gathered from  the fact that 
he says he would give up his religion   
7he to whom religion  is everything67 if
 any one can prove to him that          
untouchability is one  of its dogmas4   
,the unjust pariah system justified1 in 
his eyes1  everything that has been     
inflicted on ,india by other nations4   

,if the ,indians have become the pariahs
 of the empire1 it is retributive       
justice1 meted out to us by a just      
,god4444 ,should we ,hindus not wash our
  blood-stained hands before we ask the 
,english to wash theirs8                
,untouchability has degraded us1 made us
 pariahs in ,south ,africa1 ,east       
,africa1 ,canada4 ,so long as ,hindus   
willfully regard untouchability as  part
 of their religion1 so long ,swaraj is  
impossible of attainment4  ,india is    
guilty1 ,england has done nothing       
blacker4 ,the first duty is to  protect 
the weak and helpless and never injure  
the feelings of any  individual4 ,we are
 no better than brutes until we have    
purged ourselves  of the sins we have   
committed against our weaker brethren4  
,gandhi wanted the national congress to 
better the condition of the  pariah     
brothers by giving them schools and     
wells1 for pariahs were not  allowed to 
use the public wells4 ,but until then8  
,unable to wait with  folded hands for  

the privileged classes to condescend to 
make good their  cruelty1 ,gandhi went  
over to the pariahs4 ,he placed himself 
at their  head and tried to organize    
them4 ,he discussed their problems with 
them4  ,what ought they to do8 ,appeal  
to the ,english ,government8 ,place     
themselves at its disposal8 ,this would 
only mean a change of slavery4  ,abandon
 ,hinduism8 7,note the broad-minded     
audacity of a ,hindu believer67  ,become
 ,christians or ,mohammedans8 ,gandhi   
would almost advise them to do  so if   
,hinduism really stood for              
untouchability4 ,but it doesn't4        
,untouchability is only a morbid        
excrescence of ,hinduism1 which must be 
extirpated4 ,the pariahs must organize  
themselves in self-defense4 ,they       
might1 of course1 adopt the principles  
of non-coperation in regard to          
,hinduism by refusing to have any       
relations with the ,hindus 7singularly  
audacious advice of social revolt on the
 lips of a patriot like  ,gandhi674 ,but

 the difficulty is that the pariahs have
 no leaders and  cannot organize        
themselves4 ,the best thing1 therefore1 
is for them to  join the general        
non-coperation movement1 since its      
object is harmony  among all classes4   
,real non-coperation is a religious act 
of  purification1 and no one can take   
part in it who believes in              
untouchability4 ,gandhi in this way     
combines religion1 humanity1 and        
patriotism4#hf    ,a certain solemnity  
attended the first efforts to group the 
pariahs4 ,a  suppressed-classes         
conference took place at ,ahmedabad on  
,april #ac and  #ad1 #aiba4 ,gandhi     
presided at the conference and made one 
of his most  beautiful speeches4 ,he not
 only demanded the suppression of the   
pariah  system but urged the            
untouchables to rise to the occasion and
 show the  best that was in them4 ,he   
expects great things from the pariahs1  
he  says1 in the social life of         
regenerated ,india4 ,he tries to instill

  self-confidence in them and fill them 
with his own burning ideal4 ,in the     
suppressed classes1 he says1 he sees    
tremendous latent possibilities4  ,he   
believes that within five months the    
untouchable class will be able  to win1 
by its own merits1 the place it deserves
 within the great ,indian  family4      
,gandhi had the joy of seeing his appeal
 find echo in the hearts of the  people4
 ,in many parts of ,india the pariahs   
were emancipated4#hg ,the day  before   
his arrest ,gandhi made a speech        
recording the progress of the  pariah   
cause4 ,the ,brahmans were helping4 ,the
 privileged classes were  giving        
touching examples of remorse and        
fraternal love4 ,gandhi cites the  case 
of a young ,brahman who at nineteen     
became a street-sweeper1 to live  among 
the untouchables4#hh           #e       
,with equal generosity ,gandhi took up  
another great cause1 that of women4     
,the sexual problem is a peculiarly     
difficult one in ,india1 throbbing  with

 an all-pervading1 oppressive1 and badly
 directed sensuality4 ,child  marriages 
weaken the physical and moral resources 
of the nation4 ,the  obsession of the   
flesh weighs on men's minds and is an   
insult to woman's  dignity4 ,gandhi     
publishes the complaints of ,hindu women
 at the degrading  attitude of ,hindu   
nationalists4#hi ,gandhi takes the      
women's side4 ,their  protest1 he says1 
proves that there is another sore in    
,india as bad as  that of               
untouchability4 ,but the woman question 
is not a purely ,indian  problem4 ,the  
whole world suffers from it4 ,as with   
the pariahs1 he  expects more from the  
oppressed than from the oppressors4 ,he 
calls upon  women to demand and inspire 
respect by ceasing to think of          
themselves as  the objects of masculine 
desire only4 ,let them forget their     
bodies and  enter into public life1     
assume the risks1 and suffer the        
consequences of  their convictions4     
,women should not only renounce luxury  

and throw away  or burn foreign goods1  
but they should share men's problems and
  privations4 ,many distinguished women 
have faced arrest and imprisonment  in  
,calcutta4 ,this shows the proper       
spirit4 ,instead of asking for mercy1   
women should vie with men in suffering  
for the cause4 ,when it comes to        
suffering1 women will always surpass    
men4 ,let women have no fear4 ,the      
weakest will be able to preserve her    
honor4 ,one who knows how to die  need  
never fear4    ,nor does ,gandhi forget 
the fallen sisters4#ij ,he tells of     
conversations  with them in the         
provinces of ,andhra and ,barisal1 where
 they met in  conference4 ,he spoke to  
them nobly and simply1 and they replied1
  confided in him1 and asked his advice4
 ,he tried to suggest some way in  which
 they might make an honest living1 and  
proposed spinning4 ,they  agreed to     
begin the very next day if assured of   
encouragement and  assistance4 ,and then
 ,gandhi turned to the men of ,india2   

called upon them  to respect women3     
,gambling in vice has no place in our   
revolution4 ,swaraj1 home rule1  means  
that we must regard every inhabitant of 
,india as our own brother  or sister4   
,woman is not the weaker sex1 but the   
better half of humanity1  the nobler of 
the two2 for even to-day it is the      
embodiment of  sacrifice1 silent        
suffering1 humility1 faith1 and         
knowledge4 ,woman's  intuition has often
 proved truer than man's arrogant       
assumption of  knowledge4      ,in the  
women of ,india1 beginning with his own 
wife1 ,gandhi always found  intelligent 
aid and understanding1 and among them he
 recruited some of  his best disciples4 
#f      ,in #aiba ,gandhi's power was at
 its apogee4 ,his authority as a moral  
leader was vast1 and without having     
sought it1 almost ilimited political    
authority had been placed in his hand4  
,the people looked upon him as a  saint4
 ,pictures were painted representing him
 as ,sri-,krishna4#ia ,and at  the end  

of the year1 in ,december1 the          
,all-,india ,national ,congress         
delegated its powers to him and         
authorized him to appoint his successor4
  ,he was the undisputed master of      
,india's policy4 ,it was up to him to   
start a political revolution1 if he saw 
fit1 or even to reform religion4    ,he 
did not do so4 ,he did not wish to do   
so4 ,moral grandeur8 ,moral  hesitancy8 
,both1 perhaps4 ,it is very difficult   
for one human being  really to          
understand another1 particularly if they
 belong to different  races and         
civilizations4 ,and how much more       
difficult when a spirit so  deep and    
subtle as ,gandhi's is to be considered6
 ,in the maze of events  which took     
place in ,india1 in this tumultuous     
year1 it is hard to  ascertain whether  
the pilot's hand did not tremble1 but1  
always firm and  sure1 steered the      
colossal ship along the chosen course4  
,i will try1  however1 to explain my    
feeling in regard to the living enigma1 

and ,i  will do so with the religious   
respect which ,i have for this great man
  and the sincerity which ,i owe to his 
sincerity4    ,if ,gandhi's power was   
great1 the danger of abusing it was     
equally great4  ,as the effect of his   
campaign1 by the slightest ripple1      
affected  hundreds of millions of men1  
it became more and more difficult to    
direct  the movement and at the same    
time remain firm in the midst of the    
turbulent ocean4 ,a superhuman problem  
indeed1 to conciliate moderation  and   
high-mindedness with surging1 unbridled 
mob passions6 ,the pilot1  gentle and   
pious1 prays and relies on ,god2 but the
 voice that comes to  him is almost lost
 in the roar of the tempest4 ,will it   
ever reach the  others8    ,there is no 
danger of his being swept off his feet  
by pride4 ,no amount  of adoration can  
turn his head4 ,on the contrary1 it     
wounds not only his  sense of fitness of
 things1 but his spirit of humility4    
,gandhi is an  exception among prophets 

and mystics1 for he sees no visions1 has
 no  revelations2 he does not try to    
persuade himself that he is guided      
supernaturally1 nor does he try to make 
others believe it4 ,radiant  sincerity  
is his4 ,his forehead remains calm and  
clear1 his heart devoid  of vanity4 ,he 
is a man1 like all other men4 ,he is not
 a saint4 ,he will  not have the people 
call him one4 7,yet his very attitude   
proves that he  is one47    ,the word   
saint1 he says1 should be ruled out of  
present life4      ,i pray like every   
good ,hindu4 ,i believe we can all be   
messengers of ,god4  ,i have no special 
revelations of ,god's will4 ,my firm    
belief is that ,he  reveals himself     
daily to every human being1 but that we 
shut our cars to  the still small voice4
 444 ,i claim to be nothing but a humble
 servant  of ,india and humanity4 ,i    
have no desire to found a sect4 ,i am   
really too  ambitious to be satisfied   
with a sect for a following1 for ,i     
represent  no new truths4 ,i endeavor to

 follow and represent truth as ,i know  
it4 ,i  do claim to throw a new light on
 many an old truth4#ib      ,personally1
 he is always modest1 conscientious in  
the extreme1 incapable  of              
narrow-mindedness whether as ,indian    
patriot or apostle of  non-coperation4  
,he sanctions no tyranny1 not even for  
the good of the  cause4 ,government     
oppression must never be replaced by    
non-coperative  oppression4#ic ,gandhi  
will not set his country up against     
other  countries2 his patriotism is not 
confined to the boundaries of ,india4   
,for me1 patriotism is the same as      
humanity4 ,i am patriotic because ,i am 
human and humane4 ,my patriotism is not 
exclusive4 ,i will not hurt  ,england or
 ,germany to serve ,india4 ,imperialism 
has no place in my scheme  of life4 ,a  
patriot is so much less a patriot if he 
is a lukewarm  humanitarian4#id    ,but 
have his disciples always felt this way8
 ,and1 on their lips1 what  becomes of  
,gandhi's doctrine8 ,and1 interpreted by

 them1 how does it  reach the masses8   
,when ,rabindranath ,tagore1 after      
traveling several years in ,europe1     
returned to ,india in ,august1 #aiba1 he
 was astounded at the change in the     
mentality of the people4 ,even before   
his return he had expressed his  anxiety
 in a series of letters sent from       
,europe to friends in ,india4  ,many of 
these letters were published in his     
,modern ,review4#ie ,the  controversy   
between ,tagore and ,gandhi1 between two
 great minds1 both  moved by mutual     
admiration and esteem1 but as fatally   
separated in their  feeling as a        
philosopher can be from an apostle1 a   
,st4 ,paul from a  ,plato1 is important4
 ,for on the one side we have the spirit
 of religious  faith and charity seeking
 to found a new humanity4 ,on the other 
we have  intelligence1 free-born1       
serene1 and broad1 seeking to unite     
aspirations  of all humanity in sympathy
 and understanding4    ,tagore always   
looked upon ,gandhi as a saint1 and ,i  

have often heard him  speak of him with 
veneration4 ,when1 in referring to the  
,mahatma1 ,i  mentioned ,tolstoi1       
,tagore pointed out to me1 and ,i       
realize it now that ,i  know ,gandhi    
better--how much more clothed in light  
and radiance ,gandhi's  spirit is than  
,tolstoi's4 ,with ,gandhi everything is 
nature--modest1  simple1 pure--while all
 his struggles are hallowed by religious
  serenity1 whereas with ,tolstoi       
everything is proud revolt against      
pride1  hatred against hatred1 passion  
against passion4 ,everything in ,tolstoi
 is  violence1 even his doctrine of     
non-violence4 ,on ,april #aj1 #aiba1    
,tagore  wrote from ,london1 ,we are    
grateful to ,gandhi for giving ,india a 
chance  to prove that her faith in the  
divine spirit of man is still living4   
,despite the misgivings he had expressed
 as to ,gandhi's campaign1 ,tagore1     
when he left ,france to return to       
,india1 sincerely planned to back       
,gandhi  in every way4 ,and even the    

manifesto of ,october1 #aiba1 which ,i  
will  discuss later--the ,appeal to     
,truth1 which marked the break between  
the  two men--begins with one of the    
most beautiful tributes to ,gandhi that 
have ever been written4    ,gandhi's    
attitude to ,tagore is one of loving    
regard1 and it does not  change even    
when the two disagree4 ,you feel that   
,gandhi is loath to  enter into polemics
 with ,tagore1 and when certain kind    
friends try to  embitter the debate by  
repeating personal remarks1 ,gandhi bids
 them be  silent and explains how much  
he owes ,tagore4#if    ,yet it was      
inevitable that the breach between the  
two men would widen4  ,as far back as in
 #aibj ,tagore had deplored that the    
overflowing wealth  of ,gandhi's love   
and faith should be made to serve       
political ends1 as it  had since        
,tilak's death4 ,of course ,gandhi had  
not entered the political  arena with a 
light heart4 ,but when ,tilak died1     
,india was left without a  political    

leader1 and some one had to take his    
place4    ,as ,gandhi says3#ig      ,if 
,i seem to take part in politics1 it is 
only because politics to-day  encircle  
us like the coils of a snake from which 
one cannot get out no  matter how one   
tries4 ,i wish to wrestle with the      
snake4444 ,i am trying  to introduce    
religion into politics4      ,but this  
,tagore deplores4 ,writing ,september   
#g1 #aibj1 he says1 ,we need  all the   
moral force which ,mahatma ,gandhi      
represents1 and which he alone  in the  
world can represent4 ,that such a       
precious treasure should be  cast out on
 the frail bark of politics and         
subjected to the incessant  lashing of  
the waves of conflicting and irritated  
passions is a serious  misfortune for   
,india1 whose mission1 says ,tagore1 is 
to awaken the dead  to life by          
soul-fire4 ,the wasting of spiritual    
resources in problems  which1 when      
considered in the light of abstract     
moral truth1 are  unworthy1 is to be    

regretted4 ,it is criminal to transform 
moral force  into force4    ,this is    
what ,tagore felt at the spectacular    
launching of the  non-coperation        
campaign and at the unrest stirred up in
 the name of  the ,khilafat cause and   
the massacres of the ,punjab4 ,he feared
 the  results of the campaign on an     
easily excitable mob subject to attacks 
of  hysterical fury4 ,he would have     
liked to turn people's minds away from  
vengeance and dreams of impossible      
redress2 he would have had them  forget 
the irreparable and devote all efforts  
to constructing and  fashioning a new   
soul for ,india4 ,and although he       
admired ,gandhi's  doctrines and the    
ardent fire of his spirit of            
self-sacrifice1 he hated  the element of
 negation contained in non-coperation4  
,tagore  instinctively recoiled from    
everything that stood for ,no4    ,and  
this conviction leads him to compare the
 positive ideal of  ,brahmanism1 which  
demands that the joys of life be        

welcomed but  purified1 to the negative 
ideal of ,buddhism1 which demands their 
suppression4#ih ,to this ,gandhi replies
 that the art of eliminating is  as     
vital as that of accepting4#ii ,human   
progress consists in a  combination of  
the two4 ,the final word in the         
,upanishads is a negation4  ,the        
definition of ,brahman by the authors of
 the ,upanishads is neti1  not this6    
,india had lost the power of saying ,no4
 ,gandhi has given it  back to her4     
,weeding is as essential as sowing4     
,but ,tagore1 apparently1 does not      
believe in weeding4 ,in his poetic      
contemplation of life he is satisfied   
with things as they are1 and he  finds  
his delight in admiring their harmony4  
,he explains his point of  view in lines
 of great beauty1 but detached from real
 life4 ,his words  are like the dance of
 ,nataraja1 a play of illusions4 ,tagore
 says he  tries to tune his spirit up to
 the great exaltation that is sweeping  
over the country4 ,but he cannot do so1 

for in his heart1 despite  himself1 is a
 spirit of resistance4 ,in the darkness 
of my despair1 he  says1 ,i see a smile 
and hear a voice that says1 ',your place
 is with the  children1 playing on the  
beaches of the world1 and there ,i am   
with  you4' ,tagore plays with          
harmonies1 invents new rhythms1 strung  
out  through the hours1 like children   
dancing in the sun and laughing as they 
disappear4 ,all creation is happy1 with 
,tagore2 flowers and leaves are  merely 
rhythms that never cease4 ,god ,himself 
is the supreme juggler1 who  plays with 
,time1 tossing stars and planets out    
upon the torrent of  appearances1 and   
dropping paper boats filled with dreams 
into the river  of the ages4 ,when ,i   
beg ,him to let me be ,his disciple and 
to let me  place some of the toys of my 
invention into one of his merry barks4  
,he  smiles1 and ,i follow ,him1        
clutching the hem of his gown4 ,here    
,tagore  feels he is in his place4 ,but 
where am ,i1 in a great crowd1 squeezed 

in  at all sides8 ,and who can          
understand the noise ,i hear8 ,if ,i    
hear a song1  my sitar can catch the    
melody1 and ,i can join the chorus1 for 
,i am a  singer4 ,but in the mad clamor 
of the crowd1 my voice is lost1 and ,i  
become dizzy4 ,tagore has tried1 in the 
clamor of non-coperation1 to  find a    
melody1 but to no avail4 ,and he says to
 himself3 ,if you can't  march in step  
with your compatriots in the greatest   
crisis of their  history1 beware of     
saying they are in the wrong1 and you in
 the right6  ,but give up your place in 
the ranks1 go back to your poet's       
corner1 and  be prepared to meet with   
ridicule and public disgrace4#ajj    ,so
 would a ,goethe speak1 an ,indian      
,goethe1 ,bacchus4 ,and it would seem as
  if ,tagore's mind is made up from now 
on4 ,the poet bids action farewell1     
since this action implies a negation1   
and he withdraws back into the  spell of
 creative enchantment he weaves around  
himself4 ,but ,tagore does  not only    

withdraw4 ,as he says1 ,fate had decided
 that he should steer his  bark against 
the current4 ,at the time he was not    
only the poet but the  spiritual        
ambassador of ,asia to ,europe2 he had  
just returned from  ,europe1 where he   
had asked people to coperate in creating
 a world  university at ,santiniketan4  
,what an irony of destiny that he should
 be  preaching cooperation between      
,occident and ,orient at one end of the 
world1 when at that very moment         
non-coperation was being preached at    
the other end6#aja    ,non-coperation   
wounded him doubly1 therefore1 in his   
work as well as  in his conception of   
life4 ,i believe1 he says1 in the real  
union of  ,orient and ,occident4        
,non-coperation clashed with his way of 
thinking1 for his mentality1  his rich  
intelligence1 had been nourished on all 
the cultures of the  world4 ,all        
humanity's greatest is mine1 he says4   
,the infinite  personality of man 7as   
the ,upanishads say7 can only come from 

the  magnificent harmony of all human   
races4 ,my prayer is that ,india may    
represent the coperation of all the     
peoples of the world4 ,for ,india1      
unity is truth1 and division evil4      
,unity is that which embraces and       
understands everything2 consequently1 it
 cannot be attained through  negation4  
,the present attempt to separate our    
spirit from that of the  ,occident is an
 attempt at spiritual suicide4444 ,the  
present age has been  dominated by the  
,occident1 because the ,occident had a  
mission to  fulfill4 ,we of the ,orient 
should learn from the ,occident4 ,it is 
regrettable1 of course1 that we had lost
 the power of appreciating our  own     
culture1 and therefore did not know how 
to assign ,western culture to  its right
 place4 ,but to say that it is wrong to 
coperate with the ,west  is to encourage
 the worst form of provincialism and can
 produce nothing  but intellectual      
indigence4 ,the problem is a world      
problem4 ,no nation  can find its own   

salvation by breaking away from others4 
,we must all be  saved or we must all   
perish together4#ajb    ,in other words1
 just as ,goethe in #ahah refused to    
reject ,french  civilization and        
culture1 ,tagore refuses to banish      
,western civilization4  ,while ,gandhi's
 doctrine does not really set a barrier 
up between the  ,east and ,west1 ,tagore
 knows it will be interpreted as doing  
so1 once  ,hindu nationalism is stirred4
 ,tagore fears the development of the   
spirit  of exclusion1 and he explains   
his feeling of doubt and anxiety when   
his  students at the beginning of the   
non-cooperation movement came to seek   
his advice4 ,what does the boycotting of
 schools and colleges mean8 asks        
,tagore4 ,that students shall make a    
sacrifice--for what8 ,not for a more    
complete education1 but for             
non-education4 ,during the first        
,swadeshi  campaign#ajc a group of young
 students told him that they would leave
  their schools and colleges at once if 

he ordered them to do so4 ,and when  he 
refused to do so1 they left him1 in much
 irritation1 doubting his               
patriotism4#ajd    ,in the spring of    
#aiba1 when ,india began boycotting     
,english schools1  ,tagore had seen an  
aggressive example of intellectual      
nationalism in  ,london4 ,during a      
lecture of one of ,tagore's friends4    
,professor ,pearson1  some ,indian      
students gave vent to misplaced national
 manifestations4  ,tagore became        
indignant1 and in a letter addressed to 
the director of  ,santiniketan he       
condemned this spirit of intolerance and
 held the  non-coperation movement      
responsible for it4 ,and to this        
accusation  ,gandhi replies3      ,i do 
not want my house to be walled in on all
 sides and my windows to be  stuffed4 ,i
 want the culture of all lands to be    
blown about my house as  freely as      
possible4444 ,but ,i refuse to be blown 
off my feet by any of  them 444 ,mine is
 not a religion of the prison-house4 ,it

 has room for the  least among ,god's   
creations4 ,but it is proof against     
insolent pride of  race1 religion1 or   
color4      ,while expressing his doubts
 as to the merits of an ,english        
literary  education1 which has nothing  
to do with the building up of character1
 an  education which1 he said1 has      
emasculated the youth of ,india1 ,gandhi
  regretted the excesses mentioned and  
claimed that his attitude was not       
narrow1 as ,tagore seemed to imply4     
,these were frank and noble words1 but  
they did not disarm ,tagore's           
misgivings4 ,tagore did not doubt       
,gandhi1 but he feared the ,gandhists4  
,and from the first contact with his    
people1 after his return from  ,europe1 
he began to fear the blind faith which  
the people placed in the  ,mahatma's    
words4 ,tagore saw the danger of mental 
despotism loom near1  and in the ,modern
 ,review of ,october1 #aiba1 he         
published a real  manifesto1 ,an ,appeal
 to ,truth1 which was a cry of revolt   

against this  blind obedience4 ,the     
protest was particularly strong because 
it was  preceded by a beautiful homage  
to the ,mahatma4 ,after describing the  
first ,indian independence movement in  
#aijg and #aijh1 ,tagore explained  that
 in those days the political leaders    
were inspired by a bookish  ideal1 based
 on the traditions of ,burke1           
,gladstone1 ,mazzini1 and  ,garibaldi1  
and their message could be understood   
only by the elite4 ,they  advanced1 in  
short1 an ,english-speaking ideal4 ,but 
then came ,mahatma  ,gandhi6 ,he stopped
 at the thresholds of the thousands of  
disinherited1  dressed like one of their
 own4 ,he spoke to them in their own    
language4  ,here was truth at last1 and 
not only quotations from books6         
,mahatma1 the  name given by the people 
of ,india to ,gandhi1 is his real name4 
,for who  else had felt1 like him1 in   
communion with the people8 ,felt that   
they  are of his own flesh and blood8   
,at the ,mahatma's call the hidden      

forces  of the soul have blossomed      
forth1 for the ,mahatma has made the    
truth  into something concrete1 visible4
 ,in the same way1 thousands of years   
ago1 ,india blossomed forth to new      
greatness at ,buddha's call1 when he    
made men understand that there must be  
compassion and fellow-feeling  among all
 living creatures4 ,india1 stirred to   
new life1 expressed her  strength in    
science and wealth1 spreading across    
oceans and deserts4 ,no  commercial or  
military conquests ever spread so       
magnificently4 ,for love  alone is      
truth4    ,but then ,tagore's tone      
changed4 ,the apotheosis stopped4       
,deception  followed4 ,in ,europe1      
across the seas1 ,tagore felt the quiver
 of ,india's  great revival4 ,thrilled1 
filled with joy at the thought of       
breathing in  the fluid breeze of the   
new freedom1 he returned to his home    
land4 ,but  on his arrival his elation  
fell4 ,an oppressive atmosphere weighed 
on the  people4 ,an outside influence   

seemed to be bearing down on them1      
grinding them and making one and all    
speak in the same tone1 follow in  the  
same groove4 ,everywhere ,i was told    
that culture and reasoning power  should
 abdicate1 and blind obedience only     
reign4 ,so simple it is to  crush1 in   
the name of some outward liberty1 the   
real freedom of the  soul6    ,we       
understand ,tagore's misgivings and his 
appeal4 ,they are of all times  and     
ages4 ,the last free minds of a         
crumbling old world voiced them at  the 
dawn of the new ,christianity4 ,and     
whenever we ourselves encounter  the    
rising tide of some blind faith in a    
social or national ideal we  feel the   
same misgivings stir within us4         
,tagore's revolt is the revolt  of the  
free soul against the ages of faith     
which it has suscitated1 for  while     
faith to a handful of chosen ones means 
supreme liberty1 it means  only another 
form of slavery for the masses who are  
led by it4    ,tagore's criticism is    

aimed above and beyond the fanaticism of
 the  crowd4 ,over the blind masses it  
strikes the ,mahatma4 ,no matter how    
great  ,gandhi may be1 isn't he taking  
upon himself more than a single man can 
bear8 ,a cause as great as ,india's     
should not be dependent on the will of  
a single master4 ,the ,mahatma is the   
master of truth and love1 but the       
attainment of ,swaraj home rule1 is     
vastly complicated4 ,the paths are      
intricate and hard to explore4 ,emotion 
and enthusiasm are required1 but  also  
science and meditation4 ,all the moral  
forces of the nation must be  called    
upon4 ,economists must find practical   
solutions1 educators must  teach1       
statesmen ponder1 workers work4444      
,everywhere the desire to learn  must be
 kept up free and unhampered4 ,no       
pressure1 either open or hidden1  must  
weigh on the intelligence4 444 ,in older
 days1 in our primeval  forests1 says   
,tagore1 our sages1 gurus1 in the       
plenitude of their  vision1 called on   

all seekers of truth4444 ,why does not  
our guru1  who wants to lead us to      
action1 make the same call8 ,but the    
only  command that ,guru ,gandhi so far 
has launched is1 ,spin and weave6 ,and  
,tagore asks1 ,is this the gospel of a  
new creative age8 ,if large  machinery  
constitutes a danger for the ,west1 will
 not small machines  constitute a       
greater danger for us8 ,the forces of a 
nation must  cooperate1 not only with   
each other1 but with other nations4 ,the
  awakening of ,india is bound up in the
 awakening of the world4 ,every  nation 
that tries to shut itself in violates   
the spirit of the new age4  ,and        
,tagore1 who has spent several years in 
,europe1 speaks of some of the  men he  
met--men who have freed their hearts    
from the chains of  nationalism in order
 to serve humanity--men who constitute  
the  persecuted minority of world       
citizens1 cives totius orbis--and he    
classes them among the sannyasins1 that 
is1 those who in their soul  have       

realized human unity4#aje    ,and should
 ,india alone1 asks ,tagore1 recite the 
chapter of negation1  dwell eternally on
 the faults of others1 and strive for   
,swaraj on a  basis of hatred8 ,when the
 bird is awakened by the dawn1 it does  
not only  think of food4 ,its wings     
respond to the call of the sky4 ,its    
throat  fills with joyous songs to greet
 the coming day4 ,a new humanity has    
sent  out its call4 ,let ,india reply in
 her own way6 ,our first duty1 at dawn1 
is to remember ,him ,who is ,one1 who is
 indistinguishable through class or     
color1 and who1 by his varied forces1   
provides1 as is necessary1 for the      
needs of each class and of all4 ,let us 
pray ,him1 who gives wisdom1 to  unite  
us all in understanding4#ajf            
,tagore's noble words1 some of the most 
beautiful ever addressed to a  nation1  
are a poem of sunlight1 and plane above 
all human struggles4 ,and  the only     
criticism one can make of them is that  
they plane too high4  ,tagore is right1 

from the point of view of eternity4 ,the
 bird-poet1 the  eagle-sized lark1 as   
,heine called a master of our music1    
sits and sings  on the ruins of time4   
,he lives in eternity4 ,but the demands 
of the  present are imperious4 ,the hour
 that passes demands immediate1 if      
imperfect1 relief2 but clamors for it4  
,and in this respect ,gandhi1 who  lacks
 ,tagore's poetic flight 7or who1       
perhaps1 as a ,boddhisattva of  pity has
 given it up in order to live among the 
disinherited7 finds it  child's play to 
reply4    ,in his answer to ,tagore     
,gandhi displays more passion than he   
has so far  shown in the controversy4   
,on ,october #ac1 #aiba1 in ,young      
,india1 his  stirring rejoinder appears4
 ,gandhi thanks the ,great ,sentinel#ajg
 for  having warned ,india as to the    
pitfalls ahead4 ,he agrees with ,tagore 
that  most essential of all is the      
maintenance of a free spirit4      ,we  
must not surrender our reason into      
anybody's keeping4 ,blind surrender  to 

love is often more mischievous than     
forced surrender to the lash of  the    
tyrant4 ,there is hope for the slave of 
the brute1 none for that of  love4      
,tagore is the sentinel who warns of the
 approach of the enemies called         
,bigotry1 ,lethargy1 ,intolerance1      
,ignorance1 and ,inertia4 ,but ,gandhi  
does  not feel that ,tagore's misgivings
 are justified4 ,the ,mahatma always    
appeals to reason4 ,it is not true that 
,india is moved by blind obedience      
only4 ,if the country decided to adopt  
the spinning-wheel1 this has been  only 
after considerable reflection4 ,tagore  
speaks of patience and is  satisfied    
with beautiful songs4 ,but there is war4
 ,let the poet lay down  his lyre6 ,let 
him sing when it is over6 ,when a house 
is on fire1 all  must go out and take up
 a bucket to quench the fire4      ,when
 all about me are dying for want of     
food1 the only occupation  permissible  
for me is to feed the hungry4 ,india is 
a house on fire4 ,it  is dying of hunger

 because it has no work to buy food     
with4 ,khulna is  starving4 ,the ,ceded 
,districts are passing successively     
through a fourth  famine4 ,orissa is a  
land suffering from chronic famine4     
,india is growing  daily poorer4 ,the   
circulation about her feet and legs has 
almost  stopped4 ,and if we do not take 
care she will collapse altogether4444   
,to a people famishing and idle the only
 acceptable form in which ,god can  dare
 appear is work and promise of food as  
wages4 ,god created man to  work for his
 food and said that those who ate       
without work were thieves4  ,we must    
think of millions who to-day are less   
than animals1 almost in a  dying state4 
,hunger is the argument that is drawing 
,india to the  spinning-wheel4    ,the  
poet lives for the morrow1 and would    
have us do likewise4 ,he  presents to   
our admiring gaze the beautiful picture 
of the birds in the  early morning      
singing hymns of praise as they soar    
into the sky4 ,those  birds had their   

day's food and soared with rested wings 
in whose veins  new blood had flown the 
previous night4 ,but ,i have had the    
pain of  watching birds who for want of 
strength could not be coaxed even into a
  flutter of their wings4 ,the human    
bird under the ,indian sky gets up      
weaker than when he pretended to retire4
 ,for millions it is an eternal  vigil  
or an eternal trance4 ,i have found it  
impossible to soothe  suffering patients
 with a song from ,kabir4444    ,give   
them work that they may eat6 ,why should
 ,i1 who have no need to  work for food1
 spin8 may be the question asked4       
,because ,i am eating  what does not    
belong to me4 ,i am living on the       
spoliation of my  countrymen4 ,trace the
 course of every coin that finds its way
 into your  pocket1 and you will realize
 the truth of what ,i write4 ,every one 
must  spin4 ,let ,tagore spin1 like the 
others4 ,let him burn his foreign       
clothes2 that is the duty to-day4 ,god  
will take care of the morrow4 ,as  it   

says in the ,git1 ,do right6      ,dark 
and tragic words these6 ,here we have   
the misery of the world rising  up      
before the dream of art and crying1     
,dare deny me existence6 ,who  does not 
sympathize with ,gandhi's passionate    
emotion and share it8    ,and yet1 in   
his reply so proud and so poignant1     
there is nevertheless  something that   
justifies ,tagore's misgivings3 sileat  
poeta1 imposing  silence on the person  
who is called upon to obey the imperious
  discipline of the cause4 ,obey without
 discussion the law of ,swadeshi1  the  
first command of which is1 ,spin6    ,no
 doubt1 in the human battle1 discipline 
is a duty4 ,but1 unfortunately1  those  
who are intrusted with enforcing this   
discipline1 the master's  lieutenants1  
may be narrow-minded men4 ,they may     
mistake the discipline  chosen to attain
 the ideal for the ideal itself4        
,discipline fascinates  them by its     
rigidity1 for they are of the kind who  
feel at ease only on  the narrow path4  

,they look upon ,swadeshi as essential1 
not as a means  to an end1 but in       
itself4 ,in their eyes it acquires an   
almost sacred  character4 ,one of       
,gandhi's disciples1 professor at the   
school that lies  nearest his heart1 the
 ,satyagraha ,ashram of ,sarbarmati at  
,ahmedabad1  ,mr4 ,d4 ,b4 ,kalelkar1    
writes a ,gospel of ,swadeshi1 which    
,gandhi1 in a  preface1 stamps with his 
approval4#ajh ,this book1 or pamphlet1  
is  addressed to the man in the street4 
,let us examine the creed as it is      
taught by one of those who drink at the 
very source of the unpolluted  doctrine3
      ,now and then ,god is incarnated  
on earth to redeem the world4 ,his      
incarnation need not necessarily be in  
human form4444 ,he may be manifest  in  
an abstract principle or in an ideal    
which uplifts the world4444 ,his  latest
 incarnation is in the ,gospel of       
,swadeshi444      ,the apostle realizes 
that this statement may cause a smile if
 ,swadeshi  is to be interpreted as     

meaning the boycott of foreign goods    
only4 ,this  is only a partial          
application of ,swadeshi1 which is a    
vast religious  principle that will rid 
the world of strife and hatred and      
liberate  humanity4 ,its quintessence   
may be found in the ,indian scriptures3 
,your own religious ,dharma--that is to 
say1 your own religious destiny  or     
salvation--though imperfect1 is the     
best4 ,the fulfilment of ,dharma  for   
which you were not intended is always   
fraught with danger4 ,he alone  attains 
happiness who fulfils the task laid out 
for him4      ,the fundamental law of   
,swadeshi springs from faith in ,god1   
who has  provided1 in all eternity1 for 
the happiness of the world4 ,this ,god  
has  placed each human being in the     
environment best suited for the         
fulfilment of his task4 ,a man's work   
and his aspirations should be  suited to
 his position in the world4 ,we cannot  
choose our culture any  more than our   
birth1 family1 or country4 ,we must     

accept what ,god has  given us2 we must 
accept tradition as coming from ,god and
 regard it as a  strict duty to live up 
to it4 ,to renounce tradition would be  
sinful4    ,from these premises it      
follows that the inhabitant of one      
country should  not concern himself with
 other countries4      ,the follower of 
,swadeshi never takes upon himself the  
vain task of  trying to reform the      
world1 for he believes that the world is
 moved and  always will be moved        
according to rules set by ,god4444 ,one 
must not  expect the people of one      
country to provide for the needs of     
another1  even for philanthropic        
reasons1 and if it were possible1 it    
would not be  desirable4444 ,the true   
follower of ,swadeshi does not forget   
that every  human being is his brother1 
but that it is incumbent on him to      
fulfil  the task his particular         
environment has laid down for him4 ,just
 as we  must work out our salvation in  
the century in which we are born1 we    

should serve the country in which we are
 born4 ,the emancipation of our  soul   
should be sought through religion and   
our own culture4      ,is it1 however1  
permissible for a nation to take        
advantage of all  opportunities to      
develop its resources of commerce and   
industry8 ,indeed  not4 ,an unworthy    
ambition to wish to develop ,india's    
manufactures6 ,it  would be asking      
people to violate their ,dharmas6 ,it is
 as criminal to  export one's products  
as to import those of others4 ,for      
proselytism is  repellent to the spirit 
of ,swadeshi4 ,and the logical          
conclusion of  this theory1 rather      
startling to a ,european1 is that it is 
as sinful to  export goods as ideas4 ,if
 ,india has been bitterly humiliated in 
history1  it is as punishment for the   
crimes of ancestors who traded with     
ancient  ,egypt and ,rome1 a crime      
deliberately repeated by all succeeding 
generations4 ,every nation1 every class1
 should remain true to its own  duty1   

live on its own resources1 and be       
inspired by its own traditions4      ,we
 should avoid being intimate with those 
whose social customs are  different from
 ours4 ,we should not mingle in the     
lives of men or peoples  whose ideals   
are different from ours4444 ,every man  
is a brook4 ,every  nation is a river4  
,they must follow their course1 clear   
and pure1 till  they reach the ,sea of  
,salvation1 where all will blend4       
,what is this but the triumph of        
nationalism8 ,the narrowest and most    
unpolluted8 ,stay at home1 shut all     
doors1 change nothing1 hold on to       
everything1 export nothing1 buy nothing1
 uplift and purify body and  spirit6 ,a 
gospel1 indeed1 of medieval monks6#aji  
,and ,gandhi1 of the  broad mind1 lets  
his name be associated with it6         
,tagore's bewilderment1 when met with   
these visionaries of reactionary        
nationalism1 is comprehensible4 ,no     
wonder he was taken back by these       
apostles1 who would reverse the march of

 centuries1 shut the free soul  in a    
cage1 and burn all bridges communicating
 with the ,west4#aaj ,as a  matter of   
fact1 ,gandhi's doctrine really implies 
nothing of the sort4 ,as  may be seen   
from his reply to ,tagore1 he says1     
,swadeshi is a message  to the world4   
,the world exists2 therefore1 ,gandhi   
reckons with it1 and  does not repudiate
 proselyting4 ,non-coperation1 he says1 
is not  directed against the ,english or
 the ,west4 ,our non-coperation is      
directed against material civilization  
and its attendant greed and             
exploitation of the weak4 ,in other     
words1 it combats the errors of the     
,west and would therefore be beneficial 
to the ,west also4 ,our  non-coperation 
is a retirement within ourselves4 ,a    
temporary  retirement to enable ,india  
to gather up her forces before placing  
them  at the services of humanity4      
,india must learn to live before she can
  aspire to die for humanity4 ,gandhi   
does not forbid coperation with  ,europe

 provided the sound ideal which he sets 
up for all men is adhered  to4          
,gandhi's real doctrine is much broader1
 much more human1 much more             
universal#aaa than that expressed in the
 ,gospel which he has  approved4 ,why   
did ,gandhi lend his name to this       
,gospel8 ,why does he let  his          
magnificent ideal1 a message for the    
whole world1 be imprisoned  within the  
narrow bonds of an ,indian theocracy8   
,beware of disciples6 ,the  purer they  
are1 the more pernicious4 ,god preserve 
a great man from  friends who only grasp
 part of his ideal6 ,in codifying it1   
they destroy  the harmony which is the  
real blessing of his living soul4       
,but this is not all4 ,while the        
disciples who live near the master are  
at  least tinged by his noble           
spirituality1 what about the disciples  
of his  disciples1 and the others1 the  
masses to whom the doctrine comes merely
  as vague and broken echoes8 ,how much 
and what do they absorb of the  gospel  

of spiritual purification and creative  
renouncement8  ,unfortunately1 to them  
the doctrine appears in its most        
rudimentary and  material form1 in a    
sort of ,messianic waiting for the      
advent of  ,swaraj1 home rule1 by the   
spinning-wheel6 ,this is the negation of
 all  progress4 ,it's the old fuori     
,barbari4 ,tagore is alarmed1 and not   
without reason1 at the violence of the  
apostles of non-violence1 and  even     
,gandhi is not absolutely free from it4 
,gandhi says that he would  withdraw    
from the field if he felt hatred for the
 ,english1 for one  must love one's     
enemies while hating their deeds1 hate  
,satanism while  loving ,satan4 ,the    
distinction1 however1 is a little too   
subtle for the  average man to grasp4   
,and when at each session of the        
congress the  leaders dwell with fiery  
eloquence on the crimes and treachery of
 the  ,english1 anger and rancor pile up
 behind the sluices2 and beware when    
the sluices burst6 ,when ,gandhi1       

explaining why he advocates the burning 
of precious stuffs in ,bombay in        
,august1 #aiba1 says to ,andrews1       
,tagore's  friend1 that ,he is          
transferring ill will from men to       
things1#aab he  does not realize that   
the fury of the masses is gathering     
impetus1 and  that instinctively these  
masses reason1 ,things first1 men next6 
,he  does not foresee that in this same 
,bombay1 less than three months         
afterward1 men will be killing men4     
,gandhi is too much of a saint2  he is  
too pure1 top free from the animal      
passions that lie dormant in  man4 ,he  
does not dream that they lie there1     
crouching within the people1  devouring 
his words and thriving on them4 ,tagore1
 more clear-sighted1  realizes the      
danger the non-coperators are skirting  
when they  innocently lay bare the      
crimes of ,europe1 profess non-violence1
 and  simultaneously plant in people's  
minds the virus which will inevitably   
break in violence6 ,but this they do not

 realize1 these apostles whose  hearts  
are free from hatred4 ,but he who would 
lead men in action must  know the       
heart-beats of the others1 not merely   
his own4 ,beware the mob6  ,cave canem6 
,the moral precepts of a ,gandhi will   
not be able to curb  it4 ,the only way1 
perhaps1 to prevent it from running     
wild1 the only  way1 perhaps1 of making 
it yield docilely to the austere        
discipline of  the master1 would be for 
him to pose as an incarnated god1 as    
those who  paint him as ,sri-,krishna   
secretly hope he will do4 ,but ,gandhi's
  sincerity and his humility prevent him
 from playing the role4    ,and then1   
planing above the roaring human ocean   
alone1 remains the  single voice of the 
purest of men1 but only a man4 ,how long
 will it be  heard8 ,grandiose and      
tragic waiting6          ,footnote #fg3 
,etymologically1 swa1 self1 oneself2    
deshi1 country4  ,hence1 national       
independence4 ,the non-coperators       
usually interpret it  in the narrower   

sense of economic independence4 ,it will
 be seen1 further  on1 the sort of      
social gospel which ,gandhi's followers 
make out of the  idea4 7,gospel of      
,swadeshi47    ,footnote #fh3 ,september
 #h and #bd1 ,october #bj1 #aibj4       
,footnote #fi3 ,august #aa and #be1     
#aibj4    ,footnote #gj3 ,at least so   
,gandhi interprets the texts4 ,dare a   
,european  venture that he finds in the 
,bhagavad ,git serene indifference to   
violence perpetrated and suffered8      
,footnote #ga3 ,august #be1 #aibj4      
,footnote #gb3 ,may #ab1 #aibj4         
,footnote #gc3 ,to ,all the ,english in 
,india1 ,october #bg1 #aibj4            
,footnote #gd3 ,april #bh1 #aibj2 ,june 
#h1 ,september #a1 #aiba4 ,in his       
,letter  to the ,parsees1 the business  
people1 he begs them to stop selling    
alcohol 7,march #bc1 #aiba74 ,in his    
,letter to the ,moderates1 ,june #h1    
#aiba1 he asks them to help him carry   
this point1 even if they do not  agree  
with the other points of his program4   

,he also wages war on drugs1  narcotics1
 and opium dens4    ,footnote #ge3      
,gandhi himself realizes that many will 
jeer4 ,but1 he asks1  did the           
sewing-machine do away with the needle8 
,the spinning-wheel's  utility has not  
been lost4 ,on the contrary1 nothing is 
more useful at  the present moment4     
,spinning is a national necessity1 and  
constitutes  the only possible means of 
subsistence for millions of starving    
people4  7,july #ba1 #aibj47            
,footnote #gf3 ,february #b1 #aiba4     
,footnote #gg3 ,july #ba1 #aibj4        
,footnote #gh3 ,november #ag1 #aibj4    
,footnote #gi3 ,english is not excluded1
 nor any other ,european language1  but 
it is reserved for the higher grades1 at
 the end of the school  program4 ,in all
 grades1 however1 ,indian dialects are  
used4 ,gandhi dreams  of a higher state 
of universal existence where all        
differences will  persist1 not as       
divisions but as different facets4      
,footnote #hj3 ,ashram1 place of        

discipline1 hermitage4    ,footnote #ha3
 ,at the ,nagpur session of the congress
 some #dgbf delegates  were present1 and
 among them were #dfi ,mohammedans1 #fe 
,sikhs1 #e ,parsees1  #b ,untouchables1 
#djgi ,hindus and #ajf women4    ,the   
new constitution provided that a        
delegate should be chosen for every     
#ejjj inhabitants1 which would make a   
total of #fage delegates4 ,the          
,national ,indian ,congress was to meet 
once a year1 round ,christmas4 ,the     
committee of the congress consisting of 
#hej members would act as  executive    
body1 enforcing the resolutions of the  
congress and carrying  out its policies4
 ,between the sessions of the congress  
the committee was  to have the same     
authority as the congress4 ,within the  
committee an  executive board of fifteen
 members was to bear the same relation  
to the  congress committee that a       
ministerial cabinet bears to parliament4
 ,this  board could be dissolved by the 
congress committee4    ,the ,congress of

 ,nagpur drew up the plans for a        
hierarchy of committees  of provincial  
congresses1 representing twenty-one     
provinces and twelve  languages1 and    
placed under them local committees in   
each village or  group of villages4 ,it 
advised the formation of a band of      
national  workers to be called the      
,indian ,national ,service to be        
financed out of  funds called the       
,all-,india ,tilak ,memorial ,swaraja   
,fund4    ,every adult1 male or female1 
possessing #d annas was given the right 
to  vote1 provided he had signed the    
credo of the constitution4 ,whoever has 
attained the age of twenty-one and has  
sworn adherence to ,article ,i of  the  
,constitution and agreed to uphold the  
rules and by-laws of the  constitution  
is eligible4    ,footnote #hb3 ,march   
#bc1 #aiba4    ,footnote #hc3 ,october  
#f1 #aibj2 ,may #aa and #ah1 ,july #bh1 
,october  #bj1 #aiba4    ,footnote #hd3 
,in citing his friendship with the      
,mussulman ,maulana  ,mohamed ,ali1     

,gandhi claims that both men remain true
 to their respective  faiths4    ,gandhi
 would not give his daughter in marriage
 to one of ,ali's sons1 nor  would he   
share the meals of his friend2 and the  
same is true of ,maulana  ,mohamed ,ali4
 ,but this does not prevent both men    
from being fond of each  other1         
respecting each other1 and relying on   
each other4    ,gandhi does not say that
 intermarriage between ,hindus and      
,mussulmans1  and the fact of eating    
together1 should necessarily be         
condemned1 but he  says they are        
impossible at the present time4 ,it will
 take at least a  century for the two   
peoples to reach such a stage of fusion4
 ,a policy  purported practical should  
not attempt to carry such a reform4     
,gandhi  does not object to it but      
considers it premature4 ,the only       
important  thing1 for the present1 is   
for the two peoples to respect each     
other and  remain loyal to each other4  
,here1 too1 ,gandhi shows his sense of  

realities4 7,october #bj1 #aiba47       
,footnote #he3 ,speech made ,april #bg1 
#aiba4    ,footnote #hf3 ,october #bg1  
#aibj4    ,footnote #hg3 ,in the end of 
,april1 #aiba1 untouchability begins to 
diminish4 ,in many villages the pariahs 
are allowed to live among other  ,hindus
 and to enjoy the same rights4 7,april  
#bg1 #aiba47 ,in other regions1         
however1 their condition remains        
deplorable1 particularly in ,madras4    
7,september #bi1 #aiba47 ,the question  
is included in the program of the       
,national ,assemblies of ,india from    
this time on4 ,the ,congress of ,nagpur1
  in ,december1 #aibj1 had already      
expressed the desire of seeing          
untouchability wiped out4    ,footnote  
#hh3 ,april #bg1 #aiba4    ,footnote    
#hi3 ,july #ba1 #aiba1 and ,october #f1 
#aibj4    ,footnote #ij3 ,july #ba1     
,august #aa1 ,december #af1 #aiba4      
,footnote #ia3 ,gandhi protests against 
this in ,young ,india  of ,june1 #aiba4 
,footnote #ib3 ,may #ab1 #aibj2 ,may    

#be1 ,july #ac1 ,august #be1 #aiba4     
,footnote #ic3 ,december #h1 #aibj4     
,footnote #id3 ,march #af1 #aiba4       
,footnote #ie3 ,letters from ,abroad4   
,the three letters of ,march #b1 #e1    
and #ac were published in the ,modern   
,review in ,may1 #aiba4 ,the ,appeal  to
 ,truth was written after ,tagore's     
return to ,india and published in  the  
,modern ,review ,october #a1 #aiba4 ,the
 two men1 however1 did not  discuss     
their views in polemical writings only4 
,they met and had a long  interview1 but
 neither has published any comment on   
their meeting4 ,c4 ,f4  ,andrews1       
however1 who was present1 has told us   
what the talk was about  and referred to
 the arguments used by ,tagore and      
,gandhi to back up their  different     
points of view4    ,footnote #if3       
,february #i1 #aibb4 ,in this article1  
called ,too ,sacred for  ,publication1  
,gandhi dwells on his long friendship   
with ,tagore4 ,gandhi  was a frequent   
visitor at ,tagore's home at            

,santiniketan1 and considered  it as a  
retreat4 ,while he was in ,england his  
children had their home  there4         
,footnote #ig3 ,may #ab1 #aibj4         
,footnote #ih3 ,march #e1 #aiba4        
,footnote #ii3 ,june #a1 #aiba4         
,footnote #ajj3 ,march #e1 #aiba4       
,footnote #aja3 ,march #f1 #aiba4       
,footnote #ajb3 ,march #ac1 #aiba4      
,developed in article in the ,modern    
,review of ,november1 #aiba4            
,footnote #ajc3 ,the first ,indian home 
rule campaign1 in ,bengal1  in #aijg-jh4
    ,footnote #ajd3 ,march #e1 #aiba4   
,footnote #aje3 ,those who have         
renounced their personal life in  order 
to bring a unity to mankind4            
,footnote #ajf3 ,paraphrase of the first
 stanza of the ,upanishads4    ,footnote
 #ajg3 ,title of the article of ,october
 #ac1 #aiba4    ,footnote #ajh3 ,the    
,gospel of ,swadeshi1 ,madras1 #aibb4   
,footnote #aji3 ,in this ,gospel1       
however1 are words of great moral force 
and beauty4 ,exert no vengeance4 ,that  

which is passed is passed4 ,the  past   
cannot be called back2 it is part of    
eternity and man has no  recourse       
against it4 ,do not try to exert        
reprisals as punishment for  past       
injustice and offence6 ,let the dead    
past bury its dead4 ,act in the  living 
present1 heart within and ,god o'erhead4
    ,the cold purity of the glaciers    
blows through the book1 from one end  to
 the other4    ,footnote #aaj3 ,tagore  
was particularly sensitive to such      
writings since  there had sprung up a   
sort of rivalry between ,gandhi's       
,ashram 7where  this ,gospel was        
written7 and ,tagore's ,santiniketan1 a 
rivalry which  both men tried to smooth 
out4 ,in an article published ,february 
#i1 #aibb1  ,gandhi1 in ,young ,india1  
complains that a journalist misquoted   
him1  making him say things about his   
,ashram which might be construed as     
criticisms of ,tagore's ,santiniketan4  
,gandhi expresses his respect for       
,tagore's school and adds1 rather       

humorously1 that if he had to determine 
the superiority of one school over the  
other1 he would vote for  ,santiniketan1
 in spite of the discipline of ,ashram4 
,santiniketan is  the older brother1    
older in age as well as in wisdom1 but1 
says ,gandhi1  ,let the disciples of    
,santiniketan beware the growth of      
little  ,ashram6    ,footnote #aaa3 ,to 
my mind ,gandhi is as universal as      
,tagore1 but in a  different way4       
,gandhi is a universalist through his   
religious feeling2  ,tagore is          
intellectually universal4 ,gandhi does  
not exclude any one from  the communion 
of prayer and daily duties1 just as the 
first apostles did  not differentiate   
between ,jews and ,gentiles but imposed 
the same moral  discipline on both4     
,this is what ,gandhi aspires to do1 and
 herein lies  his narrowness2 not in his
 heart1 which is as large as that of a  
,christ1  but in his spirit of          
intellectual asceticism and             
renunciation4 7,and  this1 too1 is of a 

,christ67 ,gandhi is a universalist of  
the ,middle ,ages4  ,while venerating   
him1 we understand and approve ,tagore4 
,footnote #aab3 ,september #a1 #aiba4   
,,part ,,three           #a      ,in    
#aiba the non-coperation movement       
evolved rapidly4 ,the whole year  was   
one of uncertainty1 expectancy1 and     
violent outbreaks4 ,gandhi  inevitably  
reflected its oscillations4    ,for a   
long time hostility had been growing1   
and it broke out in open  revolt at the 
,government's brutally oppressive       
measures4 ,there were  riots at         
,malegaon1 in the district of ,nasik1   
and at ,giridih1 in ,behar4  ,in the    
beginning of ,may1 #aiba1 there were    
serious clashes in ,assam4  ,twelve     
thousand coolies stopped work in the    
tea-gardens1 and were  attacked by      
,gurkhas drafted by the ,government1 and
 in eastern ,bengal the  railroad and   
steamship workers organized a two       
months' strike in  protest4 ,gandhi did 
all in his power to calm the            

effervescence4 ,in ,may  he had a long  
conversation with the viceroy1 ,lord    
,reading1 and he also  used his         
influence with the ,ali brothers1 who   
were said to be stirring  up violence by
 their inflammatory speeches4 ,gandhi   
was able to persuade  his ,moslem       
friends to refrain from directly or     
indirectly advocating  violence4    ,the
 non-coperation movement1 however1 grew 
more and more powerful as  time went on4
 ,the ,moslem element in particular     
became audacious4 ,at  ,karachi1 ,july  
#h1 for instance1 the ,all-,india       
,khilafat ,conference1 after            
reiterating the ,moslem claims1 declared
 that no ,mussulman should serve  in the
 ,english ,army or assist in recruiting4
 ,in fact1 the conference  even went so 
far as to threaten to proclaim a        
republic in ,india and  advocate civil  
disobedience at the ,december session of
 the ,national  ,congress if the        
,government did not change its hostile  
attitude to the  ,angora leaders4 ,a    

little later1 on ,july #bh1 the         
committee of the  ,national ,congress   
7the first congress committee elected   
according to the  new constitution7     
sitting at ,bombay decided to boycott   
the ,prince of  ,wales1 whose visit was 
announced1 and declared a boycott on all
 foreign  materials1 to become effective
 before ,september #cj4 ,it also took   
steps  to intensify and regulate        
national spinning and weaving1 and urged
 the  organization of a more vigorous   
campaign against the drink evil1 despite
  the ,government's support of the      
dealers4 ,less audacious than the       
,mussulmans of the ,khilafat            
,conference1 however1 the congress      
committee  disavowed revolutionary      
tendencies and disapproved civil        
disobedience1  approving a more2        
strenuous propaganda in favor of        
non-violence4    ,in ,august a brutal   
revolt of the ,moplahs took place1 and  
lasted several  months4 ,with ,maulana  
,mohamed ,ali1 ,gandhi decided to go    

from ,calcutta to  ,malabar to try to   
quiet it4 ,but the ,government arrested 
,maulana ,mohamed  and his brother      
,maulana ,shaukat ,ali as well as       
several other ,moslem  notables1        
accusing them of having voted for civil 
disobedience at the  ,khilafat          
,conference4 ,at the news of the ,ali   
brothers' arrest1 the  ,central         
,khilafat ,committee1 sitting at ,delhi1
 ratified unanimously the  resolutions  
of the ,khilafat ,conference4 ,hundreds 
of demonstrations1 held  all over       
,india1 confirmed the people's approval 
of them4 ,on ,october #d1  ,gandhi      
announced that he considered his cause  
hound up with that of the  ,mussulmans4 
,in a manifesto approved by fifty       
prominent members of the  ,all-,india   
,congress ,gandhi declared that every   
citizen was entitled to  express his    
views on non-coperation1 adding that no 
,indian1 whether  civil functionary or  
soldier1 should serve a ,government     
which has  brought about the moral1     

political1 and economical degradation of
 ,india4  ,he set up non-coperation with
 such a ,government as an imperative    
duty4  ,the ,ali brothers' trial took   
place at ,karachi4 ,with their          
fellow-accused1 they were sentenced to  
two years' imprisonment4    ,to this    
sentence ,india replied with redoubled  
vigor4 ,gandhi's manifesto  was ratified
 by the ,committee of the ,all-,india   
,congress on ,november #d at  ,delhi4   
,and casting the die1 the committee     
authorized every province1 on  its own  
responsibility1 to proclaim civil       
disobedience1 beginning with a  refusal 
to pay taxes4 ,resisters1 however1 were 
first to swear complete  obedience to   
the ,swadeshi program1 including hand   
spinning1 and take  the vow of          
non-violence4 ,in other words1 under    
,gandhi's direction the  committee tried
 to combine resistance against the      
,government with  discipline and        
self-sacrifice4 ,to make the            
disinterested character of  the movement

 clear4 ,resisters were informed that   
neither they nor their  families would  
receive any pecuniary aid from the      
committee4    ,the great disobedience   
was about to become effective when1 on  
,november  #ag1 the ,prince of ,wales   
landed at ,bombay4 ,the boycott was     
carried out by  the lower and the middle
 classes2 but the rich1 the ,parsees and
 official  personages1 ignored the order
 completely4 ,their attitude created    
such  fury among the populace that the  
masses stormed the houses of the rich1  
looting and sacking homes and property1 
sparing no one1 not even the  women4    
,many were killed and wounded4 ,this was
 the only case of violence1  however4   
,everywhere else1 all over ,india1 the  
prescribed hartal took  place in the    
midst of almost religious quiet and     
order4 ,there were no  disturbances of  
any kind4 ,but the news of the ,bombay  
riots wounded  ,gandhi like an arrow    
shot in his heart4 ,as soon as he heard 
of them he  rushed to the spot1 and when

 the rioters cheered him his            
mortification  knew no bounds4 ,he      
called the crowd angrily to order and   
commanded it to  disperse4 ,he declared 
that the ,parsees were justified in     
celebrating the  prince's arrival if    
they wished1 and1 in any event1 nothing 
justified  violence4 ,the crowd listened
 to ,gandhi in silence1 but farther off 
the  tumult broke out again4 ,the worst 
elements seemed to have suddenly        
emerged from the earth1 and twenty      
thousand men1 towering in rage and      
hatred1 cannot be brought back to reason
 all at once4 ,still1 the rioters       
remained localized in certain districts1
 and the destruction was not  half so   
great as that caused by the most        
insignificant revolutionary  outbreak in
 ,europe4 ,gandhi1 however1 issued      
anguished appeals to the  citizens of   
,bombay and to the non-coperators1 and  
declared that such  incidents proved    
that the masses were not yet ripe for   
civil  disobedience4 ,therefore he      

suspended the order proclaiming it4 ,to 
punish  himself for the violence of his 
followers1 he imposed upon himself a    
religious fast of twenty-four hours     
every week4    ,the ,european residents 
in ,india were less alarmed by the      
,bombay riots  than by the striking     
unanimousness of the silent hartal      
throughout the  country4 ,they urged the
 viceroy and the ,government to act1 and
 a series  of oppressive measures were  
imposed in the various provinces4 ,an   
old  law1 aimed at anarchists and secret
 societies1 dating from the uprisings   
of #aijh1 was unearthed1 and made to    
serve against the volunteer             
associations of the ,congress and of the
 ,khilafat4 ,arrests were made by  the  
thousand1 which only resulted in        
bringing thousands of new recruits  to  
register as volunteers1 who were then   
trained by the provincial  committees4  
,in the meantime a hartal was set for   
,december #bd1 the date  of the ,prince 
of ,wales's visit to ,calcutta4 ,that   

day the prince passed  through a silent1
 absolutely deserted city4    ,the      
revolution seemed to be smoldering      
everywhere1 ready to burst into  flame  
when the ,indian ,national ,congress met
 at ,ahmedabad4 ,there was  about it the
 impressive solemnity of the            
tats-,gnraux on the eve of  the ,french 
,revolution in #aghi4 ,the president of 
the congress had just  been imprisoned4 
,the discussions were brief4 ,the       
congress again  proclaimed its faith in 
non-coperation and invited all citizens 
to  register as volunteers and to be    
prepared to face arrest4 ,it also urged 
the people to organize mass-meetings    
everywhere2 and after expressing  the   
opinion that civil disobedience is a    
weapon equally effective and  more      
humane than armed rebellion1 it moved   
that civil disobedience be  adopted as  
soon as the masses had grasped the real 
spirit of  non-violence4 ,realizing that
 many of the members would be arrested  
at  the close of the session1 the       

congress delegated its powers to        
,gandhi1  investing him with a dictature
 de facto and authorizing him to appoint
  his successor4 ,this made ,gandhi sole
 master of ,india's policy4 ,the        
congress limited his authority on one   
point only1 and this was that he  should
 agree to no change in the national     
creed nor make peace with  the          
,government without the consent of the  
congress committee4 ,a fraction  of the 
assembly tried to pass a resolution     
approving violence1 if  necessary to    
bring about ,india's independence1 but  
this resolution was  rejected by the    
majority1 which believed in ,gandhi's   
principles4    ,the ensuing weeks       
revealed the religious enthusiasm which 
swept over  ,india4 ,twenty-five        
thousand men and women joyfully         
surrendered  themselves to prison       
guards4 ,and back of them1 thousands of 
others stood  ready to give themselves  
up to prove their faith in the cause of 
,india4           #b      ,again ,gandhi

 believed the country was ripe for civil
 disobedience en  masse4 ,the signal was
 to be given in a model district1 at    
,bardoli1 in  the province of           
,bombay4#aac ,here ,gandhi's ideas had  
always been  understood and followed4   
,in an open letter to the viceroy1 dated
  ,february #i1 #aibb1 ,gandhi set forth
 his program4 ,the letter is a          
courteous1 but clear1 declaration of    
war4 ,gandhi says he is the leader  of  
the non-coperation movement1 and he     
claims responsibility for it4  ,bardoli 
will be the first unit of non-violent   
mass revolt against a  government which 
has brutally infringed upon freedom of  
the press1 of  association1 and of      
speech4 ,gandhi gives ,lord ,reading    
seven days in  which to announce a      
change of policy4 ,if the viceroy will  
not or cannot  see such an incredibly   
simple issue1 civil disobedience will be
  proclaimed4#aad    ,scarcely had the  
letter1 to the viceroy been despatched  
when there  occurred an outbreak more   

violent than any of the others4 ,during 
a  procession at ,chauri-,chaura1 in the
 district of ,gorakhpur1 or1 rather1    
after the procession had passed1 some   
stragglers were interfered with  and    
abused by the constables4 ,attacked by  
the mob1 the constables  opened fire1   
and when they exhausted their ammunition
 they retired to  the thana 7the police 
barracks7 for safety4 ,the mob set fire 
to the  thana4 ,in vain the besieged    
begged for mercy4 ,they were pitilessly 
massacred and burned4 ,as the           
provocation had come from them1 however1
  and as no non-coperation volunteer had
 had a hand in the attack1  ,gandhi     
would have been justified in disclaiming
 all responsibility for  the outrage4   
,but he had really become the conscience
 of ,india4 ,the crime  of a single one 
of his people cut him to the quick4 ,he 
took upon himself  all the sins of his  
people4 ,his horror was such that on the
 spur of the  moment1 and for the second
 time1 he stopped the civil-disobedience

  movement that he had just launched4   
,the situation was vastly more          
complicated than after the ,bombay      
riots1 and only a few days before he    
had sent his ultimatum to the viceroy4  
,how could he retract it without  making
 his program seem illogical and even    
ridiculous8 ,satan1 as  ,gandhi says1   
forbade it4 ,realizing that ,satan's    
voice was the voice  of pride1 he       
decided to retract the manifesto4       
,and on ,february #af1aibb1 there       
appeared in ,young ,india one of the    
most  extraordinary human documents ever
 written4 ,it is ,gandhi's mea culpa1   
his public confession4 ,from the depths 
of his mortification words of  thanks   
swell to his lips1 of thanks to ,god for
 having humbled him3      ,god has been 
abundantly kind to me4 ,he has warned me
 for the third time  that there is not  
as yet in ,india that truthful and      
non-violent  atmosphere which1 and which
 alone1 can justify mass disobedience1  
which  can be at all described as civil1

 which means gentle1 truthful1  humble1 
knowing1 wilful1 yet loving1 never      
criminal and hateful4 ,he  warned me in 
#aiai when the ,rowlatt ,act agitation  
was started4 ,ahmedabad1  ,viramvrag1   
and ,kheda erred4 ,i retraced my steps1 
called it a ,himalayan  miscalculation1 
humbled myself before ,god and man1 and 
stopped not  merely mass civil          
disobedience1 but even my own4444 ,the  
next time it was  through the events of 
,bombay that ,god gave me a terrific    
warning4 ,he  made me eyewitness4444 ,i 
announced my intention to stop the mass 
civil  disobedience which was to be     
immediately started in ,bardoli4 ,the   
humiliation was greater than that in    
#aiai4 ,but it did me good and ,i am    
sure that the nations gained by the     
stopping4 ,india stood for truth and    
non-violence by the suspension4    ,but 
the bitterest humiliation was still to  
come4444 ,god spoke clearly  through    
,chauri-,chaura4444 ,and when ,india    
claims to be non-violent and  hopes to  

mount the throne of liberty through     
non-violent means1 mob  violence even in
 answer to grave provocation is a bad   
augury4444  ,non-violent attainment of  
self-government presupposes a           
non-violent  control over the violent   
elements in the country4 ,non-violent   
non-coperators can only succeed when    
they have succeeded in attaining        
control over the hooligan of ,india4444 
,therefore1 on ,february #aa1 at        
,bardoli1 he put his doubts and troubles
  before the working committee of the   
congress4 ,they did not all agree  with 
him4 ,but never1 he said1 has a man been
 'blessed1' perhaps1 with  colleagues   
and associates so considerate and       
forgiving4    ,they sympathized with his
 scruples and consented1 at his request1
 to  suspend the order of civil         
disobedience1 urging at the same time   
that  all organizations strive to create
 an atmosphere of non-violence4      ,i 
know that the drastic reversal of       
practically the whole of the  aggressive

 program may be politically unsound and 
unwise1 but there is  no doubt that it  
is religiously sound4 ,the country will 
have gained by  my humiliation and      
confession of error4 ,the only virtue ,i
 want to claim  is truth and            
non-violence4 ,i lay no claim to        
superhuman powers4 ,i want  none4 ,i    
wear the same corruptible flesh that the
 weakest of my  fellow-beings wear1 and 
am therefore as liable to err as any4   
,my  services have many limitations1 but
 ,god has up to now blessed them in     
spite of the imperfections4    ,for     
confession of error is like a broom that
 sweeps away dirt and leaves  the       
surface cleaner and brighter4 ,i feel   
stronger for my confession4 ,and  the   
cause must prosper for the retracing4   
,never has a man reached his            
destination by persistence in deviation 
from the straight path4 ,it has  been   
urged that ,chauri-,chaura cannot affect
 ,bardoli4 444 ,i have no doubt         
whatsoever on that account4 ,the people 

of ,bardoli are1 in my opinion1  the    
most peaceful in ,india4 ,but ,bardoli  
is but a speck on the map of  ,india4   
,its effort cannot succeed unless there 
is perfect coperation  from the other   
parts4444 ,just as the addition of a    
grain of arsenic to a  pot of milk      
renders it unfit as food so will the    
civility of ,bardoli  prove unacceptable
 by the addition of the deadly poison   
from  ,chauri-,chaura4444 ,the latter   
represents ,india as much as ,bardoli4  
,chauri-,chaura is1 after all1 an       
aggravated symptom4 ,in civil           
disobedience there should be no         
excitement4 ,civil disobedience is a    
preparation for mute suffering4 ,its    
effect is marvelous1 though  unperceived
 and gentle4444 ,the tragedy of         
,chauri-,chaura is really the           
index-finger4 ,it shows the way ,india  
may easily go if drastic  precautions be
 not taken4 ,if we are not to evolve    
violence out of  non-violence1 it is    
quite clear that we must hastily retrace

 our steps  and reestablish an          
atmosphere of peace1 and not think of   
starting mass  civil disobedience until 
we are sure of peace being retained in  
spite of  mass civil disobedience being 
started and in spite of government      
provocation4444 ,let the opponent glory 
in our humiliation and so-called        
defeat4 ,it is better to be charged with
 cowardice than to be guilty of  denial 
of our oath and sin against ,god4444    
,and the apostle wants to redeem the    
blood shed by others3      ,i must      
undergo personal cleansing4 ,i must     
become a fitter instrument  able to     
register the slightest variation in the 
moral atmosphere about  me4 ,my prayers 
must have deeper truth and humility4    
,for me there is  nothing so cleansing  
as a fast4 ,a fast undertaken for fuller
  self-expression1 for attainment of the
 spirit's supremacy over the  flesh1 is 
a most powerful factor in one's         
evolution4444#aae      ,and he imposes  
on himself a continuous five days' fast4

 ,he does not want  his co-workers to   
follow his example4 ,he must punish     
himself4 ,i am in  the unhappy position 
of a surgeon proved skill-less to deal  
with an  admittedly dangerous case4 ,i  
must either abdicate or acquire greater 
skill4 ,his fast is penance and         
punishment for him and for the rioters  
of ,chauri-,chaura who sinned with his  
name on their lips4 ,gandhi would  like 
to suffer for them alone1 but he advises
 them to hand themselves  voluntarily to
 the ,government and to make a clean    
confession1 for they  have injured the  
cause they meant to serve4      ,i would
 suffer humiliation1 every torture1     
absolute ostracism1 and death  itself to
 prevent the movement from becoming     
violent or a precursor of  violence4    
,the history of humanity's spiritual    
progress can point to few pages as      
noble as these4 ,the moral value of such
 an action is incomparable1 but  as a   
political move it was disconcerting4    
,gandhi himself admits it might  be     

called politically unsound and unwise4  
,it is dangerous to assemble  all the   
forces of a nation and to hold the      
nation1 panting1 before a  prescribed   
movement1 to lift one's arm to give the 
final command1 and  then1 at the last   
moment1 let one's arm drop and thrice   
call a halt just  as the formidable     
machinery has been set in motion4 ,one  
risks ruining  the brakes and paralyzing
 the impetus4    ,therefore1 when the   
congress committee held its session at  
,delhi1  ,february #bd1 #aibb1 ,gandhi  
met with great opposition4 ,the         
resolutions of  the working committee of
 ,bardoli1 approved on the eleventh1    
were not  ratified without discussion4  
,the non-coperators split into two      
camps4  ,gandhi claimed that before     
civil disobedience could be launched the
  people must be better prepared1 and he
 submitted a constructive program4  ,but
 many members were irritated at the slow
 progress of the independence  movement1
 and they protested against the         

suspension of civil  disobedience4      
,gandhi's methods1 they claimed1 were   
stifling the nation's  ardor4 ,a vote of
 censure against the working committee  
was proposed1 and  it was suggested that
 its resolutions be annulled4 ,in the   
end1 however1  ,gandhi triumphed4 ,but  
he suffered keenly1 for he realized that
 the  majority was not backing him      
sincerely2 he knew that more than one of
  those who voted for him called him    
dictator behind his back4 ,he knew      
that1 at bottom1 he no longer reflected 
the sentiment of the country4  ,and with
 his undaunted sincerity he admits this1
 ,march #b1 #aibb3      ,there is so    
much undercurrent of violence1 both     
conscious and  unconscious1 that ,i was 
actually and literally praying for a    
disastrous  defeat4 ,i have always been 
in a minority4 ,in ,south ,africa ,i    
started with  practical unanimity1      
reached a minority of sixty-four and    
even sixteen1  and went up again to a   
huge majority4 ,the best and the most   

solid work  was done in the wilderness  
of minority4444 ,i know that the only   
thing  that the ,government dreads is   
this huge majority ,i seem to command4  
,they  little know that ,i dread it even
 more than they4 ,i have become         
literally  sick of the adoration of the 
unthinking multitude4 ,i would feel     
certain  of my ground if ,i was spat    
upon by them4 ,a friend warned me       
against  exploiting my dictatorship4 ,i 
have begun to wonder if ,i am not       
unconsciously allowing myself to be     
exploited6 ,i confess that ,i have a    
dread of it as ,i never had before4 ,my 
only safety lies in my  shamelessness4  
,i have warned my friends of the        
committee that ,i am  incorrigible4 ,i  
shall continue to confess blunders each 
time the people  commit them4 ,the only 
tyrant ,i accept in this world is the   
still small  voice within4 ,and even    
though ,i have to face the prospect of a
 minority  of one1 ,i humbly believe ,i 
have the courage to be in such a        

hopeless  minority4 ,that to me is the  
only truthful position4 ,but ,i am a    
sadder  and1 ,i hope1 a wiser man       
to-day4 ,i see that our non-violence is 
skin-deep4 ,we are burning with         
indignation4 ,the ,government is feeding
 it  by its insensate acts4 ,it seems   
almost as if the ,government wants to   
see  this land covered with murder1     
arson1 and rapine in order to be able   
once more to claim exclusive ability to 
put them down4    ,this non-violence1   
therefore1 seems to be due merely to our
  helplessness4 ,it almost appears as if
 we are nursing in our bosoms the       
desire to take revenge the first time we
 get the opportunity4 ,can true         
voluntary non-violence come out of this 
seeming forced non-violence of  the     
weak8 ,is it not a futile experiment ,i 
am conducting8 ,what if1 when  the fury 
bursts1 not a man1 woman1 or child is   
safe and every man's hand  is raised    
against his fellow-being8 ,of what avail
 is it1 then1 if ,i fast  myself to     

death in the event of such a catastrophe
 coming to pass8 ,let  us be truthful4  
,if it is by force that we wish to gain 
,swaraj1 let us  drop non-violence and  
offer such violence as we may4 ,it would
 be a  manly1 honest1 and sober         
attitude1 and no one can then accuse us 
of the  terrible charge of              
hypocrisy4#aaf ,if1 in spite of all my  
warnings444  the majority did not       
believe in our goal1 although they      
accepted it  without a single material  
change1 ,i would ask them to realize    
their  responsibility4 ,they are not    
bound to rush to civil disobedience1 but
 to  settle down to the quiet work of   
construction4 ,if we do not take care1  
we are likely to be drowned in the      
waters whose depth we do not know4444   
,those who do not believe in the creed  
should surely retire from  the congress4
      ,and1 turning to the minority1    
,gandhi adds3      ,the patriotic spirit
 demands loyal and strict adherence to  
non-violence  and truth4 ,those who do  

not believe in them should retire from  
the  congress organization4      ,there 
is bitter sadness1 but a proud          
manliness1 in these forceful words4  ,it
 was the night in ,gethsemane4 ,gandhi's
 arrest was imminent4 ,who knows        
whether1 in his heart1 he did not look  
upon imprisonment as a delivery8        
#c      ,gandhi had for a long time been
 expecting to be arrested4 ,ever since  
,november #aj1 #aibj1 all his affairs   
had been in order and he himself        
prepared4 ,he had dictated his          
instructions to the people in his       
article1  ,if ,i ,am ,arrested4 ,he     
referred to this possibility again in an
 article  dated ,march #i1 #aibb1 when  
the rumor of his arrest again cropped   
up4 ,he  says he does not fear the      
,government4 ,rivers of blood shed by   
the  ,government cannot frighten me4    
,the only thing he fears is that the    
people may be carried away at the news  
of his arrest4 ,this would be a         
disgrace to him4 ,i desire that the     

people should maintain perfect          
self-control and consider the day of my 
arrest a day of rejoicing4 ,the         
,government believes that ,i am the soul
 of all this agitation and that if  ,i  
am removed it will be left in peace4    
,the only thing that remains is  for it 
to measure the strength of the people4  
,let the people preserve  perfect peace 
and calmness4 ,it is a matter of no     
pride or pleasure to  me1 but of        
humiliation1 that the ,government       
refrain from arresting me  for fear of  
an outbreak of universal violence4 ,let 
the people carry out  the whole         
constructive program4 ,let there be no  
hartals or  demonstrations1 no          
cooperation with the ,government4 ,let  
courts and  schools be boycotted4 ,let1 
in short1 the program of non-coperation 
be  pursued in absolute order and       
discipline4 ,if the people can live up  
to  this program1 they will win4        
,otherwise they will face disaster4     
,when everything was in readiness1      

,gandhi went to his cherished retreat   
at the ,ashram of ,sarbarmati1 near     
,ahmedabad1 to await1 in quiet          
meditation and surrounded by his beloved
 disciples1 the coming of the           
constables4 ,he longed for imprisonment4
 ,in his absence ,india would  affirm   
her purpose with greater strength4 ,and1
 as he says1 imprisonment  would give   
him a quiet and physical rest1 which he 
perhaps  deserved4#aag    ,the          
constables arrived on the night of      
,march #aj4 ,news had reached the       
,ashram of their coming4 ,the ,mahatma  
was ready1 and placed himself at  their 
disposal4 ,on the way to prison he met  
,maulana ,hasrat ,mohani1 a  ,mohammedan
 friend who had come from far to give   
him a last embrace4  ,banker1 the editor
 of ,young ,india1 was sent to jail     
along with the  master4 ,gandhi's wife  
was allowed to accompany her husband as 
far as the  prison gates4    ,at noon of
 ,saturday1 ,march #ah1 ,gandhi's ,great
 ,trial#aah began before  ,mr4 ,c4 ,n4  

,broomsfield1 district and session judge
 of ,ahmedabad4 ,it was a  manifestation
 of rare nobility and high-mindedness4  
,judge and accused  vied with each other
 in chivalrous courtesy4 ,never in the  
struggle did  ,england rise to more     
magnanimous impartiality4 ,judge        
,broomsfield that  day made up for many 
faults of the ,government4 ,since much  
has been  written about the trial1 ,i   
will only summarize the main points4    
,why had the ,government at last        
arrested ,gandhi8 ,why1 after           
contemplating  this move for more than  
two years1 did it choose the very moment
 when  the ,mahatma had quelled the mob 
movement and when he seemed to stand as 
the only barrier against violence8 ,was 
it acting in aberration8 ,or did  it    
wish to lend confirmation to ,gandhi's  
terrible words3 ,it seems  almost as if 
the ,government wants to see this land  
covered with murder1  arson1 and rapine 
in order to be able to claim exclusive  
ability to put  them down8 ,the         

,government was in a very difficult     
position4 ,it  respected and feared     
,gandhi4 ,it would have liked to treat  
him gently4  ,but ,gandhi did not treat 
the ,government gently4 ,the ,mahatma   
condemned  violence1 but his            
non-violence was more revolutionary than
 any violence4  ,the very same day that 
he stopped civil disobedience for the   
mass1 or  rather the day before the     
session of the congress at ,delhi1 on   
,february  #bc1 he wrote one of the most
 menacing articles to ,great ,britain's 
power4  ,an insolent telegram from ,lord
 ,birkenhead and ,mr4 ,montagu had      
struck  ,india as a blow4#aai    ,in a  
burst of indignation ,gandhi took up the
 challenge3      ,how can there be any  
compromise whilst the ,british lion     
continues to  shake his gory claws in   
our faces8 ,the ,british ,empire1 which 
is based  upon organized exploitation of
 physically weaker races and upon a     
continuous exhibition of brute force1   
cannot live if there is a just ,god     

ruling the universe4444 ,it is high time
 that the ,british people were  made to 
realize that the fight that was         
commenced in #aibj is a fight to  the   
finish1 whether it lasts one month or   
one year or many months or  many years4 
,i shall only hope and pray that ,god   
will give ,india  sufficient humility   
and sufficient strength to remain       
non-violent to the  end4 ,submission to 
the insolent challenges that are cabled 
is now an  utter impossibility4         
,gandhi was indicted on the statements  
contained in this article and in  two   
other articles1 the one dated ,september
 #ai1 #aiba1 and the other  ,december   
#ae1 #aiba4 ,the first referred to the  
arrest of the ,ali brothers1  and the   
second was a reply to a speech of ,lord 
,reading4 ,both of them  contain the    
same declaration of fight to the finish4
 ,we want ,swaraj1  we want the         
,government to yield to popular will4   
,we ask for no quarter  and expect none4
 ,the accusation1 therefore1 charged    

that ,gandhi had  preached disaffection 
toward the ,government and had openly   
instigated  others to overthrow it4     
,gandhi spoke in his own defense4 ,he   
pleaded  guilty to all charges4    ,the 
advocate-general1 ,sir ,j4 ,t4          
,strangman of ,bombay1 claimed that the 
three articles cited by the accusation  
were not isolated1 but were part  of a  
general campaign pursued for two years  
in view of overthrowing the             
,government1 and he quoted passages from
 ,gandhi's articles4 ,he paid  tribute  
to ,gandhi's high character4 ,but this  
only served to lend  authority to the   
articles and to increase their harmful  
influence4 ,he  held ,gandhi responsible
 for the bloodshed at ,bombay and at    
,chauri-,chaura4 ,it was true that      
,gandhi preached non-violence1 but he   
also preached disaffection4 ,he was     
therefore responsible for the  violence 
committed by the people4    ,gandhi     
asked permission to speak4 ,the torment 
as to what was right and  wrong1 the    

anguish1 the doubts1 the mental and     
spiritual struggle of the  last weeks as
 to which course he should pursue and   
the effect it would  have on the people1
 had been cleared away4 ,he had         
recovered the serenity  of his soul4 ,he
 accepted everything that had taken     
place and everything  that was to take  
place as a necessity which he might     
regret1 but which  he would have to     
bear4 ,he agreed with the               
advocate-general4 ,yes1 he was          
responsible4 ,he was responsible for    
everything4 ,he had preached            
disaffection for a much longer time than
 the accusation had stated4 ,he  assumed
 responsibility for the troubles at     
,madras1 for the diabolical  crimes of  
,chauri-,chaura1 and the mad outrages of
 ,bombay4      ,the learned             
advocate-general is quite right when he 
says that as a man  of responsibility1 a
 man having received a fair share of    
education1  having had a fair share of  
experience of this world1 ,i should have

 known  the consequences of every one of
 my acts4 ,i knew that ,i was playing   
with fire1 ,i ran the risk1 and if ,i   
was set free1 ,i would still do the     
same4 ,i felt this morning that ,i would
 have failed in my duty if ,i did  not  
say what ,i say here just now4    ,i    
wanted to avoid violence1 ,i want to    
avoid violence4 ,non-violence is  the   
first article of my faith4 ,it is also  
the last article of my creed4  ,but ,i  
had to make my choice4 ,i had either to 
submit to a system which ,i  considered 
had done an irreparable harm to my      
country or incur the risk  of the mad   
fury of my people bursting forth when   
they understood the  truth from my lips4
 ,i know that my people have sometimes  
gone mad4 ,i am  deeply sorry for it and
 ,i am therefore here to submit not to a
 light  penalty1 but to the highest     
penalty4 ,i do not ask for mercy4 ,i do 
not  plead any extenuating act4 ,i am   
here1 therefore1 to invite and          
cheerfully submit to the highest penalty

 that can be inflicted upon me  for what
 in law is a deliberate crime and what  
appears to me to be the  highest duty of
 a citizen4 ,the only course open to    
you1 ,judge1 is either  to resign your  
post or inflict on me the severest      
penalty4      ,after this powerful      
improvisation1 where the scruples of a  
religious  spirit are balanced by the   
heroic firmness of a political leader1  
,gandhi  read a written declaration     
addressed to the public in ,india and   
,england4  ,he owed it to them1 he said1
 to explain why1 from a stanch loyalist 
and  coperator1 he had become an        
uncompromising disaffectionist and      
non-coperator4 ,he dwelt on his public  
life from #ahic on4 ,he pointed  out all
 he had to suffer1 as an ,indian1 from  
the ,british system1 and he  told of his
 ceaseless attempts for twenty-five     
years to reform it4 ,he  believed       
obstinately that this could be          
accomplished without separating  ,india 
and ,england4 ,in spite of all          

deceptions1 he remained a stanch        
coperator till #aiai4 ,but since then   
outrages and crimes have surpassed  all 
measure4 ,and instead of making up for  
injustices1 the ,government1 as  if in  
defiance to the spirit of ,india1 has   
honored1 pensioned1 and  rewarded its   
guilty servants4 ,the ,government itself
 has severed all  ties4 ,gandhi has come
 to the conclusion that even if the     
desired reforms  were now proposed by   
the ,government1 they would be harmful4 
,the  ,government in ,british ,india is 
based on the exploitation of the masses4
  ,laws are made in view of             
strengthening this exploitation4 ,the   
administration of the law is prostituted
 consciously or unconsciously  for the  
benefit of the exploiter4 ,a subtle1 but
 effective1 system of  terrorization and
 an organized display of force have     
emasculated the  people and induced in  
them the habit of simulation4 ,india is 
starving1  ruined1 degraded2 and many   
claim that before ,india becomes capable

 of  self-government on the dominion    
plan generations will have to pass4     
,england has done more harm to ,india   
than any previous system4               
,non-coperation with evil is a duty4    
,gandhi' has done his duty4 ,but        
whereas in the past non-coperation has  
been deliberately expressed in  the form
 of violence inflicted on the evildoer1 
violence having been the  supreme       
weapon1 ,gandhi has given his people the
 new1 but indomitable1  arm of          
non-violence4    ,and then came the     
chivalrous match between ,judge         
,broomsfield and the  ,mahatma4         
,mr4 ,gandhi1 you have made my task easy
 in one way by pleading guilty to  the  
charges2 nevertheless what remains1     
namely the determination of a  just     
sentence1 is perhaps as difficult a     
proposition as a judge in this  country 
could have to face4444 ,it would be     
impossible to ignore the fact  that in  
the eyes of millions of your countrymen 
you are a great patriot  and a great    

leader4 ,even those who differ from you 
in politics look upon  you as a man of  
high ideals and of noble and even       
saintly life4444 ,but  it is my duty to 
judge you as a man subject to the       
law4444 ,there are  probably few people 
in ,india who do not sincerely regret   
that you should  have made it impossible
 for any ,government to leave you at    
liberty4 ,but  it is so4 ,i am trying to
 balance what is due to you against what
 appears  to me to be necessary in the  
interest of the public4      ,with great
 courtesy he consulted the accused as to
 the sentence which  should be imposed4 
,you will not consider it unreasonable1 
,i think1 to  be classed with ,mr4      
,tilak1 sentenced twelve years          
previously to six  years4 ,if the course
 of events in ,india should make it     
possible for the  ,government to reduce 
the period and release you1 no one will 
be better  pleased than ,i4    ,gandhi  
did not allow the judge to outdo him in 
courtesy4 ,he claimed it  was his       

proudest privilege and honor to have his
 name associated with  that of ,tilak4  
,so far as the sentence itself was      
concerned1 he  considered it as light as
 any judge could impose on him1 and as  
far as  the whole proceedings were      
concerned1 he said that he could not    
have  expected greater courtesy4#abj    
,the trial was over4 ,gandhi's friends  
fell at his feet1 sobbing4 ,the         
,mahatma took leave of them1 smiling4   
,and the door of the jail of  ,sarbamati
 closed behind him4#aba           #d    
,ever since the great apostle's voice   
has been silent4 ,his body is walled  in
 as in a tomb4 ,but never did a tomb act
 as a barrier to thought1 and  ,gandhi's
 invisible soul still animates ,india's 
vast body4 ,peace1  non-violence1       
suffering1#abb is the only message that 
has come from  the prison4 ,the message 
has been heard4 ,from one end of the    
country to  the other the watchword has 
been passed4 ,three years earlier ,india
 would  have been swept by bloodshed at 

,gandhi's arrest4 ,the mere report of   
its  having taken place caused riots    
among the population in #aibj4 ,but the 
sentence of ,ahmedabad was received with
 religious solemnity4 ,thousands  of    
,indians with serene joyfulness handed  
themselves over to prison  guards4      
,non-violence and suffering--one example
 more amazing than the  others--may     
serve to show to what depths the divine 
words have  penetrated into the spirit  
of the nation4    ,as is well known1 the
 ,sikhs have always been looked upon as 
one of the  most warlike races in       
,india4 ,large numbers of them served in
 the army  during the war4 ,last year   
grave dissensions arose among them4 ,to 
our  ,western eyes the cause seems      
insignificant4 ,as the result of a      
religious  effervescence1 one of the    
,sikh sects1 the ,akalis1 wished to     
purify the  sanctuaries4 ,the latter had
 fallen into the hands of guardians of  
ill  repute who refused to be put out4  
,for legal reasons the ,government took 

their defense4 ,and in ,august1 #aibb1  
began the daily martyrdom of            
,guru-,ka-,bagh4#abc ,the ,akalis       
adopted the doctrine of non-resistance4 
,a  thousand of them settled near the   
sanctuary1 while four thousand took up  
abode in the ,golden ,temple at         
,amritsar1 ten miles away4 ,every day   
one  hundred from among the four        
thousand1 most of them men of military  
age1  many of whom served in the war1   
left the ,golden ,temple1 after taking  
the  vow of remaining true to the       
principles of non-violence in thought as
  well as action1 and of reaching       
,guru-,ka-,bagh or being brought back   
unconscious4 ,among the group of the    
thousand volunteers twenty-five made    
the same vow every day4 ,not far from   
the sanctuary the ,british  constables  
waited at the bridge with iron-tipped   
rods to stop the  manifestation4 ,and   
every day a gruesome scene took place4  
,andrews1  ,tagore's friend1 describes  
it unforgettably in his ,akali          

,struggle4#abd ,with a wreath of small  
white flowers around their black        
turbans1 the ,akalis arrived silently   
before the constables1 and at a         
distance of about a yard they stopped   
and began to pray1 silently1            
motionlessly4 ,the constables1 in order 
to drive them away1 prodded them  with  
the iron-tipped rods1 jabbing harder and
 harder till blood began to  flow and   
the ,sikhs fell unconscious4 ,those who 
could get to their feet  would begin to 
pray again1 until they were beaten into 
unconsciousness  like the others4       
,andrews did not hear a single cry1 nor 
did he see a  defiant glance4 ,near-by1 
a crowd of spectators1 their faces tense
 with  anguish1 prayed silently4 ,i     
could not help thinking1 ,andrews says1 
of  the shadow of the cross4 ,the       
,english described the scene in their   
papers and expressed amazement4#abe ,it 
seemed incomprehensible to the          
,british1 although they had to admit    
that the absurd sacrifice proved  that  

the idea of non-coperation and          
non-violence was gaining ground  and    
that the people of the ,punjab had been 
won over to the doctrine4  ,andrews1    
whose generous spirit and pure idealism 
enabled him to  penetrate the soul of   
,india1 says that here he saw1 like     
,goethe at  ,valmy1 the dawn of a new   
era4 ,a new heroism1 steeled by         
suffering1 has  risen1 a war of the     
spirit4    ,it would seem as if the     
people of ,india have lived up to       
,mahatma's  spirit more faithfully than 
those whose mission it was to guide     
them4 ,i  have already spoken of the    
opposition to ,gandhi at the session of 
the  congress committee at ,delhi twenty
 days before the master was arrested4   
,this opposition still manifested itself
 when the committee met again1 at       
,lucknow1 ,june #g1 #aibb4 ,the program 
of patient waiting and silent           
reconstruction advocated by ,gandhi was 
bitterly criticized1 and a motion  was  
made to proclaim civil disobedience4 ,a 

commission was appointed to  inquire    
into conditions and determine whether   
the country might be  called ripe for   
civil disobedience4 ,the commission     
traveled all over  ,india1 and in the   
autumn sent in a discouraging report4   
,not only was  civil disobedience called
 impractical for the present1 but half  
the  members went to such extremes of   
conservatism as to suggest that         
,gandhi's methods of non-coperation be  
abandoned and a new ,swaraj or  home    
rule party be formed within the         
government councils4 ,gandhi's  doctrine
 was1 in other words1 attacked by those 
who believed in  violence1 as well as by
 those who believed in prudence4        
,india1 however1 did not accept the     
commission's report4 ,in its annual     
meeting at the end of ,december1 #aibb1 
the ,national ,indian ,congress         
energetically proclaimed its allegiance 
to the persecuted master and his        
doctrine of non-coperation4 ,by #agdj   
votes to #hij it rejected all           

participation in government councils4   
,as for those who believed in  violence1
 they were few and far between and had  
little influence4 ,the  session closed  
with a unanimous resolution urging that 
the political  strike ordered by ,gandhi
 be kept up4 ,a resolution boycotting   
,english  materials1 however1 was turned
 down1 in order not to antagonize       
,european  workmen4 ,but the ,mussulman 
conference of the ,khilafat1 as usual   
more  audacious than the congress1 voted
 for the boycott by a large majority4   
,here we must stop the record of the    
,gandhist movement4 ,despite a few      
inevitable backslides due to the absence
 of the master and his best  disciples1 
imprisoned like himself 7especially the 
,ali brothers71 the  movement has       
successfully passed through the trials  
of the first  unguided year4 ,and the   
,english press1 at the close of the     
session of the  congress of #aibb at    
,gaya1 expresses surprise and           
disappointment at the  progress of the  

movement4#abf           #e      ,and    
what will now come8 ,will ,england1     
wiser for past experiences1 know  how to
 mold the aspirations of the people of  
,india8 ,and will this people  remain   
true to its ideal8 ,nations have short  
memories1 and ,i should have  but slight
 faith in ,india's power to remain true 
to the ,mahatma's  teaching if his      
doctrines were not an expression of the 
deepest and most  ancient longings of   
the race4 ,for if there is such a thing 
as genius1  great by its own strength   
whether or not it corresponds to the    
ideals of  its surroundings1 there can  
be no genius of action1 no leader1 who  
does  not incarnate the instincts of his
 race1 satisfy the need of the hour1    
and requite the yearning of the world4  
,mahatma ,gandhi does all this4 ,his    
principle of ,ahimsa 7non-violence7  has
 been inscribed in the spirit of ,india 
for more than two thousand  years4      
,mahavira1 ,buddha1 and the cult of     
,vishnu have made it the  substance of  

millions of souls4 ,gandhi has merely   
transfused heroic  blood into it4 ,he   
called upon the great shadows1 the      
forces of the past1  plunged in mortal  
lethargy1 and at the sound of his voice 
they came to  life4 ,in him they found  
themselves4 ,gandhi is more than a word2
 he is an  example4 ,he incarnates the  
spirit of his people4 ,blessed the man  
who is  a people1 his people1 entombed1 
and then resuscitated in him6 ,but such 
resurrections are never haphazard4 ,if  
the spirit of ,india now surges  forth  
from temples and forests1 it is because 
it holds the message for  which the     
world is sighing4    ,this message      
carries far beyond the boundaries of    
,india4 ,india alone  could formulate   
it1 but it consecrates the nation's     
greatness as much as  its sacrifice4 ,it
 may become its cross4    ,for it would 
seem as if a people must he sacrificed  
in order to give new  life to the world4
 ,the ,jews were sacrificed to their    
,messiah1 whom they  had borne for      

centuries in their thoughts1 and whom   
they did not  recognize when ,he finally
 flowered on the blood-stained cross4   
,more  fortunate1 ,india has recognized 
her ,messiah1 and joyously the people   
march to the sacrifice which is to set  
them free4    ,but1 like the early      
,christians1 they do not all understand 
the real  meaning of their liberation4  
,for a long time the ,christians awaited
 the  fulfilment of the adveniat regnum 
tuum4 ,in ,india there are many who do  
not see beyond ,swaraj1 home rule4      
,incidentally1 ,i imagine that this     
political goal will soon be reached4    
,europe1 bled by wars and  revolutions1 
impoverished and exhausted1 despoiled of
 her prestige in  the eyes of ,asia1    
which she formerly oppressed1 cannot    
long resist on  ,asiatic soil the       
aspirations of the awakened peoples of  
,islam1 ,india1  ,china1 and ,japan4    
,but this would mean little1 no matter  
how rich and new  might be the harmonies
 which a few more nations would bring to

 the human  symphony2 this would mean   
little1 if the surging spirit of ,asia  
did not  become the vehicle for a new   
ideal of life and of death1 and1 what is
  more1 of action1 for all humanity1 and
 if it did not bring a new  viaticum to 
prostrate ,europe4    ,the world is     
swept by the wind of violence4 ,this    
storm which ravages the  harvest of our 
civilization did not break out from a   
clear sky4  ,centuries of brutal        
national pride1 whetted by the          
idolatrous ideology  of the ,revolution1
 spread by the empty mockery of         
democracies1 and  crowned by a century  
of inhuman industrialism1 rapacious     
plutocracy1 and  a materialistic system 
of economics where the soul perishes1   
stifled to  death1 were bound to        
culminate in these dark struggles where 
the  treasures of the ,west succumbed4  
,it is not enough to say all this was   
inevitable4 ,there is a in it4 ,each    
people kills the other in the name of   
the same principles which hid the same  

covetousness and ,cainish  instincts4   
,all--be they nationalists1 ,fascists1  
,bolshevists1 members of  the oppressed 
classes1 members of the oppressing      
classes--claim that  they have the right
 to use force1 while refusing this right
 to others4  ,half a century ago might  
dominated right4 ,to-day things are far 
worse4  ,might is right4 ,might has     
devoured right4    ,in the old crumbling
 world1 no refuge1 no hope1 no great    
light4 ,the  church gives innocuous     
advice1 virtuous and dosed1 carefully   
worded so  as not to antagonize the     
mighty4 ,besides1 the church never sets 
the  example--even when giving advice4  
,weak pacifists bray languishingly1 and 
you feel that they hesitate and fumble1 
talk about a faith they no  longer      
believe in4 ,who will prove this faith8 
,and how1 in an unbelieving  world8     
,faith is proved by action4    ,this is 
the great message to the world1 or1 as  
,gandhi puts it1 ,india's               
message--self-sacrifice4    ,and ,tagore

 has repeated the same inspired words1  
for on this proud  principle ,tagore and
 ,gandhi agree4      ,i hope this spirit
 of sacrifice will grow1 and also the   
will to  suffer4444 ,this is real       
liberty4 ,nothing is higher1 not even   
national  independence4 ,the ,west has  
an unshakable belief in force and       
material  wealth2 therefore no matter   
how much it cries for peace and         
disarmament1  its ferocity will cry     
still louder4444 ,we1 in ,india1 must   
show the world  what this truth is which
 not only makes disarmament possible but
  transmutes it into strength4 ,the fact
 that moral force is a stronger  power  
than brute force will be proved by an   
unarmed people4 ,the  evolution of life 
shows that it has gradually cast off its
 formidable  armature of scales and     
carapaces and a monstrous quantity of   
flesh until  man was evolved who        
conquered brute force4 ,the day will    
come when a  weak1 noble man absolutely 
unarmed will prove that the meek shall  

inherit the earth4 ,it is logical that  
,mahatma ,gandhi1 weak of body and      
without material resources1 should prove
 the unconquerable strength of  the meek
 and the humble hidden in the heart of  
the outraged and  destitute humanity of 
,india4 ,india's destiny is bound up in 
,narayana  and not in ,narayani-sena1 in
 soul force and not muscle4 ,it must    
uplift  human history1 transport it from
 the confused valley of material        
struggles to the high plateaux of       
spiritual battles4 ,although we may     
delude ourselves through phrases        
acquired from the vocabulary of the     
,west1 ,swaraj1 home rule1 is not really
 our goal4 ,our battle is a  spiritual  
battle1 a fight for humanity4 ,we must  
emancipate man from the  meshes he has  
woven around him1 free him from the     
organizations of  national selfishness4 
,we must persuade the butterfly that the
 freedom of  the sky is better than the 
shelter of the cocoon4 ,in ,india we    
have no  word for nation4 ,when we loan 

the word from other peoples it is not   
suited to us1 for we should ally        
ourselves with ,narayana1 the ,supreme  
,being1 and our victory will be the     
victory for ,god's world4444 ,if we can 
defy the powerful1 the rich1 the armed1 
by showing the world the power  of the  
immortal spirit1 the castle of the giant
 ,flesh will crumble into  nothingness4 
,and then man will find real ,swaraj4   
,we1 the miserable  outcasts of the     
,orient1 we must conquer freedom for all
 humanity4444      ,our object1 ,gandhi 
has said1 is friendship with the whole  
world4  ,non-violence has come to men1  
and it will remain4 ,it is the          
annunciation  of peace on earth4    ,the
 peace of the world is far off4 ,we have
 no illusions4 ,we have seen1           
abundantly1 during the course of half a 
century1 the hypocrisy1 the  cowardice1 
and the cruelty of mankind4 ,but this   
does not prevent us from  loving        
mankind4 ,for even among the worst there
 is a nescio quid ,dei4  ,we know the   

material ties that weigh on             
twentieth-century ,europe1 the  crushing
 determinism of economic conditions     
which hem it in2 we know  that centuries
 of passions and systematized error have
 built a crust  about our souls which   
the light cannot pierce4 ,but we also   
know what  miracles the spirit can work4
    ,historians1 we have seen its glory 
brighten skies even darker than our     
own4 ,we1 who live but a day1 have      
caught in ,india the sound of the       
tambour of iva1 the ,master ,dancer who 
veils his devouring eye and  guards his 
steps to save the world from plunging   
into the abyss4#abg    ,the             
,realpolitiker of violence1 whether     
revolutionary or reactionary1  ridicule 
our faith1 and reveal thereby their     
ignorance of deep reality4  ,let them   
jeer6 ,i have this faith4 ,i know it is 
scorned and persecuted in  ,europe1 and 
that in my own land we are but a        
handful--are we even a  handful8--who   
believe in it4 ,and even if ,i were the 

only one to believe  in it1 what would  
it matter8 ,the true characteristic of  
faith is not to  deny the hostility of  
the world1 but to recognize it and to   
believe in  spite of it6 ,faith is a    
battle4 ,and our non-violence is the    
most  desperate battle4 ,the way to     
peace is not through weakness4 ,we do   
not  fight violence so much as weakness4
 ,nothing is worth while unless it is   
strong1 neither good nor evil4 ,absolute
 evil is better than emasculated        
goodness4 ,moaning pacifism is the      
death-knell of peace2 it is cowardice   
and lack of faith4 ,let those who do not
 believe1 who fear1 withdraw6 ,the  way 
to peace leads through self-sacrifice4  
,this is ,gandhi's message4 ,the only   
thing lacking is the cross4#abh  ,every 
one knows that had it not been for the  
,jews1 ,rome would not have  given it to
 ,christ4 ,the ,british ,empire is no   
better than ancient ,rome4  ,the impetus
 has been given4 ,the soul of ,oriental 
peoples has been moved  in its deepest  

fibers1 and its vibrations are felt the 
whole world over4    ,the great         
religious apparitions of the ,orient are
 ruled by a rhythm4 ,one  thing is      
certain3 either ,gandhi's spirit will   
triumph1 or it will  manifest itself    
again1 as were manifested1 centuries    
before1 the ,messiah  and ,buddha1 till 
there finally is manifested1 in a mortal
 half-god1 the  perfect incarnation of  
the principle of life which will lead a 
new  humanity on to a new path4         
,footnote #aac3 ,one hundred and forty  
villages1 #hg1jjj inhabitants4          
,footnote #aad3 ,a note in ,young ,india
 of the same date is even more          
explicit4 ,if the viceroy does not      
answer1 civil obedience will be         
proclaimed even if against the will of  
the majority4    ,footnote #aae3 ,what  
light these words throw on the          
mysterious power of  this soul where all
 the emotions of hit people are         
inscribed6    ,footnote #aaf3 ,gandhi   
had come to realize that some of the    

majority  members who voted for         
non-violence looked upon it1 in their   
hearts1 as a  political expedient paving
 the way1 covertly1 to violence4 ,they  
spoke  suavely1 he says1 of delivering  
non-violent blows4 ,gandhi had not      
grasped the danger1 as ,tagore had1 long
 before4 ,but he was  horror-struck4    
,and1 more harshly than ,tagore1 he     
denounced and attacked  the majority's  
attitude4    ,footnote #aag3 ,march #i1 
#aibb4    ,footnote #aah3 ,the ,great   
,trial1 ,young ,india1 ,march #bc1      
#aibb4    ,footnote #aai3 ,if the       
existence of our ,empire were           
challenged1 the  discharge of           
responsibilities of the ,british        
,government to ,india  prevented and    
demands were made in the very mistaken  
belief that we  contemplated retreat    
from ,india1 then ,india would not      
challenge with  success the most        
determined people in the world who once 
again would  answer with all the vigor  
and determination at its command4       

,footnote #abj3 ,mr4 ,banker1 the editor
 of ,young ,india1 who1 during the      
trial1 had followed the master's example
 and acquiesced in all his  statements1 
was sentenced to a fine and imprisonment
 for one year4    ,footnote #aba3 ,mrs4 
,kasturibai ,gandhi informed the people 
of ,india of  the sentence imposed on   
,gandhi1 in a very beautiful message1   
urging them  in peace and quiet to      
concentrate on carrying out ,gandhi's   
constructive  program4    ,gandhi did   
not remain in the prison of ,sarbamati1 
where he was well  treated1 but was     
transferred to an unknown jail and then 
to ,yeravda1  near ,poona4 ,according to
 a statement made by ,n4 ,d4 ,hardiker1 
,gandhi in  ,prison1 ,unity1 ,may #ah1  
#aibb1 which we are unable to verify1   
,gandhi has  been placed in a cell like 
the common-law criminals1 and is allowed
 no  privileges of any kind4 ,it is     
claimed that his delicate health has    
suffered through this regime4    ,mr4   
,c4 ,f4 ,andrews1 speaking of ,gandhi's 

imprisonment1 told me that the  ,mahatma
 was happy in prison and that he had    
asked his friends not to  visit him4 ,he
 is purifying himself1 he prays and     
feels convinced that in  this way he is 
working in the most efficacious way for 
,india4    ,incidentally ,mr4 ,andrews  
states that the ,gandhist party in      
,india has  gained strength by the      
,mahatma's imprisonment4 ,india believes
 in ,gandhi  with more fervor than ever 
before4 ,it persists in looking upon him
 as an  incarnation of ,sri-,krishna1   
who was also subjected to the trial of  
imprisonment4 ,and ,gandhi1 in jail1 has
 more effectively prevented the         
explosion of that violence which he     
feared than if he had been at  liberty4 
,footnote #abb3 ,on ,august #c1 #aibb1  
,unity published a ,letter from  ,prison
 where ,gandhi speaks about the evils of
 modern civilization4 ,the  letter seems
 apocryphal to me4 ,i should imagine it 
a summary of extracts  written some time
 ago1 particularly in the ,hind ,swaraj4

    ,footnote #abc3 ,guru-,ka-,bagh is a
 sanctuary 7,gurdwara7 about ten  miles 
from ,amritsar4    ,footnote #abd3 ,the 
,akali ,struggle1 by ,andrews1 professor
 at  ,santiniketan4 ,published in the   
,swaraiya of ,madras and under separate 
cover4 ,september #a1 #aibb4            
,footnote #abe3 ,manchester ,guardian   
,weekly1 ,october #ac1 #aibb4           
,footnote #abf3 ,an article by ,blanche 
,watson1 in ,unity1 ,november #af1      
#aibb1 enumerates the advantages which  
,india has won by her fight of          
non-violent resistance4    ,this article
 claims that the internal revenues of   
,india have decreased  some seventy     
million dollars1 and that the boycott of
 ,english goods has  caused ,england to 
lose1 in the course of a single year1   
some twenty  million dollars4 ,she      
claims that at that time about thirty   
thousand  ,indians were imprisoned1 and 
that the governmental machinery was     
entirely upset4 ,but ,blanche ,watson1  
who is a fervent admirer of  ,gandhism1 

has1 perhaps1 an unconscious tendency to
 exaggerate its  successes4 ,other      
testimony would seem to be less         
encouraging and would  seem to prove    
that the spirit of self-sacrifice is    
balked by the selfish  attitude of the  
wealthy and of business people1 while   
many of those who  resigned from        
government posts in the first flush of  
enthusiasm have now  returned to work4  
,it would not be human to believe       
anything else4 ,in  every revolution    
many lag on behind1 or retrace their    
steps4 ,the point  is to determine      
whether1 or not1 on the whole1 the      
movement is on the  increase or the     
decrease4 ,in this connection it is     
interesting to refer  to a description  
published in the ,manchester ,guardian  
,weekly1 ,february  #af1 #aibh4    ,the 
,manchester ,guardian1 whose intelligent
 liberalism is well known1  but which   
nevertheless represents certain powerful
 interests directly  imperiled by the   
non-coperation movement1 recently       

organized an  investigation of          
conditions in ,india4 ,the conclusion   
one draws after  reading the results of 
this inquiry1 in spite of a very natural
 tendency  to discredit the movement1 is
 that the situation is serious and      
causes  grave misgivings4 ,the last     
article 7,february #af1 #aibc7 tries to 
prove  that ,gandhi's tactics have been 
proved ineffective and that the         
non-coperation movement must be         
reorganized4 ,but the article goes on   
to say that the spirit of non-coperation
 is growing4 ,everywhere there  are     
traces of distrust of the foreign       
,government and ardent hope of  getting 
rid of it4 ,the most cultivated people  
in ,india and the  inhabitants of the   
large cities agree on this point4 ,the  
ryot1 or  peasant1 is only slightly     
affected by the movement1 but conditions
 are  such in the villages that within a
 short time he will have to take  sides4
 ,the army still seems immune1 but      
recruits come from the villages1  and   

sooner or later they will be            
contaminated4 ,the non-coperation       
movement is frequently most intense     
among the best and the most moderate    
elements4 ,these elements disapprove    
revolutionary methods1 but their        
disapproval is not shared by the rest of
 the country4 ,the writer claims  that  
it will take about ten years for ,india 
really to bring about  effective civil  
disobedience4 ,but in the meantime the  
situation will  grow more and more      
serious4 ,it is impossible to hold the  
,indians in  check by threatening them  
with imprisonment4 ,they no longer fear 
it4  ,harsher coercive measures must be 
resorted to1 and this will stir up      
hatred4 ,there is only one peaceful     
solution--if it is not already too      
late--and that is for ,england to take  
the initiative of making ,indian        
reforms4 ,no half-measures1 like those  
of #aiai1 and not applied till last     
year6 ,they are not sufficient1 and     
there is no time to lose4 ,england  must

 call a ,national ,indian ,convention   
where all parties and interests  in     
,india will be represented--,gandhi and 
his disciples as well as ,indian        
princes and ,european capitalists1      
,mohammedans1 ,hindus1 ,parsees1        
,eurasians1 ,christians1 pariahs--all   
must join in a convention and draft  a  
constitution for an autonomous ,india   
within the empire and draw up the  lines
 of such a home rule4 ,this is the only 
way to avoid the breaking up  of the    
empire4    ,i do not know how the       
,government of ,india and ,british      
bureaucracy look  upon the ,manchester  
,guardian's suggestion1 and ,i hardly   
believe that  ,gandhi and his           
non-coperators would agree to sit in a  
convention with  ,european and ,indian  
capitalists4 ,but one thing is sure1 and
 that is that  no one questions1 any    
more1 ,india's right to home rule4 ,it  
must come in  one way or another4 ,and  
nothing is more remarkable than the     
change of  ,england's attitude to ,india

 since the beginning of the ,gandhist   
movement4 ,the ,european no longer      
scorns the ,indian but treats him with  
consideration4 ,everybody agrees that it
 is a mistake to employ the  violent    
methods which were the first the        
,governments resorted to in  former     
days4 ,from a spiritual and mental point
 of view1 ,india is already  victorious4
    ,footnote #abg3 ,fragment of the    
oldest ,invocation of iva1 in the  play 
,mudra-,rakshasha 7#djj7 by             
,vishakadatta4    ,footnote #abh3 ,this 
is the standpoint of the conscientious  
objectors  in ,england1 which is        
spreading little by little to other     
countries4          ,,bibliography      
,,andrews1 ,c4 ,f41 ,to the ,students1  
#aiba1 ,s4  ,ganesan1 ,madras4          
,,doke1 ,,joseph ,j41 ,m4 ,k4 ,gandhi1  
an ,indian  ,patriot in ,south ,africa1 
with an introduction  by ,lord          
,ampthill1 #aiji1 ,indian ,chronicle1   
,london4    ,,gandhi1 ,,mahatma1 ,a     
,guide to ,health1  #aiba1 ,s4 ,ganesan1

 ,madras4    ,,gandhi1 ,,mahatma1 ,hind 
,swaraj 7,indian  ,home ,rule71 #aiba1  
,s4 ,ganesan1 ,madras4    ,,gandhi1     
,,mahatma1 ,neethi ,dharma 7,ethical    
,religion71 with an introduction by ,j4 
,h4  ,holmes1 ,s4 ,ganesan1 ,madras4    
,,gandhi1 ,,mahatma1 ,speeches and      
,writings  7#ahif-aibb71 with an        
introduction by ,c4 ,f4  ,andrews and a 
biographical sketch1 #aibb1  ,natesan1  
,madras4    ,,gandhi1 ,,mahatma1 ,young 
,india 7#aiai-bb71  with an introduction
 by ,babu ,rajendra  ,prasad1 #aibb1 ,s4
 ,ganesan1 ,madras4 ,a collection  of   
articles written by ,gandhi for his     
paper1 ,young ,india4    ,,holmes1 ,j4  
,h41 ,mohandas ,karamchand ,gandhi      
7introduction to ,ethical ,religion74   
,,kalelkar1 ,,professor1 ,the ,gospel of
 ,swadeshi1  #aibb4 ,s4 ,ganesan1       
,madras4    ,,gandhi1 ,m4 ,k41 ,a       
,sketch of ,his ,life and ,his  ,work   
7in the collection1 ,biographies of     
,eminent ,indians1 ,natesan1 ,madras74  
,,pearson1 ,w4 ,w41 ,the ,dawn of a ,new

 ,age1  #aibb1 ,s4 ,ganesan1 ,madras4   
,,ray1 ,,satyandra1 ,mahatma ,gandhi 7in
 ,the  ,world ,to-,morrow1 ,november1   
#aibb74    ,,souvenir of the ,passive   
,resistance ,movement  in ,south ,africa
 7#aijf-ad71 ,golden ,number  of ,indian
 ,opinion published1 #aiad1 at          
,phoenix1 ,natal4 ,this number1         
published by  the presses of ,gandhi's  
,tolstoian colony at  ,natal1 gives the 
most valuable and complete  set of      
documents--articles and                 
photographs--connected  with the        
,passive ,resistance movement  in ,south
 ,africa4    ,it is also useful to      
consult the files of ,young  ,india1    
,gandhi's paper1 which is still         
published  at ,ahmedabad1 his son being 
editor-publisher4    ,the ,modern       
,review1 published by ,ramouna          
,chatterjee at ,calcutta4 ,rabindranath 
,tagore  uses ,the ,modern ,review to   
give  voice to his opinions4    ,the    
,unity magazine of ,chicago is in close 
touch with the ,gandhist movement and in

 ardent  sympathy with it4 ,the editor1 
,john  ,haynes ,holmes1 has written the 
preface to  the ,indian ,edition of     
,ethical ,religion4