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The doctrine of satyagraha was
conceived by him as an extension of the rule of domestic life
into the political. He held that family disputes and differences
are generally settled according to the "law of love".
The injured member has so much regard for the others that he
suffers injury for the sake of his principles without
retaliating and without anger against those who differ from him.
As repression
of anger and self-suffering are difficult processes, he does not
promote trifles into principles but in all non-essentials
readily agrees with the rest of family and thus continues to
gain the maximum of peace for himself without disturbing that of
others. Thus, his action whether he resists or resigns is always
calculated to promote the common welfare of his family.
As early as
1919, the Mahatma wrote in Young India, "It is this Law of
Love which silently but surely governs the family for the most
part throughout the civilised world. I feel that nations cannot
be a reality, nor can their activities be conducive to the
common good of the whole humanity, unless there is this
definition and acceptance of the law of family in national and
international affairs, in other words, on political platforms.
Nations can be called civilised only to the extent that they
obey this law."
This is
precisely what Suman Kwatra (nee Chauhan) has discussed in her
book "Satyagraha and Social Change". Rather the book
is Gandhi’s philosophy of action for social change.
Gandhi’s
concepts of satya and ahimsa lie at the heart of his entire
social and political philosophy. He nurtured his own vision of a
radical transformation of the existing social order and
political system, but he was even more concerned to evolve a
revolutionary approach to political action and social change
within the limits of prevailing conditions of politics and
society. Immediate resistance to injustice and coercion as well
as a long-term programme of terms of the twin absolutes of truth
and non-violence.
The doctrine of
satyagraha was meant to show how the man of conscience could
engage in heroic action in the vindication of truth and freedom
against all tyranny, in his appeal to justice against every
social abuse and sectional interest. Gandhi challenged the
conventional notions of authority, law and obligation by
appealing to his conceptions of natural law or dharma and
self-suffering or tapas. Satya and ahimsa alone can secure an
unending basis for social consensus and political loyalty.
In times such
as ours when conflict is the order of the day and the potential
of technology offers more to fear than to hope, social and
political theory face their gravest challenge. Theoretical
political systems have grown increasingly suspect and
intellectual formulations tend less to challenge than repel. But
there is rapidly developing a demand hitherto neglected by
social and political theory. This is the demand for solutions to
the problem of conflict - not for theoretical systems of
end-structure aimed at ultimately eliminating conflict, but for
ways of conducting conflict when it arises; ways which are
constructive and not destructive.
Such a demand
must be met by a theory of process and of means, and not of
further concern for structure, for pattern and for ends. Basic
to such a theory is a philosophy of action.
In his attempt
to apply the game theory to human conflicts Anatol Rapaport, the
distinguished political scientist, divided conflicts into three
categories: fights, games and debates. First, fight: it is a
game of pure opposition and strictly competitive in which the
opponents try to eliminate and destroy each other by the use of
force and physical sanctions. Second, games: in which the
opponents try to outwit each other. Last, debates in which there
is absence of threat and physical sanctions and the opponents
try to convert each other. It is generally assumed that each
participant’s strategy is predicated on the strategy selected
by the opponent. Information, about all possible strategies,
rules and pay offs or the probabilities, enable each player to
decide rationally to maximise benefits while minimising losses.
The last category is the only kind which could be productive and
best possible for all. So the fights should be converted into
games and the games into debates.
Under
satyagraha its votary pits his refusal to hurt or injure his
opponent despite the inconvenience of such an attitude to
himself against those who desire to fight or outwit him; and he
seeks to convert iit to use non-coercive methods to gain their
ends by finding an area of common interest based on common
humanity which would put the conflict of aims into a proper
perspective. Gandhi did not deny the existence of conflicts in
human society and admitted this existence in every walk of life
but sought to make satyagraha the basis of a method of action.
The idea is to win over the opponent.
This is
corroborated by Gandhi’s staunch opponent in South Africa,
General Smuts. On Gandhi’s 70th birthday, the General paid the
following tribute to the Mahatma. "It is fitting that I, as
an opponent of Gandhi a generation ago, should now salute the
veteran as he reaches the scriptural limits of three score years
and ten. May the further allotment which the Psalmist grudgingly
allows also be his, and may they be years of fruitful service to
the world and of a peaceful mind to himself … I must frankly
admit that his activities at that time were very trying to me.
Together with other South African leaders, I was then busily
engaged in the task of welding the old colonies into the united
states.
"Suddenly,
in the midst of all these engrossing preoccupations Gandhi
raised a most troublesome issue. We had a skeleton in our
cupboard in the form of what is called the Indian question in
South Africa - Gandhi tackled this problem, and in doing so,
showed a new technique - one which he afterwards made world
famous in his political campaigns in India - large numbers of
Indians had to be imprisoned for lawless behaviour and Gandhi
himself received what no doubt he desired - a short period of
rest quiet in good. For him everything went according to plan.
For me - the defender of law and order there was the usual
trying situation, the odium of carrying out a law which had not
got strong public support, and finally the discomfiture when the
law had to be repealed. For him, it was a successful coup.
"Nor was
the personal touch wanting, for nothing in Gandhi’s procedure
is without a peculiar personal touch. In jail he has prepared
for me a very useful pair of sandals which he presented to me
when he was set free. I have worn these sandals for many a
summer since then, even though I may feel that I am not worthy
to stand on the shoes of so great a man." This is how
satyagraha works.
The central
theme of the present work is to examine his view of satyagraha,
its meaning, main features and methods. Similarly, the study
also focuses its attention on examining satyagraha as a science
as it has been called by a few, a strategy and a war without
violence by many others. Besides, the study also covers
satyagraha’s effectiveness as a technique for real social
change as non-violence. For, Gandhi is an evergreen and a live
subject which demands new interpretation in order to infuse new
meanings for social change and he was such a personality who
certainly infused new meanings to truth and nonviolence to end
all kinds of injustice and exploitation of the masses.
The work also
highlights the efficacy, efficiency and everlasting and soothing
results of satyagraha by giving various illustrations from India
and abroad. Similarly, the study elaborates Gandhi’s message
that satyagraha is not only an art but also a science of life -
an attitude towards life which concerns every aspect of life and
not a single act, nor a string of actions and this completely
eschews untruth and violence in every form.
The book is
based on her Ph.D. thesis "Satyagraha: A Method of Social
Change". She has worked under the supervision of.M.L.Sharma,
a distinguished authority on the subject.
This book would be useful for
the scholars, students and general public having interest in
Gandhian and peace studies.
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And so Lord
Hunter, as chairman of the official committee appointed to
enquire into the first nationwide satyagraha movement in
India, opened his examination of Mohandas Gandhi on January 9,
1920. "It is a movement," Gandhi explained,
"intended to replace methods of violence and a movement
based entirely upon truth."
