Limitation of Satyagraha – Mahatma Gandhi

[Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav]

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

Gandhi International Study and Research Institute, Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India

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Limitation of Satyagraha – Mahatma Gandhi

 

Twenty-five young men of character should form themselves into a band of satyagrahis, proceed to the place of the marriage eight or ten days before the event and plead with both the parties, with the heads of the caste organization, and with all concerned. They should parade the streets with suitable placards condemning such marriages and produce an atmosphere of opposition to the proposed marriage. They should persuade the people of the town or village to declare a peaceful boycott against the parties to the marriage, and court arrest or whatever other punishment that comes to them. Thus the satyagrahi band would soon become a power in the locality, and these marriages would be a thing of the past. The suggestion looks attractive, but I am afraid it cannot be of use on more than one occasion. Where lust and cupidity join hands the slaughter of the innocents becomes almost impossible to avoid. As soon as lustful old candidates for brides and the greedy parents get scent of the invasion of the satyagrahi band, they will evade the band by performing the wedding secretly, and they will find enough priests and wedding guests to help them in the ceremony.

The readers of Navajivan may be aware of an incident that happened some time ago. The old man in that case feigned contrition, and successfully threw dust into the eyes of all by a hollow public apology. The reformers were delighted, but before they had finished congratulating themselves the old man managed to get secretly married. What happened in one case may happen in many cases. We should therefore devise other means to grapple with the evil. I have an idea that it may be easier to reach the greedy father of the bride than the slave of his lust. There is a great necessity for cultivating public opinion in the matter. The parents who readily sell away their girls, out of cupidity, should be sought out and pleaded with, and caste organizations should be persuaded to pass resolutions condemning such marriages. Evidently such reforms cannot be carried out all at once by the same band in large areas. Their field must needs be circumscribed. A satyagrahi band in Cape Comorin will not be able to prevent a monstrous marriage in Kashmir. The reformers will have therefore to recognize their limitations. We may not attempt the impossible. Love and ahimsa are matchless in their effect. But in their play there is no fuss, show, noise or placards. They presuppose self confidence which in its turn presupposes self-purification. Men of stainless character and self-purification will easily inspire confidence and automatically purify the atmosphere around them. I have long believed that social reform is a tougher business than political reform.

The atmosphere is ready for the latter, people are interested in it, and there is an impression abroad that it is possible without self-purification. On the other hand people have little interest in social reform, the result of agitation does not appear to be striking, and there is little room for congratulations and addresses. The social reformers will have therefore to plod on for some time, hold themselves in peace, and be satisfied with apparently small results. I may here throw out a practical suggestion. The most effective means of creating an atmosphere against the marriages of aged persons with young girls is to create public opinion against the actual marriage and to set in motion a peaceful social boycott against the aged bridegroom and the greedy father of the bride. If a successful boycott can be carried out even in one single instance, parents will hesitate to sell their daughters and old men will hesitate to run after young brides. It will not be easy to wean lustful old men from their lust. They may be therefore induced to marry old widows, if they must marry. In Europe old men easily seek out old widows. In conclusion, we must be clear about our objectives in opposing these marriages. It cannot be our object to wean old men from their lust; if it is we will have first to deal with lustful young men. But that is a tall order. Our objective can be only to save young girls from the clutches of lustful old men and the cupidity of their parents. The reformer must therefore address him to carrying on a crusade against the sale of brides. It is the bride’s parents who have to be reached. Let the satyagrahi therefore chalk out the field of his activities, have a census of all girls of a marriageable age living in that area, let him get into touch with their parents, and awaken them to a sense of their duty towards their daughters. Let not the reformer go outside these limits if he wants to achieve success. The scheme proposed in the correspondent’s letter easily transgresses these limits.

 

Reference:

Young India, 6-9-1928