For Global Peace with Social Justice in a Sustainable Environment

Ahimsa and Mahatma Gandhi- XXVIII

Prof. Dr. Yogendra Yadav

Senior Gandhian Scholar, Professor, Editor and Linguist

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

Contact No. – 09404955338, 09415777229

E-mail- dr.yadav.yogendra@gandhifoundation.net;

dr.yogendragandhi@gmail.com

Mailing Address- C- 29, Swaraj Nagar, Panki, Kanpur- 208020, Uttar Pradesh, India

Ahimsa and Mahatma Gandhi- XXVIII

That is hardly correct. In fact I do not want even the distinction between the political and non-political prisoners. I stand for fair and humane treatment of all prisoners. But mine has been a lonely voice. Even when power was in our hands, we failed to abolish classification. I am the originator or jail-going as part of Satyagraha. My jail-going was born out of ahimsa and ahimsa and privilege go ill together. I have fought the Government from inside the jail. As it is, today all sorts of people go to jail. Inside the jail, they behave anyhow, even apologize and come out. Jail-going has become a farce. 1 Why should you want to touch my feet? Millions cannot do that and what millions cannot afford, we should voluntarily renounce. I go so far as to say that if ahimsa cannot be practised by the millions, I have no use for it for myself. But if they did not want to, although they could, I would hold on to it, even if I were all alone. People say that ahimsa is only for the saint and the seer. I think otherwise. If what they say is right, it ceases to have any value in my eyes. Similarly, if it were open to me alone to desire and strive to live for 125 years, I would not entertain that desire. But everybody can and should desire to live for 125 years, for the service of God and His creation. Self-interest too demands that. For what would life be worth in a world in which. I am the sole survivor of all those I have worked with and known? 2

As it was, a third party had to intervene in order to still mutual savagery. Neither the Muslims nor the Hindus concerned have gained by the intervention. Supposing that the Calcutta virus extends to the whole of India and British gunpowder keeps the two from stabbing one another, the British power or its substitute will be in possession of India for a long time to come. The length will be measured by the period required by the parties coming to sanity. It will come either by an exhausting mutual fight, independent of the foreign element or by one party eschewing violence in spite of the heaviest odds. Successful mutual strife is obviously impossible in the present state of general ignorance of the use of modern weapons and their inaccessibility. Non-violence does not require any outside or outward training. It simply requires the will not to kill even in retaliation and the courage to face death without revenge. This is no sermon on ahimsa but cold reason and the statement of a universal law. Given the unquenchable faith in the law, no provocation should prove too great for the exercise of forbearance. This I have described as non-violence of the brave. 3

Khadi is the highest symbol of ahimsa. The same is true of all the other constructive activities of the nation. Khadi is the nucleus of all the activities. I therefore hope that on that day the number of examinees will go up and not go down. Bhadarva Vad 12 should never be a holiday. It is certainly not a day of enjoyment. On that day we should become more alive to the cause of service. And to sit for Hindustani examination is as much a matter of glory as it is a work of service. 4 I think the answer is easy. For some time now I have been saying that the words “truth and non-violence” should be removed from the Congress constitution. If we proceed on the assumption that whether these words are removed from the Congress constitution or not we certainly have become removed from truth and ahimsa, we shall be able to judge independently whether a certain action is right or wrong. I am convinced that so long as the army or the police continues to be used for conducting the administration we shall remain subservient to the British or some other foreign power, irrespective of whether the power is in the hands of the Congress or others. Let us suppose that Congress ministries do not have faith in ahimsa. Let us suppose further that Hindus, Muslims and others seek protection from the army or the police. In that case they will continue to get such protection. Then these Congress Ministers who are votaries of ahimsa and do not like to seek help the army or the police may resign. This means that so long as people have not learnt to settle their quarrels themselves, goondaism will continue and we shall never be able to generate the true strength of ahimsa in us. Now the question is how to generate such strength. I answered this question [in the Harijan of] August 41 in my reply to a letter from Ahmadabad. So long as we do not develop the strength to die bravely, with love in our hearts, we cannot develop in us the non-violence of the brave. Would there be State power in an ideal society or would such a society be Stateless? I think the question is futile. If we continue to work towards the building of such a society, to some extent it is bound to be realized and to that extent people will benefit by it. Euclid has defined a straight line as having no breadth, but no one has yet succeeded in drawing such a line and no one ever will. Still we can progress in geometry only by postulating such a line. This is true of every ideal. We might remember though that a Stateless society does not exist anywhere in the world. If such a society is possible it can be established first only in India For attempts have been made in India towards bringing about such a society. We have not so far shown that supreme heroism. The only way is for those who believe in it to set the example. 5

It is true there is power politics everywhere. But you are mistaken in thinking that in America and England the voice of the people is the sole arbiter. The voice of the people should be the voice of God. That is why we say that the Pancha are Parameshwar. But where people themselves feed on other people, how can one say that the voice of the people is the voice of God? We see how America and England live on the coloured races, exploit other peoples. It needs no proving. Exploiters are seen to co-operate with exploiters but that does not make their voice the voice of the people. Where the voice of the people is the voice of God the people do not want to live on others. They have truth on one scale of the balance and ahimsa on the other, both always having equal weight. This covers my whole reply. For me ahimsa is not disabled; it is not weak; it is supreme. Where there is ahimsa there is Truth and, Truth is God. How that God manifests Himself I do not know. All I know is that He is all-pervading and where He is all is well. There is therefore one law for all. Wherever in the world truth and ahimsa reign there is perfect peace and perfect happiness. If they are not to be found anywhere we must understand that they are hidden from view. But they cannot totally disappear. Those who possess the baroque of this faith will safely go across in it and carry others across. 6

How can I, a champion of ahimsa, compel anyone to perform even a good act? A well-known Englishman has said that he would rather be free and make mistakes than be unfree and avoid them. I agree with him. The reason is obvious. The mind of a man who is good under compulsion cannot be good; in fact it gets worse. And when compulsion is removed all the defects well up to the surface with even greater force. Besides, no individual should have the power to force others. Even the Congress cannot force its members to follow truth and nonviolence. These have to be accepted willingly from the heart. I have been recommending the elimination of these words from the constitution for over a year, long before the Muslim League contemplated direct action. Thus my recommendation has no connection with the League’s resolution. But I have no help for those who invariably attribute sinister motives to my words. I have strong grounds for my recommendation. The Congress may not hide untruth and violence under the guise of truth and nonviolence. Is not this an all-sufficing reason? If Congressmen would not be hypocrites, nothing could be better than that Congress should adhere to these two pillars. It could never be my wish that the Congress, the moment it comes to power, should discard the very ladder by which it has climbed so high. I believe that if Congressmen, while in power, renounce truth and non-violence, the lustre surrounding the Congress will grow dim. We must all guard against one mistake. There is no rule against following what is not in the constitution. Indeed my hope is that when these words are removed, all, or a large majority of Congressmen, will heartily follow truth and non-violence even to the point of death. The writer has forgotten to mention one thing which I should like to clarify. The words in the Constitution are ‘peaceful and legitimate’. I have no right to interpret them as truthful and non-violent, if they don’t bear that meaning. Congress has adopted them as a policy, not as a creed. The question of my right to retain or eliminate them does not arise. But whilst it lasts, policy is tantamount to creed and hence becomes obligatory. Of course, my recommendation has no meaning if ‘peaceful’ can be interpreted as violent and ‘legitimate’ as untruthful. 7

I am in no way ashamed of my ahimsa. I have come to Bengal to see how far in the nick of time my ahimsa is able to express itself in me. But I do not want in this letter to talk of ahimsa to you. I do want, however, to tell you that what you are reported to have done will never count as an act of bravery. For thousands to do to death a few hundred is no bravery. It is worse than cowardice. It is unworthy of nationalism, of any religion. If you had given a blow against a blow, no one would have dared to point a finger against you. What you have done is to degrade yourselves and drag down India. 8 The minimum that is required of a person wishing to cultivate the ahimsa of the brave is first to clear his thought of cowardice and in the light of the clearance regulate his conduct in every activity, great or small. Thus the votary must refuse to be cowed down by his superior, without being angry. He must, however, be ready to sacrifice his post, however remunerative it may be. Whilst sacrificing his all, if the votary has no sense of irritation against his employer he has ahimsa of the brave in him. Assume that a fellow passenger threatens my son with assault and I reason with the would-be-assailant who then turns upon me. If then I take his blow with grace and dignity, without harbouring any ill-will against him, I exhibit the ahimsa of the brave. Such instances are of everyday occurrence and can be easily multiplied. If I succeed in curbing my temper every time and though able to give blow for blow I refrain, I shall develop the ahimsa of the brave which will never fail me and which will compel recognition from the most confirmed adversaries. 9

This question would not arise if you knew that I was going to a village for my own sake, that is, to test my ahimsa. I am not going singly; there will be Nirmal Kumar Bose as my Bengali interpreter and my stenographer Parasuram from the South. If I have the requisite courage and capacity to undergo a comparatively hard life and to encourage inner ahimsa, I should expect to affect both Hindus and Muslims in the right manner. 10 When I was in detention in the Aga Khan Palace, I once sat down to write a thesis on India as a protagonist of non-violence. But as I proceeded with my writing, I could not go on. I had to stop. There are two aspects of Hinduism. There is, on the one hand, the historical Hinduism with its untouchability, superstitious worship of stocks and stones, animal sacrifice and so on. On the other, we have the Hinduism of the Gita, the Upanishads and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra which is the acme of ahimsa and oneness of all creation, pure worship of one immanent, formless imperishable God. Ahimsa which to me is the chief glory of Hinduism has been sought to be explained away by our people as being meant for sannyasis only. I do not share that view. I have held that it is the way of life and India has to show it to the world. Where do I stand? Do I represent this ahimsa in my person? If I do, then deceit and hatred that poison the atmosphere should dissolve. It is only by going into isolation from my companions, those on whose help I have relied all along, and standing on my own feet that I shall find my bearings and also test my faith in God. 11

It is no prerogative of the Hindus. Listlessness is common to us all. Even if I am the only one, I shall fight this listlessness that has come over the Hindus of East Bengal. I have not come here to do a good turn to this community or that. I have come to do a good turn to myself. Non-violence is not meant to be practised by the individual only. It can be and has to be practised by society as a whole. I have come to test that for myself in Noakhali. Has my ahimsa become bankrupt? If I fail here, it won’t be any proof that the theory is wrong. It will simply mean that my sadhana has been imperfect, that there is some fault somewhere in my technique. 12 And so setting aside all my activities, I hastened to Noakhali to find out where I stood. I know positively that ahimsa is a perfect instrument. If it did not answer in my hands, the imperfection was in me. My technique was at fault. I could not discover the error from a distance. Hence I came here trying to make the discovery. I must, therefore, own myself in darkness till I see light. God only knows when it will come. More I cannot say. 13

The work here is new, very pleasant, equally taxing. My ahimsa is on its trial More of this another time. This is only to relieve you of all anxiety on my behalf. I am now taking or trying to take the usual diet but it may take some time after the twenty-one days’ denial to get used to it. I am progressing towards normal strength as quickly as I can. I dare not be in a hurry. 14 Here I am in an inaccessible part of Bengal and dealing with the most difficult part of my mission in life. I have never been in such darkness as I am in today. And the darkness does not come from outside. It is due to my limitations. My faith in ahimsa has never burned brighter and yet I feel that there is something wanting in my technique of it that I feel as though I were on an unbeaten track. 15

In the first place your assumption is gratuitous. But if it was not, and the assumption was to accord with facts, your deduction would be correct and my stay here would not be consistent with ahimsa. I have come here to put my ahimsa to the acid test in this atmosphere of rank distrust and suspicion. 16 I am not a Mahatma; I am an alpatma. I am an ordinary mortal like you all and I am strenuously trying to practise ahimsa. Today I lost my temper and, therefore, I am not a perfect man. If an imperfect man like me can try to practise ahimsa, all of you also can do so. I have come here with the determination to put my ahimsa to test and in that process either succeed or perish. 17 My ahimsa is being weighed on the balance. Have I represented throughout life real ahimsa of the brave? If so, it ought to find response from the Muslims at least of Noakhali. I cannot give you any forecast yet. I am acting as, according to my belief, God guides me from moment to moment. 18

About movement here I dare say you glance at the newspaper reports of my words at the prayer meetings. I have put myself on trial as to whether I am an exponent of true ahimsa or only ahimsa so called. I am not relying upon Pyarelal or Sushila for my Urdu work though I see them often enough. Pyarelal is with me today, this being the last of the fifth village within his beat. If I do not follow this rule, the whole superstructure will come to pieces and the distribution of the party in affected villages will be a mockery. 19 Even if my mission here should fail, it will not be the failure of ahimsa itself. It will be the failure of my ahimsa. 20

Noakhali, Gandhiji said, offered an almost ideal situation for testing whether ahimsa could effectively be used by a small number of people against an almost sullen if not hostile majority all round. The problem here was also complicated by the fact of the existence of a popular Government controlling the destinies of the people. Even if he differed from the politics of those running the Bengal Government he was definite that if democratic Government was good for one Province it was equally good for another and, therefore, he must not do or say anything which would in any way derogate from the prestige and authority of the Government. A straight fight with the alien ruling power was one thing for him, but a struggle with his own countrymen, however recalcitrant unwilling they might be in doing the right thing by those under their care, was a thing too difficult for him to contemplate. It was this difficulty that had induced him to keep the Bengal Premier posted with everything he saw or did in and about Noakhali Ever since the commencement of his walking tour; Gandhiji has been moving amidst a sullen population on the one side and a frightened one on the other. He is, therefore, engaging himself in the dual task of infusing courage into the frightened Hindus and at the same time convincing the majority community of the right to protection of the minorities. He is placing before both communities his ideal of brotherly living and also a programme of sanitation and rural economy calculated to help both communities to better and healthier living. Asked if he would regard the return of all refugees to their villages as a sign of success of his ahimsa, Gandhiji replied in the negative and said that it would not be impossible to persuade all refugees to return home within a few days. But this would not be any indication of the success of the ahimsa of the brave; for the refugees would then be relying for protection on those who persuaded them to return. It would be real success if men and women picked up courage and decided of their own accord to return, willing to face cheerfully even death and starvation in preference to surrender or fight. It was towards achieving this that Gandhiji had been addressing Hindus. 21

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