The Spirit of Resistance: Lessons from Gandhi’s Journey

Opinion

Gandhi’s teachings remain relevant today, reminding us that non-violence and truth are powerful tools in the quest for justice. His life inspires ongoing efforts to combat oppression and inequality around the world

By S. Chidambaram

Mass mobilization and movements against injustice of all kinds have become even more necessary these days. On October 2, many will take a moment to reflect on the Mahatma and draw inspiration from his struggle to continue their fight for emancipation.

On January 30, 1948, at 4:30 PM, Mahatma Gandhi was on his way to the prayer ground in the large park near his home. A congregation of 500 was waiting for him for the evening prayer. As he approached the ground, he brought his palms together to greet the crowd. A man emerged from the crowd and fired two shots at him. Gandhi murmured, “Hey Ram,” and a third shot rang out. On that Friday, Mahatma Gandhi died as a private citizen. He had no wealth, no property, no office title, nor any academic distinction. He had liberated his country from the British yoke, and India’s liberation marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire.

Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. In the coming days, many will reflect on the man who became a world symbol in the fight against oppression and poverty. It was in South Africa that Gandhi forged the tools and techniques to combat evil in the world. There he united all Indians — merchants, indentured labourers, Hindus, and Muslims — to fight against racism and oppression. His Satyagraha, which literally means insistence on truth, and his conception of non-violence were shaped by the unique conditions of South Africa. For Gandhi, Satyagraha was a means of avoiding violence; it was also an infallible weapon that oppressed individuals could use to confront all forms of injustice.

By the time he returned to India in 1915, these techniques had been refined. Through Satyagraha and Ashahayoga, he developed methods of agitation that he placed at the service of the Indian National Congress. Once he became convinced that British rulers in India had become oppressive and unscrupulous, he began a relentless struggle to end British rule. He transformed the Indian National Congress from an elitist party into a mass national movement, solidified the organization, and brought in leaders from every level of Indian society. He mobilized untouchables, peasants, women, and upper-class workers from both the Hindus and the Muslims behind Congress, giving new momentum to Indian nationalism. 

He explained to his people in “Hind Swaraj” the nature of British imperialism: “The English have not taken India. We have given it to them. They are not in India because of their strength, but because we keep them.” He taught his people to rid themselves of the paralyzing fear that seized them. The essence of his teaching was fearlessness, truth, and action, and added to these, he always prioritized the welfare of the masses.

Thus, from 1920 to 1947, through a series of mass movements unparalleled in the history of British India, he broke the spell of British rule over Indians. However, throughout his struggles, he urged his people to regard the English as friends, not enemies, advocating for resistance against the system, not the individuals who administered it.

In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, his mass movements were met with great enthusiasm from the people. For example, in 1930, hundreds of government servants resigned their posts, and many legislators quit their councils. The boycott of liquor was so successful that liquor revenue fell by 20 percent. The import of British cloth decreased from 100 crores to just 20 or 30 crores. Congress proposed a resolution on fundamental rights and economic change by committing itself to liberties for the people, living wages, facilities for labour, reduced rents for peasants, a progressive income tax, and ownership of key industries. It was clear that Congress was striving to win Swaraj for the working masses and the unemployed who struggled for a square meal.

In 1942, Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ movement created a revolutionary situation, and it is argued that if he had desired, the British would have been expelled that year. After 1942, the British concluded they could no longer stay in India, and before being driven out, it was preferable to ‘divide and quit.’ Thus, Gandhi achieved independence for his country without firing a single shot but solely through moral force.

After India’s independence, his techniques of Satyagraha have been employed in many places against violence, injustice, and oppression. In 1952, the ANC led by Nelson Mandela adopted non-violence in its Defiance Campaign against unjust laws in South Africa. Reflecting on the success of this campaign, Mandela wrote in his autobiography: ‘The campaign freed me from any lingering sense of doubt or inferiority I might still have felt; it liberated me from the feeling of being overwhelmed by the power of the seeming invincibility of the white man and his institutions. But now the white man had felt the power of my punches, and I could walk upright like a man and look everyone in the eye with the dignity that comes from not having succumbed to oppression and fear. I had come of age as a freedom fighter.’ In the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. was also inspired by Gandhi’s ideals.

In many countries, the philosophy of Satyagraha, non-violence, and non-cooperation has become integral to any liberation movement. In the present century, mass mobilization and movements against injustice of all kinds have become even more necessary, and on October 2, many will reflect on the Mahatma and draw inspiration from his struggle as they continue their fight for emancipation.

Gandhi’s teachings remain relevant today, reminding us that non-violence and truth are powerful tools in the quest for justice. His life inspires ongoing efforts to combat oppression and inequality around the world.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 27 September 2024