Satyagraha Essay

580 Words3 Pages
Rebelling with Satyagraha as the Main Weapon Nonviolent alternatives to conflict have appealed to many leaders as a way to socially change those with “evil” intentions. Believed to be of religious origin, nonviolence is described as innate and a concrete human conviction born within one’s mind and soul. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, an influential political and spiritual leader of India, was revered for his passive resistance movement for which he adamantly sought peace and independence for his country. Gandhi conceived “satyagraha” as the nonviolent practice that armed his followers with their soul’s own quench for truth and a simple commitment to civil disobedience. Gandhi believed that the philosophy of satyagraha would eventually derail his opponent’s (the Britsh Empire) motives of wrongdoing in hopes that by not battling the injustice of others India would not receive additional harsh treatment. Gandhi’s pamphlet, which was released to the people of India during public rebellion, explains the meaning of satyagraha, it’s relation to violence and how it can be wielded by a wide variety of people as a non-violent weapon of choice. Satyagraha is described as the desire for truth or justice and the force it produces. Also called truth-force or love-force, it combines these two powers to create a power capable of resisting lies and hate. Gandhi argues that everything pure and right can be revealed with truth and love. People who practice the philosophy of satyagraha, known as satyagrahis, train to comprehend the level of good and evil in a situation with nonviolent resistance. The satyagrahis willingness to endure the suffering that the government had placed upon the communities and willingness to obey inconvenient laws were considered desiderata. Gandhi, and some of his followers, use this “insistence on truth” (Dilks 448) as a weapon against the
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