Non-Violent Resistance

by Mahatma K Gandhi

  Trustees of the Dumb Millions

  To live thus would be to illustrate the immortal verse of Akho Bhagat who says, "stolen food is like eating unprocessed mercury." And to live above the means befitting a poor country is to live on stolen food. This battle can never be won by living on stolen food. Nor did I bargain to set out on this march for living above our means. We expect thousands of volunteers to respond to the call. It will be impossible to keep them on extravagant terms. My life has become so busy that I get little time to come in close touch even with the eighty companions so as to be able to identify them individually. There was therefore no course open to me but to unburden my soul in public. I expect you to understand the central point of my message. If you have not, there is no hope of Swaraj through the present effort. We must become real trustees of the dumb millions.

  I have exposed our weaknesses to the public gaze. I have not yet given you all the details, but I have told you enough to enable you to realize our unworthiness to write the letter to the Viceroy.

  Now the local co-workers will understand my agony. Weak, ever exposed to temptations, ever failing, why will you tempt us and pamper us? We may not introduce these incandescent burners in our villages. It is enough that one hundred thousand men prey upon three hundred million. But how will it be when we begin to prey upon one another? In that event dogs will lick our corpses.

  Account for Every Pice

  These lights are merely a sample of the extravagance I have in mind. My purpose is to wake you up from torpor. Let the volunteers account for every pice spent. I am more capable of offering Satyagraha against ourselves than against the Government. I have taken many years before embarking upon civil resistance against the Government. But I should not take as many days for offering it against ourselves. The risk to be incurred is nothing compared to what has to be incurred in the present Satyagraha.

  Therefore in your hospitality towards servants like us, I would have you to be miserly rather than lavish. I shall not complain of unavoidable absence of things. In order to procure goat's milk for me you may not deprive poor women of milk for their children. It would be like poison if you did. Nor may milk and vegetables be brought from Surat. We can do without them if necessary. Do not resort to motor cars on the slightest pretext. The rule is, do not ride, if you can walk. This is not a battle to be conducted with money. It will be impossible to sustain a mass movement with money. Any way it is beyond me to conduct the campaign with a lavish display of money.

  Extravagance has no room in this campaign. If we cannot gather crowds unless we carry on a hurricane expensive propaganda, I would be satisfied to address half a dozen men and women. Success depends not upon our high skill. It depends solely upon God. And He only helps the vigilant and the humble.

  A Humiliating Sight

  We may not consider anybody as low. I observed that you had provided for the night journey a heavy kitson burner mounted on a stool which a poor labourer carried on his head. This was a humiliating sight. This man was being goaded to walk fast. I could not bear the sight. I therefore put on speed and outraced the whole company. But it was no use. The man was made to run after me. The humiliation was complete. If the weight had to be carried, I should have loved to see some one among ourselves carrying it. We would then soon dispense both with the stool and the burner. No labourer would carry such a load on his head. We rightly object to begar (forced labour). But what was this if it was not begar? Remember that in Swaraj we would expect one drawn from the so-called lower class to preside over India's destiny. If then we do not quickly mend our ways, there is no Swaraj such as you and I have put before the people.

  From my outpouring you may not infer that I shall weaken in my resolve to carry on the struggle. It will continue no matter how co-workers or others act. For me there is no turning back whether I am alone or joined by thousands. I would rather die a dog's death and have my bones licked by dogs than that I should return to the Ashram a broken man.

  (Turning to the women I concluded and nearly broke down as I finished the last sentences.)

  I admit that I have not well used the money you have given out of the abundance of your love. You are entitled to regard me as one of those wretches described in the verses sung in the beginning. Shun me.

  Young India, 3-4-'30

  107. NOTES ON THE WAY TO DANDI

  Dog in the Manger

  The volume of information being gained daily shows how wickedly the Salt tax has been designed. In order to prevent the use of salt that has not paid the tax which is at times even fourteen times its value, the Government destroys the salt it cannot sell profitably. Thus it taxes the nation's vital necessity, it prevents the public from manufacturing it and destroys what nature manufactures without effort. No adjective is strong enough for characterizing this wicked dog-in-the-manger policy. From various sources I hear tales of such wanton destruction of nation's property in all parts of India. Maunds if not tons of salt are said to be destroyed on the Konkan coast. The same tale comes from Dandi. Wherever there is likelihood of natural salt being taken away by the people living in the neighbourhood of such areas for their personal use, salt officers are posted for the sole purpose of carrying on destruction. Thus valuable national property is destroyed at national expense and salt taken out of the mouths of the people.

  Nor is this all. I was told on entering the Olpad Taluka that through the poor people being prevented from collecting the salt that was prepared by nature or from manufacturing it they were deprived of the supplementary village industry they had in addition to the spinning wheel.

  The salt monopoly is thus a fourfold curse. It deprives the people of a valuable easy village industry, involves wanton destruction of property that nature produces in abundance, the destruction itself means more national expenditure, and fourthly, to crown this folly, an unheard of tax of more than 1,000 per cent is exacted from a starving people.

  I cannot help recalling in this connection the hue and cry that was raised when I first proposed the burning of foreign cloth. It was considered to be an inhuman, wasteful proposal. It is generally admitted that foreign cloth is harmful to the people. Salt on the other hand is a vital necessity. Yet it has been and is daily being wantonly destroyed in the interest of wicked exaction.

  This tax has remained so long because of the apathy of the general public. Now that it is sufficiently roused, the tax has to go. How soon it will be abolished depends upon the strength the people are able to put forth. Happily the test will not be long delayed.

  Exaggerated Statements

  Paragraphs have appeared in the press to the effect that 18 of my companions have become ill and incapacitated. This is a gross exaggeration. It is quite true that that number had to take a two days' rest at the Broach Sevashram. But that was because they were fatigued and footsore. With the exception of the case of smallpox which proved to be quite mild, there was no illness worth the name. One of the companions certainly had high fever. But that fever too proved to be due to overzeal in marching. He had a wiry constitution and was overconfident about his ability to pull through without resting. He would not therefore rest till nature absolutely compelled him. But both are quite well now though being weak they are still being made to rest a few days. They expect to join the company at Surat. A third, though still a little footsore, insisted on walking, but had to rest at Ankleshvar. All the others are fit and marching daily. It has become necessary to make this statement in order to prevent anxiety on the part of guardians and friends. It would be ungrateful not to mention here the great attention the villagers are paying to the Satyagrahis and the exceptional care that was bestowed upon the smallpox patient by the Charotar Education Society at Anand and on the footsore men by Dr. Chandulal's staff at Sevashram.

  A moral may also be drawn from these accidents. The modern generation is delicate, weak and much pampered. If they will take part in national work, they must take ample exercise and become hardy. And exercise is as good and as effective as
long vigorous marches. Gymnastics and the like are good and may be added to walking. They are no substitute for walking, justly called the prince of exercises. Our march is in reality child's play. Less than twelve miles per day in two stages with not much luggage should cause no strain. Those who have not been footsore have gained in weight. I may add too that the hot Condy's fluid, baths and wet-sheet packs are proving a most efficient remedy for smallpox.

  The True Spirit

  Shrimati Khorshedbai Naoroji came the other day to Sandhiar, a halting station during the march. She was accompanied by Mridulabehn, the daughter of Sjt. Ambalal Sarabhai, Madalasa the little daughter of Jamnalalji, Shrimati Vasumatibehn and Radhabehn from the Ashram. They had to await a lift for Sandhiar. They wanted to turn to national account the time at their disposal. They saw that the surroundings of the place were not over clean. They therefore decided to clean up the rubbish and so asked for brooms from the surprised villagers. As soon as the villagers realized what had happened, they also joined these national scavengers some of whom were drawn from aristocratic families and the village of Sayan perhaps never looked as clean as when these sisters utilized their spare time for scavenging. I commend this true service, this mute speech of the sisters to the army of young men who are pining to serve and free the country. Freedom will come only when we deliver a simultaneous attack on all the weak points. Let it be known that all these sisters have enlisted as civil resisters and are eagerly, even impatiently, awaiting marching orders. In this campaign of Swaraj by self-purification, it will be nothing surprising if the women outdo the men.

  Young India, 3-4-'30

  108. REMEMBER 6TH APRIL

  This will be in the readers' hands on Thursday 3rd instant. If there is no previous cancelling, they all may regard this as the word from me that all are free, and those who are ready are expected to start mass civil disobedience regarding the Salt laws, as from 6th April.

  Let me gather up what has been said in these pages at various times.

  The only stipulation for civil disobedience is perfect observance of non-violence in the fullest sense of the term.

  Mass civil disobedience means spontaneous action. The workers will merely guide the masses in the beginning stages. Later the masses will regulate the movement themselves.

  Congress volunteers will watch developments and render aid wherever needed. They will be expected to be in the forefront.

  Volunteers may not take sides in any communal quarrels.

  Wherever there is a violent eruption, volunteers are expected to die in the attempt to quell violence.

  Perfect discipline and perfect co-operation among the different units are indispensable for success.

  If there is true mass awakening, those who are not engaged in civil disobedience are expected to occupy themselves and induce others to be engaged in some national service such as khadi work, liquor and opium picketing, foreign cloth exclusion, village sanitation, assisting the families of civil resistance prisoners in a variety of ways.

  Indeed if there is a real response about civil resistance regarding the Salt tax, we should by proper organization secure boycott of foreign cloth through khadi and secure total prohibition. This should mean a saving of 91 crores per year, and supplementary work for the millions of unemployed. If we secure these things, we cannot be far from independence. And not one of these things is beyond our capacity.

  Young India, 3-4-'30

  109. HINDU-MUSLIM QUESTION

  [Summary of a speech delivered at Broach on 26th March, 1930, on the communal question.]

  A Muslim youth has sent me questions on the Hindu-Muslim problem. One of them is: 'Do you expect to win Swaraj through your own single effort or assisted merely by the Hindus?' I have never dreamt that I could win Swaraj merely through my effort or assisted only by the Hindus. I stand in need of the assistance of Mussalmans, Parsis, Christians, Sikhs, Jews and all other Indians. I need the assistance even of Englishmen. But I know too that all this combined assistance is worthless if I have not one other assistance, that is from God. All is vain without His help. And if He is with this struggle no other help is necessary.

  But to realize His help and guidance in this struggle, I need your blessings, the blessings of all communities. The blessings of thousands of men and women belonging to all communities that have attended this march are to me a visible sign of the hand of God in this struggle.

  Now is the Time

  I know that there are occasions when the hand of God has to be traced in the curses of men. But this is not such an occasion. Today I am doing what the nation has been yearning for during the past ten years. Have I not been rebuked for delaying civil resistance? Have not friends angrily said, "You are stopping the progress of the nation towards its goal. You have only to say, 'Let there be civil resistance, behold! there is Swaraj.'"? There is some truth in the taunt. Full civil resistance does mean Swaraj. But I was staying my hand. I had no confidence in myself. I was straining my ear to listen to the still small voice within, but only up to yesterday there was no response. It was in Lahore I had told a journalist that I saw nothing on the horizon to warrant civil resistance. But suddenly, as in a flash, I saw the light in the Ashram. Self-confidence returned. Englishmen and some Indian critics have been warning me against the hazard. But the voice within is clear. I must put forth all my effort or retire altogether and for all time from public life. I feel that now is the time or it will be never.

  And so I am out for battle and am seeking help on bended knee from this white beard (pointing to Sjt. Abbas Tyabji) as also the little girls. For in this battle even they can help; and thank God, they are eager to do so. I have insistent letters from them demanding enlistment.

  The Satyagrahi's Strength

  Thus the answer to the Muslim youth's question is complete. I need the help of all races and from all climes.

  A Satyagrahi has no power he can call his own. All the power he may seem to possess is from and of God. He therefore moves towards his goal carrying the world's opinion with him. Without the help of God he is lame, blind, groping.

  Ever since 1921 I have been reiterating two words, self-purification and self-sacrifice. God will not assist him without these two. The world is touched by sacrifice. It does not then discriminate about the merits of a cause. Not so God. He is all seeing. He insists on the purity of the cause and on adequate sacrifice therefore.

  The question was put by a Mussalman representing a powerful interest. But had a little Parsi girl representing but a hundred thousand Parsis asked the question, I should have given the same answer and said, 'Without the help of Parsis there is no Swaraj.' I am thankful to be able to say that I have had during the march abundant proof of the blessings of these communities. I have read friendliness in the eyes and in the speech of the Mussalmans who along with the rest have lined our route or attended the meetings. They have even given material aid.

  Yet I know that I have not the Ali Brothers with me. Maulana Shaukat Ali will no longer have me in his pocket. Do not think, I do not miss him. I hold no distinction between him and a blood brother. His resistance therefore can only be short-lived. If truth is in me, the brothers must capitulate. They cannot long keep out of the battle. I crave too the assistance of Englishmen. It was neither empty formula nor a touch of vanity that prompted me to send an English friend with my letter to the Viceroy. By choosing Reginald Reynolds as my messenger, I sealed the bond between them and me. For my enmity is not against them, it is against their rule. I seem to be born to be an instrument to compass the end of that rule. But if a hair of an English head was touched I should feel the same grief as I should over such a mishap to my brother. I say to them as a friend, 'Why will you not understand that your rule is ruining this country? It has got to be destroyed even though you may pound us to powder or drown us. We must declare what we feel.'