Non Violence In Gandhi

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Register to read the introduction… Although Gandhi succeeded in removing British rule from India, he was horrified to see the separation of Hindus from Muslims with both groups living in different countries of India and Pakistan respectively. This compassion for all people eventually cost him his life as a Hindu extremist murdered him for loving all people and seeing humanity as one and the whole world as a family. He said, “The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-co-operation with everything humiliating”.

Gandhi also gave some instructions to the follower of his satyagraha movement. The first is that a satyagrahi (civil resister) will cling to anger. The second is that he will suffer the anger of the opponent. The third is that he will never retaliate despite the assaults from the opponent and he will not submit to any order given by the opponent, irrespective of fear of punishment. The fourth is that the civil resister should not resist being arrested by the authorities and he should not resist the removal of his property. The fifth is that
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The seventh is that the civil resister will never insult his opponent but also never break the law of ahimsa. The seventh is that a civil resister will not salute the Union Jack but will not insult it or officials, English or Indian. The ninth is that if an official is being assaulted, the civil resister will protect the official from the insult or attack, even if that means risking his own life. He said, “Non-violence is not passivity in any shape or form. It is the most active force in the world”.

Gandhi used these two key teachings in practice with the miners’ strikes, the massacre of Amritsar, the salt march and in hampering the British economically by rejecting Western cloth. In all of these demonstrations he used the teachings of ahimsa (non-violence) and satyagraha (for non-violent protest), which had a profound effect on the people around him. He said, “In non-violence the masses have a weapon which enables a child, woman or even a decrepit old man to resist the mightiest government successfully”.

So Mahatma Gandhi used the beliefs in Hinduism of ahimsa and satyagraha mainly to end the colonial rule by the British in

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