Thus, the Law Society’s opposition brought me into further prominence without their wishing it. The advantage of all this was that those who never spoke at such meetings got accustomed to do so. We will not stop here to consider whether these views are right or wrong. I was on the horns of a dilemma. Side by side with external agitation, the question of internal improvement was also taken up. But where was I to live and how? SEVAGRAM, DIST.WARDHA 442102, MS, INDIA. Anyhow the Natal Indian Congress was founded about May 1894. That weapon, satyagraha, was the culmination of a profound development in Gandhi himself.The reason why satyagrahafound favour among the Indians was that it marshalled their inner most resources, and … The E-mail Address(es) field is required. I consented to stay a month or so longer by which time the struggle would be fought out. We are willing and ready to work. //--> to our website since 2013. In order, however, to give an adequate idea of the origin of Satyagraha, it is necessary to devote special space to the endeavours made with a view to defend Indian interests in the pre-Satyagraha days. Some required to be persuaded. General Editor : Shriman Narayan This was the state of things up till 1893. Therefore they have taken to passive resistance which is a weapon of the weak.’ These observations took me by surprise, and the speech which I was going to make took an altogether different complexion in consequence. Late at night, I came to the conclusion that to run back to India would be cowardly. But the agitation had aroused such keen interest among the Indians that they would not let me go. They were weak in numbers as well as in physical force. I saw at this meeting that a use of the phrase ‘passive resistance' was apt to give rise to terrible misunderstanding. Written by : M. K. Gandhi India. They said: “You yourself have explained to us that this is the first step taken with a view to our ultimate extinction. Probably there would not have been any scope for satyagrahaif they had the franchise. I will try to distinguish between passive resistance and soul force by amplifying the argument which I made before that meeting so as to make things clearer. © Navajivan Trust, 1968. He liked the idea of my going to South Africa. I therefore corrected it to 'satyagraha'. Developed and maintain by Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal | Sitemap, You are visitor no. It is also necessary to point out that I do not claim for people calling themselves satyagrahisall the merits which I have described as being characteristic of satyagraha. If they had arms, the opposite party would have thought twice before antagonizing them. It has been my object in the present chapter to show that satyagrahais essentially different from what people generally mean in English by the phrase 'passive resistance'. Copyright © 2015 SEVAGRAM ASHRAM. Inexperienced as I was, I did not try to find out a new name. 109-15. Gandhi first conceived satyagraha in 1906 in response to a law discriminating against Asians that was passed by the British colonial government of the Transvaal in South Africa. So I reached Durban in May 1893. Again, that foreign phrase could hardly pass as current coin among the community. You may have already requested this item. The suffragist movement did not eschew the use of physical force. Home | Feedback | Contact Us | www.bapukutisevagram.in. Gahndi ; translated from the Gujarati by Valji Govindji Desai ; introduction to the American edition by M.J. Chatterjee and Ira Sandperl. Stanford, Calif. : Academic Reprints, 1954. Again, a meeting of the Congress was held at least once a month, when detailed accounts were presented and adopted. When, at 46, Gandhi left the country he also left a way of thinking and acting that found an echo in many of the country’s struggles, most notable that of Nelson Mandela. The chief objects of the Association were to provide a meeting place for those youths, to create in them a love for the mother country and to give them general information about it. Jump to ; Summary; Introductory guide; Media; Synopsis; Philip Glass’s mesmeric masterpiece has become an icon of contemporary opera. I.S.B.N :81-7229-008-3 (Set) Additional Physical Format: Online version: Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948. Their houses were mere shanties. Again some of the Nonconformists would generally object to taking up arms even if it was a practical proposition. Suffice it to say, that all these experiences sank in me. Numerically, they are only a few. In this book on Satyagraha In South Africa, Gandhiji explains the whole history of Satyagraha in South Africa. Navajivan Mudranalaya, In 1896 I went to India for six months with the leave of the community. They likewise saw the General Manager. But one fact must be placed on record. I loved to see fresh fields and pastures new. This arrangement had been made through my elder brother, now deceased, who was as father to me. A well-known firm of Porbandar Memans then carried on trade in Durban under the name and style of Dada Abdulla. We might deal with each other for that period, examine the results, and then continue the arrangement if both parties were agreeable. It was also intended to impress upon them that free Indians considered them as their own kith and kin, and to create respect for the latter in the minds of the former. They sought the help of European barristers, had petitions prepared, waited upon the authorities on some occasions in deputations, and did what they could to mend matters. It was not weapon of the weak. Within a month, a memorial with ten thousand signatures was forwarded to lord Ripon, and the immediate task I had set before myself was done. And in a well-regulated state, recourse to arms every now and then in order to secure popular rights would defeat its own purpose. This then was the genesis of the movement which came to be known as satyagraha, and of the word used designation for it. Endeavors were made to obtain the maximum amount from each member. Replies were received from both. Current events were explained and recorded in the minute-book. Lectures were therefore delivered, debates held, and suggestions made at Congress meetings on subjects such as domestic sanitation, personal hygiene, the necessity of having separate buildings for houses and shops and for well-to-do traders of living in a style befitting their position. Attempts were always made the draw their attention to their own shortcomings. He had always been free from colour prejudice but his interest in the question deepened after the starting of satyagraha. Two courses were open to me. My point is that I can definitely assert that in planning the Indian movement there never was the slightest thought given to the possibility or otherwise of offering armed resistance. I had gone there only for a single case prompted by self-interest and curiosity. One may not receive a large salary for public work. When the British Parliament passed the Education Act some years ago, the Nonconformists offered passive resistance under the leadership of Dr. Clifford. The Indian traders of Maritzburg came to see me in response to the telegram received by the local agent. It appeared to me that to look after the firm’s case and to take up the question of the Indian grievances in South Africa at the same time was impossible. And if their conduct be described as passive resistance, passive resistance becomes synonymous with satyagraha. Whatever force there was in the arguments of the Europeans was duly acknowledged.