Gandhian Principles
Doctrine of Satyagraha (technique for civil disobedience)
Mahatma Gandhi used Satyagraha as a technique for the fight of the oppressed people against the
foreign rule. According to him every nation should have Swaraj i.e self-rule. Swaraj is an ideal
society where everyone has the capacity to resist the abuse of authority. Swaraj implies reign of
complete social justice, equality and freedom. Swaraj means rule of the people of a nation State.
Mahatma Gandhi evolved the technique of Satyagraha as a novel and unique way to resist evil
foreign rule. It is a device through which the unjust, untruthful form of government is resisted.
Satyagraha or stupendous effort at conversion can be applied against the Government and leaders
of ‘orthodoxy’. Satyagraha is an inherent birthright of a person. It is not merely a sacred right but
it can also be a sacred duty. If the Government does not represent the will of the people, and if it
begins to support dishonesty then it should be disobeyed. The dynamics of Satyagraha as
formulated by Gandhi are broader and more universally applicable. From the family to the state,
wherever one meets injustice and untruth, one can resort to Satyagraha. In his autobiography,
Gandhi has referred to some experiences of Satyagraha practiced in his own family life.
Satyagraha as conceived by Gandhiji is not a formula of social and political disintegration. A
satyagrahi must have first rendered willing obedience to the laws of the state. Gandhiji writes: “a
satyagrahi obeys the laws of the society intelligently and of his own freewill, because he considers
it to be his sacred duty to do so. It is only when a person has thus obeyed the laws of society
scrupulously that he is in a position to judge as to which particular rules are good and just and
which are unjust and iniquitous and only then does the right accrue to him of the civil disobedience
of certain laws in well-defined circumstances.”
Techniques of Satyagraha (Principles)
There are different forms of satyagraha:
1. Non-cooperation: By non-cooperation, Gandhiji meant that those who were causing
injustice or oppressing should not be cooperated with. The oppressing government should
not be given any support. Non-cooperation is an action of people directed against a
government or authority. It is understandable that a despotic government cannot thrive to
dominate over the subjects unless the consent from the people is forthcoming. Non-
cooperation, therefore, is one of the weapons of Satyagraha to force the unjust and
immoral power to rectify its mistake. Moreover, according to Gandhiji, “Noncooperation
is not a passive state, it is an intensely active state. The methods of non-cooperation are
hartals, social-ostracism or picketing. Hartal means stoppage of all commercial activities
but the stoppage should be voluntary. Social-ostracism is a kind of social boycott against
those who defy public opinion.
Items of non-cooperation program of 1920: The technique of non-cooperation against the
British rule was a new technique in the light of a strong modern state. The few features of
this movement were surrender of titles and honorary offices and resignations from
nominated seats in local bodies. Refusal to attend government durbars and other official
and semi-official functions held by the government. Also, boycott of foreign goods and use
of swadeshi goods, non-payment of taxes and laying down of arms.
2. Civil-disobedience: For Gandhiji, another method of fighting a powerful
oppressor/authority/state was that of civil resistance. It was a just and moral duty of citizens
against an unjust, autocratic and imperialistic political order. Gandhiji was opposed to
armed resistance. Civil disobedience is a spontaneous action by the masses. In the
beginning, masses will have to be rigorously trained for action. According to Gandhi,
complete civil disobedience implying a refusal to render obedience to every single state-
made law can be a very powerful movement. It can become more dangerous than an armed
rebellion; because the stupendous power of innocent suffering undergone on a great scale
has potency. By bringing the scrutinizing glare of public opinion on the evils of an
autocratic state, the fall even of a despotic political regime is ensured. He pleaded that the
people should not obey unjust and anti-social laws. The people should be bold enough to
declare their intention to disobey cruel and unjust laws. People should openly defy such
orders. It was considered as a final and drastic form of Satyagraha. It is not really civil
disobedience but only disobedience to be civil. It must be sincere, respectful and without
any hatred. Every care should be taken to prevent the outbreak of violence. There is need
to exhaust all channels of representation for resolving the issues before the action of
contemplation for initiating civil disobedience. It is a complete, effective and bloodless
substitute of armed revolt. According to Gandhiji, civil disobedience must be based upon
some well-understood principle and must not be capricious or must have no ill-will and
hatred behind it.
Gandhiji on Political obligation towards State
The concept of political obligation is that the citizen must obey the law of the state. With
special reference to the obedience to the law, we can that a law is good and should be
obeyed only if it represents the will of the people. A citizen must have rendered willing
obedience to the law of the State. Civil disobedience is against the concept of political
obligation. However, one must remember that concept of political obligation encompasses
the right of resistance. Civil disobedience was considered by Gandhiji as a just and moral
duty of citizens against an unjust political order. People while resisting laws of the
government should see that the social structure is not subverted when they exercise their
right to resistance in case of unjust laws. Gandhiji also stressed that there was political
obligation on every citizen to abide the State made laws, if they are just and genuine and if
the laws are bad, the citizens have a right to protest and disobey them.
