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- Deconstructing Gandhian Satyagraha
- Radha Rajan
- The non-truth of Satyagraha
Gandhi’s Satyagraha has no precedent in Hindu tradition or history as a weapon in any war to re-establish dharma. We have to agree with Gandhi that Satyagraha is not for the weak; but it was a method which only individuals or small, homogenous groups could practice when confronting a more powerful enemy. What is more, this method of shaming the adversary may be effective in battle only and only if the cultural or religious symbolism of Satyagraha finds resonance with the enemy’s own moral universe, and thus compels him to concede, back down, or retreat. Gandhi’s Satyagraha must therefore be analyzed as a tool of engagement from two angles – Gandhi in South Africa, and Gandhi in India against the British government. - ‘Satyagraha’ is best translated as ‘force of truth.’ Gandhi made the unconvincing but unchallenged leap of equating ‘force of truth’ with ‘ahimsa’ [1] whereas in Hindu dharma and in Hinduism’s classical texts and Bhashyas, truth (satya) and ahimsa (non-injury) are two distinct concepts.
- Gandhi’s equating of satya with ahimsa was unjustified, and equating both with God, un-Hindu; equating force with violence and ahimsa with love or soul-force was doubly flawed thinking.
- Contrast Gandhi’s un-Hindu rejection of the use of force with Aurobindo:
Justice and righteousness are the atmosphere of political morality; but the justice and righteousness of a fighter, not of the priest. Aggression is unjust only when unprovoked; violence, unrighteous when used wantonly for unrighteous ends. - The sword of the warrior is as necessary to the fulfillment of justice and righteousness as the holiness of the saint. Ramdas is not complete without Shivaji.
- Aurobindo’s advocacy of force and articulation of kshatriya dharma is in line with Hindu tradition of statecraft as exemplified by Kautilya’s Arthasastra.
- Gandhi’s choice of English words and an alien idiom must be placed in the context of the education he received and the fact that he was not a scholar of Hindu texts with knowledge of precise words to be used for specific concepts.
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Excerpted from
Eclipse of the Hindu Nation: Gandhi and his freedom struggle
Radha Rajan
New Age Publishers (P) Ltd., Delhi, 2009
Price: Rs 495/-
ISBN 81- 7819 - 068- 0
The book may be ordered from the publishers at ncbadel@ncbapvtltd.com
or at 011-2649 3326/ 27/ 28
The author is editor, www.vigilonline.com
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Friday, July 3, 2009
Vijayvaani.com - Deconstructing Gandhian Satyagraha
