Tuesday, November 11, 2014

truth-force


more "gleanings" from Wikipedia on Armstice Day
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Gandhi proposed a series of rules for satyagrahis to follow in a resistance campaign:

harbour no anger

suffer the anger of the opponent

never retaliate to assaults or punishment; but do not submit, out of fear of punishment or assault, to an order given in anger

voluntarily submit to arrest or confiscation of your own property

if you are a trustee of property, defend that property (non-violently) from confiscation with your life

do not curse or swear

do not insult the opponent

neither salute nor insult the flag of your opponent or your opponent’s leaders

if anyone attempts to insult or assault your opponent, defend your opponent (non-violently) with your life

as a prisoner, behave courteously and obey prison regulations (except any that are contrary to self-respect)

as a prisoner, do not ask for special favourable treatment

as a prisoner, do not fast in an attempt to gain conveniences whose deprivation does not involve any injury to your self-respect

joyfully obey the orders of the leaders of the civil disobedience action

do not pick and choose amongst the orders you obey; if you find the action as a whole improper or immoral, sever your connection with the action entirely

do not make your participation conditional on your comrades taking care of your dependents while you are engaging in the campaign or are in prison; do not expect them to provide such support

do not become a cause of communal quarrels

do not take sides in such quarrels, but assist only that party which is demonstrably in the right; in the case of inter-religious conflict, give your life to protect (non-violently) those in danger on either side
avoid occasions that may give rise to communal quarrels

do not take part in processions that would wound the religious sensibilities of any community
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Satyagraha and the civil rights movement in the United States:

Satyagraha theory also influenced many other movements of civil resistance.

For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his autobiography about Gandhi's influence on his developing ideas regarding the civil rights movement in the United States:

"Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by his Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts.

The whole concept of Satyagraha (Satya is truth which equals love, and agraha is force; Satyagraha, therefore, means truth force or love force) was profoundly significant to me. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. ... It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking."

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