'Graft social concern now-Satyagraha has the power to shame the powerful'Anna Hazare: The man who can't be ignored-Apr 7, 2011

'Satyagraha has the power to shame the powerful'

Avijit Ghosh, TNN | Apr 7, 2011, 03.05am IST



NEW DELHI: It's been almost 105 years since Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi first unraveled non-violent resistance as a method of public protest in South Africa. But judging by the wide-ranging response to Gandhian Anna Hazare's ongoing fast unto death, the power of satyagraha endures even today.

"Satyagraha has the power to shame the powerful because it makes a moral statement before the society. But it is only effective when the practitioner acquires the moral right to undertake the action," says social scientist Ashis Nandy.

Nandy maintains that any regime, liberal or illiberal, finds it tough to suppress a satyagraha movement. It is often argued that the weapons of truth and non-violence would have failed against the Nazis. But the social scientist points out that the 1943 Rosenstrasse non-violent protest was successful even in Nazi Germany. Those picketing during that movement were non-Jewish wives and relatives of Jewish men who had been arrested for deportation. The Berlin movement escalated until the men were released.

Satyagraha, literally meaning the force born of truth and love or non-violence, has been put to test in various political theatres across the world. In his book, "Gandhi as Disciple and Mentor", political scientist Thomas Weber records its influence on leaders such as Julius Nyerere, Kenneth Kaunda, Martin Luther King Jr, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Dalai Lama and Lech Walesa.

In India, Vinoba Bhave demonstrated its efficacy in the bhoodan movement and by making Chambal dacoits surrender. Sunderlal Bahuguna's Chipko movement also illustrates the success of Gandhian methods. 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai' too demonstrated how Gandhigiri still had the power.

The Hazare fast has prompted some Congress leaders to assert that the hunger strike is a form of unreasonable pressure tactics. Historian Salil Misra says that Gandhi always emphasized that satyagraha was not to be carried out like blackmail. "He said it would then become duragraha and would cease to be satyagraha. Gandhi's idea was not to force the opponent to bend before anyone's will — that would be duragraha — but to put enough pressure on the opponent to make him see the truth and morality of his position," says Misra.

Political scientist Imtiaz Ahmed points out that satyagraha has deep historical roots in this country. "The Hazare fast could have touched a popular chord because corruption touches the common man. When someone decides to fight against it, public support is always forthcoming."

In an interview to TOI, the late historian B R Nanda had once pointed out that in the ultimate analysis, "satyagraha is a battle for the opponent's mind." The historian had then illustrated the Gandhi effect on one of his opponents.

When Gandhi left South Africa for good in 1914 after a 21 year sojourn, the man at the receiving end of his protests, General Jan Smuts said: "The saint has left the shore. Thank God, forever." Several decades later Smuts was a member in the Churchill war cabinet. During a meeting, the British PM is said to have called Gandhi a "quisling", a synonym for traitor. Smuts countered that view. He said that Gandhi was one of the greatest men on earth.
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