The Gandhi Project by Nashid Fareed-Ma’at
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3
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 172, excerpt from Young India,
August 4, 1921.
4
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 70, excerpt from Young India, July
14, 1927.
291
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE PRISON BARS
“Our triumph consists in thousands being led to the prisons like
lambs to the slaughter house. If the lambs of the world had
been willingly led, they would have long ago saved themselves
from the butcher’s knife. Our triumph consists again in being
imprisoned for no wrong whatsoever. The greater our
innocence, the greater our strength and the swifter our victory.”
3
Some may be surprised to learn that Gandhi made it a practice to never resist arrest or
imprisonment. This was done, in part, to preserve the civility of civil disobedience:
“To preserve intact the civil nature of this disobedience the
Satyagrahi must be wholly unarmed, and in spite of insults, kicks
or worse must meekly stand the ground, and be arrested without
the slightest opposition.”
4
(emphasis mine)
This contrasts with the practice of some protesters today who make dramatic displays of their
arrests. I’ve seen protesters drop to the ground, scream, force police officers to carry or drag
them to paddy wagons, and other forms of “passively” resisting arrest. Gandhi would regard
these tactics as not only a violation of the Satyagraha approach but hold some of them as forms
of violence -- which includes words, thoughts, and deeds. He was very deliberate in stating that
Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience ends once the penalty of such disobedience is presented.
And such a penalty includes arrest, even an illegal or immoral arrest, and other sanctions
imposed for committing “no wrong whatsoever” -- as the quote opening this section indicated.
He explained:
“Indeed whilst on the one hand civil disobedience authorizes
disobedience of unjust laws or unmoral laws of a State which one
seeks to overthrow, it requires meek and willing submission to the
5
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 63, excerpt from Young India,
December 29, 1921.
6
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 172, excerpt from Young India,
August 4, 1921.
292
penalty of disobedience and, therefore, cheerful acceptance of jail
discipline and its attendant hardships.”
5
The same applies for arrests. Yet how common is it today to see protestors cheerfully submitting
to arrest, adorning their handcuffs with genuine smiles? Gandhi was clear to limit disobedience
to targeted injustices; and for him, arrest and imprisonment for breaking a law was not unjust.
As will be addressed later, submission to such penalty doesn’t mean he accepted abusive or
inhumane treatment or imprisonment. But his acceptance of the principle of penalty for breaches
of law was something he respected even when the application of such penalty was unjustly done,
a tactic used repeatedly by the British colonial government. He also acknowledged that offering
civil disobedience included the risk of enduring imprisonment (and other forms of suffering) for
doing nothing wrong.
There is also another important reason Gandhi never resisted arrest and imprisonment: to
retain a calm atmosphere around civil disobedience. As he wrote: “By noiselessly going to
prison a civil resister ensures a calm atmosphere.”
6
Such an atmosphere has added importance
when mass civil disobedience is being offered. This approach also made it easier for Gandhi to
clearly indicate to those carrying out the arrests and imprisonments that his disobedience was
directed against the government and targeted injustices, not them personally. He wrote about
this regarding an incident in India:
“A sort of friendliness sprang up between the officials -- Collector,
Magistrate, Police Superintendent -- and myself. I might have
legally resisted the notices served on me. Instead I accepted them
all, and my conduct towards the officials was correct. They thus
saw that I did not want to offend them personally, but that I wanted
to offer civil resistance to their orders. In this way they were put at
ease, and instead of harassing me they gladly availed themselves of
my and my co-workers’ co-operation in regulating the crowds.
7
Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 411.
8
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 66, excerpt from Young India, June
5, 1924.
293
But it was an ocular demonstration to them of the fact that their
authority was shaken.”
7
Consider how the government officials would have responded to their authority being shaken
had not Gandhi’s approach established a sense of friendliness among them? A common reply in
the absence of such “friendliness” is an escalation in police and government force, which
sometimes results in extreme violence. Now taking the approach Gandhi took doesn’t insure
that some government officials won’t still respond with extreme force and violence, but when
presented with such situations let the civil resisters genuinely extend (through their approach) an
opportunity to establish a friendly rapport that seeks to retain calm.
Gandhi’s approach of accepting arrest and imprisonment “without the slightest
opposition” laid, in part, in his realization of the power of suffering:
“The idea behind the imprisonment of Satyagrahis is that he
expects relief through humble submission to suffering. He
believes that meek suffering for a just cause has a virtue all its own
and infinitely greater than the virtue of the sword.”
8
Understanding this, Gandhi was not troubled by unjust and immoral arrests, imprisonments,
fines, seizures of what little property he had, banishment from certain districts, and other
sanctions imposed upon him. Neither was he troubled when these tactics were imposed on
others. In fact, he wrote:
“We must dismiss the idea of overawing the Government by huge
demonstrations every time some one is arrested. On the contrary,
we must treat arrest as the normal condition of the life of a non-co-
operator. For we must seek arrest and imprisonment, as a soldier
who goes to battle seeks death. We expect to bear down the
opposition of the Government by courting and not by avoiding
imprisonment, even though it be by showing our supposed
9
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 172, excerpt from Young India,
August 4, 1921.
10
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 57, excerpt from Young India,
October 20, 1921.
11
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 66, excerpt from Young India, June
5, 1924.
294
readiness to be arrested and imprisoned en masse. Civil
disobedience then emphatically means our desire to surrender to a
single unarmed policeman.”
9
Following this reasoning, civil resisters will reject the tendency to launch protests or some (more
intense) tactical response to the arrest and imprisonment of other civil resisters. These and other
penalties should be accepted in the same vein of other normal happenings in a civil resistance
campaign: an arrest should register no more than conducting an education workshop or other act
of constructive service. The normal acceptance of arrest would also include refraining from
anger and outrage, but instead should be accepted with the joy Satyagrahis realize from engaging
in suffering and the service of others. Anyone who becomes a civil resister does so with the
willingness to suffer, which includes possibility of arrest, imprisonment, and other sanctions.
And the willingness to bear arrest and imprisonment should be done with such humility that even
a group of thousands of civil resisters would surrender to an arrest committed by “a single
unarmed policeman,” as the above quote stated.
As much as Gandhi humbly submitted to arrest, imprisonment, and other sanctions, he
acknowledged no civil resister should submit to humiliating or inhumane treatment. To this
point, he wrote: “The pledge of non-violence does not require us to co-operate in our
humiliation.”
10
In the context of submitting to imprisonment, he explained:
“This does not mean that we may not resist when the treatment
touches our self-respect. Thus for instance we must resist to the
point of death the use of abusive language by officials or if they
were to throw our food at us which is often done. Insult and abuse
are no part of an official’s duty. Therefore we must resist them.”
11
And the means of resistance for Satyagrahis lay within Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience.
But Gandhi acknowledged that civil resisters must be prepared to endure all other hardships of
12
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 366, excerpt from Harijan, June 3,
1939.
13
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 61, excerpt from Young India,
December 15, 1921.
295
jail that do not offend their self-respect. He warned that civil resisters must be prepared to
endure brutal treatment and inconveniences, unfavorable accommodations, rudeness, and the loss
of many comforts taken for granted outside of jail. And, in the context of humility, he cautioned
civil resisters to bear and tolerate these as the harsh reality of imprisonment and not perceive
them as attacks to their self-respect. Note his words to those who would be to haste to offer civil
disobedience against these daily realities of imprisonment:
“Satyagraha [or civil disobedience] is not a weapon to be used
lightly or easily and at the slightest provocation. It is better that he
who is easily provoked does not go to jail.”
12
His words about “the slightest provocation” would apply to all the realities of imprisonment.
Where there is a doubt about if a particular hardship is part of the normal reality of imprisonment
or an attack at one’s self-respect, Gandhi would encourage tolerance of the hardship instead of a
call to civil disobedience. Remember, Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience involves the
willingness to suffer, and imprisonment (with all its harsh realities) is a form of suffering --
therefore, it need not be comfortable or easy. Thus, he instructed civil resisters:
“Gaol [jail] discipline must be submitted to until gaol government
itself becomes or is felt to be corrupt and immoral. But
deprivation of comfort, imposition of restrictions and such other
inconveniences do not make gaol government corrupt.”
13
In addition to submitting to jail rules and discipline, Gandhi declared civil resisters must
not claim any special privileges based on their imprisonment resulting from civil disobedience.
He rejected that the hardships of imprisonment designed for criminals should be lessened for
civil resisters who broke laws for morally justifiable reasons:
“It is now, therefore, clear that a civil resister’s resistance ceases
and his obedience is resumed as soon as he is under confinement.
In confinement he claims no privileges because of the civility of
14
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 63, excerpt from Young India,
December 29, 1921.
15
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 66, excerpt from Young India, June
5, 1924.
16
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 61, excerpt from Young India,
December 15, 1921.
296
his disobedience. Inside the jail by his exemplary conduct he
reforms even the criminals surrounding him, he softens the hearts
of jailors and others in authority. Such meek behaviour springing
from strength and knowledge ultimately dissolves the tyranny of
the tyrant. It is for this reason that I claim that voluntary suffering
is the quickest and the best remedy for the removal of abuses and
injustices.”
14
The transformative and converting aspects of Satyagraha should not be abandoned in jail. Just as
the pure living of the Satyagraha way should transform one’s community and opponents,
Satyagrahis by their conduct should beneficently convert and transform the atmosphere of the
jail and all within it. Gandhi even charged civil resisters with the following:
“We must be content to live with the confirmed criminals and even
welcome the opportunity of working moral reform in them.”
15
“Indeed, I hope that the conduct of non-co-operators in the gaol
[jail] will be strictly correct, dignified and yet submissive. We
must not regard gaolers and warders as our enemies but as fellow
human beings not utterly devoid of the human touch. Our
gentlemanly behaviour is bound to disarm all suspicion or
bitterness.”
16
And, as has been stated earlier in the book, the power of our conduct to beneficently affect and
transform others is directly connected to our purity.
Gandhi acknowledged it is a challenge for Satyagrahis to walk with the bold courage
needed to engage in Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience and then shift to a humble, disciplined
submission once arrested and imprisoned. He wrote:
17
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 61, excerpt from Young India,
December 15, 1921.
18
Mohandas K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1957, p. 325.
297
“I know that this path of discipline on the one hand and fierce
defiance on the other is a very difficult path, but there is no royal
road to Swaraj. ... But even as you require a steady and
experienced hand to draw a straight line, so are steadiness of
discipline and firmness of purpose absolutely necessary if we are
to walk along the chosen path with an unerring step.”
17
The difficultly of making such a transition does not render it impossible. And clearly, Gandhi
indicated the responsibility of making this necessary transition lays with the civil resisters.
One thing that may aid us in making the transition from bold disobedience to humility is
how we view jail and imprisonment. Note how Gandhi described his first experience in jail:
“My first experience of jail life was in 1908. I saw that some of
the regulations that the prisoners had to observe were such as
should be voluntarily observed by a brahmachari, that is, one
desiring to practise self-restraint.”
18
He embraced some of the restrictions of jail as mirroring elements of his spiritual approach to
life, which included his brahmacharya vow. How much can our experiences in jail (and the
atmosphere there) be transformed by not viewing it as unwanted hardship to be toiled, but rather
an affirmative place of opportunity to further cultivate ourselves and others. To this point,
Gandhi wrote:
“Let only the purest and the most innocent go to jail. It does not
matter if they have to remain immured behind the prison bars for a
whole lifetime. Their sacrifice will fill the prison with a sweet
fragrance and its influence will even travel outside and subtly
transform the entire atmosphere. They will never long for their
release nor doubt that their sacrifice is being ‘wasted’. They will
realize that a consecrated resolve is more potent in its action than
19
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 294 - 295, excerpt from Harijan,
June 3, 1939.
298
mere physical action can ever be. The discipline that they will be
acquiring in prison will help the non-violent organization of the
people outside and instil fearlessness among them.”
19
Thus, it was no surprise that Gandhi and others who viewed imprisonment in such a way
embraced it as an opportunity to rejuvenate, cultivate a deeper growth, and continue the beauty
of serving one’s self and others. This approach need not be taken to the extreme that elevates
imprisonment to be the only place to pursue these aims; instead, as Satyagrahis pursue these
aims outside of imprisonment, they can approach the restraints of imprisonment as an
opportunity to focus on these with an increased attention and intensity.
In reflecting on all that has been covered in this section, we can see that Gandhi had a
strict and direct approach to imprisonment as well as methods to use it as a tool that furthered the
aims of Satyagraha. Note how much of what has been discussed is reflected in the following
rules of conduct Gandhi offered to civil resisters participating in a civil disobedience campaign:
“In my opinion therefore as Satyagrahis we are bound, when we
become prisoners,
1. to act with the most scrupulous honesty;
2. to co-operate with the prison officials in their
administration;
3. to set by our obedience to all reasonable discipline an
example to co-prisoners;
4. to ask for no favours and claim no privileges which the
meanest of prisoners do not get and which we do not need
strictly for reasons of health;
5. not to fail to ask what we do so need and not to get
irritated if we do not obtain it;
6. to do all the tasks allotted, to the utmost of our ability.
It is such conduct which will make the Government position
uncomfortable and untenable. It is difficult for them to meet
honesty with honesty for their want of faith and unpreparedness for
such a rare eventuality. Rowdyism they expect and meet with a
20
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 65 - 66, excerpt from Young India,
June 5, 1924.
299
double dose of it. They were able to deal with anarchical crime
but they have not yet found out any way of dealing with non-
violence save by yielding to it.”
20
Different rules may be added or emphasized depending on the scope of a particular civil
disobedience campaign, but the core of this approach will remain. Civil resisters would be wise
to uphold this core if they encounter arrest, imprisonment, or other sanctions for breaches of law.
Lastly, I will comment on the issue of Satyagraha organizations considering formerly
convicted persons for employment positions. Given that jail and imprisonment hold a normal
place in Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience, I would caution against all Satyagraha
organizations and groups having policies and practices that discriminate against those who have
been convicted. This includes unspoken practices that deny formerly incarcerated persons
opportunities open to those who have not been incarcerated. Some who offered Satyagraha-
guided civil disobedience, including Gandhi, have been convicted of serious crimes such as
terrorism, treason, inciting violence; and whether the convictions were just or not, they often
remained on the criminal records of these persons. Should such a conviction bar someone who
possesses a deep understanding of Satyagraha from being employed at a community organizing,
peace, or social justice organization? Or if hired, being limited to low level jobs and denied fair
consideration for positions involving more responsibility? Or how about a felon convicted of an
immoral crime (like robbery or murder) who was transformed by engaging with Satyagrahis in
jail; should such a transformed person be denied or viewed less favorable for employment
because of a previous conviction? (And this doesn’t include others who commit serious crimes
but have not been convicted and, thus, don’t have to admit to their previous wrongdoings.)
Given the modern stigma against formerly incarcerated persons, I would argue against
Satyagraha organizations even asking about previous convictions in any employment process.
As this book reflects, there are a range of much more important factors to consider for persons
engaging in Satyagraha work. And for those who will engage in civil disobedience, previous
imprisonment may even be a benefit that will assist them in carrying out humble, disciplined
conduct in jail. Let me be clear: these are my opinions, I do not present them as Gandhi’s. But I
share them feeling that they are in accord with his principles and approach to Satyagraha.
21
Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance (Satyagraha), 1961, p. 64, excerpt from Young India, June
5, 1924.
300
“We must make the prison a neutral institution in which we
may, nay, must co-operate to a certain extent.”
21
CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPLYING TACTICS
Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience has no limited set of tactics but it does set limits to
what tactics can be used and how they should be applied. Clearly, the measures of ahimsa (no
harm, non-violence) and love are part of these limits. So too are upholding Truth and the pursuit
of Truth. This section will explore some of the principles involved in honoring the moral limits
of Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience. Many of these principles have already been touched
upon throughout the book, so I won’t repeat those. Instead this section will focus on things not
already said or that should be emphasized in the context of upholding the just limits of
Satyagraha-guided civil disobedience.
Although there are no specific set of tactics that define the lexicon of Satyagraha-guided
civil disobedience, a number of tactics have been repeated or used in historic efforts to acquire a
status of being traditional civil disobedience tactics. These include: marches, street rallies and
pickets, (economic and social) boycotts and strikes, and non-payment of taxes. Other applied
tactics include: public teaching sessions; publication and distribution of literature (i.e.
newspapers, pamphlets) to inform public opinion; community-based economic activities such as
spinning homespun cloth and selling it, local farmers’ markets; public and private spiritual
activities to expose injustice; individual and collective fasts; community gatherings (such as
festivals, dinners, picnics) intended to highlight (actualized or potential) collective strength and
unity; public performances, from community theater to concerts; visual art and murals; health
clinics; letter writing campaigns; and more. The point is that Satyagraha-guided civil
disobedience tactics can cover a wide range of activities. And Gandhi encouraged and relied on
the creativity of the people to discover ways to demonstrate disobedience to unjust laws as well
as their strength and determination to affect just and beneficent change. These demonstrations
sometimes varied drastically from community to community but were often centered in the
collective will of the local community. Herein lays some useful reminders to contemporary
Satyagrahis: to not limit their choices to a template of historically recognized tactics; to be free