Mohandas Gandhi And The Satyagraha

“If I want to deprive you of your watch, I shall certainly have to fight for it; if I want to buy your watch, I shall have to pay for it; and if I want a gift, I shall have to plead for it; and, according to the means I employ, the watch is stolen property, my own property, or a donation.”

- Gandhi

The term Satyagraha was coined and developed by Mohandas Gandhi. Derived from the Sanskrit words for truth and persistence, it upheld the notion of non-violent resistance. According to his philosophy, those who practice it, Satyagrahis, achieve insight into the true nature of an “evil” situation by observing a nonviolence of the mind, by seeking truth in a spirit of peace and love and by undergoing a rigorous process of self-scrutiny. Satyagraha draws from the ancient Indian ideal of Ahimsa (non-injury), however, developing this into a modern political concept required Gandhi to draw from the writings of Leo Tolstoy and Henry David Thoreau along with The Bible and The Bhagavad-Gita. Gandhi first conceived the philosophy in 1906 in response to a law passed by the British Colonial government in South Africa. In the following years, fasting and economic boycotts were employed as methods of Satyagraha until the British left India in 1947. Some critics have argued that this philosophy is unrealistic and incapable of universal success since it relies on a high standard of ethical conduct in the opponent and an unrealistically strong level of commitment from those struggling for social improvement, Nevertheless, Satyagraha has played a significant role in world affairs and has spawned a continuing legacy through leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. It’s principles and methodologies still have 21st century appeal and are ca...

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... definition of ‘success’. Gandhi did not necessarily view success as defeating an opponent or frustrating his objectives, rather, he noted that the Satyagrahi’s objective is to “convert” * , not to coerce the wrong-doer. He promoted co-operating with the opponent to meet a just end that is being obstructed. This requires a conversion of the opponents thought process, at least to a certain extent. Only then would such co-operation be possible.

In relation to this, Occupy Wall Street successfully sparked international interest and influenced the thoughts or at the very least, the language of political conversation. The movements iconic slogan, “We are the ninety-nine percent” has become a distinctive statement for discussing inequality. It refers to income inequality and wealth distribution in the US between the wealthiest one percent and the rest of the population.