Gandhi and Satygraha-Failed Cause or Hopeless Cause?

 

In 1947, as the Partition of India ravaged the infant nation of India, it seemed as though Gandhi's mission of achieving a peaceful India free from British rule had failed.  India was now divided into India and Pakistan, religious dissent finally overruling the cause of unity.   But as Gandhi and his followers tried to settle with the fact that their plan of achieving peace and unity through satyagraha had failed, one could wonder if their hopes to attain such a goal were hopeless from the start.  Between the religious tension between the Muslims and the Hindus and the accompanying political strife that resulted, the tensions involved with Britain, and everything else, India was at a vulnerable place.  To campaign for peaceful unity was almost unrealistic, and doomed.  Why would such a struggling, overwrought populace be willing for a peaceful campaign?  It is true that violence is the easiest route, then.  India needed a quick and simple way to gain independence, and Gandhi’s way just wasn’t quick enough.  He didn’t allow for the Partition, and didn’t fully take into account the demands that Muslims had made, and their intentions to follow through as well.  With such religious tension that ended up literally dividing India, it was impossible to achieve an easy, peaceful transition.  Sometimes, violence is necessary.  The utopian view that Gandhi idolized could work, yes, but not in the situation that India was in.  Ultimately, the violence and death that finally resulted was inevitable. Like water furiously bubbling and boiling underneath a pot cover, the cover could not just be quickly removed without expecting steam to arise. The giant pot cover of Britain suppressed the people of India. Not only was the water stuck under the pot, it was boiling inside the pot.  After the pot cover was lifted off, an explosion occurred rather predictably.  Therefore, unfortunately, Gandhi’s hopes for a peaceful transition were impossible.  With the religious and political tension in India and the transition from suppression to freedom, violence, sadly, was inevitable.

image source: the40yearplan.com