Chapter III: Part TWO: § 1 (1)

On July 28, 1920, Gandhi announced that non-coöperation would be proclaimed August 1, and as a preparatory measure he ordered that a day of fasting and prayer be held the day before. He had no fear of governmental fury, but he feared the fury of the populace, and he bent every effort to have order and discipline reign within the Indian ranks. He declared:

Effective non-coöperation depends upon complete organization. Disorderliness comes from anger. There must be no violence. Violence means retrogression in our case, and useless waste of innocent lives. Above everything else, there must be complete order.

The tactics of non-coöperation had been defined two months before by Gandhi and the committee of non-coöperation, and they included the following measures:

(1) Surrender of all titles of honor and honorary offices.

(2) Non-participation in government loans.

(3) Suspension by lawyers of practice, and settlement of court disputes by private arbitration.

(4) Boycott of government schools by children and parents.

(5) Boycott of the reformed Councils.

(6) Non-participation in government parties and other official functions.

(7) Refusal to accept any civil or military post.

(8) Agreements to spread the doctrine of Swadeshi.[67]

In other words, the negative part of the program should be completed by constructive measures, which would lead to the building up of the new India of the future.

This program specified the first steps to be taken, and we must admire the prudent sagacity of the leader who, after cranking up the enormous machine of Hindu revolt, stops it short, so to speak, and holds it back, pulsating, at the first turn, a method in startling opposition to that of our European revolutionaries. Gandhi is not planning civil disobedience for the present. He knows civil disobedience. He has studied it in Thoreau, whom he quotes in his articles, and he takes pains to explain the difference between it and non-coöperation. Civil disobedience, he says, is more than a mere refusal to obey the law. It means deliberate opposition to the law; it is an infraction of the law, and can be carried out only by an elite, while non-coöperation should be a mass movement. Gandhi means to prepare the masses in India for civil disobedience but they must be trained for it by a gradual process. He knows that at present people are not ripe for it, and he does not want to set them loose before he feels sure that they have mastered the art of self-control. So he launches non-coöperation. Non-coöperation, in this first stage, does not include a refusal to pay taxes. Gandhi is biding his time.

August 1,1920, Gandhi gives the signal for the movement by his famous letter to the viceroy, surrendering his decorations and honorary titles:

It is not without a pang that I return the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal granted to me by your predecessor for my humanitarian work in South Africa, the Zulu War Medal, granted in South Africa for my services as officer in charge of the Indian Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 1906, and the Boer War Medal for my services as assistant superintendent of the Indian Volunteer Stretcher-bearer Corps during the Boer War of 1899-1900.

But, he adds, after referring to the scenes that took place in the Punjab and the events back of the Khilafat movement:

I can retain neither respect nor affection for a Government which has been moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend its immorality.... The Government must be moved to repentance.

I have therefore ventured to suggest non-coöperation which enables those who wish to disassociate themselves from the Government and which, if unattended by violence, must compel the Government co retrace its steps and undo its wrongs.

And Gandhi expresses the hope that the viceroy will see his way to do justice, and that he will call a conference of the recognized leaders of the people, and consult with them.

Gandhi's example was immediately followed. Hundreds of magistrates sent in their resignations, thousands of students left the colleges, the courts were abandoned, the schools were emptied. The All-India Congress, meeting in special session in Calcutta in the beginning of September, approved Gandhi's decisions by an overwhelming majority. Gandhi and his friend Maulana Shaukat Ali toured the country and met with tremendous ovations everywhere.

Never did Gandhi show himself a greater leader than during the first year of his action. He had to hold back the violence that lay smoldering, ready to leap into flame at the slightest provocation. Gandhi fears and abhors mob violence more than anything else. He considers "mobocracy" the greatest danger that menaces India. He hates war, but would rather have it than the insane violence of _Caliban._ "If India has to achieve her freedom by violence, let it be by the disciplined violence named war," not by mob revolts. Gandhi looks with disfavor upon all demonstrations and mass-meetings, even in celebration of some joyous event, for out of a large crowd filled with noise and confusion frenzied violence may burst for no apparent reason. And he insists on the necessity of maintaining strict discipline. "We must evolve order out of chaos," he says, "introduce people's law instead of mob law." And the mystic with the clear, firm eyes, whose sound practical sense equals that of the great European mystics who founded religious orders and dominated the souls of men, gives precise, detailed rules as to how to canalize the torrents of popular meetings and demonstrations.

"One great stumbling-block," he says, speaking of the organization of mass-meetings, "is that we have neglected music. Music means rhythm, order. Unfortunately, in India, music has been the prerogative of the few. It has never become nationalized.... I would make compulsory a proper singing, in company, of national songs. And to that end I would have great musicians attending every congress or conference and teaching mass music. Nothing is so easy as to train mobs, for the simple reason that they have no mind, no meditation."

Gandhi makes a list of suggestions. No raw volunteers should be accepted to assist in the organization of the big demonstrations. None but the most experienced should be at the head. Volunteers should always have a general instruction-book on their persons. They should be dispersed among the crowd and should learn flag and whistle signaling to pass instructions. National cries should be fixed and raised at the right moment. Crowds should be prevented from entering the railroad stations; they should be taught to stand back and leave a clear passage in the streets for people and carriages. Little children should never be brought out in the crowds, etc.

In other words, Gandhi makes himself the orchestra leader of his oceans of men.[68]

§ 2

But while the mob may break out into violence, unconsciously, blindly, moved by a sudden unreasonable impulse, there is a political faction which advocates violence deliberately and consciously. Many of the best men in India believe that national independence can be reached only by violent methods. This faction does not understand Gandhi's doctrine and does not believe in its political efficacy. It demands action, direct action. Gandhi receives anonymous letters urging him to stop advocating non-violence, and, worse, others implying cynically that his doctrine of non-violence is merely a mask and that the time has now come to throw it aside and give the signal for battle. Gandhi replies vehemently. He discusses the arguments passionately.[69] In a series of beautiful articles he censures the "doctrine of the sword." He denies that Hindu scriptures and the Koran approve violence. Violence is not part of the doctrine of any religion. Jesus is the prince of passive resistance. The Bhagavad Gitâ does not preach violence, but the fulfilment of duty even at the cost of one's life.[70] As man has not been given the power to create, he has not the right to destroy the smallest creature that lives. There must be no hatred for any one, not even for the evil-doer; but this does not mean that one should tolerate evil. Gandhi would nurse General Dyer if he were ill, but if his own son lived a life of shame, he would not help him by continuing to support him. On the contrary, "my love for him would require me to withdraw all support from him, although this might even mean his death." No one has the right to compel another by physical force to become good. "But one is under the obligation to resist him by leaving him, no matter what may happen, and by welcoming him to one's bosom if he repents."[71]

While Gandhi curbs the violent elements, he stimulates the hesitating. He reassures those who are afraid of taking a decisive step:

Never has anything been done on this earth without direct action. I rejected the word "passive resistance" because of its insufficiency.... It was, however, direct action in South Africa which told, and told so effectively that it converted General Smuts to sanity. What was the larger "symbiosis" that Buddha and Christ preached? Gentleness and love. Buddha fearlessly carried the war into the enemy's camp and brought down on its knees an arrogant priesthood. Christ drove out the money-changers from the temple of Jerusalem and drew down curses from heaven upon the hypocrites and the Pharisees. Both were for intensely direct action. But even as Buddha and Christ chastened, they showed unmistakable gentleness and love behind every act of theirs.[72]

Gandhi also appeals to the generosity and the common sense of the English.[73] He calls the English his "dear friends" and points out that he has been their faithful companion for more than thirty years. He asks them to make up for the Government's perfidy, which by its treachery has completely shattered his faith in its good intentions. But he still believes in English bravery and in English respect for other people's bravery. "Bravery on the battle-field is impossible for India, but bravery of the soul remains open to us. Non-coöperation means nothing less than training in self-sacrifice. I expect to conquer you by my suffering."

In the first four or five months' preliminary campaign Gandhi was not trying to paralyze the Government through non-coöperation; his idea was rather to lay the foundation for the building up of a new India which would be independent mentally, morally, and economically. Gandhi expresses the idea of India's economic independence by the term _Swadeshi_, and he takes the word in its narrow and physical sense.

India must learn to go without many comforts and to accept hardships without a murmur. A salutary discipline, this; necessary moral hygiene. The nation's health as well as its character will benefit thereby. Gandhi's first move is to free India from the curse of drink. Groups must be formed to advocate temperance. European wines must be boycotted; liquor-dealers must be induced to surrender their licenses.[74] All India responded to the Mahatma's appeal. Such a strong wave of temperance swept over India that Gandhi had to interfere to prevent the crowds from sacking and looting the wine-shops and closing them by force. "You must not try to compel another by physical force to become good," he explained to the masses.

But if it was a relatively easy matter to rid India of the curse of drink, it was much more difficult to provide her with means of subsistence. If cooperation with England ceased, what would India live on? What would she clothe herself in if European products were tabooed? Gandhi's solution is one of utmost simplicity and reveals the medieval turn of his mind: he undertakes to reestablish the old Indian industry of home spinning, introduce the spinning-wheels.

This patriarchal solution of the social problem has naturally met with ridicule.[75] But conditions in India and Gandhi's interpretation of the term _charka_ must, be taken into consideration. Gandhi has never claimed that spinning alone would constitute a means of livelihood except for the very poor; but he does claim that it could supplement agriculture during the months when work in the fields is at a standstill. India's problem is not theoretical, but real and pressing. Eighty per cent of the population of India is agricultural, and is therefore without employment virtually four months of the year. One tenth of the population is normally exposed to famine. The middle class is underfed. What has England done to remedy these conditions? Nothing. On the contrary, she has aggravated them, for English manufactures have ruined local industries, pumped the resources of India, bleeding the country for more than sixty million rupees a year. India, who grows all the cotton she requires, is forced to export millions of bales to Japan and Lancashire, whence it is returned to her in the form of manufactured calico, which she must buy at exorbitant prices. The first thing for India to do, therefore, is to learn to do without ruinous foreign goods, and in order to do this she must organize workshops of her own to give employment and food to her people. There is no time to lose. Now, nothing can be organized more rapidly and economically than the industry of spinning and weaving at home. The idea is not to induce well paid agricultural laborers to give up their work and to spin, but to urge the unemployed, and all those who do not have to work for a living, such as women and children, as well as all Hindus who may have some spare time during the day, to spin in their leisure hours. Gandhi orders, therefore, (1) the boycotting of foreign goods, (2) the teaching of spinning and weaving, (3) the buying of hand-woven cloth only.

Gandhi gives himself up tirelessly to this idea. He says spinning is a duty for all India.[76] He wants poor children to pay for their tuition at school by a certain number of hours of spinning; he wants every one, man and woman, to contribute at least one hour a day, as charity, to spinning. He gives the most precise directions as to the choice of cotton, spinning-wheels, etc., and information on all sorts of technical details of spinning and weaving; he gives practical advice to those who wish to buy hand-woven cloth, to the fathers of large families, as well as to pupils in the schools. He explains, for instance, how one may start a _Swadeshi_ shop--a shop dealing in the products of Hindu industry--with but little capital, make ten per cent profits, etc. He becomes lyrical when he describes the "music of the spinning-wheel,"[77] the oldest music in India, which delighted Kahir, the poet-weaver, and Aureng-Zeb, the great emperor, who wove his own caps.

Gandhi was able to fire public enthusiasm. The great ladies of Bombay took up spinning. Hindu and Moslem women agreed to wear only national cloth, which became all the fashion. Tagore, too, praised this _khaddar_ or _khadi_, as the hand-woven cloth was called, which he said was in excellent taste. Orders poured in. Some came from as far as Aden and Baluchistan.

But the disciples of _Swadeshi_ went a little too far when they began boycotting foreign materials, and even Gandhi, usually sane and well balanced, was carried away. In August, 1921, he ordered the binning of all foreign goods in Bombay, and as in the days of Savonarola in Florence, _Christo regnante_, magnificent family heirlooms, priceless stuffs and materials, were piled into huge heaps and devoured by the flames in the midst of riotous cheers and enthusiasm. In this connection one of the most broad-minded Englishmen in India, C. F. Andrews, a great friend of Rabindranath Tagore, wrote a letter to Gandhi. While expressing his great admiration for the Mahatma, he deplored that such valuable materials should have been burned instead of having been given to the poor. He added that he believed the process of destruction called forth the worst instincts of the masses, and he protested against the outbursts of a nationalism which virtually set destruction up as a religious dogma. He could not help feeling that it was sinful to destroy the fruits of human toil. Andrews had approved Gandhi's campaign and had even begun wearing _khaddar_ but now he wondered whether it was right to continue to do so. The burning cloth in Bombay had shaken his faith in the Mahatma.

In publishing Andrews's letter in "Young India" Gandhi said he regrets nothing. He does not bear ill will to any race whatsoever, nor does he demand the destruction of _all_ foreign goods. He merely wants to destroy the goods which harm India. Millions of Indians have been ruined by English factories, which, by taking work away from India, have turned thousands upon thousands of Indians into pariahs and mercenaries and their women into prostitutes. India is already inclined to hate her British dominators. Gandhi does not wish to strengthen this hatred. On the contrary, he wants to side-track it, to turn it away from people to _things._ The Indians who bought the materials are as guilty as the British who sold them. The materials were not burned as an expression of hatred for England, but as a sign of India's determination to break with the past. It was a necessary surgical operation. And it would have been wrong to give these "poisonous" materials to the poor, for the poor too, have a sense of honor.

§ 3

India's economic life must first be freed from foreign domination. But the next step is to liberate the mind, create a real, independent Indian spirit. Gandhi wants his people to shake off the yoke of European culture, and one of his proudest achievements is the laying of the groundwork of a truly Indian education.

Under English rule the smoldering embers of Asiatic culture had lain dormant in various colleges and universities. For more than forty-five years Aligarh had remained a Hindu-Mussulman university, a center of Islamic culture in India. Khalsa College was the center of Sikh culture, while the Hindus had the University of Benares. But these institutions, more or less antiquated, were dependent on the Government, which subventioned them, and Gandhi longed to see them replaced by purer hearths of Asiatic culture. In November, 1920, he founded the national University of Gujarat at Ahmedabad. Its ideal was that of a united India. The _Dharma_ of the Hindus and the Islam of the Mohammedans were its two religious pillars. Its object was to preserve the dialects of India and to use them as sources of national regeneration.[78] Gandhi felt, with full justice, that a "systematic study of Asiatic culture is no less essential than the study of Western sciences. The vast treasures of Sanskrit and Arabic, Persian and Pali and Magadhi, have to be ransacked to discover wherein lies the source of strength for the nation. The ideal is not merely to feed on or repeat the ancient cultures, but to build a new culture based on the traditions of the past and enriched by the experiences of later times. The ideal is a synthesis of the different cultures that have to come to stay in India, that have influenced Indian life, and that, in their turn, have themselves been influenced by the spirit of the soil. This synthesis will naturally be of the _Swadeshi_ type, where each culture is assured its legitimate place, and not of the American pattern, where one dominant culture absorbs the rest and where the aim is not toward harmony, but toward an artificial and forced unity." All Indian religions were to be taught. The Hindus were to have an opportunity of studying the Koran and the Mussulmans the Shastras. The national university excludes nothing except a spirit of exclusion. It believes that there is nothing "untouchable" in humanity. Hindustani is made compulsory, because it is the national blend of Sanskrit, Hindi, and Persianized Urdu.[79] A spirit of independence was to be fostered, not only by the methods of study, but by a careful vocational training.

Gandhi hopes to organize, gradually, higher schools that will spread education broadcast throughout the towns and "filter it down to the masses, so that ... ere long the suicidal cleavage between the educated and the uneducated will be bridged. And as an effect of giving an industrial education to the genteel folks and a literary education to the industrial classes, the unequal distribution of wealth and social discontent will be considerably checked."

In opposition to European educational methods, which neglect manual proficiency and develop the brain only, Gandhi wants manual work to he part of the curriculum of all the schools from the lowest grades up. He believes it would be excellent for children to pay for their tuition by a certain amount of spinning. In this way they would learn to earn their living and become independent. As for education of the heart, which Europe neglects absolutely, Gandhi would have stress laid upon it from the very first. But before the pupils can be properly trained, the right sort of teachers must be provided.

The object of the higher institutions which Gandhi seems to look upon as the keystones of the new education is to train teachers. These institutions will be more than schools or colleges; they might rather be called convents, where the sacred fire of India will be concentrated in order afterward to radiate throughout the world, just as in former days great religious pioneers radiated from the Benedictine monasteries in the West, conquering souls and territory.

The rules which Gandhi prescribes for the school of _Satyagrah Ashram_,[80] or place of discipline, at Ahmedabad, his model institution, concern the teachers more than the pupils, and bind the former by monastic vows. Whereas these vows in ordinary religious orders have a purely negative character, here they throb with an active spirit of sacrifice and with the pure love that inspires the saints. The teachers are bound by the following vows:

1. The vow of truth. It is not enough not to resort ordinarily to untruth. No deception may be practised even for the good of the country. Truth may require opposition to parents and elders.

2. The vow of _Ahimsa_ (non-killing). It is not enough not to take the life of any living being. One may not even hurt those whom he believes to be unjust; he may not be angry with them, he must love them. Oppose tyranny but never hurt the tyrant. Conquer him by love. Suffer punishment even unto death for disobeying his will.

3. The vow of celibacy. Without it the two foregoing are almost impossible to observe. It is not enough not to look upon woman with a lustful eye. Animal passions must be controlled, so that they will not be moved even in thought. If a man is married, he will consider his wife a lifelong friend and establish with her the relationship of perfect purity.

4. The control of the palate. Regulate and purify the diet. Leave off such foods as may tend to stimulate animal passions or are otherwise unnecessary.

5. The vow of non-stealing. It is not enough not to steal what is commonly considered other men's property. It is theft if we use articles which we do not really need. Nature provides us from day to day just enough and no more for our daily needs.

6. The vow of non-possession. It is not enough not to possess and not to keep much, but it is necessary not to keep anything which may not be absolutely necessary for our bodily wants. Think constantly of simplifying life.

To these main vows are added a few secondary rules:

1. _Swadeshi._ Use no articles about which there is a possibility of deception. Do not use manufactured articles. Laborers suffer much in mills, and manufactured articles are products of misery exploited. Foreign goods and goods made by complicated machinery should be tabooed by a votary of _Ahimsa._ Use simple clothes, made simply in India.

2. Fearlessness. He who is acted upon by fear cannot follow truth or _Ahimsa._ He must be free from the fear of kings, people, caste, families, thieves, robbers, ferocious animals, and death. A truly fearless man will defend himself against others by truth-force or soul-force.

Once established the main points of this iron foundation, Gandhi refers rapidly to the other requirements, of which the two most remarkable are that the teachers must set the example of performing bodily labor, preferably agricultural work, and that they must know the principal Indian tongues.

As for the pupils, who can enter the _Ashram_ from the age of four up (students will be admitted at any age), they must remain in the _Ashram_ for the whole course of studies, which lasts about ten years. The children are separated from their parents and families. The parents renounce all authority over them. The children never visit their parents. The pupils wear simple clothes, eat simple food of a strictly vegetarian nature, have no holidays in the ordinary sense of the word, though once a week they are allowed a day and a half in which to do individual creative work. Three months of the year are spent in traveling on foot through India. All pupils must study the Hindi and Dravidian dialects. As a second language, they must learn English, and they must also familiarize themselves with the characters of the five Indian languages (Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, and Davanagri). They are taught, in their own dialect, history, geography, mathematics, economics, and Sanskrit. At the same time they are taught agriculture and spinning and weaving. It goes without saying that a religious atmosphere pervades the whole education. When they have completed their studies, the pupils are allowed to choose between taking the vows, like their teachers, or leaving the school. The tuition is entirely free.

I have described Gandhi's educational system rather fully because it shows the high spirituality of his action, and because he considers this system the mainspring of the whole movement. To build a New India, a new soul, strong and pure, must be wrought out of Indian elements. And this soul can only be developed by a sacred legion of apostles who, like those of Christ, will be as the salt of the earth. Gandhi, unlike our European revolutionaries, is not a maker of laws and ordinances. He is a builder of a new humanity.

§4

Like all governments under similar conditions, the English Government had no realization of what was going on. At first its attitude was one of ironical disdain. The viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, characterized the movement in August, 1920, as "the most foolish of all foolish schemes." But these heights of comfortable condescension had to be abandoned before long. In November, 1920, the Government published a surprised and slightly alarmed proclamation, where threats and paternal advice commingled, warning the people that while the leaders of the movement had not been molested so far because they had not preached violence, orders had now been given to arrest any one who overstepped the bounds and whose words might stir up revolt or in other ways incite to violence.

The bounds were soon overstepped, but by the Government. The non-coöperation movement had been growing and gathering momentum, and the Government was beginning to be seriously alarmed. In December affairs took a decidedly dangerous turn. Until then non-violent non-coöperation had been looked upon as an experiment of a more or less temporary nature, and the Government had flattered itself that when the National Indian Congress met at Nagpur for its December session, non-coöperation would be vetoed. But far from disapproving of non-coöperation, the congress incorporated the idea in the constitution by making the first paragraph read:

The object of the Indian National Congress is the attainment of _Swaraj_--Home Rule--by the people of India by all legitimate and peaceful means.

The congress thereupon confirmed the non-coöperation resolution passed in the special session in September, and enlarged upon it. While the principle of non-violence was upheld absolutely, the general feeling was that every effort must be made to unite all the elements in India in view of a common, sustained action, and the congress not only called upon Hindus and Mussulmans to collaborate loyally, but urged a _rapprochement_ between the privileged and "suppressed" classes. In addition to this the congress made fundamental changes in the constitution, which virtually amounted to the organization of a representative system for all India.[81]

The congress did not try to conceal the fact that it regarded non-coöperation in its present form as a preliminary step only, to be followed, at a time to be determined later, by complete non-coöperation, including a refusal to pay taxes. Until then, however, and in order to pave the way, it urged that the boycott be sharpened, spinning and weaving be encouraged, while an appeal was sent out to students, parents, and magistrates inviting them to practise non-coöperation with greater zeal. Those who did not live up to the decisions of the congress were to be barred from public life.

The resolutions of the congress implied the virtual establishment of a state within a state, the setting up of real Indian rule in opposition to the British Government. England could not countenance this. She had to do something. The Government had to fight or negotiate. A compromise could easily have been reached by negotiation if the Government had been willing to go half-way. The congress had declared that it hoped to reach its goal "with England, if possible," but otherwise "without her." But as is always the case when European politics involve foreign races, no attempt was made to negotiate. Force was resorted to. Pretexts for armed oppression were sought. There was no lack of them.

Despite the principle of non-violence established by Gandhi and the congress, a few riots occurred in various parts of India. It is true that they bore little or no relation to the non-coöperative movement, but, still, there had been and were troubles. In the United Provinces (Allahabad) there were agrarian uprisings, revolts of the tenants against the landowners, and the police had to interfere, and there was some bloodshed. Soon afterward the Akali movement of the Sikhs, although of a purely religious character, adopted non-coöperative methods, and as a result of the agitation some two hundred Sikhs were massacred in February, 1921. No one in good faith could have held Gandhi or his disciples responsible for this drama of fanaticism, but the Government considered it a good opportunity. In March, 1921, the repression began, and it became more and more oppressive as the months passed. The Government justified its intervention by the necessity of protecting the liquor dealers from the fury of the mobs. This was not the first time for European civilization and alcohol to march hand in hand. The volunteer non-coöperation organizations were dissolved. A law was made prohibiting seditious meetings. In certain provinces the police had given _carte blanche_ in suppressing the movement, which was called "revolutionary and anarchistic." Thousands of Indians were arrested, and some of India's most respected citizens were summarily jailed and brutalized. Naturally, this procedure stirred up bad blood, and here and there the people and the constables clashed. Some houses were burned and people pounded. This was the situation in India when the committee of the All-Indian congress met at Bezwada in the end of March to discuss civil disobedience. With rare moderation and foresight it voted against it, on the ground that the country was not yet prepared to wield this double-edged sword. Civil disobedience would be urged later. For the present there could only be a sort of civil and financial mobilization.

Meanwhile Gandhi continued more and more actively his campaign for the unity of India. He tried to unite all religions, races, parties, and castes. He called upon the Parsees,[82] the rich, prosperous merchant class, more or less tainted, as he expressed it, with the spirit of Rockefeller, and he called upon Hindus and Mussulmans to form a solid alliance. The relations between Hindus and Mussulmans were continually embittered by prejudices, mutual fear, and suspicion. Gandhi devoted himself to bringing the two races into harmonious collaboration,[83] and without advocating or desiring an impossible fusion between the two peoples, he tried to unite them in friendship.[84]

His keenest efforts, however, were given to the regeneration of the "suppressed" classes, the pariahs. His passionate appeals for the pariahs, his cries of sorrow and indignation at the monstrous social iniquity which oppressed them, would, alone, immortalize his name. His feeling for the outcasts dates back to his boyhood. He tells how, when he was a boy,[85] a pariah used to come to the house to do all the coarse work. As a boy Gandhi was told never to touch the pariah without purifying himself afterward by ablutions. He could not understand why, and often asked his parents about it. At school he frequently touched the untouchables, and his mother told him that he could escape the consequences of this unholy touch only by touching a Mohammedan. To Gandhi it all seemed absurdly unfair, cruelly unjustified. At the age of twelve he made up his mind to wipe this stain off India's conscience. He planned to come to the rescue of his degraded brothers. And never has Gandhi's mind revealed itself clearer and more unbiased than when he pleads their cause. What their cause means to him may be gathered from the fact that he says he would give up his religion (he to whom religion is everything!) if any one can prove to him that untouchability is one of its dogmas. The unjust pariah system justified, in his eyes, everything that has been inflicted on India by other nations.

If the Indians have become the pariahs of the empire, it is retributive justice, meted out to us by a just God.... Should we Hindus not wash our blood-stained hands before we ask the English to wash theirs? Untouchability has degraded us, made us pariahs in South Africa, East Africa, Canada. So long as Hindus willfully regard untouchability as part of their religion, so long _Swaraj_ is impossible of attainment. India is guilty, England has done nothing blacker. The first duty is to protect the weak and helpless and never injure the feelings of any individual. We are no better than brutes until we have purged ourselves of the sins we have committed against our weaker brethren.

Gandhi wanted the national congress to better the condition of the pariah brothers by giving them schools and wells, for pariahs were not allowed to use the public wells. But until then? Unable to wait with folded hands for the privileged classes to condescend to make good their cruelty, Gandhi went over to the pariahs. He placed himself at their head and tried to organize them. He discussed their problems with them. What ought they to do? Appeal to the English Government? Place themselves at its disposal? This would only mean a change of slavery. Abandon Hinduism? (Note the broad-minded audacity of a Hindu believer!) Become Christians or Mohammedans? Gandhi would almost advise them to do so if Hinduism really stood for untouchability. But it doesn't. Untouchability is only a morbid excrescence of Hinduism, which must be extirpated. The pariahs must organize themselves in self-defense. They might, of course, adopt the principles of non-coöperation in regard to Hinduism by refusing to have any relations with the Hindus (singularly audacious advice of social revolt on the lips of a patriot like Gandhi!). But the difficulty is that the pariahs have no leaders and cannot organize themselves. The best thing, therefore, is for them to join the general non-coöperation movement, since its object is harmony among all classes. Real non-coöperation is a religious act of purification, and no one can take part in it who believes in untouchability. Gandhi in this way combines religion, humanity, and patriotism.[86]

A certain solemnity attended the first efforts to group the pariahs. A "suppressed-classes conference" took place at Ahmedabad on April 13 and 14, 1921. Gandhi presided at the conference and made one of his most beautiful speeches. He not only demanded the suppression of the pariah system but urged the untouchables to rise to the occasion and show the best that was in them. He expects great things from the pariahs, he says, in the social life of regenerated India. He tries to instill self-confidence in them and fill them with his own burning ideal. In the "suppressed classes," he says, he sees tremendous latent possibilities. He believes that within five months the untouchable class will be able to win, by its own merits, the place it deserves within the great Indian family.

Gandhi had the joy of seeing his appeal find echo in the hearts of the people. In many parts of India the pariahs were emancipated.[87] The day before his arrest Gandhi made a speech recording the progress of the pariah cause. The Brahmans were helping. The privileged classes were giving touching examples of remorse and fraternal love. Gandhi cites the case of a young Brahman who at nineteen became a street-sweeper, to live among the untouchables.[88]

§ 5

With equal generosity Gandhi took up another great cause, that of women.

The sexual problem is a peculiarly difficult one in India, throbbing with an all-pervading, oppressive, and badly directed sensuality. Child marriages weaken the physical and moral resources of the nation. The obsession of the flesh weighs on men's minds and is an insult to woman's dignity. Gandhi publishes the complaints of Hindu women at the degrading attitude of Hindu nationalists.[89] Gandhi takes the women's side. Their protest, he says, proves that there is another sore in India as bad as that of untouchability. But the woman question is not a purely Indian problem. The whole world suffers from it. As with the pariahs, he expects more from the oppressed than from the oppressors. He calls upon women to demand and inspire respect by ceasing to think of themselves as the objects of masculine desire only. Let them forget their bodies and enter into public life, assume the risks, and suffer the consequences of their convictions. Women should not only renounce luxury and throw away or burn foreign goods, but they should share men's problems and privations. Many distinguished women have faced arrest and imprisonment in Calcutta. This shows the proper spirit. Instead of asking for mercy, women should vie with men in suffering for the cause. When it comes to suffering, women will always surpass men. Let women have no fear. The weakest will be able to preserve her honor. "One who knows how to die need never fear."

Nor does Gandhi forget the fallen sisters.[90] He tells of conversations with them in the provinces of Andhra and Barisal, where they met in conference. He spoke to them nobly and simply, and they replied, confided in him, and asked his advice. He tried to suggest some way in which they might make an honest living, and proposed spinning. They agreed to begin the very next day if assured of encouragement and assistance. And then Gandhi turned to the men of India; called upon them to respect women:

Gambling in vice has no place in our revolution. _Swaraj_, home rule, means that we must regard every inhabitant of India as our own brother or sister. Woman is not the weaker sex, but the better half of humanity, the nobler of the two; for even to-day it is the embodiment of sacrifice, silent suffering, humility, faith, and knowledge. Woman's intuition has often proved truer than man's arrogant assumption of knowledge.

In the women of India, beginning with his own wife, Gandhi always found intelligent aid and understanding, and among them he recruited some of his best disciples.

§ 6

In 1921 Gandhi's power was at its apogee. His authority as a moral leader was vast, and without having sought it, almost ilimited political authority had been placed in his hand. The people looked upon him as a saint. Pictures were painted representing him as Sri-Krishna.[91] And at the end of the year, in December, the All-India National Congress delegated its powers to him and authorized him to appoint his successor. He was the undisputed master of India's policy. It was up to him to start a political revolution, if he saw fit, or even to reform religion.

He did not do so. He did not wish to do so. Moral grandeur? Moral hesitancy? Both, perhaps. It is very difficult for one human being really to understand another, particularly if they belong to different races and civilizations. And how much more difficult when a spirit so deep and subtle as Gandhi's is to be considered! In the maze of events which took place in India, in this tumultuous year, it is hard to ascertain whether the pilot's hand did not tremble, but, always firm and sure, steered the colossal ship along the chosen course. I will try, however, to explain my feeling in regard to the living enigma, and I will do so with the religious respect which I have for this great man and the sincerity which I owe to his sincerity.

If Gandhi's power was great, the danger of abusing it was equally great. As the effect of his campaign, by the slightest ripple, affected hundreds of millions of men, it became more and more difficult to direct the movement and at the same time remain firm in the midst of the turbulent ocean. A superhuman problem indeed, to conciliate moderation and high-mindedness with surging, unbridled mob passions! The pilot, gentle and pious, prays and relies on God; but the voice that comes to him is almost lost in the roar of the tempest. Will it ever reach the others?

There is no danger of his being swept off his feet by pride. No amount of adoration can turn his head. On the contrary, it wounds not only his sense of fitness of things, but his spirit of humility. Gandhi is an exception among prophets and mystics, for he sees no visions, has no revelations; he does not try to persuade himself that he is guided supernaturally, nor does he try to make others believe it. Radiant sincerity is his. His forehead remains calm and clear, his heart devoid of vanity. He is a man, like all other men. He is _not_ a saint. He will not have the people call him one. (Yet his very attitude proves that he is one.)

The word "saint," he says, should be ruled out of present life.

I pray like every good Hindu. I believe we can all be messengers of God. I have no special revelations of God's will. My firm belief is that He reveals himself daily to every human being, but that we shut our cars to the "still small voice." ... I claim to be nothing but a humble servant of India and humanity. I have no desire to found a sect. I am really too ambitious to be satisfied with a sect for a following, for I represent no new truths. I endeavor to follow and represent truth as I know it. I do claim to throw a new light on many an old truth.[92]

Personally, he is always modest, conscientious in the extreme, incapable of narrow-mindedness whether as Indian patriot or apostle of non-coöperation. He sanctions no tyranny, not even for the good of the cause. Government oppression must never be replaced by non-coöperative oppression.[93] Gandhi will not set his country up against other countries; his patriotism is not confined to the boundaries of India. "For me, patriotism is the same as humanity. I am patriotic because I am human and humane. My patriotism is not exclusive. I will not hurt England or Germany to serve India. Imperialism has no place in my scheme of life. A patriot is so much less a patriot if he is a lukewarm humanitarian."[94]

But have his disciples always felt this way? And, on their lips, what becomes of Gandhi's doctrine? And, interpreted by them, how does it reach the masses?

When Rabindranath Tagore, after traveling several years in Europe, returned to India in August, 1921, he was astounded at the change in the mentality of the people. Even before his return he had expressed his anxiety in a series of letters sent from Europe to friends in India. Many of these letters were published in his "Modern Review."[95] The controversy between Tagore and Gandhi, between two great minds, both moved by mutual admiration and esteem, but as fatally separated in their feeling as a philosopher can be from an apostle, a St. Paul from a Plato, is important. For on the one side we have the spirit of religious faith and charity seeking to found a new humanity. On the other we have intelligence, free-born, serene, and broad, seeking to unite aspirations of all humanity in sympathy and understanding.

Tagore always looked upon Gandhi as a saint, and I have often heard him speak of him with veneration. When, in referring to the Mahatma, I mentioned Tolstoi, Tagore pointed out to me, and I realize it now that I know Gandhi better--how much more clothed in light and radiance Gandhi's spirit is than Tolstoi's. With Gandhi everything is nature--modest, simple, pure--while all his struggles are hallowed by religious serenity, whereas with Tolstoi everything is proud revolt against pride, hatred against hatred, passion against passion. Everything in Tolstoi is violence, even his doctrine of non-violence. On April 10, 1921, Tagore wrote from London, "We are grateful to Gandhi for giving India a chance to prove that her faith in the divine spirit of man is still living." Despite the misgivings he had expressed as to Gandhi's campaign, Tagore, when he left France to return to India, sincerely planned to back Gandhi in every way. And even the manifesto of October, 1921, which I will discuss later--the "Appeal to Truth," which marked the break between the two men--begins with one of the most beautiful tributes to Gandhi that have ever been written.

Gandhi's attitude to Tagore is one of loving regard, and it does not change even when the two disagree. You feel that Gandhi is loath to enter into polemics with Tagore, and when certain kind friends try to embitter the debate by repeating personal remarks, Gandhi bids them be silent and explains how much he owes Tagore.[96]

Yet it was inevitable that the breach between the two men would widen. As far back as in 1920 Tagore had deplored that the overflowing wealth of Gandhi's love and faith should be made to serve political ends, as it had since Tilak's death. Of course Gandhi had not entered the political arena with a light heart. But when Tilak died, India was left without a political leader, and some one had to take his place.

As Gandhi says:[97]

If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics to-day encircle us like the coils of a snake from which one cannot get out no matter how one tries. I wish to wrestle with the snake.... I am trying to introduce religion into politics.

But this Tagore deplores. Writing September 7, 1920, he says, "We need all the moral force which Mahatma Gandhi represents, and which he alone in the world can represent." That such a precious treasure should be cast out on the frail bark of politics and subjected to the incessant lashing of the waves of conflicting and irritated passions is a serious misfortune for India, whose mission, says Tagore, "is to awaken the dead to life by soul-fire." The wasting of spiritual resources in problems which, when considered in the light of abstract moral truth, are unworthy, is to be regretted. "It is criminal to transform moral force into force."

This is what Tagore felt at the spectacular launching of the non-coöperation campaign and at the unrest stirred up in the name of the Khilafat cause and the massacres of the Punjab. He feared the results of the campaign on an easily excitable mob subject to attacks of hysterical fury. He would have liked to turn people's minds away from vengeance and dreams of impossible redress; he would have had them forget the irreparable and devote all efforts to constructing and fashioning a new soul for India. And although he admired Gandhi's doctrines and the ardent fire of his spirit of self-sacrifice, he hated the element of negation contained in non-coöperation. Tagore instinctively recoiled from everything that stood for "No."

And this conviction leads him to compare the positive ideal of Brahmanism, which demands that the joys of life be welcomed but purified, to the negative ideal of Buddhism, which demands their suppression.[98] To this Gandhi replies that the art of eliminating is as vital as that of accepting.[99] Human progress consists in a combination of the two. The final word in the Upanishads is a negation. The definition of Brahman by the authors of the Upanishads is _neti_, not this! India had lost the power of saying "No." Gandhi has given it back to her. Weeding is as essential as sowing.

But Tagore, apparently, does not believe in weeding. In his poetic contemplation of life he is satisfied with things as they are, and he finds his delight in admiring their harmony. He explains his point of view in lines of great beauty, but detached from real life. His words are like the dance of Nataraja, a play of illusions. Tagore says he tries to tune his spirit up to the great exaltation that is sweeping over the country. But he cannot do so, for in his heart, despite himself, is a spirit of resistance. "In the darkness of my despair," he says, "I see a smile and hear a voice that says, 'Your place is with the children, playing on the beaches of the world, and there I am with you.'" Tagore plays with harmonies, invents new rhythms, "strung out through the hours, like children dancing in the sun and laughing as they disappear." All creation is happy, with Tagore; flowers and leaves are merely rhythms that never cease. God Himself is the supreme juggler, who plays with Time, tossing stars and planets out upon the torrent of appearances, and dropping paper boats filled with dreams into the river of the ages. "When I beg Him to let me be His disciple and to let me place some of the toys of my invention into one of his merry barks. He smiles, and I follow Him, clutching the hem of his gown." Here Tagore feels he is in his place. "But where am I, in a great crowd, squeezed in at all sides? And who can understand the noise I hear? If I hear a song, my sitar can catch the melody, and I can join the chorus, for I am a singer. But in the mad clamor of the crowd, my voice is lost, and I become dizzy." Tagore has tried, in the clamor of non-coöperation, to find a melody, but to no avail. And he says to himself: "If you can't march in step with your compatriots in the greatest crisis of their history, beware of saying they are in the wrong, and you in the right! But give up your place in the ranks, go back to your poet's corner, and be prepared to meet with ridicule and public disgrace."[100]

So would a Goethe speak, an Indian Goethe, Bacchus. And it would seem as if Tagore's mind is made up from now on. The poet bids action farewell, since this action implies a negation, and he withdraws back into the spell of creative enchantment he weaves around himself. But Tagore does not only withdraw. As he says, Fate had decided that he should steer his bark against the current. At the time he was not only the "poet" but the spiritual ambassador of Asia to Europe; he had just returned from Europe, where he had asked people to coöperate in creating a world university at Santiniketan. What an irony of destiny that he should be preaching cooperation between Occident and Orient at one end of the world, when at that very moment non-coöperation was being preached at the other end![101]

Non-coöperation wounded him doubly, therefore, in his work as well as in his conception of life. "I believe," he says, "in the real union of Orient and Occident."

Non-coöperation clashed with his way of thinking, for his mentality, his rich intelligence, had been nourished on all the cultures of the world. "All humanity's greatest is mine," he says. "The _infinite personality of man_ (as the Upanishads say) can only come from the magnificent harmony of all human races. My prayer is that India may represent the coöperation of all the peoples of the world. For India, unity is truth, and division evil. Unity is that which embraces and understands everything; consequently, it cannot be attained through negation. The present attempt to separate our spirit from that of the Occident is an attempt at spiritual suicide.... The present age has been dominated by the Occident, because the Occident had a mission to fulfill. We of the Orient should learn from the Occident. It is regrettable, of course, that we had lost the power of appreciating our own culture, and therefore did not know how to assign Western culture to its right place. But to say that it is wrong to coöperate with the West is to encourage the worst form of provincialism and can produce nothing but intellectual indigence. The problem is a world problem. No nation can find its own salvation by breaking away from others. We must all be saved or we must all perish together."[102]