National Herald, New Delhi, 11, September, 2005
Herald News Service
NEW DELHI: When Gandhiji advocated Satyagraha before the "school of violence", in 1909, he was confronted with the standard question: "is there any historical evidence as to the success of what you have called soul-force or truth-force?" Gandhiji replied:
". We have evidence of its working at every step. The universe would disappear without the existence of that force. But you ask for historical evidence. It is, therefore, necessary to know what history means. The Gujarati equivalent means: "It so happened". If that is the meaning of history, it is possible to give copious evidence.
But, if it means the doings of kings and emperors, there can be no evidence of soul-force or passive resistance in such history. You cannot expect silver ore in a tin mine. History, as we know it, is a record of the wars of the world, and so there is a proverb among Englishmen that a nation which has no history, that is, no wars, is a happy nation.
How kings played, how they became enemies of one another, how they murdered one another, is found accurately recorded in history, and if this were all that had happened in the world, it would have been ended long ago. ."
11th September should be for all the votaries of nonviolence and Satyagraha a day of celebration of the victory of the soul-force or truth-force, a day to identify them in the silver mine rather than the tin's; to establish in the public memory the history that is not recorded but is lived, the history that is not of the kings and emperors and the rulers and their insatiable hunger for power;.. Within this background we must mourn the rise of violence associated with 11 September 2001 and offer our prayers for the innocent victims.
Mahatma Gandhi has himself described the event of 11 September 1906 as The Advent of Satyagraha or the Birth of Satyagraha. He writes about the assembly which gave birth to Satyagraha, "The old Empire Theatre was packed from floor to ceiling.
I could read in every face the expectation of something strange to be done or to happen..". Further he notes ". None of us knew what name to give to our movement. I then used the term 'passive resistance' in describing it.
I did not quite understand the implications of 'passive resistance' as I called it. I only knew that some new principle had come into being.". This is how what a little later came to be appropriately called Satyagraha was born - on 11th September 1906.
In search of answer to this agonizing question of our times there is an attempt by Swarajpeeth cooperation with Nonviolent Peaceforce to develop a trained civilian peace building and peace keeping force.
In its first phase, a group of men and women will dedicate themselves to be trained as Shanti Sainiks at a function here in Delhi on Sunday the 9/11, 2005.
At the level of community they will work for the cause of communal harmony and dialogue on nonviolent means for trust building and conflict resolution. Â
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