Saturday, January 19, 2013

Gandhi's reply to Why non-violence?

Gandhi:
India could have won freedom about ten years earlier than it did through some violence against the British. But we were not only fighting the British, but also our own causes of poverty, unemployment, and untouchability. A nation becoming free after a violent struggle is bound to capture power in few hands and the suffering of India's large masses would not have changed if we became free by violent means.  I wanted people of India to partner with the English people after independence, so a peaceful transfer of power was necessary.
 PS: This appears to be a composite statement, rather than a direct quote.