This document summarizes a paper presentation on the relevance of Gandhi's concept of non-violence for peaceful co-existence in a globalized world. It discusses key aspects of Gandhi's non-violent movement including the gains of non-violence, how it works as a system, the significance and methods of non-violence. It also covers criticism of non-violence and concludes that strategic non-violent conflicts have overcome dictators and that non-violence addresses peoples' aspirations for democracy and self-rule, contributing to lasting peace.

1. Theme
Peace and Co-existence
Sub Theme
Non-Violence
Title
Relevance of Gandhian Concept of Non-Violence for
Peaceful Co-existence in Globalised World
Paper Presentation
by
Dr Mahalaxmi Krishnan, Sr Lecturer, Dept of Commerce
K J Somaiya College of Arts & Commerce, Mumbai
Email: m2krishnan@yahoo.com
Two Day National Seminar on
Peace and Co-existence
to be held on 17th and 18th March 2007
at
K J Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce, Mumbai

2. Presentation includes…
 Introduction
 Gains of Gandhian Non-violence
 Non-violence as a System
 Chemistry of Non-violence
 Significance of Non-violence
 Methods of Non-violence
 Practicing Non-violence
 Green Philosophy and Non-violence
 Criticism of Non-violence
 Conclusions

3. Introduction
 History is replete with violence and war
 War and violence is resorted to as a
means to justify the end
 Every religion on earth preaches peace
and harmony, but
 violent methods are adopted for achieving the
goals
 Non-violent methods as a tool to gain
ascendancy have acquired momentum

4. Scope of the Paper
The paper traces
 the non-violent movement, and
 its relevance in the present context of
integrating the world into a global village.

5. Gains of Gandhian Non-violence
 Till the time of Gandhiji, the world
witnessed either bloody revolutions or
violent mass uprisings.
 India’s freedom struggle was the first non-
violent mass movement in the known
history of mankind.
 It was a revolutionary development in
human history.
 It became a model for so many peaceful
agitations thereafter.

6. Gains of Gandhian Non-violence Examples
 British gave up India after non-violent struggle led by
Gandhi.
 Nazis were resisted non-violently by Danes and other
occupied nations of Europe in World War II
 Blacks in US got civil rights thro non-violence in 1960s
 Polish workers used strikes in 1980 to organize a free
trade union
 Filipinos and Chileans used non-violence to bring down
dictators in 80s.
 South Africa employed boycotts & other sanctions to
dismantle apartheid
 At the end of 1980s, east Europeans and Mongolians
mounted civilian based protests to bring down the
governments
 Serbs ousted Slobadan Milosevic in 2000 after a non-
violent student movement later joined by police and
military

7. Non-violence as a System
 Non-violence is both a political strategy and
moral philosophy that rejects the use of violence
in efforts to attain social or political change
 Non-violence proclaims other means of popular
struggle such as
 civil disobedience,
 non-violent resistance or
 the power of non co-operation combined with
persuasion
 Historically, mass based

8. Non-violence as a System
 The central tenets of non-violent philosophy
exist
 in each of the major Abrahamic religious traditions
(Islam, Judaism and Christianity)
 in the major Dharmic religious traditions (Hinduism,
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism).
 It is also found in many pagan religious
traditions
 Non-violent movements, leaders and advocates
have referred to, drawn from and utilized many
diverse religious bases for non-violence within
their respective struggles.

9. Chemistry of Non-violence
 Non-violent approach to social struggle is a radical
departure from conventional thinking on power and
conflict
 Central to any understanding of non-violent strategic
theory is the idea that the power of rulers depends upon
the consent of the populace.
 Without a bureaucracy, an army or a police force to
carry out his or her wishes and the compliance of key
sectors of the population, the ruler is powerless. Power,
therefore, depends largely on the co-operation of others.
Non-violence seeks to undermine the power of rulers
through the deliberate withdrawal of this consent and
co-operation.

10. Chemistry of Non-violence
 Just means lead to just ends
 Actions taken in the present inevitably re-
shape the social order in like form.
 It is fundamentally irrational to use
violence to achieve a peaceful society.
 Advocates respect and love for opponents

11. Chemistry of Non-violence
 Closely associated with spiritual or religious
justifications of non-violence, as may be seen in the
 Sermon on the Mount when Jesus urges his
followers to "love thine enemy,"
 Taoist concept of wu-wei, or effortless action,
 Philosophy of the martial art Aikido,
 Buddhist principle of metta, or loving-kindness
towards all beings, and
 Principle of ahimsa, or non-violence toward any
being, shared by Buddhism, Jainism and some
forms of Hinduism.

12. Chemistry of Non-violence
 Finally, the notion of Satya, or truth, is central to
the Gandhian idea of non-violence.
 Gandhi saw truth as something that is
multifaceted and unable to be grasped in its
entirety by any one individual.
 We all carry pieces of the truth, he believed, but
we need the pieces of others’ truths in order to
pursue the greater truth. This led him to believe
in the inherent worth of dialogue with opponents,
in order to understand motivations.
 On a practical level, willingness to listen to
another's point of view is largely dependent on
reciprocity. In order to be heard by one's
opponents, one must also be prepared to listen to
others.

13. Significance of Non-violence
 Advocates of non-violence draw their preference either
from religious or ethical beliefs, or from political analysis.
 The first justification is referred to as principled or ethical
non-violence,
 while the second is known as pragmatic or strategic.
 Commonly, both these dimensions may be present within
the thinking of particular movements or individuals.
 In the west, non-violence has been used extensively by the
labor, peace, environment and women's movements, that
is, sectors without mainstream political power.
 Non-violence is undermining repressive regimes

14. Methods of Non-violence
Non-violent actions generally comprises 3
categories viz.,
 Acts of Protest and Persuasion, including protest
marches, vigils, public meetings and tools such
as banners, placards, candles, flowers and the
like,
 Non-cooperation, the deliberate and strategic
refusal to co-operate with an injustice; and
 Non-violent Intervention, the deliberate and
often physical intervention into a perceived
unjust event, such as blockades, occupations,
sit-ins, hunger strike, public demonstration, go-
slow, etc.

15. Methods of Non-violence
There are 3 applications of non-violent actions,
viz.,
 social defense (as in protection of a
neighborhood or country from outside invaders);
 social change (its most known form, for
advocating either reform or revolutionary
changes); and
 third-party non-violent intervention.

16. Practicing Non-violence
 Practicing non-violence goes deeper than
withholding from violent behavior or words.
 It means caring in one's heart for everyone, even
those one strongly disagrees with, that is who are
antithetical or opposed.
 Caring for those who are not practicing non-
violence, who are violent.
 This is one of the great personal challenges posed
by non-violence - once one believes in non-
violence in theory, how can the person live it?
 Gandhi is one classic example of how one lived
and breathed and preached non-violence with a
passion. One has to study his life to understand
the full import of non-violence.

17. Green Philosophy and Non-violence
 Non-violence or passive resistance is core to green
philosophy.
 Greens believe that society should reject the current
patterns of violence and embrace non-violence.
 Green Philosophy draws heavily on Gandhian
philosophy, which advocate measures to avoid
escalation of violence, while not cooperating with those
who commit violence.
 Greens are opposed to nuclear weapons, environmental
degradation
 While Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a
means of settling disputes, the Gandhian concept of
Non-violence on the other hand is all encompassing,
embracing peaceful methods for overcoming any kind of
injustice to mankind.

18. Criticism of Non-violence
 Non-violence and pacifism are attempts to
impose the morals of the bourgeoisie upon the
proletariat
 Violence is a necessary accompaniment to
revolutionary change,
 Right to self-defense is fundamental.
 Human nature is innately selfish
 Non-violence tends to be a slow, gradual means
of achieving political change, and thus the
connection between action and effect is less
apparent than for violence

19. Conclusion
 There is a mistaken impression that history-making
political changes require violent behavior.
 There is a mistaken belief that violence is the ultimate or
even the exclusive form of power, in conflicts with
dictators, invaders and other rights-violating rulers.
 But the truth is that over the last hundred years, bloody
tyrants and even military forces have been neutralized
and overcome through the use of strategic non-violent
conflict.
 There is a growing awakening to the realization that
non-violent campaigns usually produce democratic
results, which in turn contribute to lasting peace. This is
likely to change the nature of peacemaking itself. It
addresses the peoples’ aspirations for genuine self rule
and democracy.

20. Conclusion
 Mahatma Gandhi formulated the ethic of non-
violence in his own way, basing it on the
principle of ahimsa and the law of passive
resistance.
 Gandhi was able to organize an anti-colonial
movement uniting Indians.
 Satyagraha without recourse to violence
 Massive and sustained civil disobedience against
and non-cooperation with the British authorities
 People called Gandhi, a Mahatma, for his valor
and steadfast adherence to the principle of non-
violence. This prepared the ground for Great
Britain to relinquish its dominance in India.

21. Conclusion
 Gandhi involved common people in national
movement.
 He “revolutionalised” freedom struggle by bringing
alienated Indian women.
 He realized that India lives in its villages. They are the
most neglected lot and exploited under feudal colonial
economy for so many centuries.
 He gave the clarion call for the awakening of the
Indian villages. He was an ardent fighter against
inequality, oppression, injustice, violence and all other
social evils.
 He regarded his political work as part of his ethical
philosophy. He believed and propagated that the
ultimate aim of political work is social change and
service to humanity.

22. Conclusion
 Today world is moving towards borderless state.
 The cold war has ended but even in the uni-
polar world, there is unrest in large parts with
people fighting for freedom and democracy.
 While some parts are enmeshed in war, there
are several non-violent conflicts and nascent
civilian based movements that may lead to
regime changes, new democracies and greater
social justice to millions of people.
 The Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
is leading a longtime non-violent movement
against the brutal military dictatorship in Burma.

23. Conclusion
 The war today is both on political and economic
fronts like arms control, the WTO agreement,
etc.
 The idea of disarmament, anti-war sentiments
and movement for peaceful co-existence among
nations are gaining momentum and this is
steeply influenced by the Gandhian Philosophy
of love, compassion, respect, understanding,
appreciation and non-violence.
 Gandhi said that no one can gain anything
ultimately from violence and war.
 Human greed and lust for luxury would
destroy the world while non-violent co-
existence would bring lasting peace and
happiness. <>