Gandhi and his critics

GandhiŽs Satyagraha and his principle of non-violence causes a lot of critic too.

After his death even between his followers began a conflict. Some of them see him as a saint, some of them as a politician. But in the discussions between his followers most of them think, that GandhiŽs non-violent resistance is not practicable any more,because the political system in India changed(India gets independent). They say, if the political situation progressed, Satyagraha should progress too.

Other critic comes from Gene Sharp. He is a theorist of pragmatic non-violence. In his opinion most of the people, who have chosen non-violence, simply did it because they have no other option. He insinuate that those people never had the aim to make peace, they just want to win. He finds fault with GandhiŽs religious symbolism too. He think that it just confuses the people more than it clarifies something. He says,that he has to make GandhiŽs speeches understandable to them.

George Orwell, an British writer and journalist, once said about Gandhi, that he sees him as a right-hand man of the British, because he makes it easier for them to rule. He thinks in this way, because he sees in non-violence just that Gandhi made sure that no action was taken against the British.

If you consider GandhiŽs Satyagraha under the aspect of winning the conflict,and not to change the way of thinking, you can argument in the way the following critics did...

Some people who are thinking about class struggle, see in non-violence just an opportunity to be beaten, arrested and tortured and surely no way of winning the conflict.

Another critic is the social activist Saul Alinsky. He speculates: “If Gandhi had had the weapons and the people to use them, this means would not have been so rejected as the world would like to think.” he thinks, that Gandhi used non-violence just because it was the only realistic program he can use in his situation.

But in the end of this report we must think about the aspect the critics did not think about and the point they never criticises: They never say anything about the idea which is founded to Satyagraha – having a peaceful and just society. They just can criticise the way to get it.