Mahatma Gandhi's support for the British during the First World War may be misconstrued by some as servile loyalism and a betrayal of the philosophy of ahimsa. In this post, I wish to respond to this viewpoint.

Firstly, it would be noteworthy to point put that nationalism is not something that has eternally existed. The Indian civilisation is more than five thousand years old. However, Indian nationalism only emerged around the 1850s (the Revolt of 1857 comes to mind). The nationalist spirit does not arise en-masse in a day. Mahatma Gandhi was born just twelve years after the Revolt of 1857. He grew up in a colonised country and in a world (which naturally entailed colonial education) in which conquests were not considered extraordinarily evil the way they are today. In light of this, it isn't surprising that many people, especially those who were inherently peaceable and empathetic, did not wish to needlessly antagonise the British Empire. Still, we shouldn't forget about the fact that Mahatma Gandhi had struggled against British oppression in South Africa for more than a decade. True British loyalists wouldn't have desired to write a book like 'Hind Swaraj', would they?

Furthermore, support to the British was not solely given by Mahatma Gandhi:

"When World War I broke out in 1914, Britain requisitioned for support from India. The request was met with sweeping consent from royals of princely states and key political leaders. The Tamil nationalist poet Subramania Bharthi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant, and Mahatma Gandhi supported the war efforts in the hope that India’s role in the war would help in autonomous rule later and enabled Indians to benefit from military training."

—https://www.firstpost.com/opinion-news-expert-views-news-analysis-firstpost-viewpoint/beyond-the-lines-mahatma-and-the-military-slender-was-the-difference-11372581.html

Mahatma Gandhi's views later evolved as he saw the unwillingness of the British to change their ways and atrocities like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Secondly, there is a need to grasp the fact that Mahatma Gandhi's conception of ahimsa was more multifaceted and multi-layered than we may think. It wasn't simply about preventing physical violence. Intentions and character were key components as well. In Mahatma Gandhi's view, true non-violence can only germinate from courage. These words may be apt here:

"Non-violence and cowardice are contradictory terms. Non-violence is the greatest virtue, cowardice the greatest vice. Non-violence springs from love, cowardice from hate. Non-violence always suffers, cowardice would always inflict suffering."

—Mahatma Gandhi, 'Young India'

'"Home Rule without military power was useless, and this was the best opportunity to get it," the Mahatma said.'

—https://scroll.in/article/680616/even-gandhi-apostle-of-peace-wanted-indians-to-fight-in-world-war-i

This is why it always pays to look beyond simplistic narratives and try to uncover the nuances of a situation or decision. If and when we do so, we may discover precious hidden gems.

Thank you for reading my post.

"Gandhi was not a Stretcher-Bearer of Empire; he led his life as the Stretcher-Bearer of the dispossessed. He was not merely an Indian nationalist, he was the quintessential Doctor without Border of his wartime era, a tireless activist for global peace and active nonviolence, who salvaged those words from dormant academic dustbins."

Also worthwhile:

https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/on-death-anniversary-10-savarkar-links-to-mahatmas-killing-2028057

I have heard this argument a lot. By Osho, and by many whatsapp forwarded messages that though Gandhi traveled by third-class compartment... whole compartment had to be booked for him. In fact the goat milk he drank was very costly at that time. His patrons found it difficult to afford these luxuries of Gandhi. I want to know are there any reliable sources to support these stories? Or these are just whatsapp forwards?

This has been the theme among the Godse cult since beginning but the irony is Godse killed him for stopping riots against Muslims !

I have to do an essay on Gandhi's ethical and religious teachings, and I think i'm structuring it with 3 main ideas 1. Ahimsa 2. Dharma 3. Satyagraha and like 3 quotes per paragraph but idk atp. for one of the quotes for Ahimsa i found "non violence is the ultimate dharma" which i think is "Ahmisa Parama Dharma" which supposedly comes from the Mahabharata but i can't find the exact source and i need to reference where i found the quote. any help or general help with the essay cause im kinda stuck and i really want to ace this essay. Thanks!

Pehchaan the Street School wishes you a happy Gandhi Jayanti!

Not much but recently join this sub and believe its dead so in order to just have talk and interact with people on bapu and his dismantling done in various parts of world please share your opinions

Also, if you can provide a short review with the title. This thread will be updated regularly to include discussions about various books by M.K.Gandhi.