§ 2
Again Gandhi believed the country was ripe for civil disobedience en masse. The signal was to be given in a model district, at Bardoli, in the province of Bombay.113 Here Gandhi’s ideas had always been understood and followed. In an open letter to the viceroy, dated February 9, 1922, Gandhi set forth his program. The letter is a courteous, but clear, declaration of war. Gandhi says he is the leader of the non-coöperation movement, and he claims responsibility for it. Bardoli will be the first unit of non-violent mass revolt against a government which has brutally infringed upon freedom of the press, of association, and of speech. Gandhi gives Lord Reading seven days in which to announce a change of policy. If the “viceroy will not or cannot see such an incredibly simple issue,” civil disobedience will be proclaimed.114
Scarcely had the letter, to the viceroy been despatched when there occurred an outbreak more violent than any of the others. During a procession at Chauri-Chaura, in the district of Gorakhpur, or, rather, after the procession had passed, some stragglers were “interfered with and abused by the constables.” Attacked by the mob, the constables opened fire, and when they exhausted their ammunition they retired to the thana (the police barracks) for safety. The mob set fire to the thana. In vain the besieged begged for mercy. They were pitilessly massacred and burned. As the provocation had come from them, however, and as no non-coöperation volunteer had had a hand in the attack, Gandhi would have been justified in disclaiming all responsibility for the outrage. But he had really become the conscience of India. The crime of a single one of his people cut him to the quick. He took upon himself all the sins of his people. His horror was such that on the spur of the moment, and for the second time, he stopped the civil-disobedience movement that he had just launched. The situation was vastly more complicated than after the Bombay riots, and only a few days before he had sent his ultimatum to the viceroy. How could he retract it without making his program seem illogical and even ridiculous? “Satan,” as Gandhi says, “forbade it.” Realizing that “Satan’s” voice was the voice of pride, he decided to retract the manifesto.
And on February 16,1922, there appeared in “Young India” one of the most extraordinary human documents ever written. It is Gandhi’s mea culpa, his public confession. From the depths of his mortification words of thanks swell to his lips, of thanks to God for having humbled him:
God has been abundantly kind to me. He has warned me for the third time that there is not as yet in India that truthful and non-violent atmosphere which, and which alone, can justify mass disobedience, which can be at all described as “civil,” which means gentle, truthful, humble, knowing, wilful, yet loving, never criminal and hateful. He warned me in 1919 when the Rowlatt Act agitation was started. Ahmedabad, Viramvrag, and Kheda erred. I retraced my steps, called it a Himalayan miscalculation, humbled myself before God and man, and stopped not merely mass civil disobedience, but even my own.... The next time it was through the events of Bombay that God gave me a terrific warning. He made me eyewitness.... I announced my intention to stop the mass civil disobedience which was to be immediately started in Bardoli. The humiliation was greater than that in 1919. But it did me good and I am sure that the nations gained by the stopping. India stood for truth and non-violence by the suspension.
But the bitterest humiliation was still to come.... God spoke clearly through Chauri-Chaura.... And when India claims to be non-violent and hopes to mount the throne of liberty through non-violent means, mob violence even in answer to grave provocation is a bad augury.... Non-violent attainment of self-government presupposes a non-violent control over the violent elements in the country. Non-violent non-coöperators can only succeed when they have succeeded in attaining control over the hooligan of India....
Therefore, on February 11, at Bardoli, he “put his doubts and troubles” before the working committee of the congress. They did not all agree with him. “But never,” he said, “has a man been ‘blessed,’ perhaps, with colleagues and associates so considerate and forgiving.”
They sympathized with his scruples and consented, at his request, to suspend the order of civil disobedience, urging at the same time that all organizations strive to create an atmosphere of non-violence.
I know that the drastic reversal of practically the whole of the aggressive program may be politically unsound and unwise, but there is no doubt that it is religiously sound. The country will have gained by my humiliation and confession of error. The only virtue I want to claim is truth and non-violence. I lay no claim to superhuman powers. I want none. I wear the same corruptible flesh that the weakest of my fellow-beings wear, and am therefore as liable to err as any. My services have many limitations, but God has up to now blessed them in spite of the imperfections.
For confession of error is like a broom that sweeps away dirt and leaves the surface cleaner and brighter. I feel stronger for my confession. And the cause must prosper for the retracing. Never has a man reached his destination by persistence in deviation from the straight path. It has been urged that Chauri-Chaura cannot affect Bardoli.... I have no doubt whatsoever on that account. The people of Bardoli are, in my opinion, the most peaceful in India. But Bardoli is but a speck on the map of India. Its effort cannot succeed unless there is perfect coöperation from the other parts.... Just as the addition of a grain of arsenic to a pot of milk renders it unfit as food so will the civility of Bardoli prove unacceptable by the addition of the deadly poison from Chauri-Chaura.... The latter represents India as much as Bardoli. Chauri-Chaura is, after all, an aggravated symptom. In civil disobedience there should be no excitement. Civil disobedience is a preparation for mute suffering. Its effect is marvelous, though unperceived and gentle.... The tragedy of Chauri-Chaura is really the index-finger. It shows the way India may easily go if drastic precautions be not taken. If we are not to evolve violence out of non-violence, it is quite clear that we must hastily retrace our steps and reestablish an atmosphere of peace, and not think of starting mass civil disobedience until we are sure of peace being retained in spite of mass civil disobedience being started and in spite of government provocation.... Let the opponent glory in our humiliation and so-called defeat. It is better to be charged with cowardice than to be guilty of denial of our oath and sin against God....
And the apostle wants to redeem the blood shed by others:
I must undergo personal cleansing. I must become a fitter instrument able to register the slightest variation in the moral atmosphere about me. My prayers must have deeper truth and humility. For me there is nothing so cleansing as a fast. A fast undertaken for fuller self-expression, for attainment of the spirit’s supremacy over the flesh, is a most powerful factor in one’s evolution....115
And he imposes on himself a continuous five days’ fast. He does not want his co-workers to follow his example. He must punish himself. “I am in the unhappy position of a surgeon proved skill-less to deal with an admittedly dangerous case. I must either abdicate or acquire greater skill.” His fast is penance and punishment for him and for the rioters of Chauri-Chaura who sinned with his name on their lips. Gandhi would like to suffer for them alone, but he advises them to hand themselves voluntarily to the Government and to make a clean confession, for they have injured the cause they meant to serve.
I would suffer humiliation, every torture, absolute ostracism, and death itself to prevent the movement from becoming violent or a precursor of violence.
The history of humanity’s spiritual progress can point to few pages as noble as these. The moral value of such an action is incomparable, but as a political move it was disconcerting. Gandhi himself admits it might be called “politically unsound and unwise.” It is dangerous to assemble all the forces of a nation and to hold the nation, panting, before a prescribed movement, to lift one’s arm to give the final command, and then, at the last moment, let one’s arm drop and thrice call a halt just as the formidable machinery has been set in motion. One risks ruining the brakes and paralyzing the impetus.
Therefore, when the congress committee held its session at Delhi, February 24, 1922, Gandhi met with great opposition. The resolutions of the working committee of Bardoli, approved on the eleventh, were not ratified without discussion. The non-coöperators split into two camps. Gandhi claimed that before civil disobedience could be launched the people must be better prepared, and he submitted a constructive program. But many members were irritated at the slow progress of the independence movement, and they protested against the suspension of civil disobedience. Gandhi’s methods, they claimed, were stifling the nation’s ardor. A vote of censure against the working committee was proposed, and it was suggested that its resolutions be annulled. In the end, however, Gandhi triumphed. But he suffered keenly, for he realized that the majority was not backing him sincerely; he knew that more than one of those who voted for him called him “dictator” behind his back. He knew that, at bottom, he no longer reflected the sentiment of the country. And with his undaunted sincerity he admits this, March 2, 1922:
There is so much undercurrent of violence, both conscious and unconscious, that I was actually and literally praying for a disastrous defeat. I have always been in a minority. In South Africa I started with practical unanimity, reached a minority of sixty-four and even sixteen, and went up again to a huge majority. The best and the most solid work was done in the wilderness of minority.... I know that the only thing that the Government dreads is this huge majority I seem to command. They little know that I dread it even more than they. I have become literally sick of the adoration of the unthinking multitude. I would feel certain of my ground if I was spat upon by them. A friend warned me against exploiting my “dictatorship.” I have begun to wonder if I am not unconsciously allowing myself to be “exploited”! I confess that I have a dread of it as I never had before. My only safety lies in my shamelessness. I have warned my friends of the committee that I am incorrigible. I shall continue to confess blunders each time the people commit them. The only tyrant I accept in this world is the “still small voice” within. And even though I have to face the prospect of a minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a hopeless minority. That to me is the only truthful position. But I am a sadder and, I hope, a wiser man to-day. I see that our non-violence is skin-deep. We are burning with indignation. The Government is feeding it by its insensate acts. It seems almost as if the Government wants to see this land covered with murder, arson, and rapine in order to be able once more to claim exclusive ability to put them down.
This non-violence, therefore, seems to be due merely to our helplessness. It almost appears as if we are nursing in our bosoms the desire to take revenge the first time we get the opportunity. Can true voluntary non-violence come out of this seeming forced non-violence of the weak? Is it not a futile experiment I am conducting? What if, when the fury bursts, not a man, woman, or child is safe and every man’s hand is raised against his fellow-being? Of what avail is it, then, if I fast myself to death in the event of such a catastrophe coming to pass? Let us be truthful. If it is by force that we wish to gain Swaraj, let us drop non-violence and offer such violence as we may. It would be a manly, honest, and sober attitude, and no one can then accuse us of the terrible charge of hypocrisy.116 If, in spite of all my warnings... the majority did not believe in our goal, although they accepted it without a single material change, I would ask them to realize their responsibility. They are not bound to rush to civil disobedience, but to settle down to the quiet work of construction. If we do not take care, we are likely to be drowned in the waters whose depth we do not know....
Those who do not believe in the creed should surely retire from the congress.
And, turning to the minority, Gandhi adds:
The patriotic spirit demands loyal and strict adherence to non-violence and truth. Those who do not believe in them should retire from the congress organization.
There is bitter sadness, but a proud manliness, in these forceful words. It was the night in Gethsemane. Gandhi’s arrest was imminent. Who knows whether, in his heart, he did not look upon imprisonment as a delivery?