Page:Mahatma Gandhi, his life, writings and speeches.djvu/340

 the theory as near as possible. There are still certain laws in South Africa, for instance, the law of 1885, the trade license laws of the Cape and Natal, which continue to cause worry. The administration of the Immigration Law is not all that it should be. For these, however, passive resistance is not applied and is at present inapplicable, its application being confined to grievances which are generally felt in a community and are known to hurt its self-respect or conscience. Any of the grievances referred to by me may, any day, advance to that stage. Till then, only the ordinary remedies of petition etc., can be adopted. Letters received from South Africa, show that difficulties are being experienced in some cases acutely by our countrymen, and if much has not been heard of them in India just now, it is because of the extraordinary self-restraint of our countrymen in South Africa, during the crisis that has overtaken the Empire.  AHIMSA

There seems to be no historical warrant for the belief that an exaggerated practice of Ahimsa synchronised with our becoming bereft of manly virtues! During the past 1,500 years we have, as a nation, given ample proof of physical courage, but we have been torn by internal dissensions and have been dominated by love of self instead of love of country 