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 it is that they should realise their power.

That is why Vinoba insisted on Loka Sakti (People’s Power), He used to say, “Government alone is like a Zero ©). People are like one.(1) If people are behind Government, its power js raised to Ten. (10)” Did I not refer to this in one of my earlier

letters? With love,

Yours, L.N. Godbole

A 17th June, 1990 My dear Pranav,

The Sarvodaya Conference held at Chandil in Singhbhum district of Bihar was a major landmark in the life of Vinoba. There, for the first time, in a very cogent manner, Vinoba expounded his ideas of the “Third Power’, which is different from the “Power of Violence” (Himsa Shakti) and the “Power of State” (Danda Shakti). He called it “People’s Power” (Loka Shakti). He delivered a major speech on it at the Chandil Conference on 9th March, 1953 (1).

Vinoba firmly believed that his job was to awaken this people’s power, which is latent in every individual. Unless this latent power is unleashed, real democracy will not prevail. People must be made strong. Unless the people are strong and self-reliant, they really cannot control State Power. Vinoba even went to the extent of saying that he was more afraid of “good” government (Su-rajya) than “bad” government. The people fight the bad government, and throw it out, as they did in India in 1947, But if a really good government exists, it will make people crippled and dependent on it. Vinoba saw a great danger in Surajya. After all, an individual is a reality

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