Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/570

 480 EARLIER INDIAN SPEECHES

strike of the Europeans in which methods of violence and use of arms found a prominent place ours was suspended and Scttyagraha from that moment came to be recog- nised by the Europeans of South Africa as an honourable and honest movement ; in the wosds of General Smuts, a constitutional movement. I can do no less at the present critical moment. I would be untrue to Satya- graha if I allowed it by any action of mine to be used as an occasion for feeding violence, for embittering rela- tions between the English and the Indians. Our Satycigraha must, therefore, now consist in ceaselessly helping the authorities in all the ways available to us as Satyagrahis to restore order and to curb lawlessness. We can turn the tragedies going on before us to good account if we could but succeed in gaining the adherence of the masses to the fundamental principles of Satyctgraha* Salyagraha is like a banian tree with in- numerable branches. Civil disobedience is one such branch. Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence) together make the parvnt trunk from which all innumer- able branches shoot out. We have found by bitter experience that whilst in an atmosphere of lawlessness civil disobedience found ready acceptance, Satya (truth) and Ahitusa (non-violence) from which alone civil disobedience can worthily spring, have commanded little or no respect. Ours then is a herculian task, but we may not shirk it. We must fearlessly spread the doctrine of Satya and ahiinsa and then and not till then, shall we be able to undertake mass Satyagraha. My attitude towards the Rowlatt legislation remains unchanged. Indeed, 1 do feel that the Rowlatt legis- lation is one of the many causes of the present unrest. But in a surcharged atmosphere I must refrain from examining these causes. The main and only purpose of this letter is to advise all Satya grahis to temporarily suspend civil disobedience, to give Government effec- tive co-operation in restoring order and by preaching and practice to gam adherence to the fundamental principles mentioned above.

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