Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/808

 718 NON-CO-OPERATION

long even with a discussiin of the main principles* I did not therefore discuss the important side issues in it but reserved them for the Notes.

Such for instance are the questions :

(ij When can even individual civil disobedience be resumed ?

(2) What kind of violence will stop civil disobedi- ence i

(3; Is there rcom for self-defence in the limited conception of non-violence ?

(4) Supposing the Mussalmans or the Hindus secede, can a non-violent campaign be carried on by one community alone ?

(5) Supposing Hindus and Mussalmans both reject me, what would become of my preaching ?

I shall take the questions seriatim. Civil disobedi- ence, even individual civil disob?dtence requires a trarquil atmosphere. It must not be commenced till the workers have assimilated the spirit of non-violence and have procured a certificate of merit from the co-operators whether English or Indian, /.<?., till they have really ceased to think ill o: them. The surest test will be when our meetings are purged of intolerance and our writings of bitterness. Another necsssary test will be our serious handling of the constructive programme. If we cannot settle down to it, to me it will be proof positive of our cisbelief in the capacity of non-violence to achieve the purpose.

It is not every kind of violence that will stop <:ivil disobedience. I should not be dismayed by family feuds even though they may be sanguinary. Nor will the violence of robbers baffle me though they would be to me an indication of the absence of general puriiica-

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