Civil Disobedience in Indian Tradition, with Some Early Nineteenth Century Documents c5.13

c5.13

Whatever may have been the ruler-ruled relationship in ancient times or the few centuries of Turk or Mughal dominance, in the late seventeenth and eighteenth century, according to James Mill, ‘in the ordinary state of things in India, the princes stood in awe of their subjects.’¹² Further, according to Gandhiji, that ‘we should obey laws whether good or bad is a new fangled notion. There was no such thing in former days. The people disregarded those laws they did not like.’¹³ Elaborating on the idea of passive resistance, Gandhiji stated: