Civil Disobedience in Indian Tradition, with Some Early Nineteenth Century Documents c5.s3.18

c5.s3.18

Without, perhaps, fully comprehending the implications of their observations, both U.N. Dhebar and K. Santhanam have pointed to the central issue. According to Dhebar: ‘The question of *satyagraha* [in the context of democracy] can only arise from the perpetuation of an act or undertaking an activity which destroys the very foundation of the state or its constitution.’³⁴ For Santhanam, *satyagraha* may be the quickest means of defending³⁵ the fundamental rights of the people. Where they, along with many others, have erred is in taking a mechanical view of what acts destroy ‘the very foundation of the state or its constitution’ or what constituted ‘fundamental rights’.