Civil Disobedience in Indian Tradition, with Some Early Nineteenth Century Documents c5.s3.20

c5.s3.20

The reasons why the British would not attend to such protests are closely linked with the lack of assurance they possessed till the very end about the legitimacy of their rule in India. In contrast, most Indian political authorities prior to British rule had much greater assurance about such legitimacy. Hence, their surrendering to the protests of the people and altering or abandoning the decisions or enactments concerned did not in any material sense challenge the legitimacy of their rule. Rather, the willingness to listen and the ability to retract unpopular acts and decisions further confirmed such habit and legitimacy both in their own view and that of the people. Only a legitimate ruler, i.e., one who was accepted to be such by the populace, could in fact make such surrender and retraction.