Civil Disobedience in Indian Tradition, with Some Early Nineteenth Century Documents c5.s3.34

c5.s3.34

Thus, while it is admitted that non-cooperation and civil disobedience are legitimate and valid when used against foreign rule, they are treated as illegitimate and invalid when used against indigenous governments and authorities. It is in this context that various leaders of India (not to mention teachers of history, political theory, etc.), while in general standing for an eventually classless and egalitarian society and a welfare state, have in effect allowed themselves to become the new defendants of the infallibility of the present state system. Such a doctrine—and more so, support for it—not only goes against all that Gandhiji advocated and did during his long public life, it is also contrary to the very psyche of the Indian people which has traditionally sustained the practice of non-cooperation and civil disobedience.