Satyagraha

Satyagraha is Gandhi's method of resisting injustice by firmly adhering to truth without using violence. Literally understood as insistence on truth or truth-force, it combines satya with ahimsa, self-discipline and willingness to suffer rather than inflict suffering.

Moral foundations

Satyagraha assumes that no person possesses the whole truth and that an opponent may be persuaded through reason, moral example and self-suffering. It therefore seeks the opponent's conversion, not defeat or humiliation.

• Ahimsa requires the rejection of physical violence, hatred and revenge.
• The purity of the end depends upon the purity of the means used to attain it.
• A satyagrahi must possess courage and discipline; satyagraha is not passive submission or avoidance of conflict.

How resistance operates

A satyagrahi first employs dialogue, petition and public persuasion. If injustice continues, resistance may take the form of non-cooperation or civil disobedience, while remaining open, peaceful and disciplined.

• People withdraw voluntary support from unjust institutions, authorities or practices.
• An unjust law may be peacefully disobeyed, with participants accepting arrest or punishment without retaliation.
• Voluntary suffering is intended to awaken the conscience of the wrongdoer and expose injustice before the wider public.
• Constructive activity accompanies resistance by promoting self-reliance, social reform and popular capacity for self-rule.

Historical expression in India

Gandhi adapted satyagraha to mass politics through struggles such as Champaran, 1917, Kheda, 1918, the anti-Rowlatt agitation and the Salt Satyagraha, 1930. These movements transformed resistance from armed confrontation into organised mass action grounded in moral legitimacy.