by Annie Hewitt The Patna Surrender (1922-1924) was Gandhi’s response to a split in the Congress Party based on whether or not to take part in local councils set up by the British. On one side was Nehru and his supporters, convinced that Indians should participate in the councils even though they were largely symbolic… read more
Definitions
glossary category
Obstructive Program
Obstructive Program is the use of civil disobedience to change an unjust or oppressive social order. Obstructive program together with constructive program make up the two branches of Gandhi’s Satyagraha. This term was coined by Michael Nagler.… read more
Patna Surrender
The Patna Surrender was an event that took place during the time from 1922 to 1924 when Gandhi was in prison. A disagreement among Congress Party members over how to proceed in his absence led to a split that threatened to divide the party. Gandhi surrendered to the opposing side’s views in order to keep… read more
effervescence of the crowd
Effervescence of the crowd is a term used to describe the tendency of people to feed off of a momentary sense of excitement, taking to the streets and appearing briefly to be mobilized for a cause, only for the initial excitement to wear off and for the energy to dissipate (or worse, degenerate into violence… read more
interposition
In third party nonviolent intervention, interposition is the act of literally getting in between conflicting parties to deter them from using violence against one another. Commonly, it is assumed that interposition owes its effectiveness to the conflicting parties’ unwillingness to harm an innocent bystander. However, there is also a more subtle and compelling reason for why… read more
non-embarrassment
Non-embarrassment is a nonviolent strategic principle employed by Gandhi. “Embarassment,” in this context refers to the alternate definition of embarrass, “to confuse, flummox.” The principle states that one should never persist actively in a nonviolent resistance campaign towards an opponent while that opponent is distracted. There are two main reasons, both derived from the intention… read more
reference public
Reference public is the term used to describe those who stand to have their views on a given issue influenced through witnessing a nonviolent struggle. It is particularly used in relation to the paradox of repression, when witnesses are liable to take the side of the nonviolent activists they see suffering escalating violence from the authorities.… read more
Nai Talim
Literally “New Education,” one of the eighteen projects in Gandhi’s constructive program. The Gandhian approach to basic education is a holistic one, where all aspects of the individual—intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual—are cultivated in a curriculum that integrates learning with hands on work that prepares young people for their life in the world, rather than… read more
Oceanic Circle
Oceanic circle describes Gandhi’s vision of social organization. Gandhi believed that for a nonviolent society to achieve a lasting peace, it must be organized in a decentralized way. In Gandhi’s own words: “Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village will be a republic or panchayat having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every… read more
Sacrifice Trap
The sacrifice trap is a term coined by peace researcher Kenneth Boulding. It describes a situation, often in war, in which a decision maker does not withdraw from the situation because of the sacrifices already made for the cause. The US involvement in Vietnam continued for years because of the sacrifice trap.… read more
