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Socialist Activist who Fought for Indian Independence and Pacifism
: A complex man with a controversial legacy, Mohandas Gandhi remains one of the pioneers of civil disobedience as a political weapon and a giant in 20th century anti-colonialism. (From: Center for a Stateless Society.)
• "...the shape of reproduction on that sacred soil of gun factories and the hateful industrialism which has reduced the people of Europe to a state of slavery, and all but stifled among them the best instincts which are the heritage of the human family." (From: "A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India- Its....)
• "Tolstoy's life has been devoted to replacing the method of violence for removing tyranny or securing reform by the method of nonresistance to evil. He would meet hatred expressed in violence by love expressed in self-suffering. He admits of no exception to whittle down this great and divine law of love. He applies it to all the problems that trouble mankind." (From: "A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India- Its....)
• "The ideally nonviolent state will be an ordered anarchy. That State is the best governed which is governed the least." (From: Gandhi's Wisdom Box (1942), edited by Dewan Ram Pa....)
Part 11, Chapter 62
I HAVE always held that it is physically impossible to violate a woman against her will. The outrage takes place only when she gives way to fear or does not realize her moral strength. If she cannot meet the assailant’s physical might, her purity will give her the strength to die before he succeeds in violating her.
Take the case of Sita. Physically she was a weakling before Ravana, but her purity was more than a match even for his giant might. He tried to win her with all kinds of allurements, but could not carnally touch her without her own physical strength or upon a weapon she possesses, she is sure to be discomfited whenever her strength is exhausted. (H, 1-9-1940, p. 266)
It is my firm conviction that a fearless woman, who knows that her purity is her best shield can never be dishonored. However beastly the man, he will bow in shame before the flame of her dazzling purity. ……
I therefore recommend women…to try to cultivate this courage. They will become wholly fearless if they can and cease to tremble as they do today at the thought of assaults…. Parents and husbands should instruct women in the art of becoming fearless. It can best be learned from a living faith in God. Though He is invisible, He is one’s unfailing protector. He who has this faith is the most fearless of all….
When a woman is assaulted she may not stoop to think in terms of himsa or ahimsa. Her primary duty is self-protection. She is at liberty to employ every method or means that come to her mind in order to defend her honor. God has given her nails and teeth. She must use them with all her strength and, if need be, die in the effort. The man or woman who has shed all fear of death will be able not only to protect himself or herself but others also through laying down hi (or her) life. (H, 1-3-1942, p. 60)
In the society in the midst of which we are living, such outrages take place…. A nonviolent man or woman will and should die without retaliation, anger or malice, in self-defense or in defending the honor of his womenfolk. This is the highest form of bravery. (H, 15-9-1946, p. 312)
The art of dying bravely and with honor does not need any special training, save a living faith in God. (H, 5-10-1947, p. 334)
Prostitution is as sold as the world, but I wonder if it was ever a regular feature of town-life that is today. In any case, the time must come when humanity will rise against the curse and make prostitution a thing of the past, as it has got rid of many evil customs, however time-honored they might have been. (YI, 28-5-1925, p. 187)
The proper method of dealing with brothels is for the women to carry on a double propaganda, (a) among women who sell their honor for a livelihood, and (b) among men whom they must same into behaving better towards their sisters whom they ignorantly or insolently call the weaker sex.
I remember years and years ago in the early nineties when the brave salvation. Army people, at the risk of their own lives, used to carry on picketing at the corners of the notorious streets of Bombay which were filled with houses of ill-fame. There is no reason why some such thing should not be organized on a large scale. (H, 4-9-1937, p. 233)
“Prostitutes” is commonly supposed to apply to women of lewd character. But the men who indulge in vice are just as much, if not more, prostitutes than the women, who, in many instances, have to sell their bodies for the sake of earning a livelihood. The evil practice should be declared illegal. But the law can only help to a point. The evil exists clandestinely in every country in spite of the law. Vigorous public opinion can help the law as it also hinders. (H, 15-9-1946, p. 310)
From : TheAnarchistLibrary.org
Socialist Activist who Fought for Indian Independence and Pacifism
: A complex man with a controversial legacy, Mohandas Gandhi remains one of the pioneers of civil disobedience as a political weapon and a giant in 20th century anti-colonialism. (From: Center for a Stateless Society.)
• "...the shape of reproduction on that sacred soil of gun factories and the hateful industrialism which has reduced the people of Europe to a state of slavery, and all but stifled among them the best instincts which are the heritage of the human family." (From: "A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India- Its....)
• "The ideally nonviolent state will be an ordered anarchy. That State is the best governed which is governed the least." (From: Gandhi's Wisdom Box (1942), edited by Dewan Ram Pa....)
• "Tolstoy's life has been devoted to replacing the method of violence for removing tyranny or securing reform by the method of nonresistance to evil. He would meet hatred expressed in violence by love expressed in self-suffering. He admits of no exception to whittle down this great and divine law of love. He applies it to all the problems that trouble mankind." (From: "A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India- Its....)
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