Shridharani, who considers himself a follower of Gandhi, has given us a
comprehensive analysis of Satyagraha as a mass movement. He begins his
discussion with this statement of the conditions under which it is
possible:
"Satyagraha, as an organized mass action, presupposes that _the
community concerned has a grievance which practically every member
of that community feels_. This grievance should be of such large
proportions that it could be transformed, in its positive side,
into a 'Cause' rightfully claiming sacrifice and suffering from the
community on its behalf."[59]
This necessity for community solidarity is often overlooked by followers
of Gandhi who advocate reforms by means of non-violent direct action in
our western society. Given the grievance of British rule, Shridharani
believes that the Hindese were willing to accept Satyagraha first
because, unarmed under British law, no other means were available to
them, and then because they were predisposed to the method because of
the Hindu philosophy of non-violence and the mystic belief that truth
will triumph eventually since it is a force greater than the
physical.[60]
The first step in Satyagraha is negotiation and arbitration with the
adversary. Under these terms Shridharani includes the use of legislative
channels, direct negotiations, and arbitration by third parties.[61] In
reading his discussion one gets the impression that under the American
system of government the later stages of Satyagraha would never be
necessary, since the Satyagrahi must first exhaust all the avenues of
political expression and legislative action which are open to him. If
any sizeable group in American society displayed on any issue the
solidarity required for successful use of this method, their political
influence would undoubtedly be great enough to effect a change in the
law, imperfect though American democracy may be.
The second step in Satyagraha is agitation, the purpose of which is to
educate the public on the issues at stake, to create the solidarity that
is needed in the later stages of the movement, and to win acceptance, by
members of the movement, of the methods to be employed.[62] According to
Fenner Brockway, the failure of Satyagraha to achieve its objectives is
an indication that the people of India had not really caught and
accepted Gandhi's spirit and principles.[63] This means that on several
occasions the later stages of Satyagraha have been put into action
before earlier stages of creating solidarity on both purpose and method
have been fully completed. Despite Gandhi's tremendous influence in
India, the movement for Indian independence has not yet fully succeeded.
In view of the fact that so many of the people who have worked for
independence have failed to espouse Gandhi's principles whole-heartedly,
if independence be achieved in the future it will be difficult to tell
whether or not it was achieved because the Indian people fully accepted
these principles. Many seem to have done so only in the spirit in which
the American colonists of the eighteenth century employed similar
methods during the earlier stages of their own independence
movement.[64]
Only after negotiation and arbitration have failed does Satyagraha make
use of the techniques which are usually associated with it in the
popular mind. As Shridharani puts it, "Moral suasion having proved
ineffective the Satyagrahis do not hesitate to shift their technique to
compulsive force."[65] He is pointing out that in practice Satyagraha is
coercive in character, and that all the later steps from mass
demonstrations through strikes, boycotts, non-cooperation, and civil
disobedience to parallel government which divorces itself completely
from the old are designed to _compel_ rather than to _persuade_ the
oppressors to change their policy. In this respect it is very similar to
the movements of non-violent resistance based on expediency which were
considered in the preceding section.