Satyagraha

satyagraha

Philosophy of nonviolent protest, or passive resistance. Mohandas K. Gandhi introduced it in South Africa (1906) and, from 1917, developed it in India in the period leading up to independence from Britain. Satyagraha seeks to conquer through submission. It involves refusing to submit to or cooperate with anything perceived as wrong, while adhering to the principle of nonviolence in order to maintain the tranquillity of mind required for insight and understanding. The principle played a significant role in the U.S. civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King. See also civil disobedience.

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Satyagraha 

a form of nonviolent, anti-imperialist struggle, developed and introduced into the national liberation movement of India by M. K. Gandhi. Gandhi first employed satyagraha in the Union of South Africa in the struggle against the racial discrimination suffered by Indians in the country. Satyagraha received wide application in the national liberation movement of the Indian people against the British colonialists between 1918 and 1947. It included such measures as mass meetings, demonstrations, work stoppages, boycotts of British institutions and the colonial administration, and, as an extreme measure, refusal to pay taxes.