The idea of non-violence in statecraft

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The idea of non-violence in statecraft

 

By K.K. Sharma

 

Ahinsa is a noble doctrine and is Vedic in origin. A Vedic

injunction "Ma Hinsyat sarva Bhutani", i.e. cause no injury to all

the creatures, is quoted in corroboration. But, another vedic

injunction clearly cautions "Ma Nah Stenah Eeshat" (Rig Veda-Mandal

2. Anuvak 4. Sukat 42. Mantra 3) Thieves i.e evil persons should not

rule over you. On the platform of empirical existence (O;ogkj ds eap

ij), slavery is the greatest evil. Thus, ahinsa becomes a relative

concept. Above all, absolute ahinsa is not practicable. Not because

intent of an absolutist is suspect, but for the simple but cruel

reason that life lives on life as shown below.

 

Now you see that there is hinsa both ways. If you do it, i.e. you

boil the milk then, of course, there is hinsa because you destroy

bacteria but, if you don't, i.e. you don't boil milk even then you

are heading for hinsa and it will be a greater hinsa because you

jeopardise the very life of the baby. Such situations arise

practically at every step in life.

 

The largest number of vegetarians in the world live in India but

vegetation too has life. Scientists discovered this fact sometime ago

but our rishis knew it millennia ago. Their consumption, raw or

cooked, results in deprivation of their lives.

 

What is ahinsa? The answer is that ahinsa is to narrow down the scope

for hinsa. Another question arises where should a Luxman rekha be

drawn? When a similar question arose in the Mahabharata then the

elders advised when two hinsas are involved, as usually is the case,

you should opt for the lesser hinsa, the lesser evil. Hinsa is

undoubtedly an evil, unavoidable, inescapable, therefore, the wiser

course is to opt for the lesser evil.

 

Should a doctrine be accepted simply by reference to the personality

of its expounder or should it, after rigorous critical examination,

if found to be sound and valid, then accepted. A bigot will opt for

the former but a rationalist for the latter. It is worth pointing out

that in the past, here in India, even the gods have been subjected to

questioning. The Gita opens with a question and is replete with

questions and answers. Lord Krishan did not get any respite even for

a moment on the battlefield of Kurukashetra. He was subjected to an

avalanche of questions. If the Lord can be subjected to questions

then why can't any politician?

 

Critical evaluation of ahinsa—Its implications and limitations.

 

An expounder must bear in mind that his doctrine should further the

cause of good and not that of evil. Wisdom should be the guiding

light and not blind adherence to personality cult. Ahinsa is very

effective provided the other party has respect for the moral values.

Sikh Gurus, embodiment of renunciation and sacrifice, tried their

level best to fight off tyranny with their sheer nobility but with

little success. Realising the inefficacy of that approach, the tenth,

Guru Gobind Singh, lifted the sword, sacrificed himself and his whole

family with the result that within the ensuring one-and-a-half

century, the same Kabul which had been the source of invasions one

after another, was under our feet. "Within a few days, the Punjabis

forced their way though the Khyber Pass and captured Ali Masjid. They

marched on to Kabul which had fallen on August 9, 1839 (See—How the

Sikhs lost their Kingdom by Khushwant Singh p.22. 1966 edition)."

 

In October 1947, even Mahatama Gandhi acknowledged the inefficacy of

adherence to ahinsa as he blessed the Indian jawans who were being

airlifted from New Delhi enroute to Srinagar, to drive the tribals

and their Pakistani masters away from Kashmir. He did not ask them to

throw away their weapons and get killed in the name of absolute

ahinsa, nor did he tell them to engage in courtship with the enemy on

the battlefield. His political followers took no cue from that but,

instead, started looking up to his wooden monkeys for guidance. In

the fifties, the Chinese blasted their way through Aksai Chin but

they heard no blast. They built up a road linking Tibet with Sinkiang

through Indian territory but they saw no road and did not tell their

own people until the cat came out of the bag. In October/November

1962, they were running like rats before the same Chinese cat.

 

Once Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of Arya Samaj, was travelling

through a jungle in the upper reaches of UP when he encountered a

bear. It stood up on its hind legs to attack. He was carrying a thick

staff with which he hit the bear so hard that the bear ran away. It

will certainly be interesting to hear from an adherent of absolute

ahinsa as to what he would do if he is confronted a similar

situation.

 

Those who do not agree, their attention should be drawn to the

occupation of 20000 square miles of Kashmir by China and 35000 square

miles of the same State by Pakistan, in both the cases by force.

Above all, it has to be borne in mind that weakness invites

aggression that is the lesson of history. Attention of the absolute

ahinsavadis should be drawn to the Sanskrit proverd "Vasundhara Vir

Bhogya" i.e. "The earth is enjoyed by the brave". Not only that even

the realisation of the Ultimate Reality cannot be achieved by the

weak (Mundak Upanishad 3.2.4) u v;a vkRek oy ghusu yH;ks

 

By saying that ahinsa drove the British lion out of India, they are

trying to enact a scene from Garbh Gita which describes that a lion

ran away at the sight of a goat. Indian historians must dig deep into

the British archives to find out as to what were the compelling

reasons which prompted the British to enter into negotiations to

transfer power in India? It is said that their faith in the loyalty

of the Indian army had been shaken and they thought it prudent to

enter into negotiations to quit India.

 

The largest number of vegetarians in the world live in India but

vegetation too has life. Scientists discovered this fact sometime ago

but our rishis knew it millennia ago.

 

A country cannot be run exclusively by emotions or by sheer naiviety.

But, after Independence, the political leadership of the country was

driven by emotions and wishful thinking as it is evident from Pundit

Jawahar Lal Nehru's following words which he used in his broadcast to

the Nation at the time of Chinese invasion—"We had been living in an

atmosphere of our own creation". In the summer of 1962, some Congress

stalwarts were demanding the disbanding of Indian army. It showed

that they had little grasp of machinations of power politics on the

international stage.

 

It is certainly unwise to seek solution to national problems by force

at the first instance, but to abjure it for good is equally unwise.

It should be the last resort.

 

In the event of foreign aggression as to what is the duty of the

absolute ahinsavadi towards the defence of his country. Morarji

Desai, a staunch advocate of absolute ahinsa, in his address to the

nation at the time of Chinese invasion said," We have to live with

honour". But, he did not explain how because he did not know that. In

his autobiography, he wrote that once he went on a visit to West

Germany, and was shown a World War II concentration camp. He was so

upset that he could not eat for a day. Further question: How can

absolute ahinsa tackle a savage like Hitler?

 

One thing is certain that a staunch ahinsavadi, if he is true to his

conviction, will not join the army nor will he countenance the others

to join it. But, he will like the others to sacrifice their lives to

protect him. Question arises, as to what type of code of moral

conduct is he going to evolve? Ethics meant for an ascetic is not

suitable to run a country but it is a recepie for disaster.

 

(The writer cam be contacted at 29, Paxton Avenue, Slough, SLI 25X.)