Citation

Bose A. J. Peace Res. 1981; 18(2): 159-164.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/002234338101800204

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In Gandhi's theory of peace, human values take great prominence. Nonviolence (ahimsa) is a way of life rather than a tactic, and, together with the search for truth (satyagraha), makes the difference between passive submission to injustice, and an active struggle against it. This struggle excludes both physical violence and casting the opponent in the role of enemy, and hence presupposes compassion and self-criticism. The notion of welfare to all (sarvodaya) also sees peace as incompatible with exploitation or inequality of wealth. Peace is not seen as an end state, but as a continuous revolutionary process, where ends cannot be separated from means.