The Story of My Experiments with Truth · Chapter
That Memorable Week!—II explained
Gandhi describes his meeting with Commissioner Mr.
What happens
Gandhi describes his meeting with Commissioner Mr. Griffith in Bombay, where he argues that the people are naturally peaceful and that his satyagraha teachings are not to blame for the violence. He then learns of disturbances in Ahmedabad, including the murder of a sergeant, and returns to find the city under martial law. He meets with Commissioner Mr. Pratt, expresses regret, and secures permission to hold a public meeting at Sabarmati Ashram. At the meeting, he declares a three-day penitential fast for himself, calls for a one-day fast by the people, and suspends satyagraha until nonviolence is restored, despite disagreement from some followers.
Themes in this chapter
Nonviolence and Satyagraha
Gandhi insists that satyagraha is a weapon of the truthful and requires nonviolence in thought, word, and deed; he suspends mass satyagraha when violence erupts among his followers.
Self-Discipline and Simplicity
Gandhi declares a three-day penitential fast for himself, taking personal responsibility for the violence and modeling self-discipline as a corrective measure.
Characters to notice
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Meets with Commissioner Griffith in Bombay, argues for nonviolence, then returns to Ahmedabad to address the crisis, declares a penitential fast and suspends satyagraha.
- Anasuyabehn
Rumored arrest led mill-hands to strike and commit violence; she is mentioned as having received news of disturbances in Ahmedabad.
Key passages
“Satyagraha is essentially a weapon of the truthful. A satyagrahi is pledged to nonviolence, and, unless people observe it in thought, word and deed, I cannot offer mass satyagraha.”
Gandhi explains that satyagraha belongs only to those who are truthful, and that a practitioner must be committed to nonviolence in every aspect; without that commitment, mass civil disobedience is impossible.
This statement underscores Gandhi's core principle that nonviolence is an absolute prerequisite for satyagraha, leading to his decision to suspend the campaign.
“I saw my duty as clear as daylight. It was unbearable for me to find that the labourers, amongst whom I had spent a good deal of my time, whom I had served, and from whom I had expected better things, had taken part in the riots, and I felt I was a sharer in their guilt.”
Gandhi felt a profound personal responsibility for the violence committed by the laborers he had worked with, seeing their actions as a reflection on his own leadership and teaching.
This reveals Gandhi's deep sense of accountability and his belief that a leader must share the moral burden of followers' misdeeds.