A fast in expiation

April 15, 2023

A day after the mass shooting at Jallianwala Bagh, as the people of Amritsar buried the innocent victims of gun violence, Mohandas Gandhi spoke out against the chaos. He was at his ashram in Ahmedabad, where news of a brief arrest had also set off an angry and destructive mob in the city.

“Brothers,” he told the crowd of 10,000 that had gathered to hear him speak, “the events that have happened in the course of the last few days have been most disgraceful… I am ashamed of them, and those who have been responsible for them. [W]e burnt down buildings, forcibly captured weapons, extorted money, stopped trains, cut off telegraph wires, killed innocent people, and plundered shops and private houses.” Even if it hadn’t been by his own hand, Gandhi’s use of the royal “we” demonstrated that he was willing to share responsibility for the damage. He outlined four duties to advance restorative justice.

First, he said, those who had weapons should surrender them. The reference was to “forcibly captured” weapons, for although it had been more than six decades since the armed Revolt of 1857, the British were still very cautious about permitting the natives to own firearms, lest they should find themselves on the receiving end again.

Second, all should donate something — no less than one-half rupee — to the families of the victims. “I hope and pray that no one will evade this contribution on the plea that he has had no part in those wicked acts,” he told them. “Having done little to stop the violence, we have been all participators in the sins that have been committed.”

Third, all those who were able should “observe a twenty-four hours’ fast in slight expiation of these sins.” Gandhi, as usual, was willing to lead by example. “My responsibility is a million times greater than yours,” he told them, so he had “decided to fast for three days, i.e., 72 hours.”

The fourth duty they shared was to the country’s rulers. “They are our brethren and it is our duty to inspire them,” he said. Change wouldn’t come through force or violent protests; it would come through the softening of their hearts. The American Union works on this same model of persuasion.

There’s no record of how many thousands on April 15, 1919 answered Gandhi’s call to observe a 24-hour fast in expiation for their shared responsibility. But in 2023, people around the United States and the world are fasting for peace, accepting the duty to inspire our brethren to nonviolent social change.

Can you think of a time when you accepted responsibility for something that wasn’t your fault?