A return to India

January 9, 2023

On January 9th, 1915, Mohandas Gandhi returned to India after two decades of activism in South Africa. His efforts there had concluded, mostly successfully. General Smuts, Colonial Secretary of the South African Union, had finally agreed to concede several points after years of satyagraha had culminated in a mass strike. Gandhi's voyage home included a stop of several months in London, where he faced an ethical dilemma.

Two days before his party docked in the heart of the British Empire, the Great War had begun. In hindsight, we call it World War One, but at the time it was the war to end all wars. Gandhi, finding the city where he'd lived as a young man at risk, volunteered to join the British Army.

Many friends questioned his decision. How could a man who professed such dedication to life and nonviolence be willing to participate in such a conflict? And why support the occupiers of India? As he summarized their questions, “Was it not the duty of a slave, seeking to be free, to make his master's hour of need his hour of opportunity?” Gandhi was unpersuaded.

He offered excuses; India wasn't “quite reduced to slavery,” and the broken system wasn't completely “intolerable.” But I think there was a more basic reason; besides a (as of yet unshaken) belief in the fundamental fairness of British gentlemen, he thought that a willingness to fight – not loyalty – could be the salvation for his people.

It is said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different result. Twice before, Gandhi had volunteered, and rallied other Indians to serve, in an ambulance corps when the British fought in the Boer War and the Zulu Rebellion. And while this service had not equaled respect for Indians in South Africa, he'd witnessed firsthand what could happen to those willing to fight: General Jan Smuts, Colonial Secretary of South Africa, had fought with the Boers against the British at the turn of the century. Those who had taken up arms were now in charge.

Gandhi wasn't perfect. In this case, the perception of being practical trumped principle. When was the last time that happened to you?