Section First: What Satyagraha Is Summary and Analysis

Satyagraha literally means "holding on to Truth" and is soul or spirit. It bars the use of violence because man cannot know the absolute truth and so is not competent to punish. Sometimes the English speak of passive resistance but this concept does not exclude violence. Satyagraha is also more than mere Civil Disobedience because it is only a branch of Satyagraha. Instead, non-cooperation means to withdraw from the State that in the non-cooperator's view is immoral but it excludes fierce disobedience. It is practiced as a last resort. Gandhi then illustrates with an example in interacting with his wife.

The civil resister does not seek to avoid the penalty of law, unlike the lawmakers who break it. They consider it unjust to render obedience. Gandhi finds such a case with the Rowlatt...