CBSE Class 10 Answered

Satyagraha according to Gandhi was a unique weapon to fight injustice. It was a novel method of mass agitation. It stressed on the principle of truth, non-violence, tolerance and peaceful protests. Mahatma Gandhi had successfully launched the mass struggle movement against the racial policies of the government in South Africa. In this struggle, he had used the method of peaceful mass agitation. Gandhi called this as ‘Satyagraha’. According to him, it was a novel method which stressed on truth and non-violence. He believed that if we are fighting for a true and a common cause, then truth will undoubtedly win. This movement proved successful in South Africa. Hence, he also decided to wage a war based on the idea of Satyagraha against the colonist regime of the British Empire in India. He contended that Satyagraha would unite all the Indians. To him, “if all the Indians unite and participate in this struggle of truth and non-violence then they are bound to overthrow the British rule”. This novel idea of Satyagraha was adopted by the people all across the country under the dynamic leadership of Gandhi. In Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, people defied the government, left government schools and offices and peacefully protested against the government. The brutal suppression of the peaceful protestors by the British government drew criticisms from every nook and corners of the world. The participation of people in large numbers forced the government to finally quit India in 1947.