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Gandhian Conception of Conflict

Robert J Burrowes outlines three principles of the Gandhian approach to conflict, emphasizing the unity of all life as a key tenet influenced by Indian thought and religions. Gandhi believed that while conflict is inherent to human nature, violence is not, advocating for nonviolent methods like Satyagraha to resolve disputes. He argued that nonviolence is the norm in human interactions and that individuals possess the freedom to choose peaceful resolutions to conflicts.

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15 views2 pages

Gandhian Conception of Conflict

Robert J Burrowes outlines three principles of the Gandhian approach to conflict, emphasizing the unity of all life as a key tenet influenced by Indian thought and religions. Gandhi believed that while conflict is inherent to human nature, violence is not, advocating for nonviolent methods like Satyagraha to resolve disputes. He argued that nonviolence is the norm in human interactions and that individuals possess the freedom to choose peaceful resolutions to conflicts.

Uploaded by

agrawalsastika
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Concentrating on the Gandhian conception of conflict, Robert J Burrowes said, “Three

principles underpin the Gandhian approach to conflict: the unity of means and end,

recognition of the unity of all life, and a willingness on the part of the satyagrahi to

undergo suffering.” The first and the last one have already been discussed in the earlier

section, so here we will touch upon only the second principle.

“The Gandhian approach to conflict presupposes the unity of all life.” The idea of unity

of all life runs through Indian thought, Hinduism and Jainism, all of which were a major

influence on Gandhi. According to Hajime Nakamura, the core of Indian thought, “is the

idea of the unity of all things.” He elaborates further that this idea is also characteristic

of Hinduism, which emphasises “Universal Being, to which all individuals and particulars

are subordinated.” Besides, this notion is a central tenet in Jainism as well. Gandhi said

in December 1924 in Young India: “I believe in the essential unity of [humanity] and for

that matter of all that lives.”

Gandhi believed that conflict is a part of human nature but violence is not. He therefore

looked for human ways to settle disputes rather than “return to our animal past and use

brute force.” He evolved the method of Satyagraha, which aims at the resolution of

conflicts without resorting to violence. Gandhi excluded violence “because man is not

capable of knowing absolute truth and, therefore, is not competent to punish.” He defined

violence as “anything that impedes individual self-realization.” This violence could be of

two kinds- direct or structural. Gandhi held that “exploitation is the essence of violence.”

On the question of whether aggression is a basic human instinct or an innate quality,

Gandhi had observed, “Fortunately for humanity, nonviolence pervades human life and is

observed by men without special effort.” In fact he believed that if human beings were

not essentially nonviolent in nature, it “would have been self-destroyed ages ago.” To

quote Gandhi: “Man’s nature is not essentially evil; brute nature has been known to yield

to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.” The cases and issues

of conflict and violence that have been recorded by history are in essence recordings of

happenings outside of the ordinary. Non-violence is the norm and widely prevalent in day

to day interactions and therefore, “History does not and cannot take note of this fact.”

Thus it can be concluded in the words of Thomas Weber, “In the Gandhian model the

individual comes to a conflict situation as one who is not innately aggressive and has the
freedom of will to resolve conflicts in a nonviolent way freely chosen.”

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