Name_________________________________________________ Period______

Gandhi and Indian Independence Discussion Questions

1. Early in his career, Gandhi described campaigns of nonviolent mass action as "passive
resistance." Later he had second thoughts about this description. Does the term "passive
resistance" accurately describe a campaign of nonviolent mass action? Explain your
answer, focusing on each of the two words of the phrase "passive resistance".

2. Methods of nonviolent mass action can be separated into three categories: protest,
noncooperation and direct intervention. Describe each category and give at least one
example of each. Your examples do not need to be confined to the Indian independence
movement.

3. The three main ways in which nonviolent mass action forces political and social change
are by: (1) changing hearts and minds; (2) applying economic pressure; and (3)
preventing business as usual. Describe how each of these works to help protesters
achieve their goals.
Name_________________________________________________ Period______

Gandhi and Indian Independence Discussion Questions

4. One goal of practitioners of nonviolent mass action is to persuade their opponents of the
justness of their cause. How do nonviolent protesters work on the minds of their
opponents?

5. Was Gandhi correct when he said at the start of the march to the sea that the British
were not in control, but the protesters were? Explain your answer and discuss how it
applies to any nonviolent mass action against a government or its policies.

6. If nonviolent protesters are attacked by the police or other opponents what should they
do?
Name_________________________________________________ Period______

Gandhi and Indian Independence Discussion Questions

7. When many people are peacefully protesting against a government, refusing to
cooperate, or engaging in nonviolent direct action, and the government restores its
authority through mass arrests, beatings, and tear gas, what have the protesters
accomplished?

8. When the British were resisting independence for India, they wanted Gandhi's
supporters to get angry and become violent. Why would that have hurt Gandhi's
campaign?

9. What is the role of the press, foreign and domestic, in a campaign of nonviolent mass
action?
Name_________________________________________________ Period______

Gandhi and Indian Independence Discussion Questions

10. There are two major purposes for economic boycotts or other financial pressures in a
campaign of nonviolent mass action. What are they?

11. How have changes in communication technology affected the kinds of power exercised
by nonviolent movements and the regimes they oppose? What new tactics, for instance,
might a present-day Gandhi employ in the era of the internet, cell phones, and email?

12. Gandhi said that the only devils in the world are those running around in our hearts.
What did he mean by this?

13. Which comes first in a democratic society, attempts to work through the democratic
process or nonviolent mass action? As nonviolent mass action proceeds what, if
anything, is the role of the democratic process?