Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/801

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violence to go to jail anyhow. It is the suffering of the pure and God-fearing which will tell, not the bluster of the rabble. The purer India becomes, the stronger she become?. Purity is the only weapon of the weak in body. The strong in body in their insolence often mobilise their 'hard fibre' and seek to usurp the very function of the Almighty. But when that * hard fibre ' comes in contact not with its like but with the exact opposite, it has nothing to work against. A solid body can only move on and against another solid body. You cannot build* castles in the air. Therefore, the impatient Mussalmans must see the obvious truth that the little disorganised bluster of the rabble, whether it expresses itself by going to jail or by burning buildings or by making noisy demonstrations, will be no match for ths organised insolence of the 'hard fibre' of the 'most detsr- rnined people in the world'. This terrific insolence can only be met by the utter humility of the pure and the meek. God helps the helpless, not those who believe they can do something. Every page of the Koran teaches me, a non-Muslim, this supreme lesson. Every sura of Koran begins in the name of God the Compassionate and the Merciful. Let us therefore be strong in soul though weak in body.

If the Mussalmans believe in the policy of non- violence, they must give it a fair trial and they will not have given it any trial at all if they harbour anger i>. violence in their breasts.

As it is, by our bluster, by intimidation, by show of force, by violent picketing, we shall estrange more men than intimidate into co-operation with us. And how can we dare seek co-operation by compulsion when we Jiave refused to be coerced into co-operation with the

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