Not long after World War I, Gandhi said: “I object to violence because, when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.”

“Unless the world adopts non-violence, it will spell certain suicide for mankind,” Gandhi observed. Hatred can only be overcome by love, and nonviolence has to be practiced not only by nations and groups but by each individual, he expressed.

Leaving England with a law degree, Gandhi attempts a practice in South Africa. There he finds racial prejudice from the onset. In spite of his first-class ticket, he is removed from the compartment of a train and told that he must travel in a van reserved for coloured people. Gandhi’s protests fall on deaf ears. He is forcibly removed from the train and left to spend the night in the waiting room.

A Vital Decision

That night he made the decision never to yield to force and never to use force to win a cause. Reflecting on the incident, he wrote: “The hardship to which I was subjected was superficial​—only a symptom of the deep disease of colour prejudice. I should try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process.”