Gandhigiri - Usage

Usage

As a colloquial expression in various languages in India including Marathi, Hindi and Tamil, "Gandhigiri" refers to the practice of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a colloquial form of Gandhism. Gandhism (or Gandhianism) is a term which attempts to summarize the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi. Basic tenets of Gandhism include satya (truth) and Satyagraha: "Truth (satya) implies love, and firmness (agraha) engenders and therefore serves as a synonym for force...that is to say, the Force which is born of Truth and Love or non-violence." Gandhi further noted of the term, Satyagraha,

Its root meaning is holding on to truth, hence truth-force. I have also called it Love-force or Soul-force. In the application of Satyagraha I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one's opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and sympathy. For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth not by infliction of suffering on the opponent but on one's self."

In this context, "Gandhigiri" is sometimes juxtaposed to "Dadagiri"(bullying) (as it was in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, where Munna Bhai had to learn to give up "Dadagiri" in exchange for "Gandhigiri").

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