Archive · 11 Sep 2026
Gandhi’s Satyagraha Challenges the Illusion of Violent Power
The article compares two important September 11 anniversaries.
In 1906, M K Gandhi explained an idea that later became known as satyagraha, or resistance based on truth and nonviolence.
In 2001, terrorists attacked the United States.
The writer says violence can look powerful because it causes quick fear and damage.
However, violence may not create lasting support or political control.
The US fought the Taliban in Afghanistan for many years, but the Taliban eventually returned to power.
Studies cited in the article say peaceful movements often succeed more than violent ones.
Rosa Parks is given as an example of someone using courage and peaceful resistance to oppose unfair laws.
The article concludes that conflict may be unavoidable, but violence is not.
September 11 marks both the 1906 public articulation of Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance and the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The article argues that violence can create immediate obedience or fear but cannot by itself create lasting political power.
Research by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan is cited as showing that nonviolent struggles have often been more successful than violent ones.
The American response to 9/11 defeated the Taliban temporarily but ended with the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan after the US withdrawal.
Examples including Rosa Parks and the US civil rights movement are presented as evidence that disciplined nonviolent action can challenge oppressive systems.
- Who
- M K Gandhi, the 9/11 attackers and the American government are central to the discussion; the article also cites figures including Rosa Parks, Hannah Arendt, Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan.
- What
- The article compares Gandhi’s satyagraha with the use of revolutionary and terrorist violence, arguing that nonviolent resistance creates more meaningful power.
- When
- Satyagraha was publicly articulated on September 11, 1906; the terrorist attacks occurred on September 11, 2001.
- Where
- The 1906 gathering took place at the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg; the 2001 attacks struck the United States, including New York, and the later US war focused on Afghanistan.
- Why
- The comparison is used to question whether violence actually produces lasting political power and to argue that nonviolent action can be more effective.
Satyagraha and Civil Resistance
Violence as Political Power
How power is created
Satyagraha and Civil Resistance
Nonviolent resistance can mobilize people, express resolve and successfully challenge oppressive power.
Violence as Political Power
Revolutionary violence is presented by thinkers such as Vladimir Lenin as morally defensible and politically realistic.
Immediate impact versus lasting results
Satyagraha and Civil Resistance
The article argues that violence may produce fear or obedience, while nonviolent struggles have often achieved more durable political success.
Violence as Political Power
Violence can appear effective because it causes immediate damage, fear and compliance.
Violence and political control
Satyagraha and Civil Resistance
Hannah Arendt’s distinction, adopted by the article, holds that violence can destroy power but cannot create power by itself.
Violence as Political Power
The terrorist attacks and the subsequent US military campaign illustrate the belief that force can weaken or defeat an opponent, even though the article says neither side achieved lasting power through violence.
- 1906 event
- On September 11, 1906, Gandhi articulated the principle of nonviolent resistance before about 3,000 people in Johannesburg.
- Term coined
- Gandhi and Maganlal later coined “satyagraha,” meaning force born of truth and love or nonviolence.
- 2001 attacks
- The September 11 terrorist attacks brought down the World Trade Centre in New York.
- Research cited
- Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan’s study is titled “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict.”
- Afghanistan
- The United States defeated the Taliban and held control by force for almost 19 years before leaving; the Taliban then regained control.
- Civil rights example
- Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a White person under racial laws then enforced in the United States.