New World Netaji
He adds, however, that if they’re met with police violence or any other kind of force — as they might well be — he will only respond with satyagraha.
By: Mukul Sharma
An ex-marine activist in the US is invoking Gandhian nonviolence for his right to bear arms. Never mind what the Mahatma must be making of this irony, but the young Iraq war veteran is planning to rally against the government in the US capital with a thousand supporters carrying loaded rifles.
He adds, however, that if they’re met with police violence or any other kind of force — as they might well be — he will only respond with satyagraha. Even if the followers of the Gandhian philosophy find that amite more than sublimely ridiculous, consider why the exmarine is trying to exercise his not-so-self-perceived right.
It’s because the Second Amendment to the American Constitution that protects a person’s right to keep and bear arms has not only become a part of their Bill of Rights but predates it. There’s a reason for that too. It’s derived from the constitution of the people who used to rule over them, the British.
The Second Amendment was based on the right to bear arms in English common law, and was influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689. This right has been described by the eminent jurist William Blackstone as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of resistance to oppression and the civic duty to act in defence of the country.
Wasn’t this exactly what Gandhi was doing — albeit without a magnum slung over his shoulder? Also, how come no one makes fun of Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela for following the Gandhian method and exercising their right to fight oppression? They were doing it non-violently too.
An ex-marine activist in the US is invoking Gandhian nonviolence for his right to bear arms. Never mind what the Mahatma must be making of this irony, but the young Iraq war veteran is planning to rally against the government in the US capital with a thousand supporters carrying loaded rifles.
He adds, however, that if they’re met with police violence or any other kind of force — as they might well be — he will only respond with satyagraha. Even if the followers of the Gandhian philosophy find that amite more than sublimely ridiculous, consider why the exmarine is trying to exercise his not-so-self-perceived right.
It’s because the Second Amendment to the American Constitution that protects a person’s right to keep and bear arms has not only become a part of their Bill of Rights but predates it. There’s a reason for that too. It’s derived from the constitution of the people who used to rule over them, the British.
The Second Amendment was based on the right to bear arms in English common law, and was influenced by the English Bill of Rights of 1689. This right has been described by the eminent jurist William Blackstone as an auxiliary right, supporting the natural rights of resistance to oppression and the civic duty to act in defence of the country.
Wasn’t this exactly what Gandhi was doing — albeit without a magnum slung over his shoulder? Also, how come no one makes fun of Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela for following the Gandhian method and exercising their right to fight oppression? They were doing it non-violently too.
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