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Practice of Non-Violence
as it was, to obey the order served upon me. But I could not do so without doing violence to my sense of duty to those for whom I have come. I feel that I could just now serve them only by remaining in their midst. I could not, therefore, voluntarily retire. Amid this conflict of duties, I could only throw the responsibility of removing me from them on the Administration. I am fully conscious of the fact that a person, holding, in the public life of India, a position such as I do, has to be most careful in setting an example. It is my firm belief that in the complex constitution under which we are living, the only safe and honourable course for a self-respecting man is, in the circumstances such as face me, to do what I have decided to do, that is, to submit without protest to the penalty of disobedience.
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"I venture to make this statement not in any way in extenuation of the penalty to be awarded against me, but to show that I have disregarded the order served upon me not for want of respect for lawful authority, but in obedience to the higher law of our being, the voice of conscience."
Before Gandhi could be sentenced by the court, the Lieutenent-Governor withdrew the case against him in a dramatic manner, and allowed him to make the enquiry. He also assured Gandhi that he would get whatever help he needed from the officials.
While Gandhi was making a strict and impartial enquiry about the working condition of the ryots in Champaran, the Lieutenant-Governor interested himself in the case, and after conferring with Gandhi, appointed a Government Commission, with Gandhi as one of the members. The Commission reported unanimously that the indigo law was unfair and the exactions of the big planters unjust.
Satyagraha Against Rowlatt Bill, 1919: This was the first nation-wide satyagraha compaign in India launched between 1st March 1919 to 18th April 1919.
Sir Sidney Rowlatt, as Chairman of the Sedition Committee in 1918, had recommended measures to strengthen the hand of the government in the control of crime. The so-called Rowlatt Act (Government of India Act No. XI of 1919) 'was framed to enable anarchical offences to be tried expeditiously before a strong court consisting of three High Court Judges, with no
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