Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience
Dr. Suchita Suragihalli, Assistant Professor,

Shahaji Law College
Civil Disobedience – Meaning & features
 Obedience to State – conditional – to well being of society
 Case/scope – civil disobedience – when faced- problem of obedience to

commands of state
 Concept – not modern – but change in use & nature – contemporary issues
 Civilised – cultures – refined – form of protest
 Relevance in democratic state – modern state – majority democratic
 Refusal – to obey – commands of state – mostly non-violent
 Demand from state – reforms – changes - concessions
2
Civil Disobedience – Definition
John Rawls
“a public, non-violent act, decided in conscience, but political, contrary to the
law and most often accomplished to bring about a change in the law or in
government policy. In doing so, we are addressing the sense of justice of the
majority of the community and declaring that, according to a well-thought-out
opinion, the principles of social cooperation between free and equal beings are
not currently respected ”.
3
Civil Disobedience – features
 must be committed consciously and intentionally
 must be a public act
 the action must be carried out collectively
 must be done using peaceful methods
 must be carried out while accepting the eventualities of a sanction
 the action carried out must urge to “higher principles” to justify the
violation of a norm
4
Walden
Thoreau
5
Henry David Thoreau
 American naturalist, essayist, poet, philosopher, anarchist (sometimes)
 Born in Concord in 1817 – family owned a pencil factory
 Graduated from Harvard – 1837
 Friendship – Ralph Waldo Emerson – full of turbulence & impact
 Writings – Walden, Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government),

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
 Died – young age of 44 – tuberculosis
6
Thoreau – Civil Disobedience
 ‘On the relation of the individual to the State’ – changed to Resistance to
civil government
 Prioritize – conscience – dictates of law
 Refusal – to pay poll tax – (natural claim of state)
 But – practice of slavery – Mexican War – citizens not asked
 Government – rarely proves itself – rules on basis of majority
 Majority – only because strongest – not because rational or legitimate view
 Thus – first obligation – to oneself – one’s opinion
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 If government – unjust – refuse to follow it – distance oneself
 Doubtful – regarding – reform within government
 Voting or petitioning – nearly never fruitful
 Thoreau – choice to – ‘wash his hands of it’ – refuse to participate
 ‘That government is the best that rules the least’ – motto
 Maybe have a government that does not rule at all
 Achievement of United State – efforts of citizens – not government
 Not in favour – restriction on trade & commerce

8
 No demand – immediate removal of government – better it
 Government- on majority – not based on justice
 Develop respect for ‘right’ – rather than respect for law
 Otherwise – example of soldiers – no power of moral behaviour
 Thus duty to rebel – not just right – right of revolution
 Obligation – only on expediency? – to preserve services & facilities
 Cannot – take precedence over justice
 Not interested – quarrelling or superiority – conform to law of land

9
Gandhi – Civil Disobedience
 Influenced by Thoreau – practice of civil disobedience
 Respect for Law – even while disobeying it
 One should plead guilty – violation of law
 “I am here to submit cheerfully to the highest penalty that can be inflicted

upon me.”
 Mind of opponent – attempt to change or convert it
 Not to defeat or humiliate – but to win over
 Much stronger philosophical & spiritual development
10
In two or three columns
Yellow Blue Red

Is the color of gold, butter and Is the colour of the clear sky Is the color of blood, and
ripe lemons. In the spectrum and the deep sea. It is located because of this it has
of visible light, yellow is between violet and green on historically been associated
found between green and the optical spectrum. with sacrifice, danger and
orange. courage.
11
A picture is worth a thousand words
A complex idea can be conveyed

with just a single still image,
namely making it possible to
absorb large amounts of data
quickly.
12
Thanks!
Any questions?
13

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Civil Disobedience

Dr. Suchita Suragihalli, Assistant Professor,

 Case/scope – civil disobedience – when faced- problem of obedience to

 Civilised – cultures – refined – form of protest

 Relevance in democratic state – modern state – majority democratic

 Refusal – to obey – commands of state – mostly non-violent

 Demand from state – reforms – changes - concessions

 must be a public act

 the action must be carried out collectively

 must be done using peaceful methods

 must be carried out while accepting the eventualities of a sanction

 Born in Concord in 1817 – family owned a pencil factory

 Graduated from Harvard – 1837

 Friendship – Ralph Waldo Emerson – full of turbulence & impact

 Writings – Walden, Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government),

 Died – young age of 44 – tuberculosis

 Prioritize – conscience – dictates of law

 Refusal – to pay poll tax – (natural claim of state)

 But – practice of slavery – Mexican War – citizens not asked

 Government – rarely proves itself – rules on basis of majority

 Majority – only because strongest – not because rational or legitimate view

 Thus – first obligation – to oneself – one’s opinion

 Doubtful – regarding – reform within government

 Voting or petitioning – nearly never fruitful

 Thoreau – choice to – ‘wash his hands of it’ – refuse to participate

 ‘That government is the best that rules the least’ – motto

 Maybe have a government that does not rule at all

 Achievement of United State – efforts of citizens – not government

 Not in favour – restriction on trade & commerce

 Government- on majority – not based on justice

 Develop respect for ‘right’ – rather than respect for law

 Otherwise – example of soldiers – no power of moral behaviour

 Thus duty to rebel – not just right – right of revolution

 Obligation – only on expediency? – to preserve services & facilities

 Cannot – take precedence over justice

 Not interested – quarrelling or superiority – conform to law of land

 Respect for Law – even while disobeying it

 One should plead guilty – violation of law

 “I am here to submit cheerfully to the highest penalty that can be inflicted

 Mind of opponent – attempt to change or convert it

 Not to defeat or humiliate – but to win over

 Much stronger philosophical & spiritual development

Yellow Blue Red

A complex idea can be conveyed

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