Satyagraha: the meaning of

Hidayatullah C. J. in Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Vs. State of Bihar and Others,

The last ground is based on “Mass Satyagraha”. The term Satyagraha has been defined in Webster’s “Twentieth Century Dictionary” (Unabridged Second Edition) as “lit grasping for truth; sans. Satya, truth and graphs, grasping the political doctrine of Mohandas K. Gandhi which favoured passive resistance and non-co-operation in opposing British Rule in India. “Mere passive resistance in the line preached by Gandhi-cannot be a ground for detention under the head “public order” or “supply and services”. We have clearlv set forth the law touching satyagraha in Civil Rule Nos. 47. 48, 49. 59 and 60 (HC) of 1981 Krishna Barua v. District Magistrate where inter alia, we observed: “However the detention law should not be allowed to be taken by their smooth handle to subjugate legitimate and demoratic common will which do not affect the supplies and services essential to the community. The extraordinary law should not be a pretext or pretence to handle ordinary or run of the mill incidents.”