Terrorism and Violence

Abstract

Ever since 9/11 in the US and 26/11 in India, terrorism has been a central concern. Gandhi is generally assumed to be of little value when confronting terrorism today. At best, he is irrelevant; at worst, he is complicit and contributes to the crisis since he opposes necessary violent responses. This essay argues that while Gandhi does not have all of the answers for dealing with terrorism today, he provides us with a complex analysis essential for understanding and responding to the multidimensional structural crisis. After analyzing the nature and meaning of terrorism, we focus on the following topics: Gandhi’s interactions with terrorists; his means-ends analysis and his short-term and long-term preventative approaches to terrorism; his analysis of absolute truth and relative truth in approaching terrorism; and his general analysis of the status of “the other” in transforming our relations with violent, terrorizing, and terrorized others.