MUMBAI DIARIES

There must be love instead of hate, nonviolence in place of violence. Rather than being suspicious of one another, we must cultivate an atmosphere of mutual trust. wire instructions how to kill a tiger non-violently”. In fact, by adopting a policy of nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi made it indefensible for the British to suppress the freedom movement using force. Governing India had been easy for them up till then, for it had been a matter of suppressing force with force. There was no such weapon in their arsenal, however, with which to combat nonviolence. What we need now in India is a “reverse course” policy, similar to that adopted in postwar times by Japan. Until the Second World War, Japan was set on a course of violence. After the end of the War, however, it changed course and began advancing by leaps and bounds on the course of nonviolence, with the result that Japan’s destiny has undergone a complete change in just four decades. After giving other examples from modern history on how people have changed course from violent confrontation to nonviolent construction, and with highly successful results, I pointed out that it was the Prophet of Islam who first showed the world the effectiveness of such a policy. In the context of the conditions prevailing in Arabia at the time, the peace treaty of Hudaibiyah amounted to just such a “reverse course” policy on the part of the Prophet, he being the first to formulate a policy of this nature. All we have to do is follow in his footsteps, a much easier task than having to chalk out an unknown path of our own. We must adopt this reverse course. There must be love instead of hate, nonviolence in place of violence. Rather than being suspicious of one another, we must cultivate an atmosphere of mutual trust. Confrontation must be set aside, leaving us free to take on the task of peaceful reconstruction. This reverse course, as soon as it is adopted, will lead us on the path to prosperity. Today we have lost our way and are a long way adrift from our true destination, so that whichever community first takes the initiative in adopting a reverse course will be the one to take the lead over other communities in every walk of life in the days to come. The Secular and Non-secular Approach During an evening meal, I was interviewed by the newspaper Blitz. It is my experience that people commit the fallacy of putting human