A Word for Protecting the Truth
Satyagraha सत्याग्रह • (sa-tyä-gra-ha) • noun
Definition: “truth-insistence, truth-force”
Origin: Sanskrit
If you visit any predominantly Black elementary school or recreational center, you’ll find murals of Black icons decorating the walls. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, and Barack Obama are painted on these walls to inspire the next generation of Black Americans, but there is another figure who is not Black that you’ll find commonly amongst these icons. That person is Mahatma Gandhi.
I remember first seeing Gandhi’s image on the wall as a child and wondering why this non-Black person was being celebrated alongside historical Black figures. I asked a teacher who this man was and why he was on the wall, and she politely told me that we celebrate Gandhi because he inspired King. Gandhi’s nonviolent movement provided King with the foundation for our own civil rights movement, so we honor Gandhi alongside King and other Black Americans who fought for our freedom. This explanation was all I needed as a child, and an appreciation for Gandhi has remained ever since. However, this quick education did not touch upon India’s struggle against British colonialism or even the name of Gandhi’s movement.
This year, as misinformation and propaganda become increasingly prevalent and Americans have taken to the streets to peacefully protest as part of the Black Lives Matter Movement, I have thought a lot about Gandhi’s movement, and particularly its name: Satyagraha.
In Sanskrit, satya means “truth” and agraha means “holding fast,” “adherence,” or “insistence.” Gandhi defeated the British by peacefully insisting on the truth, and King defeated Jim Crow by doing the same.
Satyagraha vs. Authoritarian Truth
I’m sure that most of us are familiar with the dystopian fiction of George Orwell, especially Animal Farm and 1984, but it’s not widely known that his work was heavily influenced by the time he spent working in the Burmese Indian Imperial Police when it was under British colonial rule.
Observing how the British attempted to possess the truth in order to oppress the Burmese people, inspired much of 1984. If the “truth” was determined by the British, then truth had become irrelevant and all that mattered was if anyone’s professed truth adhered to the truth espoused by the British. This colonial, authoritarian reality in which Orwell lived inspired his famous line “2+2 = 5” at the end of 1984. Additionally, Emma Larkin’s book Finding Orwell In Burma describes how the methods of oppression implemented by the British are still being used today by the military junta who control Burma. The name “Emma Larkin” itself is a pseudonym that the writer had to use in order to protect herself from the Burmese government who would have tried to silence her.
Throughout the presidency of Donald Trump, America has engaged in a prolonged war against the truth. It should not be surprising to any of us how Trump’s belief that the truth originates from him, also inclines him to align with other authoritarian leaders who profess a similar doctrine. As Trump’s presidency has progressed, America’s battle over the truth has grown, and the presidential and vice-presidential debates have further highlighted America’s dystopian divide as we battle over the truth.
When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris speak, regardless of whether we agree with their policies or decisions, it is evident that their understanding of the truth derives from a collection of diverse voices, including the scientific community, and the desire to find a truth that speaks to the American people. However, when Donald Trump and Mike Pence speak, it is obvious that they speak a truth that derives almost entirely from the mind of Trump. It is a soul-sucking and dystopian authoritarian truth.
Throughout this presidential campaign, Biden has said that this is an election for the “Soul of America,” which reminded me of Satyagraha.
“Satyagraha is literally holding on to Truth and it means, therefore, Truth-force. Truth is soul or spirit. It is, therefore, known as soul-force.” - Gandhi
(Martin Luther King Jr. referenced this term during his famous “I Have a Dream” speech)
Holding Onto Truth & Rejecting Ethnocide
Ethnocide commences with deception because if you know that someone intends to destroy your culture, you wouldn't interact with them. Therefore, the perpetrator of ethnocide either needs to first lie to the other person or lie to themselves. They have to lie to themselves in order to excuse their actions of cultural destruction, and not feel terrible as they do terrible things. Mauvaise Foi, or Bad Faith, is one way to describe this dynamic, but it is also an obvious destruction of the truth. America is built upon ethnocide, which is why holding onto the truth has always been a radical action here.
America, in many ways, is built upon the premise that Westernized, white essence-based ideas have a monopoly on the truth. This does not mean that the ideas of Western Civilization are nothing but lies, but it does mean that the truth becomes irrelevant within a white-dominated environment that perpetuates a single narrative. Trump’s flagrant disregard of the truth and America’s difficulty in combating his mistruths derive from the fact that within his white-dominated space, he has never been required (only recommended) to tell the truth. One of the most radical aspects of satyagraha is that by peacefully holding onto and fighting for the truth, those who have corrupted it, and mainly the public, will eventually see the error of their ways.
The nature of American ethnocide inclines all of us to be comfortable as we live and perpetuate falsehoods, even if we have the desire to manifest the truth. At the micro-level, we can use satyagraha as a calm reminder to live and express truth in our daily lives, while at the macro-level, it can help us peacefully change the world.
