"Defending Nonviolent Resistance" by Gandhi

At the beginning of “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” why does Gandhi admit to the charges against him?

• He believes that he is ethically wrong because he violated the law.

• He hopes that his admission will be rewarded with a lighter sentence.

• He asserts that he will challenge the law itself, not the charges against

  him.

• He hopes that if he admits his part in the crime, the government will

  admit its own fault.

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According to “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” what did Gandhi hope to gain when he raised a volunteer ambulance corps and served in wars for the British government?

• equal rights as an Indian

• a position in the military

• a voice in the government

• permission to stay in London

As he explains in “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” what did Gandhi realize in 1893 in South Africa?

• Nonviolence could be a powerful way to bring about change.

• It was safest to criticize an unjust government anonymously.

• Prejudice would not end unless oppressed people rebelled.

• He had no legal rights, purely on the basis of his race.

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In “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” what argument does Gandhi make against violent protest as a means to combat an unjust government?

• Violence only adds to the sum total of evil, even though it may be

  directed toward an evil force.

• Violence is too costly to undertake because of the great loss of lives and

  liberties.

• An unjust government will not react appropriately to a violent protest, but

  it will consider nonviolent ones.

• If a government is unjust, the only way to get its attention is to behave in

  a just manner.

Read the following excerpt from “Defending Nonviolent Resistance.”

But all that hope was shattered. The Khilafat promise was not to be redeemed. The Punjab crime was whitewashed, and most culprits went not only unpunished but remained in service and in some cases continued to draw pensions from the Indian revenue...

In this excerpt, what is the most likely meaning of whitewashed? Base your answer on context.

• publicized

• covered up

• investigated

• brought to trial

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What does the context suggest is the most likely meaning of tendered in this sentence?

And it has been a precious privilege for me to be able to write what I have in the various articles, tendered in evidence against me.

• falsified

• softened

• presented

• suggested

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Consider the context, and choose the most likely meaning of abstention as it is used in this sentence.

I am endeavoring to show to my countrymen that violent non-cooperation only multiplies evil and that as evil can only be sustained by violence, withdrawal of support of evil requires complete abstention from violence.

• escape

• avoidance

• destruction

• modification

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In “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” what effect does the introduction of the following idea create most clearly?

The only course open to you, the judge, is either to resign your post . . . or to inflict on me the severest penalty, if you believe that the system and law you are assisting to administer are good for the people. . . .

• Gandhi shows he believes that what he has done is worthy of punishment.

• Gandhi makes the judge feel uncomfortable for performing his duty in

  the court.

• Gandhi denounces the government, setting forth the harm it has done to

  the people.

• Gandhi redefines his trial by insisting that the judge decide on the justice

  of British law.

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In this passage from “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” Gandhi introduces the explanation he will give as follows:

I owe it perhaps to the Indian public and to the public in England to placate which this prosecution is mainly taken up to explain why from a staunch loyalist and cooperator I have become an uncompromising disaffectionist and non-cooperator. . . .

Which of the following is most clearly a purpose of Gandhi’s for providing this explanation of his shift in viewpoint?

• to show that it is solely the actions of the British that have brought about

  his opposition

• to help the public understand the differences between the British and

  Indian viewpoints

• to help the public sympathize with him for the difficult problems he has

  faced in his life

• to explain more completely the reasons he has been charged in court for

  his activities

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In “Defending Nonviolent Resistance,” what did Gandhi initially think about the British government?

• It was perfect as it stood.

• It needed to be overturned.

• It was to be admired for its prosperity.

• It was just but flawed in some respects.

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