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civil disobedience

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IS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE JUSTIFIED?

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment". 1

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it 's the only thing that ever has."2 History has shown us through the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. who went against the greater power of their time to fight for injustice. These few respectable men made that difference that the world needed at that time and upheld the very principle of democracy to its roots. It goes without saying that citizen participation to make a country’s democracy as legitimate and true is of paramount …show more content…

This further proves that such resistance which is against unjust state law and policies are essentially justified.

Non-violence is another imperative feature of civil disobedient acts whereby the act of resistance is done without consideration of any extremist measure such as damaging property or harming other civilians. This element of non-violence corresponds with the public nature of the civil disobedience that are normally undertaken such as peaceful march, candlelight vigil , hunger strike and the famous Salt Satyagraha which was undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi and is deemed as one of the most effective and influential part of his civil disobedience actions in his fight for India`s independence.13
Anna Hazare is another example of an influential figure in India who has adapted Gandhi`s practice and initiated hunger strike movement in India last year to pressure the government to introduce a stringent Anti-Corruption Bill whereby corruption is deemed as the major problem in current India. The Bill was passed due to pressure initiated by the civil disobedience act which was public and essentially non-violent and received international level of support primarily from Indian and non-Indian citizens within the country and in overseas.14 India as the world largest democracy serves as the testament whereby such civil disobedience act ,provided that it is done in certain measures bear

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