Events were so shaping themselves in Johannesburg as to make this self – purification on my part a preliminary as it was to Satyagraha. I can now see that all the principal events of my life, culminating in the vow of brahmacharya, were secretly preparing me for it. The principle called Satyagraha came into being before that name was invented. Indeed when it worn, I myself could not say what it was? In Gujarati also we used the English phrase ‘passive resistance’ to describe it. When in a meeting of Europeans I found that the term ‘passive resistance’ was too narrowly construed, that it was supposed to be a weapon of the weak, that it could be characterized by hatred, and that it could finally manifest itself as violence, I had to demur to all these statements and explain the real nature of the Indian movement. I was clear that a new word must be coined by the Indians to designate their struggle.
But I could not for my life find out a new name and therefore offered a nominal prize through Indian opinion to the reader who made the best suggestion on the subject. As a result Maganlal Gandhi coined the word ‘sadagraha’ (sat - truth, Agraha - firmness) and won the prize. But in order to make it clearer I changed the word to ‘Satyagraha’ which has since become current in Gujarati as a designation for the struggle. - M.K. Gandhi
(a) (i) What was the earlier usage of Satyagraha in Gujrati?
(ii) Did the author realize the narrowness of the term ‘Passive resistance?’ When?
(iii) When was it realized to coin a new word for the Indian movement?
(iv) Who coined the word ‘Sadagraha’?
(v) Name the man who changed the term from ‘Sadagraha’ to ‘Satyagraha?’
(b) Give the synonyms of the underlined words:
