IN FRONTIER GANDHI'S VILLAGE HOME 57
this type of bravery, what a beacon light will it be for
Europe with all its discipline, science and organization I
If Europe but realized that heroic as it undoubtedly is
for a handful of people to offer armed resistance in the
face of superior numbers, it is far more heroic to stand
up against overwhelming numbers without any arms at
all, it would save itself and blaze a trail for the world/'
He told Badshah Khan that he would like to have a
heart to heart talk with as 'many Khudai Khidmatgars as
possible so that he might be able to understand them
thoroughly and they, him. Accordingly, he met the officers-
of the Charsadda tahsil, thirteen in number, on two suc-
cessive days at Utmanzai, and another group at Peshawar.
At both places, in reply to his questions they assured him
that their adherence to the principle of non-violence was
implicit and unqualified. They even went ^o far as to
de'clare that even if the impossible happened and, as
Gandhiji had postulated to them, Badshah Khan turned
away from the path of non-violence, they would not give
up their faith in non-violence.
Gandhiji told them that though it sounded to him
an overbold statement for them to make, still, as was hi&
wont, he would take them at their word. He explained
to them in detail what his conception of the nature and
implications of non-violence was. It was comparatively
easy to maintain a passive sort of non-violence when the
opponent was powerful and fully armed. But would they
remain non-violent in their dealings amongst themselves?
and with their own countrymen, where there was no ex-
traneous force to restrain or check them ? Again, was-
theirs the non-violence of the strong or that of the weak ?
If theirs' was the non-violence of the strong, they should
feel the stronger for their renunciation of the sword. But
if that was not the case, it was better for them to resume
their weapons which they had of their own free will dis-
carded. For it was much better for them to be brave sol-
diers in arms than to be disarmed and cowardly.
" A charge has been levelled against me and Badshah
Khan," he remarked, "that we are rendering India and