Editing Mahatma Gandhi (section)

=== Role in World War I ===
{{See also|Indian Army during World War I|label 1=The role of India in World War I}}

In April 1918, during the latter part of [[World War I]], the [[Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford|Viceroy]] invited Gandhi to a War Conference in Delhi.<ref>[[s:Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1918|Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's Life:India 1918]] in WikiSource based on the [[s:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi|Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi]]. Based on public domain volumes.</ref> Gandhi agreed to support the war effort.<ref name="Turban" /><ref name="wikilivres.ca" /> In contrast to the [[Bambatha Rebellion|Zulu War]] of 1906 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when he recruited volunteers for the Ambulance Corps, this time Gandhi attempted to recruit combatants. In a June 1918 leaflet entitled "Appeal for Enlistment", Gandhi wrote: "To bring about such a state of things we should have the ability to defend ourselves, that is, the ability to bear arms and to use them... If we want to learn the use of arms with the greatest possible despatch, it is our duty to enlist ourselves in the army."<ref name="CollectedWorks17b">Gandhi (1965), ''Collected Works'', [http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL017.PDF Vol 17.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015235028/http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL017.PDF |date=15 October 2009}} Chapter "67. Appeal for enlistment", Nadiad, 22 June 1918.</ref> However, Gandhi stipulated in a letter to the [[John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby|Viceroy's private secretary]] that he "personally will not kill or injure anybody, friend or foe."<ref name="CollectedWorks17c">Gandhi (1965), ''Collected Works'', [http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL017.PDF Vol 17.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015235028/http://www.gandhiserve.org/cwmg/VOL017.PDF |date=15 October 2009}} "Chapter 8. Letter to J. L. Maffey", Nadiad, 30 April 1918.</ref>

Gandhi's support for the war campaign brought into question his consistency on nonviolence. [[Mahadev Desai|Gandhi's private secretary]] noted that "The question of the consistency between his creed of '[[Ahimsa]]' (nonviolence) and his recruiting campaign was raised not only then but has been discussed ever since."<ref name="wikilivres.ca" /> According to political and educational scientist Christian Bartolf, Gandhi's support for the war stemmed from his belief that true ahimsa could not exist simultaneously with cowardice. Therefore, Gandhi felt that Indians needed to be willing and capable of using arms before they voluntarily chose non-violence.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bartolf |first=Christian |date=22 August 2013 |title=Gandhi and War: The Mahatma Gandhi / Bart de Ligt Correspondence |url=https://www.satyagrahafoundation.org/gandhi-and-war-the-mahatma-gandhi-bart-de-ligt-correspondence |website=Satyagraha Foundation |access-date=5 February 2024 |archive-date=5 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205071823/https://www.satyagrahafoundation.org/gandhi-and-war-the-mahatma-gandhi-bart-de-ligt-correspondence/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 1918, Gandhi said that he could not persuade even one individual to enlist for the world war. "So far I have not a single recruit to my credit apart," Gandhi wrote. He added: "They object because they fear to die."<ref name="Jarboe">{{cite book |author=Andrew T. Jarboe |title=Indian Soldiers in World War I: Race and Representation in an Imperial War |publisher=University of Nebraska |year=2021 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GvYrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238 |page=238 |isbn=9781496206787 |access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021061242/https://books.google.com/books?id=GvYrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA238 |url-status=live }}</ref>