What does Hinduism really say about non-violence?

On Gandhi, Hamas, anti-war activists and the crucial distinction between violence and cruelty

Ruth Vanita’s essay on non-violence is a smashing read, important and enlightening in equal measure. Raised and educated in India, Ruth has published two collections of verse, two novels, and several non-fiction works, on subjects ranging from same-sex love and marriage in India to Shakespeare, Urdu poetry, Bombay cinema, and the Sanskrit epics. She ha…