[Carry_Okie]

Gandhi was urging Indians to join British army to fight the Boar War in South Africa.

Ah, but to what end but the independence of India, by arms if necessary?

[ravager]

No way! Personally, Gandhi would rather have Indians get completely exterminated by the British then use violence to win independence for India. Although Gandhi did acknowledge that there a limit to being non-violent but he was a little fuzzy on what those limits are. Here is another of Gandhi's quotes:
“It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”

While Gandhi was truly pacifist and non-violent, he was neither passive nor stupid. In the day and age when there was no tv no Internet, Gandhi knew how to mobilize Indian masses in a highly organized way. Gandhi knew that British power rested on 2 things... economy and military. He asked Indians to stop paying taxes and stop buying British manufactured good (instead make their own) to hit British economy. He urged Indians to join British army to fight WW1 even though he was against violence.....so that Indians get trained in modern military tactics and learn the use of fire arms. That way the base of military power would shift from the hands of the British over to Indians.

Gandhi did not intend to use the firearms or the Indian military against the British but by end of WW2 there were 3 million highly trained Indian soldiers who have seen combat in Europe, Africa and South East Asia. One word from Gandhi and they could potentially wipe out the British Empire. And 2 years after WW2 Britain decided to give India independence.