--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Non-cooperation is directed not against…" description: "\"Non-cooperation is directed not against men but against measures. It is not directed against the Governors, but against the system they administer. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/mahatma-gandhi-23_cooperation_non-cooperation-is-directed-not-against_1412577.jpg" --- # Non-cooperation is directed not against men but against… ![“Non-cooperation is directed not against men but against measures. It is not directed against the Governors, but against the system they administer. The roots of non-cooperation lies not in hatred but in justice if not in love.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/mahatma-gandhi-23_cooperation_non-cooperation-is-directed-not-against_1412577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/mahatma-gandhi-23_cooperation_non-cooperation-is-directed-not-against_1412577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51c/mahatma-gandhi-23_cooperation_non-cooperation-is-directed-not-against_1412577.jpg) > “Non-cooperation is directed not against men but against measures. It is not directed against the Governors, but against the system they administer. The roots of non-cooperation lies not in hatred but in justice if not in love.” [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Non‑cooperation targets unjust systems, not individuals, rooted in justice rather than hatred or love. **In simple terms:** Resist oppressive structures, not people. Key Takeaway Choose peaceful resistance against injustice. Themes justice non‑cooperation ethics Mood reflective serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - authorical protest - social movements - policy change - community organizing Key Concepts civil disobedience political activism Questions to Reflect On - What injustices require peaceful protest? - How can you maintain non‑violence? A Different Perspective Non‑cooperation can provoke backlash or be misinterpreted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Governors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governors/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [Non-cooperation with tyrants is a duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-cooperation-with-tyrants-is-a-duty/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Total nonviolent non-cooperation has no place in popular Raj, whatever its level may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/total-nonviolent-non-cooperation-has-no-place-in-popular-raj-whatever/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Non-cooperation is a measure of discipline and sacrifice, and it demands respect for the opposite views.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-cooperation-is-a-measure-of-discipline-and-sacrifice-and-it/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In my humble opinion, non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good. But in the past, non-cooperation has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-my-humble-opinion-non-cooperation-with-evil-is-as-much-a-duty-as/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-kasem/a-non-violent-world-has-roots-in-a-non-violent-diet/) [Casey Kasem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-kasem/) > [If you're fighting the system, then you're still caught in it. It's not about fighting the system; it's about ceasing to hold it together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/if-you-re-fighting-the-system-then-you-re-still-caught-in-it-it-s-not/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [Non-cooperation in military matters should be an essential moral principle for all true scientists ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/non-cooperation-in-military-matters-should-be-an-essential-moral/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Non-cooperation is beyond the reach of the bayonet. It has found an abiding place in the Indian heart. Workers like me will go when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-cooperation-is-beyond-the-reach-of-the-bayonet-it-has-found-an/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-cooperation-with-evil-is-a-sacred-duty/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Non-cooperation is an attempt to awaken the masses, to a sense of their dignity and power. This can only be done by enabling them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-cooperation-is-an-attempt-to-awaken-the-masses-to-a-sense-of-2/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The first principal of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-first-principal-of-non-violent-action-is-that-of-non-cooperation/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [This campaign of non-cooperation has no reference to diplomacy, secret or open. The only diplomacy it admits of is the statement and pursuance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/this-campaign-of-non-cooperation-has-no-reference-to-diplomacy-secret/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Behind my non-cooperation there is always the keenest desire to cooperate on the slightest pretext even with the worst of opponents. To me, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/behind-my-non-cooperation-there-is-always-the-keenest-desire-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I would still ask the government not to drive the people of India to desperation, or else there is no other course left open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali-jinnah/i-would-still-ask-the-government-not-to-drive-the-people-of-india-to/) [Muhammad Ali Jinnah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali-jinnah/) > [There are quite a few disgruntled Greenpeacers who are opposed to its policy of non-cooperation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/there-are-quite-a-few-disgruntled-greenpeacers-who-are-opposed-to-its/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) ## More by Mahatma Gandhi > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More Cooperation quotes > [I wish I had played team sports. I think every kid should. Teamwork builds character - teaches people about leadership and cooperation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-rocca/i-wish-i-had-played-team-sports-i-think-every-kid-should-teamwork/) [Mo Rocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-rocca/) > [The U.S.-China relationship, of course, has elements of both cooperation and competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-donilon/the-u-s-china-relationship-of-course-has-elements-of-both-cooperation/) [Thomas E. Donilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-donilon/) > [Every step by which an individual substitutes concerted action for isolated action results in an immediate and recognizable improvement in his conditions. The advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/every-step-by-which-an-individual-substitutes-concerted-action-for/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [We have to deal with where we are. We have to create cooperatives, we have to create intentional communities, we have to work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/we-have-to-deal-with-where-we-are-we-have-to-create-cooperatives-we/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [We must never lose sight of the fact that we must take part in the development, not only of ourselves but of all humanity...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/we-must-never-lose-sight-of-the-fact-that-we-must-take-part-in-the/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-means-in-the-last-analysis-the-substitution-of-thought-for/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Women lead in ways different from men's. Men, I think, have been programmed to give orders. Women have been programmed to motivate people, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-fox/women-lead-in-ways-different-from-men-s-men-i-think-have-been/) [Muriel Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-fox/) > [I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-sometimes-try-to-imagine-what-would-have-happened-if-we-d-known-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [In spite of my great admiration for individual splendid talents I do not accept the star system. Collective creative effort is the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantin-stanislavski/in-spite-of-my-great-admiration-for-individual-splendid-talents-i-do/) [Constantin Stanislavski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantin-stanislavski/) > [The peace we seek, founded upon decent trust and cooperation among nations, can be fortified not by weapons of war but by wheat and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/the-peace-we-seek-founded-upon-decent-trust-and-cooperation-among/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [The main achievement of economics is that it has provided a theory of peaceful human cooperation. 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