Is Violence Ever Justifiable? an Examination of Self-Defence Cases in India and Kurdistan

This paper examines the extent to which violence used by the oppressed can disrupt patriarchal and capitalist systems and racist regimes. Theories of violence are highly polarised. Advocates of non-violent civil rights movements argue that any use of violence, even for the sake of liberation, perpetuates a more violent world and fosters an escalating cycle of violence that is difficult to break (Arendt, King, Butler, Walby, Frazer and Hutchings). In contrast, proponents of violent self-defence emphasise the inevitability of violence and its multifaceted accomplishments (Fanon, Sartre, Marx, Williams, Dorlin, and Vergès). In the context of this debate, this paper asks: how can we evaluate the effectiveness of violence utilised by the oppressed?

The use of violence by the oppressed can produce diverse outcomes, necessitating a nuanced analysis. For example, we should consider: 1) the impact of self-defence on the consciousness of the oppressed; 2) the possibility and impossibility of non-violence 3) the different effects of violence on gender, class- and race-based oppressed and exploited groups and 4) the ways in which violent resistance shapes the critiques and demands of the oppressed. Focusing on case studies from India and Kurdistan, this paper proposes an analytical framework for assessing the effectiveness of violent resistance. The selected cases provide a valuable context for examining the multifaceted outcomes of violence and its gendered, class- and caste-based, and racial implications.

Within current national and international legal frameworks, the concept of self-defence is largely confined to interpersonal violence or used to legitimise inter-state, often imperialist, aggression. At the same time, the varied impacts of violence on different groups are frequently disregarded. This research has the potential to broaden the understanding of self-defence in the context of feminist, anti-racist, socialist, and anti-imperialist struggles.