Civil disobedience is another practical method of satyagraha. It means the breach of the unjust law or the statutory enactment of the government. Gandhi took this idea of civil disobedience from David Thoreau, the American naturalist. Gandhi made extensive application of civil disobedience in course of India’s freedom struggle. When there is a conflict between the legal duty and moral responsibility Gandhi prefers the primacy of the moral. In case of a revolution or rebellion there may be disobedience of the law, but that is not civil disobedience. The basic motive behind civil disobedience is a well-defined moral principle and its method is non-violent. It can be practiced with great caution to avoid any outbreak of violence or lawlessness. Further civil disobedience may be offensive or defensive. Offensive disobedience includes disregard for the statutory enactment of the state and so to say a non-violent revolt against the administration. But defensive civil resistance or disobedience includes peaceful demonstrations, public meetings, rallies, publishing views, ventilating the unjust policies of the government, mobilizing public opinion etc.