Question

why is satyagraha not to be classified as passive resistance according to Gandhiji

Answer 1

Satyagraha Sanskrit: सत्याग्रह; satya: "truth", agraha: "insistence" or "holding firmly to") or holding onto truth[1] or truth force – is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. The term satyagraha was coined and developed by Mahatma Gandhi(1869–1948).[2] He deployed satyagraha in the Indian independence movement and also during his earlier struggles in South Africa for Indian rights. Satyagraha theory influenced Martin Luther King Jr.'s and James Bevel's campaigns during the Civil Rights Movementin the United States, and many other social justice and similar movements.[3][4] Someone who practices satyagraha is a satyagrahi.

Answer 2

M.K. Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha in South Africa, to describe a passive resistance. He used this word probably because he felt uncomfortable to use an English word.  

Though he used the term Satyagraha as a substitute for Passive resistance, he believed that the scope of the term Satyagraha is much wider than that of the Passive resistance. He did not classify Satyagraha as Passive Resistance because he believed that Passive Resistance is weaponry used by weak and it does not prohibit the use of violence or physical force for its purpose while Satyagraha has been formulated as a armament of the strongest and does not support violence in any form. Hence, the motive behind Satyagraha was not to damage or harass the enemy but to change him or win him by sympathy, self- suffering and tolerance.