The rest of your post makes an excellent case, but w.r.t the above, I must confess to conflating "pacifism" (Gandhian, as I qualify it) and "non-violent direct action" (as JH put it) by responding to JH's dismissal of pacifism (while at the same time pointing to anti- imperialist struggles) by offering the example of the Indian struggle. To me the two (Gandhian pacifism(*) and non-violence) are approximately the same.
--ravi
(*) Gandhi's record is both nuanced and bizarre on this. He is clear enough in his recommendation of violence when necessary (such as when a woman is being or under threat of being raped), while at the same time suggesting that Jews being forced to gas chambers should march in head high to shame the Nazis (or some such naive logic).