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Mohandas gandhi biography
Gandhi's life experiences
Gandhi and the British rule
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The world knows him as Mahatma Gandhi, a thin, wrinkled, elderly Indian wrapped in white traditional garb and leaning on a cane. Wire-rimmed spectacles frame the broad, aging face that has come to be associated with peace, wisdom, and the independence of India. Because of his untiring efforts to reform the cultural and political systems in India, Gandhi is well-known for his views on vegetarianism, birth control and the caste system. Most know about the peace-loving liberator of India, but what made Gandhi such a powerful force in the destiny of such a great nation? Many factors early in Gandhi’s life, such as his child-marriage, education, and experiences abroad, strongly influenced his philosophies and eventually compelled him to lead the non-violent movement, a “bloodless revolution,” that resulted in India’s independence.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi entered the world in 1869, the youngest son of Karamchand Gandhi, a diwan – one of a group of chief advisors to the princes in the peninsular region of Gujarat, on the western coast of India (Hay, “Two Worlds” 305-307). Born into the Modh Bania caste, a “middle-class” caste, Gandhi enjoyed a fairly secure life as a youth and received a good education. According to one biographer, “the Banias were by tradition traders, moneylenders and grocers, though Gandhi’s family had long since moved away from this occupational niche to become administrators in the princely states” (Arnold 21). This allowed for a fairly comfortable living situation for Gandhi and his family and provided an environment for him to develop an inquisitive and curious mind that would be crucial in his lifelong quest for truth, the driving force behind the non-violent revolution that completely altered ...
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...’s First Impressions of British Culture.”
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Mohandas Gandhi was a non-violent promoter for Indian independence.He was married young at 13,and went to London to go to law school.Gandhi got his degree there and was on his way to being a lawyer.He went to his first case,but couldn't even speak. Gandhi then got invited to South Africa from a businessman. Gandhi’s luck their was no good either.European racism came to him,after he got kicked off of a train,because he was “colored” and was holding a first class ticket.When Gandhi fought back because of it,was arrested and was sent to jail.After this, he became know as as a leader.Gandhi returned to India in 1896,and he was disgusted by it.British wanted them to wear their clothes,copy their manners,accept their standards of beauty,but Gandhi refused.Gandhi wanted people to live free of all class and wealth.Gandhi tried so hard and was more successful then any other man in India.They won independence in 1947. Gandhi’s non-violent movement worked because,Gandhi used clever planning, mass appeal, conviction, and compassion to win independence for India.
Mohandas Gandhi was born into a Hindu family of the Vaisya caste. This was the third ranking caste in the class structure of Hinduism. This class was for farmers and merchants. The whole system was so complex that in Gandhi’s lifetime it had begun to disintegrate. Gandhi’s father and grandfather were not farmers or merchants. They were prime ministers of the tiny principality of Porbandar in Gujarat. Mohandas was extremely shy. He rushed to and from school, too nervous to talk to any of his classmates. Then a pretty and strong-willed girl was married to him by an arranged marriage at the age of 13. Her name was Kasturbai. A marriage at this age was typical in Hindu custom. He was a strict husband and kept control over actions. Kasturbai disliked this. They didn’t spend more than the first five years of their marriage together, since it was typical for the girl to visit her family. At this point in his life, he was very depressed. He was little and suffered fears that didn’t bother his wife. An athletic and older boy who was Muslim fascinated him. He told Mohandas to eat meat if he wanted to become bigger and stronger. He said the Indians were weak and small people, because they didn’t eat meat, and this is why the British, who did, had the strength to rule over them. This was against his religion, but he tried anyway. He ate the meat in secrecy, but after a few meals he stopped. He didn’t like the taste of meat and fe...
"Selections from Gandhi : Complete Book Online." WELCOME TO MAHATMA GANDHI ONE SPOT COMPLETE INFORMATION WEBSITE. Web. 01 Oct. 2011. .
To begin with, Mahatma Gandhi was a man who stood up for the less fortunate people in the world. In passage one, it states that “ Mahatma Gandhi didn’t have to walk endless miles and go without eating for days.” The text is stating that , He didn’t have to abandon his daily life to declare to the world. He chose to stand up for the populations and tell them what was right. It also states that, he grew up in a rich and wealthy family. This
...es of past leaders Gandhi gained new perspective and subsequently avoided repeating the past; this lead him to attempt to embark upon a new path--one perceived as better for India. None of this would have been possible without the perspective gained through studying India’s brutal past. Subsequently his efforts and strategies were later emulated by other civil rights activists, effectively impacting the general society. Clearly, the perspective gained through looking back on one’s mistake would be impossible without adversity, which serves as the origin for remediation; society would not be able to progress without certain duress.
Mohandas K. Gandhi, a great Indian philosopher, wrote the essay “My Faith in Nonviolence”. His essay focuses on the use of nonviolence means on overthrowing the British rule of India. Gandhi’s main claim on this essay is that love is the higher law of life and that “every problem lends itself to solution” (p. 203) , if we followed that law.
Many people were nourished by the faith, compassion and commitment of Mother Teresa. Volunteers seemed to have been waiting for her example to open their own floodgates of charity and compassion. In addition to her leadership she was known for her “humanitarian work and efforts for peace, Mother Teresa has been recognized with many awards, including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), the Nehru Prize (1972), the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985), and the Congressional Gold Medal (1994)” (Northouse, 2008, p. 16). Mahatma Gandhi was a prominent political leader of India and its struggle for independence from the British Empire. He was the pioneer and perfectionist of Satyagraha - the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience strongly founded upon ahimsa (total non-violence) which led India to independence, and has inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world (Force, 2011). Throughout his life, Gandhi remained committed to non-violence and truth even in the most extreme
In the beginning, Gandhi states, ”You must be the change the world wishes to see” (Gandhi article). This reveals that often if there is a change in the world that needs to be made, heroes are the ones who initiate the change. Gandhi fought for India’s rights peacefully. For example, he made an agreement with Lord Irwin to end the Salt Satyagraha in exchange for concessions that included the release of thousands of political prisoners. Secondly, when other countries declared war on India, Gandhi pleaded other countries representatives discuss their perspective till a solution was formed. Finally, in the end of his book,Gandhi, An Autobiography Mahatma Gandhi reveals, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This shows that Mahatma Gandhi only cared for the people and the independence of his country, yet not himself. Gandhi did not take these actions for wealth, and fame, he did it out of the kindness of his
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism and the prophet of nonviolence in the 20th century, was born, the youngest child of his father's fourth wife, on Oct. 2, 1869, at Porbandar, the capital of a small principality in Gujarat in western India under British suzerainty. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar, did not have much in the way of a formal education but was an able administrator who knew how to steer his way between the capricious princes, their long-suffering subjects, and the headstrong British political officers in power.
Kumar, Ravindra. Mahatma Gandhi at the Close of Twentieth Century. New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 2004. Print.
Benegal’s Gandhi is not Attenborough’s ‘saintly’ Gandhi; rather he only strives to be the latter. Benegal’s Gandhi is a bright, hopeful young lawyer who came to South Africa to earn a living. He is neither great nor saintly but he is courageous enough to stand for the right cause. This movie gives a glimpse into the making of a great man; he was not born great but he achieved greatness by adhering to the simple human values. It is an intimate account of the life of Gandhi who worked hard and gave many sacrifices to become a leader. The wife, Kasturba and son, Harilal were the constant reminders of his human side and he learnt that to follow the right path he must give away whatever little he holds dear to himself. Since Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is the human counterpart of Mahatma Gandhi, and the movie makes the former its prime subject. Shyam Benegal in an interview said, “It is the young Gandhi we don’t know”. Mahatma Gandhi is known to all with due regard to Attenborough’s film production, the human side of Gandhi which is safely omitted by the director is little known. Benegal’s sees these twenty one years spanning from 1893-1914 as crucial since these were the years Gandhi spent as a human who longed to find his purpose in life, these were the experiments that made him the Mahatma
eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” and it sums up his key
“The strongest physical force bends before moral force when used in the defense of truth.” - Mahatma Gandhi (Bondurant). Mahatma Gandhi was the main leader in helping India become independent through the principles of non violence, self-rule, and the unity of Hindus and Muslims. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but he was given the name Mahatma later on in his life. He wanted to see an united India without the rule of the British Empire. He accomplished this with passive resistance or resistance by non violence because he wanted to show that violence is not always the best answer.
On September 4, 1887, Mahatma Gandhi stepped on board a boat bound for England with the intention to further his academic career. Nave and intensely shy, young Gandhi did not fully appreciate the extent to which his beliefs were to be challenged, transformed and eventually strengthened during this sojourn into the unknown. Nearly all aspects of his identity, including diet, social traditions, culture and religion, were scrutinized by Westerners and, in turn, as he adopted their perspective, judged unmercifully by Gandhi himself. Yet, though threatened by the new environment, Gandhi recovered a sense of identity in his Indian culture and heritage stronger than he previously experienced. His encounter with the West lent him incredible confidence in his ability to govern himself and thus, enabled him to be the remarkable leader India came to cherish and adore.
Mahatma Gandhi's Influence and Ideas Mahatma Gandhi was a man of faith and great conviction. He was born into an average Hindu family in India. Like most teenagers he had a rebellious stage when he smoked, spent time with girls and ate meat (forbidden to strict Hindus). The young Gandhi changed as a person while earning a living as a lawyer in South Africa. He came in contact with the apartheid and the future Mahatma began to emerge, one who championed the truth through non-violent resistance.