Biography of Indian Independence Activist Mohandas Gandhi

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Indian independence activist Mohandas Gandhi was an agent for both political and social change. An advocate for Indian independence he faced persecution and imprisonment. Perhaps the most well-known promoter of non-violent civil disobedience he changed the way oppressed groups the world over viewed their struggle for equality.
India gained its independence from Great Britain in 1947, in large part due to Gandhi’s peaceful perseverance. After living for 20 years in South Africa, practicing law and advocating for Indian equality there, he returned to India at the age of 45. His mission became to advance the cause of Indian independence from Great Britain. He led the Indian National Congress and was jailed repeatedly for acts of civil disobedience. In one of his most famous protests of British rule he led thousands of Indians on a march to the Arabian Sea to collect salt in protest a salt tax. On this occasion 60,000 people including Gandhi were jailed. Throughout the struggle for Indian independence Gandhi would be jailed multiple times and embark on various hunger strikes to encourage cooperation between divided factions in Indian as well as the British colonial government. Thirty-three years after his return India Gandhi saw his dream come true when Britain granted India independence but this came with a price. India was split in two; the separate country of Pakistan was formed for Indian Muslims. It was Gandhi’s efforts to bring peace and unification between Hindus and Muslims that eventually led to his assassination in 1948 (History.com Staff, 2010).
As a proponent of Satyagraha, mass non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi believed that change could be effected without using physical force. While practicing law in South Af...

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...an when she became the face of the women’s rights movement. Unafraid of persecution or humiliation she spread new ideas of equality for women and minorities that took root and changed the face of America (Walker, 2011).

Works Cited

History.com Staff. (2010). Mohandas Gandhi. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/mahatma-gandhi
Pal, A. (2008, February 1). 60 years after death, gandhi making world a better place. Retrieved from The Progressive: http://mail.progressive.org/mp_pal012208
Susan B. Anthony House. (2013). Biography of Susan B Anthony. Retrieved from SusanBAnthonyHouse.org: http://susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story/biography.php
Walker, A.-M. (2011, June 28). Political and social change created by the actions of susan b anthony. Retrieved from Voices.Yahoo.com: http://voices.yahoo.com/political-social-change-created-actions-8855571.html

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