Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi
Mohandas Gandhi was easily one of the greatest political leaders of the twentieth century, yet he had no power what so ever. He was just a man, who influenced a non-violent revolt to gain India’s independence. Unfortunately after India did gain their independence, the struggle was not over. Gandhi was still in no form of power, and only was an adviser. As he had struggled throughout his life for India, been imprisoned for many years for India, it is interesting how on the evening of one of his usual prayers, an Indian waits in the crowd to kill him. On January 30th 1948, Bapu (Sanskrit for “father” commonly used with Gandhi and the “father of India”) was shot and killed, while having his nightly public walk. Mohandas Gandhi was one of the most powerful political leaders of the twentieth century, because of his strives for the independence of India through non-violent consent.
Mohandas’ first enthusiasms towards non-violent resistance was discovered in South Africa when he was severely discriminated and realized something had to be done about the harsh discrimination towards blacks and Indians in South Africa. In South Africa he adopted his ideology of the devotion to the ‘truth’. “Gandhi launched his first civil disobedience campaign, using a technique he called Satyagraha, a Sanskrit word. Satya means truth and love; agraha means firmness or force. Satyagraha is often translated as “truth force.””1 He began to create a peaceful resistance, and using no violent measures. Many Indians and blacks were jailed but in the face of peaceful blacks and Indians simply trying to get more rights peacefully, the South African General had no choice but to negotiate with Gandhi, giving him his first of many vi...
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...d advise violence.”5
Gandhi did not advicate cowardism, and certainly was not one. Infact Gandhi was never afraid. “If I die by the bullet of a madman, I must do so smiling. Should such a thing happen to me, you are not to shed one tear.”6 Mohandas Gandhi’s strive towards the independence and freedom of the Indian people, elevated him to being one of the most powerful and influential people in the twentieth century. Not only has he inspired people in his nation, but in countries around the world, in the struggle in peaceful and non-violent civil disobedience, instead of bloodshed.
Bibliography
Cheney, Glenn Alan, Mohandas Gandhi. New York: Grouer Company, 1983.
Malaspina, Ann, Mahatma Gandhi: and India’s Independence. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 2000.
Mohandas Gandhi,” Wikipedia, 27th September 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
...Because of Gandhi’s power, his flaw, and his catastrophe, one would say that Gandhi fits the model of a Greek tragic hero. Gandhi’s power was his heightened goodness, proven by his innumerable civil disobedience acts, where he continued to fight even while he was regularly jailed. His flaw was his tolerance and acceptance of everyone which led to his catastrophic assassination by Nathuram Godse. Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence and peace still live on today, as they have inspired many other human rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi’s teachings are responsible for the successes of civil rights movements in other countries. He not only helped free India from British rule, but also gave people new thoughts about violence and imperialism around the world. Even today, India continues to live and remember the tutelage of Gandhi.
Martin Luther King once said, “Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him”. Throughout history, people have committed numerous acts of crime from stealing to fighting, to war. These acts of violence had never done any good to mankind but had continuously harmed mankind. Mahatma Gandhi was a leader who had promoted and inspired people across the world to continue the acts of Ahimsa. Gandhi spread his acts of Ahimsa inspiring the American Civil Rights Movement, Nelson Mandela, and Harper Lee showing that Gandhi’s beliefs of non violence should be continued.
Mahatma Gandhi, a nationalist and spiritual leader was perceptive and objectively so, perhaps most eminently when he instructed his zealots, “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win” (Mahatma). Gandhi has a remarkable sagacity at a young age and strengthened it throughout the succession of his life. Although the aforementioned quote merely previews the extent of his intellect, it effectively summarizes his political approach. After becoming a member of the Indian National Congress Gandhi had the potential to become a most influential leader for the Indian people, and he did. Gandhi committed his political title towards fighting against the unlawful oppression of British rule. His method of fighting, however, was a politically innovative, mental type of fight. As a firm believer in the value of Pacifism, Gandhi developed the theory of non-violent civil protest and vowed to prevent his followers from succumbing to the allure of bloodshed. The irenic nature of Gandhi’s leadership won him the admiration of many Indian people, and is now considered to have political genius prestigious enough to be studied today (Mahatma 2). In some instances, studying Gandhi’s political strategy demonstrates the benefits of an actively participating governed majority. In today’s society, many people tend to make uneducated political decisions and sometimes even refrain from making one completely. In a variety of circumstances, related to any category of politics, from the election of a new president to the enactment of new laws, a group of Americans remain unrepresented because of their refusal to exercise their right to vote. A topic such as gun control would be a fitting example of a subject that while put ...
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.
“ First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win” (Mahatma Gandhi). Gandhi was born in 1869 in Porbandar. Throughout his life Gandhi helped those in need. He was taught that everyone and everything is holy. He married at the custom age of 19 and went to London to study law. The thing that helped Gandhi promote nonviolence is that he worked his entire life saying that violence didn’t change the way people acted. He lived his life saying that an eye for an eye only made the whole world blind. Gandhi’s nonviolent movement worked because he had something to prove and everyone else in the world agreed with him.
Mohandas Gandhi was a religious man, however, his religious beliefs did not come from his childhood but from his studies that he began as a political activist in South Africa. Upon his return to India from England, he had had a rough start as a lawyer and accepted an offer to work on a case in South Africa. He ended up staying in South Africa for more than twenty years. In South Africa Gandhi became a leader of the Indian immigration population. Gandhi had to learn skills to overcome caste, class, and religious divisions to build a base for dramatic mass actions. In the process, Gandhi’s religious development influenced his politics. He believed that the search for truth was the goal of human life, and since “no one could ever be sure of having attained the ultimate truth, use of violence to enforce one’s own necessarily partial understanding of it was sinful.”
According to Indian social activist Mahatma Gandhi, selfless service is the foundation for creating change throughout the world. “Action is one’s duty”, and one’s duty is actuated by “the spirit of service” (9) which one must take on in order to understand humility and selflessness, strengthen himself, and become an advocate for ahimsa, nonviolence (9). Like so many other social activists, Gandhi had a vision for the future: a vision of peace, independence, and equality for all. To Gandhi, nonviolence is essential if one ever wishes to see this change that he envisioned for the world. Gandhi fought relentlessly for India’s independence from Britain, but he did not fight in the way many people today think of when they hear the word “fight”. Gandhi fought without fists but with courage, heart, empathy, and, most importantly, with love – love for self, love for others, and love for his country. Gandhi confirms that one who loves himself, others, and his country enough to sacrifice himself and devote himself to ahimsa has the power to change the world. If an individual wants to make a difference he should follow the ways in which Mahatma Gandhi lived his life; Gandhi led a life of nonviolence in his everyday life, in the form of civil disobedience, and as a foundation for independence. As Gandhi did, when one reaches a full understanding of nonviolence and acts upon it, he alone can make a difference.
In conclusion Gandhi’s background made him who he was, giving him an idea of how to get India’s independence, and his impact on India help people realize you can fight with knowledge and nonviolence to change a way of life. What makes a person strong and brave it’s the person who works hard to make something right.
...o his teachings, and his good deeds for people made him a mahatma. All of the good deeds and inspiration of Gandhi shows that Gandhi lived a life of consequence. Gandhi’s most important movement was fighting for independence for the untouchables, and against the British (“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi” Para 17). Gandhi’s biggest protest was the salt march (Para 17). Throughout the independence movement Gandhi fought by nonviolence and truth (“Mahatma Gandhi” Para 12). The good deeds of Gandhi made him a mahatma (“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi” Para 9). Gandhi inspired many leaders such as martin Luther king, Jr. by the concept of non-violence (Rosenberg Para 1). Gandhi had done many good things throughout his life that still inspire people today. All of the aspects done by Gandhi made him a great soul or a hero, which shows that Mahatma Gandhi lived a life of consequence.
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
The Indian pacifist Gandhi once said “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind,”(Gandhi). Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi believed fighting only makes a situation worse and abhorred committing violence in almost all forms. As a young man of privilege, Gandhi was given an excellent education, studying Indian law at the University College London and put this education to effective use back home. In protests against the tyrannical British-rule in India, the combinations of varying people and religions were instrumental, all the while garnering significant international support for the cause. Mahatma Gandhi’s policy of nonviolent, civil disobedience was highly influenced by a variety of religions and individuals and the Indian leader was able to put the various ideas gathered to effective use.
The methods he developed like protest, mass marches and fasting was to “bring Hindus and Muslims together”(“Gandhi, Mahatma”). As I was growing up I thought the way to tell someone to do something was through violence. One day I was listening to a speech about how Gandhi was a political leader for India. He believed in order to get freedom from the British, and India united was through peace and nonviolence. He saw in order for India to be strong the two groups needs to be in peace with one another. Even though he was going through challenges, he was still “promoting self-control and peaceful solutions”(Gandhi, Mohandas”). I saw that this man was never backing down to what he believed was right. Nonviolence was the right way to make two different people like each other. Fighting is not always the way of the truth. He made my beliefs of violence to think about. Now it 's my job to spread the message of nonviolence resistance to
If you know anything about Gandhi and the life he lived, this quote definitely sounds like him. In my senior year of high school I took a class called Academic Decathlon. The subject that we studied and competed in that year was India, so we learned a lot about Gandhi. One of the most unforgettable things I remember about him is his dedication. His entire life was him being the change he wanted to see. He didn 't back down from hard things. He once fasted 21 days just to bring unity between Hindus and Muslims and in 1930, he led the Salt March, a 24-day march that was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in order to protect British rule in India. If this quote wasn 't said directly by Gandhi, I don 't doubt that he ever said something similar to it. In fact, I can quite confidently say that he would believe in it. The quote causes anyone who lives by it to stop
He led many peaceful protests and movements such as the Non Co-operation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India Movement, to fight for India’s freedom against Britain. Not only did Gandhi used his power of words to get people to stay peaceful but to show people how they can make a difference in the world. As Gandhi once said, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent” (Ghandi). Gandhi also once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world” (Ghandi). The first quote shows how Gandhi strongly didn’t believe in violence and he thought that when people did evil things for the good, it will only do good for sometime until it comes back to them. Gandhi used his power of words to motivate people to stay calm and refrain from violence. He also believed that every person had the power to change the world. Gandhi expressed to people that they need to be the change they want to see. He used his words to impact the view of people on life in general as he talked about peace, love, sacrifice and much more. He expressed this to the people by using his power of words. Gandhi took his power of words and used them in a way to make people question their power in this
When Gandhi returned back to India from Europe in 1896 he was sickened. The British Raj had formally taken over, so he decided to make a change and stop the unfair treatment of everyone in India. As Gandhi said himself, “My ambition is no less than to convert the British people though nonviolence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India..” (Document A, Gandhi). His whole reason of practicing civil disobedience was to show the British that no matter how hard they hit, the people of India would never give up. With these peaceful protests Gandhi made a point to the British, he but a mere man could but tame a ferocious lion. (Document D). Gandhi and his supporters were constantly being attacked and yet they never stopped protesting.