The British rulers had acknowledged Gandhi as a force they could not suppress or ignore. Dandi March served as an important stepping-stone in India’s achievement to Freedom eventually. The seemingly unimportant and simple act to the Britishers, and even many of the Indian leaders, ironically turned out to be the history’s most influential event. It served as an inspiration for the leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr. in their own struggles for rights of their people. Gandhi’s Dandi March turned out to be a compelling act of seemingly passive but really forceful movement of protest against the oppression. It makes the readers wonder what made Dandi March a national success as well as a globally impacting act? Gandhi had spent years traveling throughout India and was aware of the fact that the majority of people of India were simple farmers or villagers, who would understand and be gripped by a simple concept like salt, rather than being motivated by fancy words or complex methods and goals. The creation of an army out of these simple villagers would be simply out of question; besides being against the core values of peace, nonviolence, and truth, which Gandhi was employing to thwart the injustices of the British Rule. It would be simply …show more content…
The speech reflects an immense clarity of his thought and purpose. Gandhi employs the use of simple and direct words in the execution of the process of Swaraj. Gandhi talks about both the scenarios where if the government allows him to march as well as a situation where he and other congress participants could be arrested or stopped from starting the march the following day. There seems to be a method and transparency in delivering his intentions and plan to the INC leaders as well as masses. Readers, as also mentioned before, can see that his authority is evident throughout his
Gandhi’s speech on the eve of his historic march on March 11, 1930, was intended as his last speech to his followers. He highlighted what his followers should do in the event that he was arrested for his crimes. They were to continue to try to attain Swaraj (self-governance, i.e. the country rules itself) with non-violence and truth. Instead of violence, he wanted them to cause civil disobedience by breaking small laws, such as owning and selling illegal salts, as well as purchasing or making them. He wanted the employees of the Government (British rule in India) to stop working in protest, in an attempt to undermine it. Gandhi asked for the taxpayers, and all who were cooperating with the Government to stop cooperating, doing things such as not sending their children to public schools or keeping titles. He also asked for them to have self-confidence in the goal of Swaraj, and to become leaders, while stressing non-violence and truth. Gandhi also asked his followers to continue to follow local leaders; to ensure that leadership at all levels in India was not changed all at once. At the end of his speech Gandhi tells his followers that is they are always truthful and non-violent while trying to make India self-governing, they will always be victorious, even if
...s that included satyagraha, or hold to the truth. This prevented bloody revolts like those of Egypt.. For example, when the British placed a high tax on salt, Gandhi led 50,000 people on a 200 mile march to the sea to make their own salt. Gandhi was taken to prison many times. Gandhi was able to work with Jawaharalal Nehru, a young lawyer to receive reforms from the British. The British finally granted a constitution in 1935 which was a beginning step towards independence.
Initially, for a revolution to be effective, it is necessary to have a strong leader that will motivate and impact people. After Gandhi’s leadership in the “Indian medical corps that fought on the British side in the Boer War...Gandhi’s reputation as a leader grew” (source B). He showed people that through nonviolent civil disobedience, there can be success. His leadership as a strong and nonviolent man pulled people towards him and his incentives to create a new India free from British rule. A person that can express strong leadership skills through their efforts in battle or through their ability to
India in 1757 was colonized by the Great Britain after the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies lost the Battle of Plassey in 1757 to Britain. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, seeing India becoming exhausted from the interwar years of 1919-1939, led an independence movement against British imperialism in India. Unlike most major reforms at the time Gandhi used non-violent disobedience to not only deter bloodshed but to also encourage others to join his cause. India, a large but depleted nation, was time and time again exploited throughout history for its people or natural resources. One such exploitation of India Gandhi thought as cruel was the British-imposed salt tax. This led to the now famous Dandi salt march in 1930 where Gandhi was imprisoned
These marches led by Gandhi showed the British how determined the Indians were about taking back their own rights. No matter how violent the British reacted, the Indians remained peaceful. “Suddenly, at a word of command, scores of native police rushed upon the advancing marchers and rained blows on their heads with their steel shod lathis. Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the
It was here that he became more maturely and outwardly aware of the social injustices brought upon a people group as a result of a harsh political system with no rights for its Indian people. It was not just the mere understanding and compassion for others that was born. It was also his direct experience with the dehumanizing treatment at the hands of the European authorities. He took this experience back with him to India, and whether it was with intent or not, he began to build upon his experience and gain a reputation for “saintliness” (Lal, 2012, p. 2) with those he came in contact with. Again, it was not only his physical ability to exude peace and love to people but his educational experience afforded him the ability to write detailed and adequate propositions to facilitate change among his nation. Even more notable is his response to the resistance of authorities, whereby he remained a peaceful opposition in spite of imprisonment. Ultimately, Gandhi’s driving force was to see India a nation independent and at peace. Gandhi, by the late stages of his movement had gained such a following and support that he boldly challenged those that felt and believed in his mission be just as committed as he was to lay down their lives (in the turn your other cheek type of action) in order to see India freed (Lal,
Gandhi sent a letter with a wide-range of demands and the idea that everyone in Indian society could identify with them and become unified. (Kumar). Gandhi and his followers marched hundreds of miles in unity as a sign of devotion to their cause and beliefs. Those in the march were brutally beaten yet they kept marching. The world watched the Salt March, and as a result, Gandhi won worldwide support for his cause. Before his march, Gandhi had this to say, “I have faith in the righteousness of our cause and the purity of our weapons. And where the means are clean, there God is undoubtedly present with His blessings.” (Gandhi). This statement perfectly embodies the nationalist movement and what he was trying to convey with his
He started in South Africa trying to help. Mr.Khan, a friend of Gandhi’s was a successful Muslim trader but the South Africans see him as simply an Indian. Hearing this surprised Gandhi because he is a well-educated lawyer and like the other Indian men he was speaking to, they are still considered inferior and not allowed to walk with whit e men in the street. Gandhi received his law degree in England yet the British discriminate against him in South Africa and he thought this treatment was unjust. Mr.Khan agreed to join him in protest against Indian discrimination and encourage people to burn their passes they have to carry. The British beat or arrested anyone who tried to join him in going against the government but he pass laws were eventually changed. After Africa he travels to India. His wife Ba usually does what he asks of her but when Gandhi tells her to clean the latrine she says no because that is a job for untouchables. At this time there was still a rigid caste system that Gandhi was trying to eliminate. He wanted equality for everyone. Ba agreed to follow him and stay by his side through his journey. His whole plan was to protest Britain through Ahimsa or nonviolence. His first major campaign was the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922. He used tactics such as boycotts, work strikes, and hunger strikes. He then led the Dandi Salt March to protest the
Gandhi, famous for his peaceful ways of protesting, led India to independence by defying the British legislation. Despite being arrested and beaten, Gandhi never gave up and used the setbacks to fuel his determination to fight for independence. The three major events in the fight against the British rule included the massacre at the Golden Temple, the homespun movement, and the salt march. Each event brought India closer to being a free country. Led by Gandhi, India struggled to gain independence from Britain in a nonviolent approach, but remained peaceful in their protests even with the British mercilessly obstructing their fight for freedom.
Under British rule in India, the British were harshly oppressive and only interested in exploiting products from India for their own use, causing many Indians to become extremely poor. They became so oppressed they were on the verge of violent civil disobedience, when Gandhi appeared to negotiate with the British threw non-violent tactics such as sit-ins and hunger strikes. The people were supportive on Gandhi and were set to become violent if anything happened to him. Things were resolved without violence.
The appeal of Gandhi's non-violence strategy appealed to two groups of people. It appealed to masses of villagers because it was a collective way to resist, trying to rise above all the violence and show the dignity of their cause. It also appealed to the wealthy merchants, landlords, and small-holding peasants who supported Gandhi because it offered the hope of getting rid of the British while not threatening to destroy their property or endanger their economic and social position.
Q3. Mohandas K. Gandhi became a leader in India after the horrific Amritsar Massacre. Mohandas K. Gandhi had a unique way for battling religious injustice. Instead of having violent protests, he believed in peaceful protesting. Many believe that this idea of peaceful protesting came form his religious background. He became the voice for many world religions; for example, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. Gandhi's tactics of civil disobedience would affect the British in many ways. Ultimately it would severely weaken the British government and control over India. All of his peaceful protesting and boycotting would lead to social, economic, and political problems in Great Britain.
Gandhi’s nonviolent movement worked because he didn’t believe in segregation and didn’t follow the British’s rules for Indians. When coming back from prison in 1859, things changed in India. The people if India were forced to mimic the English on how they dressed, copy their manner and accept their standards of beauty. When hearing this, Gandhi didn’t accept it and started his movement. According to the background document,” he shed the cloths that made him look like a British lawyer and dressed in a poor man’s traditional loincloth.”(Background document) By do...
Gandhi’s implementation for the Salt March was the result of British colonization of India, which had caused a change in the lifestyle of the Indians. In 1975 when the East India Company established manufacturing monopolies, which assisted the British to exercise their powers over the salt facilities in India by applying salt taxes. As the British occupied the salt works, the Indian population became deprived of one of the most important resources. Thus, the Indians in nation began to fall apart, because the strict British ruling restricted the Indians to perform against the salt taxes. The Salt March was a way that Gandhi sought to inspire a strong uniformity in the minds of the many. These Indians soon adapted to Gandhi’s nonviolent belief and became known as the satyagrahis, w...
The Quit India Movement was an important movement for independence although it did not gain Indian independence at that exact moment. It was a Segway into to the movement that changed Indian lives. Gandhi launched his “Quit India movement in August 1942 in Bombay. This speech was to (encourage) Indians to wage one last struggle for independence or die trying. he repudiates. Many claim that the Quit India speech by Gandhi was a Civil Disobedience Movement that was a huge launch for independence. Throughout Gandhi’s speech he requested the withdrawal of British rule from India through mass nonviolent protest asking desperately for the freedom for (of) the Indian People. Throughout Gandhi’s Passionate speech for freedom he proclaimed that “every Indian who desires there freedom and strives must be his own guide. And that “every Indian should consider there selves a free man. This speech was mostly described as an Inspirational and motivating speech that is to persuade Indians to seek their freedom. In Gandhi’s speech he had told Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the multitudes and masses to act as an independent nation that would soon follow freedom for their people. This movement that Gandhi had given the call “Quit India” to the British and pressed Indians with his emotive slogan ‘Do or Die’. It was during this time that Gandhi made a statement: "We shall either free India or die in the attempt; we shall not live to see the perpetuation of our slavery". His goal and aims throughout his speech was to encourage the British government to negotiate through determined, but passive resistance.