Mahatma Gandhi and Mao

Gandhi and Mao Comparison Honors Essay

Everyone shares different views on a variety of things. Let’s take Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong, two revolutionaries who were prominent in the twentieth century. Their ideas spread through India and China respectively. The occurrences of certain events in their homelands led to their emersion as important leaders and figures of their country’s history. On April 13, 1919, a somewhat large group was peacefully voicing their disagreement with the British Rule that was taking over India. However, they didn’t realize the type of meeting they were holding was banned by General Reginald Dyer. Thus leading Dyer and fifty soldiers to travel to the gathering and kill “nearly 400 people and wounding more than 1,100”. (textbook, 401) This tragic massacre resulted to Gandhi emerging and standing up for Hindu rights. In 1927, Jiang Jieshi ordered his troops to attack and slaughter the Communist party and those who supported it because he saw it as a threat to his power. (textbook, 407) Once Chinese Communists littered the streets Shanghai and elsewhere, they too were killed and became non-existent. Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong were two different people with a variety of beliefs and almost invisible similarities that led them to be influential historical figures of their own prospective countries.

Ahmisa is translated as “nonviolence”, (reading packet, 16), it was the belief that Gandhi used to get his word out. Generally, Gandhi wasn’t a violent person; maybe he could be considered a pacifist of sorts. His early life was normal and he came from a middle-class, Hindu family. When he turned 19 years old, he traveled to England to receive an education in law. Similar to a number of Indians, after...

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... influenced their countries and the world, leaving behind lessons and practices for the coming generations. Change within a country can be conquered in different ways; Gandhi and Zedong carried it out differently, but came to the same conclusion. Gandhi believed in nonviolence, whereas Zedong believed in violence. Gandhi believed in keeping old traditions and morals and Zedong believed in Westernizing. When it came to the lower class, however, this is where Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong saw eye to eye. They both believed money should go to them considering their economical status in society. In the end, all the fighting and protesting paid off for the both of them. Their countries got their freedom and independence to govern them, to live their own lives, and most importantly, have pride in their country thanks to Mohandas Gandhi of India and Mao Zedong of China.