Mahatma Gandhi’s Role in India’s Fight for Independence

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Mahatma Gandhi’s Role in India’s Fight for Independence “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. India has not been a free independent country for a long time. It had been under British rule from 1858-1947. India finally became independent on August 15, 1947 (Trueman). Many people credit India’s independence to Mahatma Gandhi because of the great role he played in helping India in its freedom struggle. Along with Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammed Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru assisted in making India an independent country. Gandhi’s main principle in India’s freedom struggle was based on non violence, which he called satyagraha, which means holding onto the truth, truth force, or soul force (Bondurant). Along with nonviolence Gandhi believe in passive resistance and swaraj or self rule. Gandhi thought that being violent would only get a bad response from the British, however passive resistance pushed the British to do something which would make them look bad To accomplish swaraj or self rule (Bondurant), Gandhi believed India needed 3 vital ingredients. The first thing India needed was to unify Indians with different religions, especially Hindus and Muslims. Second, India needed to remove its... ... middle of paper ... ...ck.org/20-5-GandhiandIndia1919-33.html>. Bondurant, Joan V. “Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869-1948).” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2014. Web. 6 Feb 2014 . “British Raj.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.Web. 2 Feb 2014 . "Indian History: British Period-Colonial Rule 1919-1947." Gateway to India. GatewayToIndia.com, 2005. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. . Trueman, Chris. “Mahatma Gandhi.” History Learning Site. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk, 2000-2013. Web. 8 Feb 2014 . “Role of Mahatma Gandhi in Freedom Struggle.” iloveindia.com. iloveindia.com. Web. 12 Feb 2014 .

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