Gandhi's acts of civil disobedience Essay

How might Mohandas K. Gandhi advise someone to respond to an unjust law? “There are two ways of countering injustice. One way is to smash the head of the man who perpetrates injustice and to get your own head smashed in the process.” It is important for people to take a stand on issues of justice in society. It teaches society to work and resolve their issues, it encourages social advancement, and it helps the people who are directly affected by the situation, and can give them assistance.

Mohandas Gandhi’s methods not only led to India’s independence from Britain but also had victories over racial

When we think of iconic civil rights activists we think of Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa parks as the list goes on and on. Each of these individuals strived for justice and equality in seemingly unjust societies. Now, each civil activist had their own way of handling their own prejudice-filled cultures. For even to this day we ask ourselves, “What is the right way to protest and exhibit change?”. Throughout history there have been countless demonstrations in protest or by simply standing for what an individual believes in. For The two activists that stand out from those forementioned for the means of this paper is whether Gandhi and his nonviolent approach to discrimination or Malcolm X who promoted the ideal of “By any means necessary” in his civil protests have ideals that can be used in societies

British rule was tough on many Indians. Gandhi, an Indian born lawyer, believed in freedom and peace for his people. He once experienced racism when he was kicked out of a train in Europe. He changed people’s point of view without breaking the law, which was tough for him. Gandhi made his nonviolent movement work through the use of determination, peaceful civil disobedience, and being a powerful leader.

In 1869, Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in India. At that time, the British had rule over India. They pushed people in India off their land and took their money from them for themselves, which was extremely cruel and unfair to the population. Then on March 18, 1921, Gandhi made a speech inside a courtroom complaining about these unjust acts. In his speech, he gives a excellent argument against the oppression in India. He uses a combination of emotional, rational, and ethical appeals to help build up his argument.

Throughout history, many conflicts have happened, some with resolution, and other without. We often tend to think of solving conflicts with war, since most of our history classes are based around World War I, World War II, and so forth, but many conflicts were fought, and successfully won using nonviolent resistance. Many people would use Gandhi as a well known example. Gandhi’s plan of civil disobedience revolved around this big idea called “satyagraha,” which he explains as, “a satyagrahi should always possess civility and humility, qualities that indicated self-control and an humble approach to truth” (Gandhi 50). He later explains that satyagraha is “truth-force” and that truth is soul and spirit, or “spirit-force.” “It excludes the use of violence because man is not capable of knowing the absolute truth and, therefore, not competent to punish” (51). He used this strategy to fight for indian independence. Many other incidents in the world have been fought using civil disobedience, including Women’s Suffrage.

The South African civil rights movement, was greatly impacted upon by Gandhi. After becoming a legal barrister in England, he accepted a yearlong contract from an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa. Gandhi was horrified by the racism and prejudice he experienced as an Indian immigrant in South Africa. On a train voyage to Pretoria, Gandhi was beaten by a Caucasian stagecoach driver and thrown out of a first-class railway compartment. This was because he refused to give up his seat for a European passenger. That

Gandhi told his adherents that under Satyagrahis trusts every one of them ought to comply with the principles that where set by the prison the length of they Уnot conflicting with [there] sense of pride or with [there] religious feelings." After the Gandhi pull the majority of the his common defiance in real life it didn't take yearn for the Great Britain to attempt to go to some sort of a trade off with the Indian people group about the enrollment laws. Gandhi solid have faith in hello Satyagrahis was what helped him and whatever is left of the Indian people group stop their prosecutors and increase some opportunity for his kin. Gandhi trusted that his utilization for common rebellion was legitimized in light of the fact that Great Britain and their legislature was treating the Indian unreasonable and would continue doing that until the Indian would confront them. In same path as Gandhi utilized common rebellion to shield his kin from racial arraignment Martin Luther King Jr. utilized strategies of common noncompliance to shield the minorities individuals from indictment in view of their

trip to Pretoria Gandhi was thrown off the train ride because a white man objected his

Gandhi’s first hand experiences in dealing with discrimination began in South Africa. In Chapter VII ‘Some Experiences,’ Gandhi recalls on his first days of his arrival the incident at the Durban court

Aroused by the massacre of Amritsar in 1919, Gandhi devoted his life to gaining India’s independence from Great Britain. As the dominant figure used his persuasive philosophy of non-violent confrontation, he inspired political activists with many persuasions throughout the world (Andrews 23). Not only was Mahatma Gandhi a great peacemaker, but also his work to achieve freedom and equality for all people was greatly acknowledged. Gandhi’s unconventional style of leadership gained him the love of a country and eventually enabled him to lead the independence movement in India.

This essay will focus on the decolonisation of India by the British Empire and the problems they encountered. It will also aim to bring recognition to the struggle decolonisation brought upon the world after World War II. Pierce states that “after the War concluded, a worldwide process of decolonisation commenced in which Britain granted independence to all of its major colonies, beginning notably in India” (Pierce, 2009). India had struggled with uprisings and conflicts for the many years of British occupation but when Gandhi began sharing his social efforts; the perceptions of colonialism began to change leading to the collapse of the British colonial Empire. Gandhi began changing the lives of regular Indian’s with his popular visions, he also advocated for the people of India in a non-violent

Gandhi was a pacifist whose mission in life was to change racial inequality because he believed it was wrong for anyone to be treated differently by their race or gender. For example, Gandhi bought a first-class ticket on a train and was asked to be removed from the first-class section. Gandhi refused to move to the back and was eventually thrown off. On that same night, he devoted to himself that he would be fighting the “deep disease of color prejudice” (“Mahatma Gandhi”). During this time when Britain ruled over India, non-white people were discriminated. The reason Gandhi was casted out was because he was an Indian. Instead of using violence to fight colored prejudice, “Gandhi developed his philosophy of ‘Satyagraha’, or resistance through non-violent civil disobedience” (‘Satyagraha’). For instance, Britain passed an act “which not only prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt...but imposed a heavy tax that hit the country’s poorest particularly hard…” (“Mahatma Gandhi”). In

Events in South Africa had made Gandhi a very well-known man in India and in 1915 he along with family in tow, arrives in Bombay, India which is where the following scene takes place. I immediately noticed that he was no longer wearing a suit, but instead the traditional clothing of the Indian people. Upon returning to India, the film depicts Gandhi taking on the English once again with the backing of millions of Indian supporters seeking independence from Great Britain. This done by once again forming a non-violent protesting organization. From here the film goes on to show violence brought to Gandhi’s followers, supporters, and the non-violent protestors by officials using force with gunfire, batons, etc. Afterwards, Gandhi was again imprisoned several times in India with one occurrence resulting in a six year sentence.

In South Africa, he involved himself in an attempt to end discrimination against the minority Indians residing there. During this course, he developed “satyagarha”, which translates into “soul force”, or an approach of non-violence resistance, against the British governments in South Africa. In the years following the World War I, Gandhi became a leading figure in India for his struggle to achieve independent from the mighty British rule. His willingness to tolerate the punishments and the prison confinement earned him the title of “ Mahatama”, a “great soul” in India in 1914. (Mohandas Gandhi, 2015)