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 an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist and writer who would lead the independence movement of India to free the country of British rule (“Mahatma Gandhi,” 2017). He would prove that a single person could change the course of history and take on the entire British Empire. Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence and civil disobedience are attributed to his success in gaining independence for India. The act of passive resistance allowed Gandhi to generate more support for his movement for independence while making it difficult for the British to find reasons to arrest them. He argued that although violence could be more effective than peaceful
Mohandas Gandhi was born in 1869 in the Indian coastal city of Porbandar (Background Essay). He then studied law in London, where he noticed that Indians were expected to imitate their rulers, the Englishmen (Background Essay). Gandhi wanted all people to live free, even those imposed by India’s caste system so he decided to take action in a peaceful manner (Background Essay). By doing so he was able to gain India’s independence in 1947 (Background Essay). This caused Gandhi to be known as “ Mahatma” or “ Great Soul” because he was able to do it without violence (Background Essay). Gandhi’s nonviolent movement worked because he accepted the consequences to his actions, strived for fairness to all mankind, and didn’t think of the British as enemies.
Born in Porbandar, India, Gandhi studied law and organized boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil protest. He was killed in 1948.Even after Gandhi’s assassination, his commitment to nonviolence and his belief in simple living,making his own clothes, eating a vegetarian diet and using fasts for self-purification as well as a means of protest have been a beacon of hope for oppressed people throughout the world. Gandhi’s actions inspired future human rights movements around the
Gandhi was an important leader in India and his goal was to get rid of the British from his country. He wanted his followers to protest
According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, when the Boer legislature passed a law requiring that all Indians have to register with police with fingerprints Gandhi and other Indians had refused to obey the law. For the disobedience, Gandhi was arrested and imprisoned for years because he did not believe in those unjust laws. Though, after he got released, he still continued to protest the registration law and help non-violent marches. Eventually, this caused the Boer government to end the “objectionable parts” of the law. Even though Gandhi had been in jail for an abundance amount of times, he came out every time to start new peaceful protests. At the end, with the help of Gandhi and his satyagraha (peaceful revolt), India had finally gained independence from Britain. Consequently, this again demonstrates how civil disobedience can have positive impact and can change a society for its greater
Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement in the early 1900s, inspired many with his use of civil disobedience to bring about change in society. Gandhi was an educated individual who studied law in London and worked in South Africa. Here, he experienced discrimination first hand due to British individual's sense of superiority caused by the concept of social darwinism. This lead to him advocating for equality and later transgressed to the liberation of India, who was at that time under Britain’s control. His method of promoting change through civil disobedience was so revolutionary in a time where violence was so prominent, and was able to capture the astonishing resilience of Indians against British oppression.
Throughout modern history, Britain’s exponential growth inevitably affected the future of many nations in the contemporary world- in particular, the culturally intertwined state of India. Even in the initial stages of colonisation, India was forcefully occupied by the British East India Company; however, it was not until 1858 that a dictatorship was officially announced and the nation was forced to regard England as 'the true homeland'. Amidst societal unease and a growing discontent with the British rulers by the poor peasants, India's emancipation seemed inevitable in order for the nation to truly progress. In effect, a revolutionary leader spawned; Mohandas Gandhi. His great philosophical mind held innovative ideas which were instrumental in the achievement of Indian Independence- with his thoughtful ideologies and beliefs paving the way for oppressed Indians to ultimately unite against British imperialism. Consequently, this resulted in the monumental Satyagraha campaign that triumphed successfully against the British authorities.
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.
In 1757, Great Britain extended its empire into India. This occupation would not fully end until 1947. In the time between, there were many movements by the Indian people to gain independence from the British. The movement that finally succeeded in winning India’s independence was led by one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi’s methods for fighting against the occupation of the British were very different from those of any of the freedom movements before. And that was why it worked. Gandhi did not agree with the general reasoning of the time: that conflicts could be solved through negotiation and forceful resistance.1 Rather, his faith led him to go
Eventually Gandhi helped pave the way for India’s independence however it wasn’t all over. India began to divide between Muslim’s and Hindu’s and it was settled that the North and Eastern parts of India would be given to Muslim’s and called Pakistan and Hindu’s would be left with the rest of India as their homeland. Thus happening all against Gandhi’s wishes. As scenes move on, Gandhi takes ill, and it becomes known that he has gone on a hunger strike due to the violence between Muslims and Hindu’s. At one point it is clarified
Gandhi’s nonviolent struggle against the British to gain independence not only highlighted the wrongs of Britain’s rule, but also the peacemaking capabilities of the Mahatma. Because Gandhi despised the use of violence to achieve a goal, “Thus was born satyagraha (devotion to truth), a new technique for redressing wrongs through inviting, for resisting adversaries without rancor and fighting them without violence” (“Britannica’s Mohandas Gandhi” 3). Gandhi firmly believed in satyagraha, as exemplified in his actions–such as the Salt March, or refusal to purchase and use British imports. He based his actions on exposing the corrupt by showing their wrongdoings against innocent subjects, and yet he offered a path to redemption. Gandhi did not fight physically, but rather verbally by inspiring many to stand up against their rulers as brothers, not enemies. Numerous events practiced by Gandhi displayed his ideals,
By 1921, India began a series of cultural, social, and political movements in order to achieve independence from oppressive British rule. During this time, the Indian Nationalist Movement rose to extreme prominence, which demanded non-discriminatory laws, equality, peaceful religious relations, and Indian independence. The most notable leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement was Mahatma Gandhi, who was renowned for his ability to lead peaceful civil protests and enact change among the classes. Gandhi denounced the excessive taxation and social discrimination that was taking place. He led various campaigns that resulted in citizens boycotting British products, schools, offices, and government establishments and formulated a constitution that promoted India's development as an independent nation. By the mid-twentieth century, India was able to gain freedom through a nonviolent exchange of power. According to Worlds Together, World Apart, "India achieved political independence involved without an insurrection....Anti-colonial elites in the Indian National Congress party negotiated a peaceful transfer of power from British rule..." (Tignor 756) However, as the development of a national identity continued, religious and cultural conflicts and divides were drastically intensified between Hindus and Muslims. Disputes over which culture, language, religion, and classes would be
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.