Mahatma Gandhi, An Inspirational And Non Violent Leader Essay

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India, which in that time was part of British Empire. Gandhi was unfortunately killed by a fanatic in 1948. His father and mother were Karamchand Gandhi, a chief minister and Putlibai Gandhi, a deeply religious woman who fasted regularly. Gandhi studied law and advocated for the civil rights of Indians. Gandhi became a leader of India’s Independence movement.

The essential of Gandhi is anthology of his life. It is separated into two parts. One as Gandhi the man and the other as the Mahatma meaning Great Soul. I was very much well interested in the readings of The Essential Gandhi. What I was most interested in was that he spoke with so much determination and compassion. His firm belief in nonviolence was presented very strongly. “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. Gandhi believed strongly in non-violent civil disobedience, so he states that violence provides only temporary relief or satisfaction, but the pain it causes people and societies is much greater. There is so much violence in the world today and some believe you have to fight violence with violence but Gandhi was very successful with his method of not acting upon violence in such of as in a hatred way. He solely helped India become independent with his method of nonviolence. Before I read this story I knew very little details of him, but the main thing that always puzzled me, what gave Gandhi the courage to make such a difference in the world?

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.

Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi are both great exmples and role models of the nonviolent protest from there very different religious backgrounds. Although the two have different religious beliefs, but the fact that they have the same approach to the nonviolent factor that plays a big role in the world still to this day. Martin Luther King Jr. a black male southern Baptis preacher who was from Atlanta who was born in 1929, then years later assassinated on a hotel balcony in 1968 (fisher 367). Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar and was then later assassinated in 1948. But the inspiration and teachings from both Dr. king Jr. and Gandhi, their lives and spiritual teachings live on in the hearts of millions of people throughout the world today.

In South Africa Gandhi was exposed to a level of racism that he had never experienced before. He was not allowed to wear his turban in a courtroom and he was not allowed to ride in the same cars as Europeans on the trains. While traveling to by train to Pretoria, he was asked to leave his seat for the van compartment. He refused and was kicked off the train.8 To get to his destination, he found a stagecoach going to Pretoria. He was not allowed to sit in the coach-box with the white passengers, but was forced to sit with the coachman. Later, he was asked to give up his seat to sit on the floorboard. Gandhi would not agree to this injustice. And, although he received a beating for it, he remained in his seat.9 These incidents led Gandhi to decide to fight for the rights of Indian workers in South Africa.

“If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statue books. We will never obey them”(1). Mohandas Gandhi expressed this in his writing “On Nonviolent Resistance”. “Civil disobedience” is when people use their voice by protesting, non-violently, to stick up against unjust laws and unjust movements. The truths and values are proven and brought to attention in the writings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry David Thoreau. Civil disobedience can be the solution to unjust laws and violence around the world.

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean is not." -Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was a powerhouse, a leader, and an activist. He started the Salt March, which was a movement that created a new light for the people involved in it.

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

Chapter 4 of the book “Gandhi and Beyond” was pretty interesting and fascinating to read and learn about. One of the sections of the chapter that impacted me the most was the section titled Learning about Gandhi found on page 76. In this section, Chavez began to learn about Gandhi and his principles of nonviolence. Chavez admired Gandhi because of his success, his commitment, and his methods of nonviolence such as boycotting and fasting. In Gandhi Chavez found a leader who inspired him to help the poor defeat the rich. Another interesting fact that I learned on this section was that Chavez began to develop nonviolent ideas and believed that in order to practice nonviolent acts one must be prepared for sacrifice. One of the quotes that I really liked on this section was Chavez’s quote found on page 79 which states “Love is the most important ingredient in nonviolent work… Love the opponent… If were full of hatred we can’t do work” (Cortright 79). Using this word Chavez says that in order to become successful and win one must love the opponent. If people begin to use acts of nonviolence against the opponent’s one must not become successful in the movement being created.

The famous Mahatma Gandhi and Malcolm X left behind legacies that still influence the world today. One of the major factors that impacted these two historical figures was religion. The characteristics of Hinduism definitely had an effect on Gandhi’s peaceful and nonviolent views, just like the Islamic religion guided Malcolm X’s beliefs of by any means necessary. Their religious affiliations were not only deciding factors in their lives, but also played a key part in their deaths

Gandhi studied law and spent a lot of time fighting against discriminatory legislation in South Africa. Through his ideal of Satyagraha, he inspired others and is now an extremely important figure in the history of the world (Gokhale). His main goal was to achieve equality for the poorest caste (previously known as the Untouchables) and he went against the taxation that they faced. He was very socially aware and even fought for women’s equality as well as ending the caste-system.

Once Gandhi’s mission in South Africa was complete, he returned to India and became involved in the home ruling movement. He was concerned with excessive land tax and discrimination, so he organized protests by peasants, farmers, and urban laborers to help them stand tall and fight for what they deserved (Gold 57).

During Gandhi’s trip to South Africa, he faced discrimination and debasement of which he was unused to. He was thrown off of the train on his journey as he would not comply with the order for him to leave first class. Furthermore, hotels would not allow his entry due to the colour of his skin. He was suddenly more aware of the plight and the status of his race in the eyes of the British colonists. In his interactions with the locals and other scholars and reformers, he began to understand his own beliefs of independence and non-violent protestation through non-conformity. Also, as he gained adherents, he learned of his abilities in leadership and his charismatic personality. Without these interactions, Gandhi wouldn’t have understood and developed such strong beliefs as he

Before leading the salt march in India and becoming one of the most well known Indian civil rights activists, Gandhi studied law in London and left for twenty years to pursue being a lawyer in South Africa. While there, Gandhi experienced racism because Indians were looked down upon in South Africa. Once becoming involved in the law, he began to involve himself in helping to reduce racial injustices and became the largest advocate in South Africa for Indian rights. Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa prepared him for and allowed him to become the political influence he was for his people when he returned to India.

The leather sandals slipped from his feet. Mahatma Gandhi's devoted his life mainly to help others, in Ahimsa, non-violence and Hindu - Muslim riots, he was largely inspired by the Gita- the Hindu holy book. Basically he believed everyone should have equal rights. His successes in life were when he studied law in England, got a job in South Africa, when he did the salt march, identified him self with the untouchables- which are India's poorest people.