Mohandas to Mahatma: A Glimpse of Gandhi’s Leadership Justin Hussey Western Kentucky University Mohandas to Mahatma: A Glimpse of Gandhi’s Leadership Mohandas K. Gandhi was born and raised in Porbandar, India on October 2, 1869 into a family of a privileged caste (Gandhi & Desai, 1927). He was raised by a father who was the Chief Minister of Porbandar and a mother of great devotion to the Hindu religion, and he was given thorough educational opportunity, which led to his attainment of a law degree (HISTORY, 2015). While traveling to begin a new position at an Indian law firm in Natal, South Africa, Gandhi experienced racial bias and color discrimination as he was thrown from a first-class train carriage (despite having a valid ticket) for refusing to move (Gandhi & Fischer, 2002). Witnessed injustices and racial discriminations such as this went on to fuel Gandhi’s activism in a fight against segregation and political oppression for the people of India. As stated by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, we can analyze the effectiveness of Gandhi’s leadership by observing certain practices that he displayed. These practices include: inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, model the way, enable others to act, and encourage the heart (Northouse, 2013). To “inspire a shared vision” means to create and communicate compelling ideas and outcomes to guide people’s behaviors toward those ideas and outcomes (Northouse, 2013). Gandhi’s vision for an independent India
Mahatma Gandhi, a highly influential man, was one of the world’s most well-known fighters for equal rights. Gandhi saw and experienced discrimination, for instance, “At the time Gandhi was there, South Africa was not a friendly place for non-whites. . . . Gandhi believed that this was wrong” (Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Legacy). Gandhi’s interest in human rights was born when he moved to South America and saw the way non-whites were treated. “Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Legacy” states, “Practices of Satyagraha included boycotts, protest marches, and fasts.” Gandhi stood up proud for what he believed in, and because of this he was able to fight for his beliefs. Gandhi did many generous, righteous actions in his lifetime, but the real impact happened after he died, including stimulating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela (“Satyagraha: Gandhi's Legacy”). Gandhi inspired others to speak up and change the world forever.
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.
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.
Mahatma Gandhi, or “the great-souled one” as called by many of his followers was a leading figure in the fight for India’s independence, but he also was an advocate for world peace, showing his devotion with many “hunger strikes” (History.com staff, 2010). One of his greatest quotes, “No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive” shows the biggest fault of cultural inequality. This displays to me that people cannot work together while refusing to accept others.
The source conveys the teachings of Gandhi and how they guided Martin Luther King Junior in the African American civil rights movement. Source two explores the positive impact of Gandhian philosophy upon Martin Luther King Junior and how his teachings reflected in King’s campaigns. The web article is reliable because it is written by Michael Lewin who is a qualified author and a member of the Gandhi foundation. The only factor which diminishes the sources reliability is the webpage that the source is published
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.
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.
Mahatma Gandhi enacted change by striving to end racial injustice. He did this to show that anyone of any race or religion should have equal rights. According to “Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Legacy”, it states, “Gandhi developed his philosophy of “Satyagraha,” or resistance through non-violent civil disobedience to defend his rights and the rights of all Indians and non-whites” (Studysync Editors). Gandhi himself had been faced with discrimination. However, instead of ignoring the situation, Gandhi took a stand and did what was right to ensure equality among all people. The Studysync Editors stay, “As had been the case in the southern United States, Indians and other non-white people were forced to ride at the back of trains, use separate facilities, and were treated as second-class citizens. Gandhi believed that this was wrong”. With his opinions in mind, Gandhi decided to get his beliefs out by starting non-violent protest. As the leader he was, he lead many protests that included: unfair taxes and oppressive discrimination, as well as alleviating poverty, helping in the women’s liberation movement, and ending caste discrimination. Studysync Editors wrote, “Gandhi's work inspired large-scale global change. Resistance to British involvement in South Africa and in India helped to inspire a movement of decolonization all over the world. Several political and spiritual leaders were inspired by Gandhi's work…”. Gandhi’s influence to the civilization was a huge turning point for those of the non-white race. By his assiduous act and hope of impact, Gandhi didn’t just catch the eye of the discriminated but also the attention of others. Mahatma Gandhi is remembered today as one of the most
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
“Generations to come, it may be”, Einstein once said about Gandhi, “will scarcely believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon earth.” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as “Mahatma” (meaning “Great Soul”) was a spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement, who was born on 2 October 1869. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha – resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total nonviolence – which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is known as the Bapu (Father) and also referred as the father of nation in India.
Mahatma Gandhi was a political leader who brought peace to India, he had a peaceful method of non-violence, although many people think his death was just because he was gaining too much power and followers, but that is not a reason for him to have been killed and all he believed in was peace. Gandhi was a man who thought “live like there's no tomorrow” this was actually one of his famous quotes.Many people think that he had too much power and that’s why he was killed. All he really did was free India from the british using peaceful method it's not like he used an army to fight the british. His words are what got everyone behind him. I personally think it was unjust because all he wanted to do is end racial discrimination and be free from the british and that wasn't because he wanted for himself this was for everyone.
While Gandhi was well-known as a political leader, he was primarily a social reformer. Through power of a political figure, he could reform Indian society. First reason, his philosophy originated from his childhood. It matured gradually until he took political activities at his middle age. In his childhood, “She impressed him most with her spirit of self-sacrifice. As a devout Hindu in pursuit of self-purification … He makes clear that the decisive influence on his life came from his mother” (5). At the age of thirteen, he realized that “the wife is …as free as the husband to choose her own path … For a male living at this time in any society, this was an uncommon insight, yet consistent with Gandhi’s later commitment as a political activist to the emancipation of women” (6). At age of eighteen, he learnt to be tolerant of other religions. The syncretic spirit of Hinduism helped him to define “religion…in its broadest sense, meaning thereby self-realization or knowledge
Mohandas Karmchand Gandhi was born during the British rule in India on October 2, 1869. Gandhi in the year of 1888 was sent to England to pursue law, where he developed interest in the philosophy of nonviolence as expressed in the holy Bhagawad Gita, a scared text of Hindu scriptures. However after passing the bar, he found little accomplishment in his attempt to practice law in India, which is when he accepted a position in South Africa, where he assisted on a lawsuit. (Mohandas Gandhi, 2015)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Bapu (the father of the nation) and Mahatma (the great soul) was born at Porbandar on 2nd October, 1869. Karamchand was his father and Putlibai was his mother. His father was a hereditary diwan of a petty princely state in erstwhile Kathiwara.His mother was a pious, God-fearing, devout and simple lady given to traditional religious practices such as prayers, reciting of God’s names, counting rosary beads etc. They belonged to the caste of Vaishya.In London, he had a very unhappy and restless life as he felt like a square peg in a round hole in the so sophisticated English society and milieu. He remained almost an outcast although he tried to ape the English youth.All his attempts to become a fashionable English gentleman again proved a misadventure as his attempts to smoke and eating meat had proved earlier in India. Therefore, he gave up these attempts of becoming a gentleman and decided to follow his own nature. There he read Barnard Shaw’s “Plea for Vegetarianism” and declared, “From the day of reading this book, I may claim to have become a vegetarian by choice—the spread of which became my mission.”He also set up a vegetarian club there and one day invited Sir Adwin Arnold to become the club’s Vice- president. In 1891, he passed his Bar-at-Law examination and in the summer of the same year returned to India, to his great relief, and he was called to the Bar at Bombay but again as a practitioner of law, he proved a miserable