Gandhi was a heroic icon who always put his nation’s interest first. His ideas of “satyagraha,” non-violence, and non-cooperation were powerful and proved to the world that even common people can unite peacefully and achieve the unthinkable. Out of all the famous people, Mohandas “Mahatma” Karamchand Gandhi’s legacy and his charismatic leadership that toppled the mighty British Empire will never be forgotten.
Mahatma Gandhi and the Origins of Militant Non-violence
This is a story of Mahatma Gandhi who helped India gain its independence from the mighty British Empire not by using guns but by using non-violence. The story takes place in the twentieth century, a century which was filled with many inspiring heroes who helped shape the world we know today. Some heroes became famous for their bravery demonstrated in world wars and others moved the masses not by their military might but by the power of their ideology and beliefs. Mahatma Gandhi was among the group of heroes who identified themselves with the common people and spent all his life for his country. Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi was a great leader of the twentieth century who devoted his entire life for his country, fought social injustice, and helped India gain independence through his ideology of “Satyagraha,” and non-violence, and non-cooperation.
Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869; he received his middle name, Karamchand, from his father. His birth took place in a small Indian town called Probandar (Frost). Gandhi married quite early in his teenage years to a young girl named Kasturbai or “Ba” who was thirteen in the year 1882. After the first five years of their marriage, Gandhi and Kasturbai didn’t really do things normal couples did because Kasturbai constantly visited her parents and on the other hand, Gandhi went to England to seek a degree in law (Desai). Gandhi was an average student in high school and barely passed his examinations with a score of thirty-nine percent (Chadha). After completing high school, Gandhi had a desire to become a doctor; however, his father wanted him to be something else mainly because being a doctor went against his caste (Sawinski). Gandhi was a vegetarianist because he wanted to focus more on being healthy than religion itself (Desai). Gandhi’s religious quest dated back to his childhood because of the influence his mother had on religion (Nanda). Both Gandhi and his mother practiced the Hindu religion. Gandhi’s childhood and young adolescence was not the best time of his life mainly because he was a poor boy and because his grades were not very good. Mohandas Gandhi’s trip to England to study law was a successful one. Upon his return, he became a trained lawyer who was known for seeking justice in the streets and in the countryside unlike the courtroom (Sawinski).
Gandhi was an avid freedom fighter but did not believe in violence. Satyagraha was the Sanskritic combination Gandhi later chose as a name for his way of life and the action – “Truth” and “Force,” in literal translation (Ericson). When Gandhi was in South Africa, his experience there changed his life because he couldn’t believe the discriminatory environment and the sorry plight of people of color there. Over forty-thousand Indians were to work as laborers for the British (UXL Biographies). Gandhi reacted to this discrimination by organizing the very famous “satyagraha” or “holding the truth.” Later he described that it was only when he learned to reduce himself to zero that he was able to evolve the power or Satyagraha in South Africa (Easwaran). When he returned to India, Gandhi received the nickname of “mahatma” or “Great Soul” (Sawinski). He received the name “mahatma” by the noble-prize-winning poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore (Herman). Between the years 1897 and 1899, the Boer War took place. Gandhi wanted the Boers to win, but since he followed “satyagraha,” he thought he had no right to say that (Desai). The other practice Gandhi practiced was known as “ahimsa” or nonviolence to all living things. This used to and still is a Jain Commandment (Chadha). Gandhi also interpreted “ahimsa” to mean absence of physical violence, anger, hatred, and all other typed of violence to the soul (Sawinski). He was convinced that unwavering non-violent resistance had the power to uphold human dignity and disarm the most formidable adversary (Lambily-Bresson). Gandhi’s years of study and soul-searching led to the rise of a new philosophy of life known as “Gandhism.” This philosophy renounces westernization, industrialization, and materialism (Frost). One example of Gandhism is that he looked at the low castes and puts forth the principle of “satyagraha” (Frost). Satyagraha sets up the stage for Gandhi to start his nonviolent non-obedience pressure on the British control. Gandhi was a charismatic statesman and his individualism fed courage for the rest of the nation. He strongly believed that nonviolence requires much more courage than violence. Gandhi often said “No coward would sit still on the ground as galloping police horses advance upon him, lie in the path of an automobile or stand without moving as baton-swinging policemen laid about him. This was active resistance of the brave (Fischer).” Gandhi applied a technique of combat with turned the traditional docility of a gentle Hindu into heroism (Fischer).
In Gandhi’s own words, “Victory is impossible until we are able to keep our temper under the gravest provocation. Calmness under fire is a soldier is a soldier’s indispensable quality. A non-cooperator is nothing if he cannot remain calm and unperturbed under a fierce fire of provocation (Gandhi).” These words from Mahatma Gandhi when he addressed millions of Indian were inspirational and encouraged people to unite as a nation and fight with the British army without any weapons. People believed in him and followed his teachings for the greater good of the country. During the World War One, Gandhi supported the British because he thought this would lead to the freedom of the Indian people; however, this was not the case at all (UXL Biographies). Consequently on April 13, 1919, a meeting for the Indians took place in Amritsar about a protest against the British by the words of, “Long live the Hindu-Muslim Unity” (Herman). British high command did not tolerate the gathering and decided to punish the unarmed people. Colonel Sanders was sent to take control of the situation who, instead of dispersing the crowd, ordered soldiers to fire on the unsuspecting crowd. As a result of the firing of one-thousand, six hundred and fifty shots, two hundred were wounded and four hundred were killed (Herman). After this mass-killing event, titled the Amritsar Massacre took place, Gandhi began an effective new noncooperation campaign and won the people’s approach (Frost). By 1921, he was elected leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement (Frost). The British angered the Indians with another thing – taxes. The British placed a heavy tax on salt, otherwise known as the Salt Acts. After the Salt Acts, social unrest spread through India like wildfire. People boycotted purchasing salt and were jailed by the British (UXL Biographies). In 1928, Gandhi was frustrated with the British’s taxes and decided to ask the Indian Nationalist Congress to launch another nationwide strike using nonviolence (UXL Biographies). This time, Gandhi targeted the Salt Acts, so Gandhi and his followers walked two hundred miles to the Indian Ocean and decided to make their own salt (UXL Biographies). With the beginning of World War Two starting, the nationalist struggle occurring in India entered the last, but important phase. Gandhi vehemently despised fascism (Nanda). The battle for India was over in 1944 (Lyman). After the battle, Gandhi suffered from malaria. People thought he would not survive and held prayers throughout the India for his recovery (Herman). After Gandhi contracted malaria, Winston Churchill was also convinced that he was going to pass away soon. Churchill wrote that Gandhi was an evildoer to the British mainly because the natives in India preferred Gandhi’s idea of spinning a wheel to make clothes instead of buying high-standard British clothing (Herman).
In conclusion, Gandhi was a heroic icon who always put his nation’s interest first. His ideas of “satyagraha,” non-violence, and non-cooperation were powerful and proved to the world that even common people can unite peacefully and achieve the unthinkable. Out of all the famous people, Mohandas “Mahatma” Karamchand Gandhi’s legacy and his charismatic leadership that toppled the mighty British Empire will never be forgotten.
Works Cited
Chadha, Yogesh. GHANDI. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1997. Print.
Desai, Mahadev. GANDHI AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1957. Print.
Easwaran, Eknath. Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri, 2011. Print.
Erikson, Erik H. Gandhi's Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence. New York: Norton, 1969. Print.
Fischer, Louis. Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. New York: New American Library, 1954. Print.
Frost, Bob. “Mahatma Gandhi.” Web.ebscohost.com. shaker.org, Apr. 2001. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Gandhi, Mohandas K. Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha). Mineola, NY: Dover, 2001. Print.
Herman, Arthur. Gandhi & Churchill. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. Print.
Lambilly-Bresson, Élisabeth De., and Severine Cordier. Gandhi: His Life, His Struggles, His Words. New York: Enchanted Lion, 2010. Print.
Lyman, Robert, and Peter Dennis. Kohima 1944: The Battle That Saved India. Oxford: Osprey, 2010. Print.
“Mohandas Gandhi.” UXL Bibliographies. shaker.org, 2003. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/>.
Nanda, B.R. “Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand.” Britannica Bibliographies. Shaker.org, 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2014 <http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Sawinski, Diane. “Mohandas K. Gandhi.” Gale Cengage Learning. Shaker.org, 2001. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/>.
This is a story of Mahatma Gandhi who helped India gain its independence from the mighty British Empire not by using guns but by using non-violence. The story takes place in the twentieth century, a century which was filled with many inspiring heroes who helped shape the world we know today. Some heroes became famous for their bravery demonstrated in world wars and others moved the masses not by their military might but by the power of their ideology and beliefs. Mahatma Gandhi was among the group of heroes who identified themselves with the common people and spent all his life for his country. Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi was a great leader of the twentieth century who devoted his entire life for his country, fought social injustice, and helped India gain independence through his ideology of “Satyagraha,” and non-violence, and non-cooperation.
Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869; he received his middle name, Karamchand, from his father. His birth took place in a small Indian town called Probandar (Frost). Gandhi married quite early in his teenage years to a young girl named Kasturbai or “Ba” who was thirteen in the year 1882. After the first five years of their marriage, Gandhi and Kasturbai didn’t really do things normal couples did because Kasturbai constantly visited her parents and on the other hand, Gandhi went to England to seek a degree in law (Desai). Gandhi was an average student in high school and barely passed his examinations with a score of thirty-nine percent (Chadha). After completing high school, Gandhi had a desire to become a doctor; however, his father wanted him to be something else mainly because being a doctor went against his caste (Sawinski). Gandhi was a vegetarianist because he wanted to focus more on being healthy than religion itself (Desai). Gandhi’s religious quest dated back to his childhood because of the influence his mother had on religion (Nanda). Both Gandhi and his mother practiced the Hindu religion. Gandhi’s childhood and young adolescence was not the best time of his life mainly because he was a poor boy and because his grades were not very good. Mohandas Gandhi’s trip to England to study law was a successful one. Upon his return, he became a trained lawyer who was known for seeking justice in the streets and in the countryside unlike the courtroom (Sawinski).
Gandhi was an avid freedom fighter but did not believe in violence. Satyagraha was the Sanskritic combination Gandhi later chose as a name for his way of life and the action – “Truth” and “Force,” in literal translation (Ericson). When Gandhi was in South Africa, his experience there changed his life because he couldn’t believe the discriminatory environment and the sorry plight of people of color there. Over forty-thousand Indians were to work as laborers for the British (UXL Biographies). Gandhi reacted to this discrimination by organizing the very famous “satyagraha” or “holding the truth.” Later he described that it was only when he learned to reduce himself to zero that he was able to evolve the power or Satyagraha in South Africa (Easwaran). When he returned to India, Gandhi received the nickname of “mahatma” or “Great Soul” (Sawinski). He received the name “mahatma” by the noble-prize-winning poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore (Herman). Between the years 1897 and 1899, the Boer War took place. Gandhi wanted the Boers to win, but since he followed “satyagraha,” he thought he had no right to say that (Desai). The other practice Gandhi practiced was known as “ahimsa” or nonviolence to all living things. This used to and still is a Jain Commandment (Chadha). Gandhi also interpreted “ahimsa” to mean absence of physical violence, anger, hatred, and all other typed of violence to the soul (Sawinski). He was convinced that unwavering non-violent resistance had the power to uphold human dignity and disarm the most formidable adversary (Lambily-Bresson). Gandhi’s years of study and soul-searching led to the rise of a new philosophy of life known as “Gandhism.” This philosophy renounces westernization, industrialization, and materialism (Frost). One example of Gandhism is that he looked at the low castes and puts forth the principle of “satyagraha” (Frost). Satyagraha sets up the stage for Gandhi to start his nonviolent non-obedience pressure on the British control. Gandhi was a charismatic statesman and his individualism fed courage for the rest of the nation. He strongly believed that nonviolence requires much more courage than violence. Gandhi often said “No coward would sit still on the ground as galloping police horses advance upon him, lie in the path of an automobile or stand without moving as baton-swinging policemen laid about him. This was active resistance of the brave (Fischer).” Gandhi applied a technique of combat with turned the traditional docility of a gentle Hindu into heroism (Fischer).
In Gandhi’s own words, “Victory is impossible until we are able to keep our temper under the gravest provocation. Calmness under fire is a soldier is a soldier’s indispensable quality. A non-cooperator is nothing if he cannot remain calm and unperturbed under a fierce fire of provocation (Gandhi).” These words from Mahatma Gandhi when he addressed millions of Indian were inspirational and encouraged people to unite as a nation and fight with the British army without any weapons. People believed in him and followed his teachings for the greater good of the country. During the World War One, Gandhi supported the British because he thought this would lead to the freedom of the Indian people; however, this was not the case at all (UXL Biographies). Consequently on April 13, 1919, a meeting for the Indians took place in Amritsar about a protest against the British by the words of, “Long live the Hindu-Muslim Unity” (Herman). British high command did not tolerate the gathering and decided to punish the unarmed people. Colonel Sanders was sent to take control of the situation who, instead of dispersing the crowd, ordered soldiers to fire on the unsuspecting crowd. As a result of the firing of one-thousand, six hundred and fifty shots, two hundred were wounded and four hundred were killed (Herman). After this mass-killing event, titled the Amritsar Massacre took place, Gandhi began an effective new noncooperation campaign and won the people’s approach (Frost). By 1921, he was elected leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement (Frost). The British angered the Indians with another thing – taxes. The British placed a heavy tax on salt, otherwise known as the Salt Acts. After the Salt Acts, social unrest spread through India like wildfire. People boycotted purchasing salt and were jailed by the British (UXL Biographies). In 1928, Gandhi was frustrated with the British’s taxes and decided to ask the Indian Nationalist Congress to launch another nationwide strike using nonviolence (UXL Biographies). This time, Gandhi targeted the Salt Acts, so Gandhi and his followers walked two hundred miles to the Indian Ocean and decided to make their own salt (UXL Biographies). With the beginning of World War Two starting, the nationalist struggle occurring in India entered the last, but important phase. Gandhi vehemently despised fascism (Nanda). The battle for India was over in 1944 (Lyman). After the battle, Gandhi suffered from malaria. People thought he would not survive and held prayers throughout the India for his recovery (Herman). After Gandhi contracted malaria, Winston Churchill was also convinced that he was going to pass away soon. Churchill wrote that Gandhi was an evildoer to the British mainly because the natives in India preferred Gandhi’s idea of spinning a wheel to make clothes instead of buying high-standard British clothing (Herman).
In conclusion, Gandhi was a heroic icon who always put his nation’s interest first. His ideas of “satyagraha,” non-violence, and non-cooperation were powerful and proved to the world that even common people can unite peacefully and achieve the unthinkable. Out of all the famous people, Mohandas “Mahatma” Karamchand Gandhi’s legacy and his charismatic leadership that toppled the mighty British Empire will never be forgotten.
Works Cited
Chadha, Yogesh. GHANDI. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1997. Print.
Desai, Mahadev. GANDHI AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1957. Print.
Easwaran, Eknath. Gandhi the Man: How One Man Changed Himself to Change the World. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri, 2011. Print.
Erikson, Erik H. Gandhi's Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence. New York: Norton, 1969. Print.
Fischer, Louis. Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. New York: New American Library, 1954. Print.
Frost, Bob. “Mahatma Gandhi.” Web.ebscohost.com. shaker.org, Apr. 2001. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Gandhi, Mohandas K. Non-violent Resistance (Satyagraha). Mineola, NY: Dover, 2001. Print.
Herman, Arthur. Gandhi & Churchill. New York, New York: Bantam Dell, 2008. Print.
Lambilly-Bresson, Élisabeth De., and Severine Cordier. Gandhi: His Life, His Struggles, His Words. New York: Enchanted Lion, 2010. Print.
Lyman, Robert, and Peter Dennis. Kohima 1944: The Battle That Saved India. Oxford: Osprey, 2010. Print.
“Mohandas Gandhi.” UXL Bibliographies. shaker.org, 2003. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/>.
Nanda, B.R. “Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand.” Britannica Bibliographies. Shaker.org, 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2014 <http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Sawinski, Diane. “Mohandas K. Gandhi.” Gale Cengage Learning. Shaker.org, 2001. Web. 3 Apr. 2014. <http://find.galegroup.com/>.