How Did Gandhi Use Nonviolent Resistance To Change

Throughout history there has been people who have tried to change history by heroic action. During the 1900’s, there was individual named Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian Nationalist. He was a leader of the Indian Independence Moment against the British rule in India. Gandhi at times would, “attack Western materialism and individualism (p.436).” The people of India praised him for many of his Hindu traditions, along with him attacking the, “caste system and urged harmony with Muslims (p.436).”
Both Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. used a policy of nonviolent resistance to campaign for change. Instead of meeting violence with violence against their aggressors, they chose to resist unfair laws and call for social reform by nonviolent methods such as boycotting. After being forced by the British to become dependent on British cloth imports, Gandhi led a

complete Indian boycott of British clothes. Similarly, King organized a boycott of buses to promote his cause until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
Gandhi Nation Identity represents customary traditions, including culture, language, and ethnic background for his people.

Not only did Gandhi continue believing in his identity, he believed all faiths can come together and join his cause for equality. He wanted self-independence and self-determination for his country and people to move forward against the British rule in a non-violent manner. Gandhi’s mission was to be free from government control and to continue to adopt their own rules, culture, and traditions.
During the 1960’s, there were many changes in the United States and in our world. One particular change was the civil rights moment. The actions taken by Dr. Martin Luther King symbolized an unparallel amount of hope for change. When he spoke of freedom from discrimination, his speeches had a powerful effect on both society and the future. Dr. King was known for his non-violent approach throughout the civil rights moment. One of Dr. King’s approaches was to advocate for peace in all walks of life and believed that all of society could separate their barriers from judging based on the color of their

skin.
Dr. King had a similar philosophy with Gandhi. Their philosophy was to conduct a non-violent approach during their grievances with those who disagreed. “We are called to speak for the weak. For the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and those it calls “enemy” for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.” He also stated, “Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition (King, Beyond Vietnam Speech).”
A major difference was that Gandhi campaigned against unjust laws of the British government, while Martin Luther King Jr. campaigned for rights that “colored” people were already lawfully supposed to have. For instance, according to the U.S. government, all people, regardless of skin color, had the equal right of suffrage, but many racists refused to accept this and attacked non-whites when they attempted to vote.
Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi both fought for their people, although in different contexts. Gandhi wanted freedom for his people in South Africa from the British. Dr. King wanted his people to be treated as equals and not as second class citizens. Both these men fought through similar means against very different types of oppression. Nonviolent resistance captures the world’s attention on the issue, not on the violence. By not becoming a violent movement, both Gandhi and King portrayed their causes as civilized and righteous, gaining sympathy of onlookers and their oppressors. Gandhi made the British look to be uncultured and cruel, beating and even killing Indians who never fought back. In King's case, he too exemplified the Christian doctrine of “turning the other cheek” and “loving your enemies,” gathering the sympathy of bystanders and drawing people's attention on the urgency for change.

Martin Luther King is revered for his leading activism for equality in American history, for standing up against racial inequality through the use of nonviolence protests. Many consider him the reason that racial equity laws and opinions were changed. Other activists shared King’s dilemma, enduring racism and hypocrisy in a modern democracy, used violence to fight violence and therefore King’s message was not always accepted. The Black Panthers and other movements provoked the passions of frustrated and abused minorities. For a time, the more violent movements created the type of drama that may have caused more trouble. The militants accused Dr. King of being an “Uncle Tom” and he was repeatedly mocked by the more radical forces for social change.
In light of the police brutality and constant attack by whites and minority races. Though many seemed baffled by the reasoning and necessity of nonviolence, Martin Luther King seen it used by Mahatma Gandhi in India. Many argued that India was a different culture, had a different history, and had different circumstances, racial oppression versus governmental oppression.
Gandhi’s country was in a constant battle with the control of Great Britain. In the post-World War II era, The United Kingdom was faltering under economic hardship and Gandhi saw the limitations of England’s weakening control. Gandhi viewed nonviolence as an opportunity to show the brutality of Britain’s legal measures by contrasting them with his followers’ peaceful protests, sustained boycotts and life-endangering fasts. Nonviolence was used by both King and Gandhi to draw focus to their oppressor’s atrocious actions and show the media and society that King, Gandhi, and their supporters were not violent and uneducated people they had been portrayed.
All humans, no matter their race or nationality, deserve to be treated humanely, whether equity is achieved with equal legal rights, or in a country free of foreign tyranny and civil unrest. Nonviolence was the spark for various movements afterward and when used with motives of love and truth, the outcomes have been positive.
Gandhi and Dr. King understood what needed to be done to alter the culture and opinions of people the world. The clear distinction between Gandhi and Dr. King is evident in what defines their life purpose as social activists. Gandhi is firmly focused on preparedness in spirit. Gandhi asserted that the mind must be in the right place in daily life. “Complete civil disobedience is a state of peaceful rebellion – a refusal to obey every single State-made law (Gandhi).” His approach put actions in a secondary role.
To Dr. King, African-Americans had suffered far too long. Dr. King found himself ready for action against racial hatred. He embraced nonviolence as an active action, of will, which would give love, equity, and peace over hatred, inequity, and violence. What was essential to Gandhi and his focus on being prepared in spirit, Dr. King saw the need for action due to a ritual repeated through history of enslavement, torture, lynching, rape, and debasement.
Gandhi and King both recognized that love, or in Gandhi’s words “soul force,” was the motive and applied that in their daily lives. King believed he was justified in his actions against segregation because his primary motive was love, and that any change resulting from his stance against injustice would be towards equal treatment. “Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damage the personality,” and those laws were what Gandhi and King were fighting against. Many in opposition, saw them as people who were violating the law. Gandhi and King were famous for what they wrote, but more importantly the effect their words had, on thousands of oppressed people in their countries and around the world.