Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The advent of British rule in India
The advent of British rule in India
Essay on gandhi's philosophy
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
World wars, mass genocides, and violent revolutions have become unusually iconic in history. However, the efficiency of nonviolent tactics and political strategies is relatively ambiguous. There have been several pacifistic approaches to solve a particular problem, some much more successful than others. Gandhi is primarily known for his work in the Indian Independence Movement and his nonviolent practices. Born in 1869, Gandhi was to respect all religions and taught to treat all living things sacred. Growing up, he encountered several cases of racism and poverty, and from these experiences, he developed a unique lifestyle. Eventually, Gandhi earned the title of “Mahatma,” or “Great Soul.” England was a feared and well-respected country at this time, but Gandhi miraculously changed this prevalent opinion to accomplish independence. Gandhi’s incarceration, teachings of self-control, and altruistic attitude towards the English assisted in his crusade for an independent nation. …show more content…
He was arrested on several occasions, but not once did he ever speak a word of resistance and passed “his term[s] in jail in perfect happiness and peace” (Doc C). Gandhi’s determination to his cause was obvious to his followers, and the world. Britain was surely frustrated with Gandhi’s perseverance. When Gandhi was arrested in January of 1908, he asked the judge to “impose upon [him] the heaviest penalty” since he felt that he had committed a crime far worse than his followers had (Doc C). Gandhi’s responsibility for his followers’
Gandhi served 2,338 days in prison -- 3.5 years-- just to prove that violence would never be the answer. When Gandhi heard that his fell Indian protesters had been sentenced to three months in prison he stated, “ If these men had committed an offense, I had committed a greater offense and I therefore asked the Magistrate to impose upon me the heaviest penalty…. I well remembered that I … did not feel the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoner’s box” (Document C). This proves that Gandhi was more than willing to prove to the British -- ruling India -- that he
Gandhi’s nonviolent movement worked because he didn’t believe in segregation and didn’t follow the British’s rules for Indians. When coming back from prison in 1859, things changed in India. The people if India were forced to mimic the English on how they dressed, copy their manner and accept their standards of beauty. When hearing this, Gandhi didn’t accept it and started his movement. According to the background document,” he shed the cloths that made him look like a British lawyer and dressed in a poor man’s traditional loincloth.”(Background document) By do...
He showed how he believed that in order to not support evil, one must not succumb to violence. Gandhi closed by giving the judge and the assessors [of the court] two choices: to resign their jobs and therefore separate themselves from what Gandhi called evil (most likely the British Empire). They would only do this, he said, if they strongly disagree with the laws that Gandhi was accused of, or if they believed Gandhi to be innocent. The other choice was to punish Gandhi according to the law, showing that they agree with the laws and believe that are beneficial to the
How did India earn its independence from Great Britain? War? Riots? Killing? Mohandas Gandhi used his peaceful nonviolent strategy to gain independence from England. Nonviolence is a calm and peaceful method that does not include hurting or harm to anything or anybody. What nonviolent tactics did Gandhi use? Gandhi, who was born in 1869, was a brilliant man that put India back on its feet. Many wonder why and how his nonviolent methods succeeded. The three elements that Gandhi used to make his nonviolent strategies successful are accepting his jail time, embracing the enemy, and he used disciplined civil disobedience.
Accepting jail time encouraged his people to change their defenses in a nonviolent way. Gandhi talked about how he did not go into jail to experience misery and pettiness, but instead to spread his message. It was a way for him to spread his message of peace and understandment especially to those who were being treated poorly. “Everyone was firm in his resolution of passing his term in jail in perfect happiness and peace”- Mme Naidu (Doc B). Maintaining the mindset of peace and optimism in prison was extremely effective in the success of Gandhi’s non-violent movement during his time in prison. His arrest wasn’t fair, but he used it as a learning and growing
Gandhi viewed his time in jail not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to encourage his followers to pursue nonviolence. (Doc C). Through Gandhi’s endurance, followers are captivated because of his resolve and willpower. His example of endurance drove followers to continue striving for independence through nonviolence. Nevertheless, his actions against the British got him arrested on multiple occasions. However, his arrest impacted his objective positively. Many discouraged jailed followers looked up to Gandhi. His charismatic leadership convinced his followers to serve jail time positively (Doc C). Through his patient demeanor, enticed followers became loyal toward his nonviolent
From the onset of man fighting for freedom or his beliefs, the question has always been whether one person can make a difference using words rather than wars. Philosophically, the concept of civil disobedience would appear to be an ineffective weapon against political injustice; history however has proven it to repeatedly be one of the most powerful weapons of the common man. Martin Luther King Jr. looked at the way African Americans were treated in the United States and saw an inequality. By refusing to pay his taxes and subsequently being imprisoned for a night, Henry David Thoreau demonstrated his intolerance for the American government. Under British rule, India remained oppressed until Mohandas Gandhi, with his doctrine of non-violence lead the country to freedom.
“My ambition is no less than to convert British people through nonviolence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India.” (Document A, Paragraph Two) Gandhi clearly said he did not want to hurt the Europeans, he believed the Europeans forcing ways of life on the Indians was unjust, but he did not want to respond with any negative emotions. This peaceful approach remained a tactic within the movement because as Gandhi held firm to it, his loyal followers mimicked that as well. Gandhi’s words to Lord Irwin, “I do not intend to hurt a single Englishman.” (Document A, Paragraph One), were proven to be truthful ones when six years later the march at Dharasana occurred. While police begin to beat his followers with steel clubs, Gandhi’s peaceful remained cemented within them all. “Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows.” (Document B, Paragraph
Many had to come to an understatement that one of the hardships to fight for their rights, especially gandhi, it was to spend time in jail once they were captured. “Gandhi’s Body is in jail but his soul is with you”(Doc B), since “the great soul” was in jail many still had the courage to continue on the protest that gandhi had guided them. “Been sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with hard labor…. been fined a heavy amount…. I therefore asked the magistrate to impose upon me the heaviest penalty”(Doc C), even though gandhi took most of the consequences because he wanted to be included in the punishment but heavier. His followers continued to protest for his behalf and sent to jail.
Mahatma Gandhi, a nationalist and spiritual leader was perceptive and objectively so, perhaps most eminently when he instructed his zealots, “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win” (Mahatma). Gandhi has a remarkable sagacity at a young age and strengthened it throughout the succession of his life. Although the aforementioned quote merely previews the extent of his intellect, it effectively summarizes his political approach. After becoming a member of the Indian National Congress Gandhi had the potential to become a most influential leader for the Indian people, and he did. Gandhi committed his political title towards fighting against the unlawful oppression of British rule. His method of fighting, however, was a politically innovative, mental type of fight. As a firm believer in the value of Pacifism, Gandhi developed the theory of non-violent civil protest and vowed to prevent his followers from succumbing to the allure of bloodshed. The irenic nature of Gandhi’s leadership won him the admiration of many Indian people, and is now considered to have political genius prestigious enough to be studied today (Mahatma 2). In some instances, studying Gandhi’s political strategy demonstrates the benefits of an actively participating governed majority. In today’s society, many people tend to make uneducated political decisions and sometimes even refrain from making one completely. In a variety of circumstances, related to any category of politics, from the election of a new president to the enactment of new laws, a group of Americans remain unrepresented because of their refusal to exercise their right to vote. A topic such as gun control would be a fitting example of a subject that while put ...
Lastly, Gandhi continued to struggle with the satyagraha belief and was willing to devote his time on demanding the British to “quit India.” However, despite being imprisoned for this campaign, Gandhi aroused upheaval from the Indians who insisted the British to remove Gandhi from captivity. After the execution of the Salt March, the events that followed supported Gandhi’s philosophy on the satyagraha movement and further brought India closer to its independence from the British colonization. Works Cited Furbee, Mary and Mike Furbee. The Importance of Mohanda Gandhi.
Gandhi had an influential background of Ahimsa, a set of principle against violence towards living things. Therefore, Gandhi believed it was wrong to use violence in political conflicts or any conflict in that matter, for it would only arouse both parties with anger and incent them to use forceful tactics to achieve their goal. Nonetheless, Gandhi understood his political efforts; “passive resistance” in South African produced limited results. Simply opposing political injustice through speeches, petitions and negotiations were not enough to have whites understand and sympathize how Indians were treated unjust (P. Ackerman., J. Duvall., 2000. pg. 65). As a result, Gandhi later adopted “satyagraha” position, a nonviolent though forceful tactic to apply pressure on those in power by protesting against unjust policies through noncooperation
Gandhi is motivated by religious means; he believes that everyone is equal in God’s eyes. He gets involved in several movements for equality, and he stresses non-violence very strongly. The Indians are very mad because British rule continues to limit their rights. They are supposed to all get fingerprinted, and their marriage laws are invalid. Gandhi’s followers vow to fight their oppressors to the death, but he discourages them from violence.
Gandhi then took the British apart with Satyagraha (non-violent non-cooperation) and was imprisoned for two years in1922. When he got out he took a brake from his politicalnes and traveled around India working various jobs among the peasants. Then in 1930 he was at it again writing the declaration of independence for India and making salt in protest of the British monopoly on salt. This act of treason inspired many more across the country rendering the British helpless once again forcing tem to invite Gandhi to London for meeting on how India’s independence would work with a Muslim minority and a Hindu majority.
“The strongest physical force bends before moral force when used in the defense of truth.” - Mahatma Gandhi (Bondurant). Mahatma Gandhi was the main leader in helping India become independent through the principles of non violence, self-rule, and the unity of Hindus and Muslims. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but he was given the name Mahatma later on in his life. He wanted to see an united India without the rule of the British Empire. He accomplished this with passive resistance or resistance by non violence because he wanted to show that violence is not always the best answer.