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Short note on role of mahatma gandhi in freedom struggle
Martin Luther King's CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Martin Luther King's CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
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The Reasons Nonviolent is Effective There are two types of protests: violent and nonviolent, yet nonviolent protests are where heroes are made. Mohandas Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. were three men who led nonviolent protests to achieve equality. These leaders are the center of the movements they led in India, South Africa, and America where thousand fought against the injustice. They each dedicated their lives to the cause and spent Nonviolence is effective when there are a lot of people working together, no retaliation against violence, and respect for the consequences of the law. For nonviolent protests to be successful, a large number of people working together is how to be noticed. “I explained to a group of several …show more content…
“I have committed a greater offences and I therefore asked the Magistrate to impose upon me the heaviest penalty…. I remembered that I … did not feel the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoner’s box (Document 7).” After hearing about his fellow protesters being fined and put in jail, Gandhi asked to be put in jail. He confesses to something worse than what other people were arrested for asked asked to face the consequences. “People had rushed won to get arrested (for their part in the Montgomery bus boycott). No one had been frightened. No one had tried to resist arrest. Many Negroes had gone voluntarily to the sheriff’s office to see if their names were on the list, and were even disappointed when they were not (Document 8).” These people were proud of what they did and willing to take the consequences. They turned themselves in and even checked if they were on the list so no one could say they evaded the law. They were willing to go to jail, but Mandela was willing to die. “That night, after discussion among ourselves, Walter, Govan, and I informed counsel that whatever sentences we received, even the death sentence, we would not appeal (Document 9)”. Mandela and three others decide together that their cause is worth dying for and they will take the unfair consequences without protest. Nearly everyone who receives the death penalty, guilty or not, appeal because they don’t
Nowadays, this concept of using nonviolence is hard to achieve. This is because people think that peaceful protest aren’t effective compared to taking action with their hands. One example is the Blacks Lives Matter Movement. Although there are peaceful protest, there are times when people turn violent against police. This can be counterintuitive since watching these harsh actions by protestors, people start forming negative views about the organization. This leads to people not supporting the cause anymore. Without the support of the public, an organization can’t
Protests have long been a way for people to display their difference in opinion and gain support. One of the many protests against the war that had a powerful effect on public opini...
Gandhi once said “An eye for an eye and the whole world is blind.” This is true in most circumstances but there are exceptions. By comparing acts of nonviolent civil disobedience with acts of violent civil disobedience it is apparent that force or violence is only necessary to combat violence but never if it effects the lives of the innocent. A recurrent theme in each of these examples is that there is a genuine desire to achieve equality and liberty. However, one cannot take away the liberties of others in order to gain their own. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that political change would come faster through nonviolent methods and one can not argue his results as many of the Jim Crow laws were repealed. Similarly, through nonviolent resistance Gandhi was able to eventually free India from the rule of Britain. It is true that sometimes the only way to fight violence is through violence, but as is apparent, much can be said of peaceful demonstrations in order to enact change. Thus, it is the responsibility of we as individuals to understand that nonviolence is often a more viable means to an end than violence.
Despite this is it important to remember there was still disagreement and tension on what would be the most effective philosophy in driving the movement forward; Armed resistance or Non-violent protest. While Rev. Martin Luther King advocated for non-violent protest and peaceful resistance it is important to remember that participants in the movement were ordinary people.
In Chavez's argument, he explained the importance of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement. He used Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s movement as an example of successful protest using nonviolence. Although Dr. King's example proved to be effective, after he died, several members of the movement resorted to violence which caused the death of thousands of Americans. Chavez argued nonviolence is the only way to protest violence in order to attract support for his cause: the farm workers' movement. Chavez's rhetorical choices, through his tone and allusion to history, effectively influenced farmers to protest without violence.
Martin Luther King believed the way to protest was non-violence however not all civil right activists agreed with his methods.
When we think of the word “Protest,” we may think of the events that have happened recently. Egypt, Turkey, Libya and other countries where citizens have come out to the streets protesting their government. Not all protesting approaches are like this. Many, throughout history, have been based around peaceful actions. This approach was used during one of the great line of protests in American history. The Civil Rights movement. Many leaders used peace to promote their cause and promoted the passing of laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The many leaders of this movement, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and others influenced others to join the strive for equality. One of these people that they influenced was John Lewis.
The twentieth century saw the rise and fall of three pivotal figures in the ongoing movement for equality and justice for all peoples. Mahatma Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Martin Luther King, Jr. all addressed the immoral and unjust actions of drastically different societies, yet all were to enact some degree of social change that would eventually result in an increased quality of life for oppressed members of their nations. A key strategy in their movements was nonviolent resistance, actively resisting unjust laws and practices and largely using only peaceful and non-harmful means to achieve their ends. This begs the question: What makes a nonviolent movement so powerful? Gandhi used nonviolence to change the minds of the British Empire,
Conclusion: Nonviolent protest are more effective than violent protest in effort to bring about social change.
Throughout the millenia, there have been several revolutionaries who have prefered the actions of nonviolence protest to that of violence. These ranks include those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the list goes on and on. However, in modern day America, African Americans are constantly fighting for more rights and equality. In 1865, the 13th ammendment was passed and slaves were given citizen ship. Since then, there has still been racism amongst the people and battles for equality. On the other hand, another form of revolution is that of violence and to force your voice to be heard. The most prominent person for the African Americans was that of Malcolm X. He voiced his opinion very strongly and made his voice heard amongst his opposers as well as his followers. These two methods are very different, but in the end, Malcolm X made a stronger point to benefit the African American's.
Many people choose to use violence in their own ways to achieve the goals they have set upon themselves. But are there situations where violent disobedience is ever justified? You might be thinking, what is violent disobedience? Violent disobedience is the act of breaking a rule placed upon oneself, ready to accept any punishment that is to come to thee. You could violently disobey anyone such as the police, your parents, and even yourself. I believe only in certain situations one should be allowed to violently disobey an order give to him or her. No matter, one must accept ones hardships with outstanding stoicism to be able to succeed in controlling your actions for the greater good.
From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” (Mahatma Gandhi), welcome to the world of non-violence, not similar to ‘disney land’ but merely a small philosophical village coated in white, decorated with crystals and abundant in doves; white resembling peace, crystals for clarity and pure spirit and doves for .. I don’t know, I guess I have been driven by my imagination.
I am a pacifist; I do not believe in nor promote violence. I do, however, promote peaceful protest. The act of civil disobedience, of protesting something that is unjust, unconstitutional is well within our constitutional rights. The right to criticize our government is one that was given, that was fought for by our founding fathers. It is an act that affects our society in a very positive way; peaceful resistance encourages others to criticize a cruel and unfair government. Peaceful protests, strikes, and boycotts have the opportunity to gain the government's attention, to try and stop these so-called "anarchists". When we look back at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we see a hero. We see someone who is intelligent, who is not afraid to argue,
As a child, disobedience becomes an important part of our learning experience. We are frequently reminded of what is good and what is bad. We learn to continue doing what is accepted, and change what is frowned upon. In The Individual in the Chains of Illusion, Fromm tells why disobedience should be accepted rather than obedience. He believes obedience will be the cause of the human race ending. But how could being obedient ruin our society?