Mohandas Gandhi is considered the father of the Indian independence movement. When Gandhi was 23 years old, he left his family behind and went to South Africa, arriving in British-governed Natal in May 1893. Gandhi arrived there and was hoping to earn a little bit of money and to learn more about law; instead, he went from a very quiet and shy man to a resilient and potent leader against discrimination. This all started when he took a business trip after he arrived in South Africa. He boarded the first train of his journey at the Pietermartizburg station, railroad officials told Gandhi that he needed to transfer to the third-class passenger car. Even though he was holding first-class passenger tickets and refused to move, a policeman came and threw him off the train. He also faced other challenges on his trip. He found out that this is a common problem with the Indian community. After his experience, he decided to not let these injustices continue, and he was going to fight to change these discriminatory practices. Gandhi spent the next twenty years fight for Indian right in South Africa. During the first three years, Gandhi learned more about Indian grievances, studied the law, wrote letters to officials, and organized petitions. On May 22, 1894, Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). Although the NIC began as an organization for wealthy Indians, Gandhi worked diligently to expand its membership to all classes and castes. Gandhi became well-known for his
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.
This experience in his time in South Africa prepared him to lead India’s independence movement because it helped him become aware of the racial prejudice and exploitation of Indians in South Africa. By him witnessing the racial prejudice in South Africa, he then organized the Indian émigrés in order to protect their interests. As a result, Gandhi developed a basic understanding and experience on how to organize masses of people under a single goal of liberating themselves from foreign oppression that existed in both South Africa and India. This experience in addition to his knowledge on law would aid him to become a respectful leader as he took part in an active independent movement based on nonviolent
The impact of having people stand up and being the voice of millions has greatly influenced the course of history. With people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela the world is able to push forth and take a turn for the better or sometimes for the worst. Living in a family or country where ideologies are forced upon others is a hard enough burden to endure and one which requires sacrifice to make a change.
Before leading the salt march in India and becoming one of the most well known Indian civil rights activists, Gandhi studied law in London and left for twenty years to pursue being a lawyer in South Africa. While there, Gandhi experienced racism because Indians were looked down upon in South Africa. Once becoming involved in the law, he began to involve himself in helping to reduce racial injustices and became the largest advocate in South Africa for Indian rights. Gandhi’s experiences in South Africa prepared him for and allowed him to become the political influence he was for his people when he returned to India.
Gandhi was a civil rights leader who passively fought for equality in British ruled India. His full name is, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He used non-aggressive tactics to gain rights from the British. Gandhi led India to independence, and inspired people to form civil rights movements across his birth country. His most famous march was the Dandi Salt March, in which Gandhi led Indians 250 miles to challenge the British’s tax on salt, this caused Britain to stop residing and controlling India.
As a legal barrister Gandhi accepted a contract to do legal work for an Indian firm in South Africa, in 1893. It was in South Africa that Gandhi was first exposed racial prejudice. He organized the Indian community and established the National Indian Congress (NIC). The NIC collaborated with the native African community in order to oppose race-based
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
Gandhi was born in 1869 in British-ruled India. He became a lawyer, moving to South Africa to practice for a year. While there, Gandhi witnessed the intense racial tensions occurring in the nation. His earliest encounter with discrimination was in Pretoria, when he was forcibly removed from a train after refusing to move to the back. This initial action of civil disobedience made Gandhi “think of his duty to stay back and fight for his rights.” In 1906, Gandhi and his supporters started a peaceful protest called Satyagraha, against the South African Transvaal Government’s restrictions on Indian rights, and they’re struggle eventually bore fruit in 1913. Gandhi also used Satyagraha in India in 1930, protesting the British Salt Acts, which prevented Indians from collecting or selling salt. He, along with thousands of Indians, marched 241 miles to the coastal city of Dandi, where Gandhi made salt out of sea water. Despite being beaten and arrested, Gandhi and his supporters achieved success by the lessening of the Salt Acts in 1931. Because of Gandhi’s civil disobedience movements, Indians achieved the rights that they deserved, both in South Africa and in
Though he is widely known for his efforts in India, Gandhi first employed civil disobedience in South Africa, when he practiced as a lawyer and the Indian community was struggling for civil rights. On his return to India, however, Gandhi realized South Africa was not the only place Indian civil liberties were being denied (Johnson). British occupation of India came with unfair policies for the Indian people, so on his return home, Gandhi began organizing protests for peasants, farmers, and urban laborers concerning excessive land-tax and discrimination (Farzani). Then in 1921, after he took leadership of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi led campaigns to ease poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic amity, put an end to the caste system, and increase economic self-reliance. Paramount to all of these issues remained, however, gaining independence for India from British rule (Lauter).
Mohandas Gandhi was born in 1869 in the Indian coastal city of Porbandar (Background Essay). He then studied law in London, where he noticed that Indians were expected to imitate their rulers, the Englishmen (Background Essay). Gandhi wanted all people to live free, even those imposed by India’s caste system so he decided to take action in a peaceful manner (Background Essay). By doing so he was able to gain India’s independence in 1947 (Background Essay). This caused Gandhi to be known as “ Mahatma” or “ Great Soul” because he was able to do it without violence (Background Essay). Gandhi’s nonviolent movement worked because he accepted the consequences to his actions, strived for fairness to all mankind, and didn’t think of the British as enemies.
According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, when the Boer legislature passed a law requiring that all Indians have to register with police with fingerprints Gandhi and other Indians had refused to obey the law. For the disobedience, Gandhi was arrested and imprisoned for years because he did not believe in those unjust laws. Though, after he got released, he still continued to protest the registration law and help non-violent marches. Eventually, this caused the Boer government to end the “objectionable parts” of the law. Even though Gandhi had been in jail for an abundance amount of times, he came out every time to start new peaceful protests. At the end, with the help of Gandhi and his satyagraha (peaceful revolt), India had finally gained independence from Britain. Consequently, this again demonstrates how civil disobedience can have positive impact and can change a society for its greater
Mohandas Gandhi was known all over the world for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance. He returned to India from South Africa in 1914 and within years he emerged as a key figure in the Indian struggle for independence. Gandhi had the mindset that he was prepared to die in order to achieve this goal. Throughout…...Gandhi positively affected human society when completing his lifetime goals which were ending untouchability, uniting Hindus and Muslims in India and gaining independence from the British.
Gandhi back then was a lawyer who was trying to find independence for India. Gaining independence for India wasn’t the only change that Gandhi tried to make but the protest The Salt March also started because 7% of peoples tax went towards salt (#). Unlike the Haitian Revolution, Gandhi refused to tolerate violence among his followers and cancelled demonstrations that resulted in violence (@). The protest was for 24 days and to also ban harvesting salt (#). Gandhi was repeatedly arrested and spent a total of six years in jail, but that only made him more popular (@). You would think someone who got constantly arrested would give up or end up condemning violence, but not Gandhi. His protest was slow but turned out to be very successful because of the results that were made. The results consisted of new constitution approved by Britain, A concession to limited self-government, and finally in 1947 India was declared an independent state (#). Unfortunately later after gaining independence, Gandhi was assassinated for trying to be peaceful and attempt to stop Hindu-Muslim rioting (@). Regardless of the consequences, Gandhi made a huge political transformation that still affects India
In South Africa, he involved himself in an attempt to end discrimination against the minority Indians residing there. During this course, he developed “satyagarha”, which translates into “soul force”, or an approach of non-violence resistance, against the British governments in South Africa. In the years following the World War I, Gandhi became a leading figure in India for his struggle to achieve independent from the mighty British rule. His willingness to tolerate the punishments and the prison confinement earned him the title of “ Mahatama”, a “great soul” in India in 1914. (Mohandas Gandhi, 2015)
Once Gandhi’s mission in South Africa was complete, he returned to India and became involved in the home ruling movement. He was concerned with excessive land tax and discrimination, so he organized protests by peasants, farmers, and urban laborers to help them stand tall and fight for what they deserved (Gold 57).