Mohandas Ghandi Essay, Research Paper
Mohandas Gandhi
Gandi’s legend began in 1888, when he traveled to England. There were several
important influences that he encountered here: the Western material style of life, which he
decided not to follow, and in the simple Russian way of living he found. It was here that
he developed a sense of the presence of God in his life and the lives of men. Gandhi then
returned to India and studied law in Bombay, but he quickly denounced it, feeling that it
was immoral and could not satisfy one’s conscience. Despite this, he used his schooling to
help plead for Indian settlers in South Africa that were being oppressed by the white
population. His personal experiences, including being ejected from a train, of not being
allowed the same rights as others lead him to begin a movement to help his people. While
in South Africa, Gandhi made himself poor so that he could identify with his the peasants.
He then proceeded to start a colony that consisted of abused laborers. The colony became
very large and many cities were crippled by the lack of laborers. The government reacted
to this by jailing Gandhi several times along with many other of his followers. The war he
fought was one without weapons, already Gandhi was on his way to starting his career of
non-violent campaigns. The main idea behind Gandhi’s teachings was non-violence. He
believed that the killing of man or beast is an unforgivable sin. Many who promoted these
teachings of Gandhi simply believed that it was their only option for resisting imperialism
rather than having a moral conviction towards his teachings. He taught that the weapon
that could be used was the conscience of the aggressor. In addition, he taught that one
should act rather be held under subservience. Also, Gandhi strongly believed in upholding
the caste system, believing that a person of one caste should stay a part of that caste. He
also upheld the old Hindu tradition of segregation of castes. Gandhi is well known for his
efforts in fighting imperialism in India and South Africa. His methods were, unique in that
they did not involve the use of weapons. After the law was passed that all Indians were
required to carry an identity card with them at all times, Gandhi organized a group that
resisted the government. In 1914, Gandhi and his followers received their first victory, the
South African Government took away many of the laws that had no real purpose except to
humiliate the Indian people. When, in 1920, Gandhi became the leader of the Congress,
more Indians gave up their governmental jobs to join the movement. After many of his
follower’s were put into prison and cruelly dealt with, some people engaged in violence.
Gandhi’s distaste for this reaction showed, yet he blamed himself to have failed to teach
the people how to react non-violently before asking them to protest. On the contrary, the
movement had been a great success, no longer did the Indians fear the British jails or the
British guns. It was evident now, that the British Government in India was inevitably
going to fall. After many failures to reach an agreement with the British Government and
after a short individual civil disobedience movement where many were imprisoned, the
British finally gave the power to the Indians in 1946. But, the question remained as to
whether or not the area should be separated into two on a communal basis. As a result,
many riots broke out between the different interests of the people. Gandhi himself was
opposed to separation and to the violence that had broken out. He went from village to
village trying to get the people to understand the benefits of unity, but it wasn’t working.
In 1948, Gandhi was fatally shot by a Hindu fanatic. All over the globe, there was a certain
sadness as many realized that the man whom they had looked up to and followed was now
dead. Gandhi’s influence certainly spreads the globe. He has been the role model for many
famous, influential people. Indeed, Gandhi was a influential man who helped father the
nation of India as we know it today. Without him, the Indians might still be held under
British rule. Without him, many might not have been inspired to fight racism or
imperialism non-violently.