Gandhi’s contributions to history were extremely important. His beliefs and way of thinking influenced the lives of many. Gandhi served as a model for the civil rights movements in the United States and South Africa. He fought for the independence of India from British control and defended the rights of those who were poor. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was also known as “Mahatma” (Great Soul), was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, which is the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the Prime Minister of Porbandar, and his mother was extremely religious and practiced the religion of Vaishnavism. This religion was influenced by Jainism, which taught “compassion toward all sentient beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification,
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Because of this experience, he formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 and began to practice passive resistance to fight racial segregation. He also began creating and teaching the concept of satyagraha. The word comes from two Sanskrit nouns. Satya means truth, and agraha means firm grasping, so satyagraha means devotion to truth. Gandhi’s definition of satyagraha was that it “has three essentials: Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstances whatsoever; and it ever insists upon truth,” (book). Some rules for satyagraha include not harboring anger, never retaliating to assaults or punishment, and submitting to arrest. He also said that people had to be trained in ahimsa, which was translated to mean nonviolence. Gandhi did not believe in violence because he thought it perpetuated …show more content…
Some changes he contributed to were the democratization of the organization, “expanding its membership by attacking caste-based distinctions in the INC, reducing membership fees, establishing regional offices, and basing leadership upon participation in INC work and service,” (book). Also, their activities expanded to include the elimination of caste distinctions, criticizing purdah, encouraging self-sufficiency, and teaching hygiene. In 1921, he became the main voice of the Indian National Congress and fought for political independence from Britain. In 1947, India gained its freedom because the British could not ignore the calls for independence anymore. They formed two independent states: India and Pakistan, which were separated by religion. Even though Gandhi opposed Partition, he agreed to it because he hoped that Muslims and Hindus would be able to live in peace. Unfortunately, the partition created more violence, so Gandhi went to Delhi to help protect the Muslims who decided to stay in India. A Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse was angry that Gandhi was meeting with Muslims, so he shot him to death.
In my opinion, even though satyagraha did help India gain independence, it did not prevent violence. When it was successful with the tax resistance in Kheda, Gandhists thought that maybe non-violent change in India would be possible. However, since you cannot be sure that the
Because of this experience, he formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 and began to practice passive resistance to fight racial segregation. He also began creating and teaching the concept of satyagraha. The word comes from two Sanskrit nouns. Satya means truth, and agraha means firm grasping, so satyagraha means devotion to truth. Gandhi’s definition of satyagraha was that it “has three essentials: Satyagraha is a weapon of the strong; it admits of no violence under any circumstances whatsoever; and it ever insists upon truth,” (book). Some rules for satyagraha include not harboring anger, never retaliating to assaults or punishment, and submitting to arrest. He also said that people had to be trained in ahimsa, which was translated to mean nonviolence. Gandhi did not believe in violence because he thought it perpetuated …show more content…
Some changes he contributed to were the democratization of the organization, “expanding its membership by attacking caste-based distinctions in the INC, reducing membership fees, establishing regional offices, and basing leadership upon participation in INC work and service,” (book). Also, their activities expanded to include the elimination of caste distinctions, criticizing purdah, encouraging self-sufficiency, and teaching hygiene. In 1921, he became the main voice of the Indian National Congress and fought for political independence from Britain. In 1947, India gained its freedom because the British could not ignore the calls for independence anymore. They formed two independent states: India and Pakistan, which were separated by religion. Even though Gandhi opposed Partition, he agreed to it because he hoped that Muslims and Hindus would be able to live in peace. Unfortunately, the partition created more violence, so Gandhi went to Delhi to help protect the Muslims who decided to stay in India. A Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse was angry that Gandhi was meeting with Muslims, so he shot him to death.
In my opinion, even though satyagraha did help India gain independence, it did not prevent violence. When it was successful with the tax resistance in Kheda, Gandhists thought that maybe non-violent change in India would be possible. However, since you cannot be sure that the