What Was Gandhi's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

Gandhi played a key role in the development in nonviolence and peace activities while opposing British rule. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. There was an immense amount of followers, and he taught many how to protest peacefully, instead of using violence and war. Gandhi is a role model for many today and is one of the most famous of all nonviolent activists. Gandhi made a large impact on the world through his work.
Gandhi was raised a Hindu, but he lived in a multicultural community. He had diverse friends as a child, and may have been especially influenced by the Jain religion, with its principle of total ahimsa, or nonviolence. He traveled to England to study law, and met theosophists who encouraged him to learn more about his native Hindu texts like the Bhagavad Gita, as well as those of other religions. …show more content…
Gandhi encountered many battles in his lifetime. Gandhi fought many civil rights cases for the working Indian people of South Africa. One of the first shown was his direct hit of racism. He was an upper class male and was thrown out of a train compartment because it was reserved for “whites only.” This brought to Gandhi’s attention that South African laws were biased against Indians. Because of these happenings he began a non-violent protest in South Africa. This was opposition to the rule of the South African government. Gandhi combatted the new law allowing soldiers to enter Indian households and fingerprint the residents. Meanwhile in India, British rule was destroying the country. There had been an increase on rent and taxes causing widespread poverty. The British also did not allow them to sell anything they made. Everything had to go through their economy, which drained India. When Gandhi tours India he sees mass poverty and violence. While protesting Gandhi was incarcerated for disturbing the