Role Of Gandhi In Civil Disobedience

What is civil disobedience? What does it do? Why is it important? Is it a right thing? These few questions might pop into one 's head when they hear civil disobedience. This topic is highly debatable and different people might have different opinions. People who have suffered from some form of injustice may define civil disobedience differently from others. By definition, civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with specific laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This is important because this is when one fights through a problem without physically hurting someone. Let 's look at some examples of civil disobedience in history, "The Declaration of Independence" by Thomas Jefferson,

Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi was a humanitarian who used peaceful topics to fight for the freedom of India. He walked 250 miles from his Ashram to Dandi, a coast off of Eastern India. He then proceeded to pick up a lump of salt, thereby defying British Law. This story leads us to ask the question, why did Gandhi’s nonviolent movement work? Basically, he could convince the people to join him instead of killing off nonbelievers. He also because of how crippled Britain was, and the fact that his base of followers was so devoted and big. These three reasons combined were the main reasons that Gandhi won freedom for his country.

“It was inevitable that Britain should some day refuse to rule India and that India should some day refuse to be ruled.” Mahatma Gandhi is known as one of the 20th century’s most influential people and is seen in India as the Father of the Nation. How he achieved such status was through his attempts at protest, negotiation and non cooperation through his philosophy of Satyagraha to better the lives of the Indian people. While in the end his policies got the job done, one can ask if unwavering nonviolence really was the most effective way at ousting the British from India. Though failed non cooperation movements show Gandhi’s policy as being somewhat ineffective, analysis of the of the Salt March, its results and the way that Gandhi was able to rally followers show its importance. Gandhi’s policy of Satyagraha was in fact the most effective method of gaining India’s independence from Britain.

Mohandas Gandhi was a “key figure in the Indian struggle for independence.” He worked to use nonviolent ways to fight for equality and change in India. Gandhi was able to unite many groups and “inspired the common people of India to work for change.” In addition, Gandhi advocated using a more traditional approach (Wadley 202). Although Mohandas Gandhi 's satyagraha campaign caused violence, his advocacy for those who were discriminated against in Indian society led to the initial unification of India to gain independence from Great Britain. Gandhi’s attempt to peacefully fight for independence still left a considerable amount of violence during protests. Gandhi advocated for oppressed or mistreated groups, such as untouchables, women, and those

This tactic allows Chavez to gain credibility, which strengthens his overall argument that peaceful protest is key to truly changing the world. He continues to portray nonviolence in a favorable light by using Mahatma Gandhi as a prevalent historical example. Gandhi is a famous advocate for nonviolent protest, as he successfully gained India’s independence from Britain in the 1940s. With the use of Gandhi’s example, Chavez proves that nonviolent tactics can be truly effective in bringing forth change, and can even suppress the violence to create peace. Directly following this example however, Chavez illustrates the detrimental effects that a violent conflict has on a community. He argues that the poor and the workers are killed and the helpless will suffer. Those who utilize violence to achieve change “exploit people,” and “to ask [people] to give up their lives for a cause and then not produce for them afterwards, is the most vicious type of oppression.” His solemn tone throughout this example allows the reader to truly understand that a violent strategy affects everyone involved, not just the victims. These examples supply Chavez’s argument with more support and help prove to the reader that the use of nonviolence is more effective

Gandhi people manage their anger and have peace against the British. He did this by creating a philosophy and encouraging people to follow that philosophy. Gandhi also used peace instead of violence against the British. Gandhi did this because he believed that he can achieve peace among everybody. Gandhi’s philosophy didn't work on everyone. He expected people to take on the British peacefully instead of violently. Mahatma Gandhi was a great human rights activist when the British and believed that everyone should be equal.

Due to the race inequality along with the economic regulations among the Indian people, Gandhi’s ambition from the beginning of simply just wanting equality between the Indian and British transition to wanting India to become Independence. He wanted to give the Indian citizen a voice in the government and a chance to define their own nation. The Indian people lose their political power in terms of how the British authorities were exercising their power over them, implementing policies according to their own rules and administrating over the Indian’s resources. Gandhi throughout the film had the desire to help gain back India’s political power and it revolves around his method of passive resistance and self-sacrifice. He belief in “an eye for an eye only makes people blind” is what helped him achieve freedom for India without any violence involve. He still had respect for the authorities but at the same time felt the need to criticize their faults. And his fasting and dressing like the lower class is the self-sacrifice that he made, which contributed to the success of India becoming Independent.

Gandhi constantly being put in jail for his peaceful protests causes people to recognize what he is trying to do for India and realize that he is unfairly being put in jail. Gandhi being thrown in jail also attracts more followers who want to follow in Gandhi’s footsteps. Even with Gandhi in jail, his followers still nonviolently protested against British rule. “Gandhi’s body is in jail but his soul is with you,” (Webb Miller, Doc B). Gandhi was not afraid or against going to jail. He saw it as a way to make him and his followers more independent. “I… did not feel the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoner's box… every one of us was firm in his resolution of passing his term in jail in perfect happiness and peace,” (M.K. Gandhi, Doc C). Gandhi not seeing the British as an enemy was another main reason why India was able to gain its

Do you remember learning about the Holocaust in school? Do you remember all of the feelings and thoughts you had? Imagine if it was you. Imagine if you were one of the soldiers. Would you stand up for what was right? Social Injustice is the unfair treatment or falsely accuse to someone. It has happened in the past and continues to occur this day.

Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience) is a dissertation written by American abolitionist, author and philosopher Henry David Thoreau published by Elizabeth Peabody in the Aesthetic Papers in 1849. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was born and lived almost his life in Concord, Massachusetts. After finishing public and private school in Concord he attended the prestige Harvard University. He excelled at Harvard despite leaving school for several months due to health and financial setbacks. Mr. Thoreau graduated in the top half of his class in 1837. Mr. Thoreau argues that people should not allow any government to control or atrophy their thoughts or beliefs. Mr. Thoreau was an also remained a devoted abolitionist and has written

Gandhi’s followers, some but not all the people of India, were the ones to do this. While he was away they stood up and fought against the British regime. “At times the spectacle of unresisting men being methodically bashed into a bloody pulp sickened me so much that I had to turn away.” (Document B, Miller). Though they were being beaten to death they still never gave up. These people of India stood up against the regime and fought. They fought for the entirety of India. In doing so, they never lost hope and pushed on, which is another reason why the nonviolence worked. They stayed loyal and true and fought until it was the end of their lives, and in doing so, they changed the history of that rich and vibrant country. Even when Gandhi was not behind bars they pushed on. “..I shall proceed with such co-workers of the Ashram [Community] as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the Salt Laws.” (Document A, Gandhi). Gandhi knew he had people to back him and fight, (nonviolently speaking), with him. Even before the Salt March truly began people lined up behind Gandhi and joined him in his march for freedom. The loyalty of these people is what really kept the movement alive. The nonviolence worked because people were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. “But whether or not we succeeded in obtaining these conveniences, every one of us was firm in his resolution of passing his term in jail in perfect happiness and peace.” (Document C, Gandhi). Gandhi’s followers knew the price they would have to pay for their civil disobedience, and they all accepted it. Their unwavering loyalty kept their movement alive. The real force behind the nonviolence was these people because they were the ones who truly had the power. The nonviolence worked because they believed in their country and they believed in themselves and their

Mohandas Gandhi became a hero of South Africa and led India to independence. When the British began taxing salt and not allowing Indians to manufacture and collect their own salt, Gandhi stepped in and wrote a letter to the British governor of India. He was determined to show the British what wrongs they have done to India and to convert them through nonviolence (Doc 1.) Even when Gandhi was in jail, he inspired his followers to march without the use violence. None of his followers fought back even when they were beaten (Doc 4.) Being in jail for a total of 2,338 days, he “never felt the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoner’s box.” His followers finished their terms “in perfect happiness and peace,” just like him (Doc 7.)

One of the reasons peaceful protesting worked so well was that it irritated enemies of the cause without the use of violence. Boycotts and sanctions were one effective method of angering the oppressive governments. Gandhi staged a hartel in India and Martin Luther King Jr. helped start the Montgomery Bus Boycott in America (Doc A and B). The sanctions enforced by Nelson Mandela in South Africa acted as a drain on the economy (Doc C). Dr. King also “took part in the lunch counter sit-ins . . . seeking to integrate lunch counters,” joining the black student protesters who refused to leave when demanded to and getting arrested (Doc E). Gandhi sent a letter to the British government telling them that he would stage a salt march whether they liked it or not unless they removed the unfair salt tax. (Doc D). This supports the image in document P, which shows Gandhi salting the tail of a British lion to

Mohandas Gandhi is one of the greatest nonviolent activists ever. Gandhi came up with the word ahimsa, which meant nonviolence. He also introduced to the world the word satyagraha, which meant peaceful civil disobedience. In 1930 Gandhi and a group of followers began a march of more than 200 miles. Three and a half weeks later they made it to their destination, the sea. At the sea, Gandhi picked up a handful of salt. This act went against the British law mandating that they buy salt from their government and this law did not allow them to collect their own salt. That act was made to let the British government know that the Indian people were tired of being under Britain’s rule and they were tired of following all of the unjust laws that were

Many people say that violence is never the answer. This is true, violence cannot solve people 's problems. Gandhi, a prominent leader, believed in civil disobedience as he stated in his letter to the British Officials in India. Gandhi writes “And the conviction is growing deeper and deeper in me that nothing but unadulterated non- violence can check the organised violence” (Gandhi). Gandhi truly and deeply believed that nonviolence is more pure and will overcome violence. Gandhi was both a civil rights activist and leader. This leader accomplished the most incredible events. The salt march, was one of the biggest events that Gandhi lead. The salt march was a march of the Indian people intended to end the purchase of salt from the British. The salt march was indeed an example of Gandhi leading people non violently. The march was a success, and the people used nonviolence to do it. Gandhi was an incredible and an inspiration on lots of people all around the world including civil rights