Bohn 1

Mohandas Gandhi: The Life, Legacy, and Lessons Learned

Mady Bohn

World History Mr. Pfeiffer March 10, 2012

Bohn 2 Born in Porbander, India, Mohandas Gandhi led a life of learning and passing on lessons to others. With a deceased father and a basic schooling, Gandhi decided to change the world for the better from his life experiences. He taught non-violent principles, stating that An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world go blind (Rushdie). Many people followed his ways, but he did have some opposition. In January of 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a young man and died around 5 o clock (Lal). Although this marked the end of his life, his beliefs and lifestyle changed the way India and the world developed and how it is today. At the time of Gandhis life, India was under British control. Even though small towns were allowed to have their own leaders, the majority of the country was being regulated by Britain. This took away some freedoms of Indian citizens, but it did not suppress the blossoming culture of the area. Hinduism found a home in India, and the vast majority of the country followed its way. According to Hindu beliefs, many gods and goddesses exist, and three main Lords rule the world, each of which creates, preserves, and destroys. This cycle is one of the keys to understanding Hinduism. Like many in India, Gandhi practiced this religion. Another aspect of Indian culture is the social classes, or caste system. The highest class is generally the wealthiest, along with great influence and power. Each class has more power than the one below it, and the lowest one is not even considered a class. Called the untouchables, this group sounds like it is: It is considered dirty to touch one of these people. As mentioned earlier, Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbander, Kathiawar, West India (Mahatma). Known as Mohandas or Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi, he was schooled until his father died before the age of 13. He married Kastruba at that age. Gandhi went to England in 1888 in order to study law, leaving behind his son and wife (Lal). At that time in London, the enlightenment was taking place, which influenced Gandhi to listen to those ideas.

Bohn 3 Industrialism was also taking place at that time. This showed that many were greedy for money and resources, even if it were at the cost of others health and well being. After becoming somewhat high-up, as one may call it, he set sail for India again in 1891. There, Gandhi decided to accept an offer from and Indian businessman in South Africa to join him as a legal adviser and altogether Gandhi was to stay in South Africa for over twenty years (Lal). There, many Europeans were racist against Indians, for no reason apparent to Gandhi. During his 20 years in South Africa he was sent to prison many times (Mohandas). This was just because he spoke out against racism in a non-violent way, which seemed very unfair to him. Not only did this teach him about how cruel the world could be to others, but how he had very little rights his self to speak out and be heard. After 20 years, he returned to India to spread his ideas that he had formulated. Upon his arrival in 1914, Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress. His goal was to help poor farmers and laborers protest oppressive taxation and discrimination (Mahatma). Although some of his attempts succeeded, others failed such as ending poverty and womens struggles. A rather important issue that he wished to combat, the caste system, also failed at the time. But not even India, in contrast to South America, was totally supportive of his works. Following his civil disobedience campaign (1919-22), he was jailed for conspiracy (1922-4) (Mahatma). This campaign told Indians to break free from the British. He was then imprisoned again for six years after many Indian policemen were killed by a crowd on charges of sedition. Afterwards, Gandhi took part in many movements such as the salt march and Indias independence movements. He visited many places that needed him. For example, he participated in the Salt March in order to free India from the harsh salt taxes from Britain. This helped the effort, along with many other attempts to make the country independent. Finally, on August 15th, 1947, India got

Bohn 4 independence. Although Gandhi was not at the capital at that time, many people honored him as the father of the nation for being the main source of a push for independence. The final months of Gandhis life were spent in Delhi, India. He spent those months fasting as an attempt to end the violence towards Muslim refugees from Pakistan. On January 30th of 1948, Gandhi went outside to go to a garden where he would then pray. As he began, he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse with a revolver and was shot three times in the chest. He died at 5:12 P.M. that day, at the age of 78. Mohandas Gandhi had a simple philosophy, stating that peace was the best way to resolve any sort of conflict instead of war, violence, or hatred. Although he was non-violent, he did have some dislike towards some groups of people. He said, I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ (Gandhi). However, this was only a small part of his person as a whole, showing that overall, he was a moral person. Many people were inspired by him, with quotes such as The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong (Gandhi). This shows some of the influence that Gandhi had over India and the rest of the world with his powerful diction. Even though Mohandas Gandhi was killed, his movements and ideals changed India and the rest of the world in a large way. First of all, he essentially led India to freedom from the British reign. Had the country not been freed, Great Britain would be a stronger country, and India could have lost most, if not all, of their power. Although there are endless possibilities as to what would have happened, the outcome would have most likely been unpleasant. Furthermore, his influence on the untouchables status was enormous, as these peoples, now calling themselves Dalits and forming an increasingly well-organized and effective political grouping (Rushdie) This shows that they are gaining more freedoms and the ages of

Bohn 5 discrimination are fading away. Even after his death, Gandhi's commitment to non-violence and his belief in simple living... [has] been a beacon of hope for oppressed and marginalized people throughout the world (Mahatma). Mohandas Gandhi has freed many people from a multitude of situations, from social classes to the rule of the British. He has opened up a new pathway for many people to lead better lives in terms of how they are treated to the rights that they have to be free. Mohandas Gandhi lived a very complex life, but he found simplicity in the most natural of things. His non-violent philosophy changed India and the rest of the world by being the main influence on freeing the country from British rule, leading many violent causes to peace, and causing a revolution in how people thought now and then. Mohandas Gandhi lived a life in which he learned about many of the cruel and unjust things happening in the world. Throughout his experiences, he developed a philosophy about peace in which he spread by his teachings. People then, and even now, think in a different way about others and themselves, especially in India. Although there was some opposition to his beliefs, his many supporters furthered the movement that changed Indias past, present, and future through Gandhis beliefs and views on ethics.

Bohn 6 Works Cited Lal, Vinay. "Manas: History and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi." Manas. 2001. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi.html>. From Indias perspective. Gandhi, Mahatma K., and Mahadev H. Desai. An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Boston: Beacon, 1993. Print. Book for quotes on philosophy. "Mahatma Gandhi Biography." Bio. A&E Networks Television. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898>. Video on death, good general quotes. "Mohandas Gandhi." BBC News. BBC, 2012. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gandhi_mohandas.shtml>. Basic summary of life and ideas. Rushdie, Salman. "Mohandas Gandhi." Time. Time, 13 Apr. 1998. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988159,00.html>. Credible source for good quotes.