Mahatma Gandhi believed equality and peace need the complete truth to be achieved. He began to care deeply about this even at a younger age. After he was convicted of lying out of carelessness in school, he began to think that a man of truth needs to be a man of care (Gandhi 13). His care for truth grew as he got older and became more influential as a leader. Not only that, he believed telling the truth had to go hand-in-hand with other qualities so that the negatives could be eliminated. Gandhi states, “In the march towards Truth, anger, selfishness, hatred, etc., naturally give way, for otherwise Truth would be impossible to attain” (Gandhi 309). As one can tell, being honest was something Gandhi believed everyone should wholeheartedly do. To successfully find truth, Gandhi believed that opposites such as love and hate or happiness and misery should be rid of. If these opposites were no longer used so strongly between groups, people would instead strive for equality.
Equality was something Gandhi believed all people should be treated with, a thought that many people to this day share. Like with his care for truth, Gandhi’s deep desire for equality between all people sparked after an event in his life. In South Africa in 1893, Gandhi was traveling in a first-class train carriage that he did not know was reserved for only white people. When a passenger complained simply due to his race, he was ejected from the train (Fleming). Gandhi began to argue for equality for all people, that each person should be heard, no matter what class or race. In the words of Gandhi, “...they must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another’s religion, even prejudices and superstitions, and to trust one another” (The Essential Gandhi 163). Gandhi believed that differences in any opinions should not cause hostility, saying that if that were the case, he and his wife would be complete enemies (The Essential Gandhi 269). Loving and trusting others despite their beliefs or background may be difficult, but it seems to do more good than bad.
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If people wanted to reach any form of equality or justice, they needed to unite together. Gandhi stood firm in the belief that unity should be the goal of all people, never a question of degree (The Essential Gandhi 70). When Britain ruled over India, Gandhi noted how there was an extreme difference between the English and Indian people, as if the English were masters when the Indians were slaves. Gandhi says, “It is impossible that national aspirations can be forever repressed, and equally impossible for India to remain a ‘dependency’ in an Empire to which it contributes more than half the population” (The Essential Gandhi 101). The people needed to group with a strong communal spirit. Gandhi even states how a chain will always be stronger than its weakest link (The Essential Gandhi 66). If the people were grouped, not only could they possibly receive justice, but also swaraj, or true democracy (Mishra). This communal spirit would form into the Congress, a group wanting justice through forms of nonviolence and real discussion.
Gandhi wanted to bring justice to the Indian people, so he became part of this Congress, even becoming the leader. The main event that caused Gandhi to want independence for India from the rule of Britain was the time when British Indian Army Soldiers opened fire on more than 20,000 peaceful protesters. After this, Gandhi began leading boycotts of the British people through any of the British institutions or goods (Fleming). Gandhi could not have any fear if he wanted to continue through these boycotts, even writing, “Fearlessness connotes freedom from all external fear- fear of disease, bodily injury and death,” (The Essential Gandhi 299). His fearlessness shows through the fact that he was arrested multiple times and continued to lead this initiative to help anyone, especially those dealing with poverty and needing cleaner areas (Whipps). Leading with such fearlessness also requires a sense of determination.
One of the big characteristics of Gandhi that continues to influence people to this day is his spirit and trust with others. His strong will led him to act on events through his words. He wanted to show others that he trusted them, some even believing that he was going to be deceived due to how trusting he was (Gandhi 314). He believed that spirit helps build character, meaning that more can be achieved and more people can be influenced if the influencer themself has a good character (Gandhi 302). Gandhi writes, “Up to this time I had not met with success because the will had been lacking, because I had no faith in myself, no faith in the grace of God,” (Gandhi 181). From the start of his career as a public worker, he tried to gain the trust of any of his clients to have a good stead (Gandhi 328). Without this strong spirit and faith in himself, one may believe that Gandhi would have not been able to affect anyone or anything around him in such a great way.
Not only would Gandhi most likely not have affected people as greatly without his strong spirit, but he possibly would not have led the Congress with forms of nonviolence. Nonviolent protests were something Gandhi strove for, continuously caring enough to change society without actually harming it. Gandhi believed that war is demoralizing, and that it is not the morally right pathway towards achieving any goals. He started this philosophy that would affect future activists when he was exposed to racial prejudice in South Africa and decided to take action (“Gandhi”). Martin Luther King Jr. was greatly influenced by this idea and wrote, “As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform” (King). King believed that Gandhi brought the idea of loving others from individual to individual to a social force for groups (King). Gandhi’s idea of nonviolence translated into his ideas of satyagraha, which would again affect people to this day.
Satyagraha, the idea of resisting nonviolently to find the truth founded by Gandhi, would affect people greatly and inspire society going into the future. Gandhi believed this form of resistance using words could end violent antagonism and help people learn to tolerate each other more (Mishra). When MLK Jr. heard of Gandhi in 1950, he decided to learn more about Gandhi’s powerful words and ideas. He believed this philosophy to be morally sound, deciding to use it when protesting in the 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycott (“Gandhi”). This philosophy did not just stand out to MLK Jr., it stood out to the entire progressive African American community (“Gandhi”). Gandhi himself states that everyone should recognize the importance of nonviolence in words even if one does not want to sacrifice themselves through deeds (The Essential Gandhi 133). This strong belief of Gandhi would translate into his work and show through his campaigns.
Gandhi began to show his direct influence when he fought for justice for the Indian community in 1894. At this time, Britain had control over India and the national government imposed the annual twenty-five pounds along with a new tax on salt. Natives were already working extremely hard to farm, enter trade, and raise their status, yet they were taxed despite the amount they worked (Gandhi 136). Gandhi spoke up against this and decided to bring everyone in the Congress (the nonviolent movement against Britain) together to organize a real campaign against the taxes. They eventually reached a point where Britain reduced the twenty-five-pound tax to three pounds, showing how persistent Gandhi was willing to be (Gandhi 137). This persistence continued to inspire people, shown by the fact that Gandhi’s words have been spoken about over and over again by many people. Gandhi raised his voice to find justice and to reach equality among the people in India in this campaign, along with many other campaigns after.
Though Gandhi may have helped India with taxes, Britain still had a strong grasp on the country. Japan rose in power, conquering many places. Because of this, India was in danger of being conquered. Gandhi decided to write a letter to the Japanese in July 1942, believing that his words would affect them due to his faith in himself. (The Essential Gandhi 296). He did this because Britain was not going to help India, no matter if they had power over the country (The Essential Gandhi 298). Gandhi noted how they would not be afraid to resist Japan if they did decide to invade. He believed that the nonviolent effort in keeping off the Japanese would be enough and stated how India could not ask for help from the British though they possibly would have needed it (The Essential Gandhi 299). Through this letter, Gandhi shows both Japan and Britain how India wants to grow stronger on its own.
Gandhi shows what one may consider his strongest direct influence through his “Quit India” campaign. This campaign started in August 1942 and lasted until August 1947, when India finally gained independence from Britain (Fleming). In one of his speeches for this campaign, Gandhi describes how India is like a prison under the superintendent, the viceroy (The Essential Gandhi 302). “He wrote to the viceroy, Lord Irwin, saying: ‘My ambition is no less than to convert the British people through nonviolence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India’” (Fleming).
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