Mohandas K. Gandhi Research Paper

Anthony ThompsonGifted Language
Mrs. Page
Due March 29
What was the legacy of Gandhi?s efforts in India?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of?India?during the?Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of?Satyagraha?a resistance to?tyranny?through mass?civil disobedience, a philosophy firmly founded upon?ahimsa?or total?nonviolence?which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi influenced important leaders and political movements. Leaders of the?civil rights movement?in the United States, mainly Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., drew from the writings of Gandhi in the development of their own theories about non-violence. Anti-apartheid?activist and former President of South Africa,?Nelson Mandela, was inspired by Gandhi. Time?magazine named Gandhi the?Man of the Year?in 1930. In 1931, Albert Einstein?exchanged written letters with Gandhi, and called him “a role model for the generations to come” in a writing about him. Gandhi was also the runner-up to?Albert Einstein?as “Person of the Century?.

How did Gandhi?s methods of non-violent protest influence future social and political movements?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics.” Gandhi’s life and teachings inspired many who specifically referred to Gandhi as their mentor or who dedicated their lives to spreading Gandhi’s ideas. Satyagraha?is a philosophy and practice of?nonviolent resistance?developed by?Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi deployed Satyagraha in campaigns for?Indian independence and also during his earlier struggles in?South Africa. Satyagraha theory influenced?Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,?during campaigns he led during the?civil rights movement?in the?United States, and many other social justice and similar movements.
?Like most people, I had heard of Gandhi, but I had never studied him seriously. As I read I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. I was particularly moved by his Salt March to the Sea and his numerous fasts. The whole concept of?Satyagraha?was profoundly significant to me. 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. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking.?
How did the Indian independence movement influence future independence movements in other countries?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela both based their independence movements on Gandhi’s teachings. In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. used non-violent tactics such as marches, sit-ins, and boycotts to combat racial segregation and discrimination. “Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.” Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa and fought apartheid, a system of legal?racial segregation?enforced by the?National Party?government in?South Africa?between 1948 and 1994, with Gandhi’s tactics.
How did it help to end colonialism and change global power structures?
When India gained its independence in 1947, it weakened the British empire. It also inspired other countries under control of the British to become independent, such as South Africa. It opened the world’s eyes to the cruelty that the people of India had to grow through to gain independence. It helped to end colonialism and changed the world’s empires from near dictatorship to a democracy.