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- World History
- Gandhi
-
- "Nonviolence in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering. It
- does not mean a meek submission to the will of the evil-doer, but it
- means pitting oneÆs whole soul against the will of the tyrant"
- Mohatma Gandhi
- "An eye for an eye makes everybody blind" summarizes GandhiÆs view of
- violence. That statement is one of the greatest things ever said, and
- was borrowed by other world leaders including Martin Luther King Jr.
- Gandhi did not believe in violence as a technique of achieving his goal
- of an independent India. He preached non-violent non cooperation.
- Gandhi considered non-violent non cooperation as requireing more courage
- and dedication then violence. Through the methods he used in his
- campaign for the Free India he proved the previous statement to be true.
- Many people would find "non-violence in its dynamic condition" ironic.
- By the word non-violence Gandhi did not mean mere ignorance of the
- injustices that came upon his people, He supported active non
- cooperation, organizing non-violent marches and other events to protest
- the unfairness of the British occupation of India. In the salt marches
- Gandhi protested the British monopoly on salt and the salt tax Indians
- had to pay. He tried to a provoke violent a response from the colonial
- government. Such a response would show him to the world as a victim and
- not a tyrant. This approach would expose the British injustice and
- would get the worldÆs public opinion on hGandhiÆs side. As a result,
- even the English people supported his independence movement.
- GandhiÆs non-violent non cooperation required much more bravery and
- devotion then violent techniques used by some other Indian independence
- leaders. During a march on a salt plant organized by Gandhi, men stood
- in line to approach the guards. When they approached, the men stood
- defenseless, while the guards beat them with sticks. As the beaten men
- were carried away new ones came forward. In this symbolic event the
- Indian people suffered greatly to show the world the cruelty of the
- colonial authorities and the persistence of the peple of India to
- achieve independence.
- Another showing of the British cruelty was the massacre, where
- protesters stood peacefully while the British soldiers gunned them
- down. After this event the entire world supported Indian independence.
- Non-violence was successful.
- In non-violent non cooperation Gandhi captured the support of the
- entire nation. Under his leadership millions of Indians sacrificed for
- the cause of freedom by non-violent methods. People stood defenseless
- while being beaten or killed to show the world the inhumane policies of
- the British. Non-violent non cooperation is one of the most difficult
- and painful policies to be dedicated to.
- Information from the following sources was used in this paper: The
- Movie Ganhdi, A History of World Societies, The Illustrated World
- Encyclopedia, The 20th Century Encyclopedic Dictionary, the movie To Do
- the Right Thing.
-