The Life and Work of Mahatma Gandhi - Essay Example

The Life and Work of Mahatma Gandhi Introduction: The life and work of Mahatma Gandhi has become a legend that has had an influence not just in the among third world countries, but also in other parts of the world. His insistence on passive at a time when all forms of resistance were steeped in violence remains a hallmark on his continuing influence. In no less measure must his contributions to social responsibility and to the liberation of India from colonial rule. At the background of all this lay the spiritual simplicity of this great man. The influence of Mahatma Gandhi on the third world in particular is best understood by looking at three aspects of his life. These three aspects are his contribution to the social justice against apartheid in South Africa, leadership of the non-violent freedom struggle in India and his principled life that finally led to his assassination in 1948. Work in South Africa: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was to go on and become Mahatma Gandhi, was born in at Porbandar, in the state of Gujarat in India on October 2, 1869. He reached the shores of Africa in 1893 after completing his education to become a lawyer. South Africa in those days was steeped in racial discrimination of the Europeans consisting of the white population. The discriminated population consisted of the native Africans, the colored people of mixed race and the Asians, which were mostly Indians. Any non-white person in South Africa faced prejudice in every aspect of social activity because of the color of his skin and it was into this environment that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi stepped into. Gandhiji was to spend nearly twenty-one years of his life in South Africa as an attorney and a public worker. He considered himself as much as a South African as he did that he was an Indian. It was in this foster motherland that Gandhiji realized his vocation in life, in the service of his countrymen and mankind. It was during his stay and work in South Africa that his philosophy of life was to take shape and so too with his attitude to the social problems being witnessed in India. South Africa was where he introduced the unique and non-violent protest form of Satyagraha. Gandhiji was to bring about unity in the Indian community in South Africa and then use this united strength to oppose the policy of racial segregation in all spheres of social activity that was practiced in those times in South Africa. The road to unity was not easy, but Gandhi persisted with his efforts and his perseverance bore fruit. His attempts to win concessions from the ruling white community met with very limited success. He managed to extract a few concessions for the Indian community. The more important part in his role in Africa was to bring greater understanding between the native African community and the Indian community so that they could put up joint action against the social injustices that they faced. His role in South Africa did not culminate in succeeding to win social justice for the oppressed communities there. He had however prepared the road for this. The most significant impact the work that he did in South Africa was the influence that he left on the native the leaders of the native African liberation leaders of those times and as well on the leaders that were to lead South Africa to Independence. (Reddy, E. S. & Gandhi, G. GANDHI AND SOUTH AFRICA). The ideas and methods used by Mahatma Gandhi in his fight for social justice were to exert an immense amount of influence on the history of the people South Africa. This is what Archbishop Trevor Huddleston had to say about the influence of Gandhiji on the freedom struggle in South Africa “His profound influence has been manifested throughout the South African liberation struggle by leaders such as Chief Albert Lutuli, Walter Sisulu, Yusuf Dadoo, Oliver Tambo and especially President Mandela”. The influence of Mahatma Gandhi also had the affect of bringing the freedom struggles in India and South Africa closer together and after winning her independence India was to support the cause against apartheid and the liberation movement in South Africa, both in her actions as well as in several international forums. (Acceptance Speech by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston on the Occasion of the Award of The Indira Gandhi Prize 1994 for Peace, Disarmament and Development). The Freedom Struggle in India: Gandhiji was to settle in an ashram in Sabarmati on his return to India. It was from here that he would champion the cause of the Indian freedom movement and take over the leadership of this struggle against the ruling British colonialists. The Indian National Congress was set up by A.O. Hume and was sixteen years old, when Gandhiji returned to India. The Indian National Congress was the most active organization in the fight against British oppression in those times and Gandhiji was naturally attracted to it. To the Indian National Congress Mahatma Gandhi did not present the towering figure that they expected. He was just the opposite. A small mild mannered man could hardly be the champion of many struggles against such a formidable foe as the British. Yet, time was to show them that it was not size and strength of voice that mattered but resoluteness of purpose and the willingness for sacrifice that would be the qualities that mattered to overcome the might of the British. (Nehru, J. 1989. GLIMPSES OF WORLD HISTORY). The struggle for freedom under mahatma Gandhi would be marked by the non-violent form it took. This was steeped in his beliefs and can be gauged from his words ”Liberty and democracy become unholy when their hands are dyed red with innocent blood”. The non-violent struggle in the form of Satyagrahas, the Dandi Salt March against the imposition of unjust taxes, the non-cooperation movements were to become examples of the manner in which Gandhiji would oppose the British rule in India. India was a country of many different kinds of people, who had seldom presented a united front against any oppressor. The most significant part of the role played by Mahatma Gandhi was his ability to rally most of the people to the cause of freedom. It was this factor that was most alarming for the British. They had followed a policy of divide and rule till then. Gandhiji would display the necessary principled qualities in a leader that would nullify the effect of the divide and rule policy of the British and rally the people to participate in the non-violent struggle for liberation. Many were the people that would be killed and injured, as the British used force to overcome all the non-violent struggles organized by Mahatma Gandhi. To their dismay this course of action failed to evoke fear in Gandhi or the masses that followed him. Throwing him in jail was the next option that was tried. This again had minimal effect on reducing the influence Mahatma Gandhi had on the liberation movement as he continued to direct the course and direction from the jail. The Indian national Congress performed the second line of leadership in the absence of Mahatma Gandhi. During the Second World War the Japanese advanced to the doors of India and thereby threatened the British Raj in India, as well as the fortunes of the British war effort. In this Gandhiji found the required opportunity to rid the British from the land. He issued the call for the British to ‘Quit India’ in 1942. This slogan became the rallying call for the movement for liberation and from then on the independence struggle came to be known as the Quit India Movement. (Edwards, M. 1986. The Myth of The Mahatma). It would not be long now before the British would realize the futility of holding on to a land that did not want them and was united under a leader to that cause. In 1947 the British left India for good and India became a free land, but the saga of the man does not end there. The relevance of the nonviolent struggle and its influence continues into these modern times. The clearest example of this is the influence that the nonviolent form of struggle against oppression had on Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggle for civil rights in the United States of America. Martin Luther King Jr. decided to follow the path of nonviolence as shown by Mahatma Gandhi in his fight for civil rights. In the end he had to pay for this with his life, just as Mahatma Gandhi had to as he strode to live up to his principles in life. (Historic Figures. Martin Luther King Jr.) Principled Life: India was partitioned into two by the British at the time of their leaving India. One portion was India and was to become a Muslim nation, Pakistan. This caused a lot of discord between the Hindus and the Muslims. This discord spread to a lot of violence and bloodshed in both India and Pakistan. Mahatma Gandhi was aghast at the communal violence that was spreading, for any form of violence was against his principles. This was not the Independent India that he had had a vision of. Peace and harmony along with social justice were at the core of his views of the nation. Though a Hindu by birth, Gandhiji set himself about to bring a halt to the violence against the Muslims, which many saw as reprisal for the violence against Hindus in Pakistan, and also as they viewed the Muslims as a treacherous lot for dividing the country up. Gandhiji went into places where maximum violence was seen and appealed to his Hindu brethren to desist from violence and let the Muslims live in peace in India. His influence was so strong that gradually the communal fires began to fade out and violence started ebbing and finally came to an end. This action combined with the acceptance of Mahatma Gandhi of the reality of Pakistan and his string support for allowing the Muslims to live in peace in equality with the Hindus, in keeping with his principles of freedom of individuals caused the Hindu fanatics to view him with suspicion. On January 30, 1948 he fell a victim to the bullet from a Hindu nationalist. His death only created a greater awareness of the greatness of the man and the example that he had left of living by the principles one preached. (Sheehan, V. 1954. A GANDVH: A GREAT LIFE IN BRIEF). Conclusion: The influence of Mahatma Gandhi continues to this day in the third world as well as in many other parts around the world. The non-violent struggles against social and political injustice, as well as environmental issues are the legacy that he has left for this world. His principled way of life should set an example for the third world leaders to emulate as principles in life appear to be at premium with the leaders of the third world. Literary References Acceptance Speech by Archbishop Trevor Huddleston on the Occasion of the Award of The Indira Gandhi Prize 1994 for Peace, Disarmament and Development. 1995. Retrieved March 30, 2006. Web site: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/solidarity/thindira.html. Edwards, M. 1986. The Myth of The Mahatma. London. Constable and Company Limited. Pp. 240-242. Historic Figures. Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved March 30, 2006, from, BBC NEWS. bbc.co. Web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/king_martin_luther.shtml. Nehru, J. 1989. GLIMPSES OF WORLD HISTORY. Centenary Edition. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Pp. 711-726. Reddy, E. S. & Gandhi, G. GANDHI AND SOUTH AFRICA. Retrieved March 30, 2006. Web site: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/people/gandhi/gandhisa.html. Sheehan, V. 1954. A GANDHI: A GREAT LIFE IN BRIEF. New York. Alfred. A. Knopf. Read More