Gandhi Inspired Non-Violence Protest - Term Paper Example

Peace psychology: Mahatma Gandhi Introduction Mahatma Gandhi is considered to be the “man of the millennium” by his followers, who had always imparted the teaching of truth, peace and non-violence. His ideology and philosophy is still considered relevant today. Gandhi’s philosophy is based on sacrifice, truth, self-less service towards mankind and non-violence. The non-violent methods of protest introduced by Gandhi are being used as a tool of social protest in the modern times. Gandhi considered non-violent protest the ultimate answer to the problems of the world. He was the only person who fought against the British government with his weapon of peace and truth and persuaded the people of the subcontinent to follow the path of non-violence. He led a decade long non-violent protest against the British, who ruled India at that time which helped India in winning its independence in the year 1947. He also initiated some non-violent movements such as non-operation movement and Quit India movement. Gandhi inspiring non-violence protest Gandhi successfully inspired an alternative view for resistance as well as oppression during the time when oppression was getting more physical, overt and insidious. His non-violence ideology may not have succeeded at that time but it did open a whole new world of possibilities and also encouraged the people to think outside the box. Gandhi life is struggle that illustrates that how radical visions can be dismissed at first, only to get tested and embraced later. He also demonstrated to the world that war can bring nothing but destruction. He also proved the fact that adherence to non-violence and truth are not only meant for the individuals but it can also be applied globally. There is no doubt about the fact that the whole social doctrine of peace that has evolved from the ideas and vision of Gandhi is now considered as a key to sustain and forge a whole new social and political order. Teachings and Strategies of Gandhi Gandhi was an attractor for the people as during the time of war he was inspiring them to take the path of peace and non-violence. He said that power is of two types, the first one is obtained by making people fear you while the other one is gained by the acts of love one does for mankind. He taught the world that the power acquired by force may not able to win against the power gained by doing the acts of love. Gandhi worked hard to resolve the conflict existing between Congress and British government. The conflict between the two parties was interstate, as both the parties were present within the state fighting against each other. Gandhi like all the other people of the subcontinent wanted the British to return to their homeland. Gandhi made several non-violent political strategies for fighting against the British Government. He began the movement of “Satyagraha”, which was carried out by his follower in a non-violent manner. Satyagraha was a movement that pursued truth as the highest goal for humanity. Satyagraha was defined by Gandhi as a movement where the protestors broke the law; however they also accepted the consequences occurred as the result of breaking of these laws. Mahatma Gandhi also used fasting as his tool for protest and also for controlling the actions of the people. However Gandhi pledged to fast until the people of the subcontinent stopped their violent protest. Gandhi chose non-violent protest as a tool for negotiating with the British government, so that the conflict existing between the two parties can be resolved on fair terms. His early protest against the British included Champaran Satyagraha, Rowlatt Satyagraha, kaira Satyagraha and Ahmedabad Satyagraha. The Champaran Satyagraha was Gandhi’s effort for saving the poor farmers of Champaran to pay tax to the British government. During this protest Gandhi was asked to leave the district; he refused and instead asked the Magistrate for imprisonment. However the commissioner ordered to release him, as he wanted to avoid the arrest of civilian for no apparent reason. As the result of this the Lords of the land decreased the rent that was enforced on the farmers. According to the Rowlatt act, the British government was allowed to enforce martial law in any part of the subcontinent. The government was also allowed to control the civil rights of the citizens and inflict censorship on the media. Gandhi again ordered a non-violent protest where the people were asked to close all their businesses and get engage in prayers and fasting. As the result of this protest he got arrested on April 16, 1919 and people responded to the situated with violence. Kaira Satyagraha began when the government asked the peasant to pay taxes even when there had been bad harvest as the result of the epidemic. People protested against this unjust demand, as the result of which the government seized their crops and possessions. This Satyagraha ended when the government agreed not to take tax from the poorest peasants. Gandhi used his fasting strategy for the first time during the Ahmedabad Satyagraha. The protest began when the mill owner refused to increase the wages of the poor workers. Gandhi at the time of the protest pledge that he would not eat anything until the owners of the mill agree to the demands of the workers. The owners of the mill got scared that would die as the result of fasting; therefor they surrender to the demands of the workers (Whipps, 2008). Conclusion All these ideas and philosophies of Gandhi are altogether addressed as Gandhism. The concept is based on the ideas that Gandhi put forth before the people of subcontinent and the world at large. Along with putting forth an idea; he also led his life accordance with what he preached. Clearly, Gandhism can be defined as the mixture of the philosophies and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. The roots of this concept are based on non-violence and the establishment of peace. There is no doubt about the fact that non-violence has been the root of Indian cultures and many other ancient civilizations. Gandhi clearly emphasized on the fact that he is not teaching anything new but his teaching have been extracted from the preaching of different prophets and faiths. Gandhi also tried hard to end the conflict between the people of the subcontinent and British government by non-violent means. He wanted to convince the British government that the Subcontinent can no longer survive peacefully under their reign and therefore they need to step back. Gandhi worked very hard during the last days of his life for ending the violence between the Muslims and the Hindus which later led to the partition of India. Gandhi through his ideology and philosophy has proven the fact that the noble causes of justice, liberty and democracy can be achieved without taking the lives of people or damaging the homes of people or making children orphan. The vision of Gandhi for the subcontinents and his dreams for the society still hold some good for India. He helped the society in absorbing and reflecting some actual values of humanity. The ideology presented by Gandhi is followed by many politicians, as it was the ideology of establishing peace on the national as well as international level. His teachings also encourage people to participate in activities and cases that promote the greater good of the society. The hatred and intolerance found in the world today is leading us towards violence and there is a need to adhere with the values presented by Gandhi with more passion. Reference Whipps, H. (2008). How Gandhi Changed the World? Retrieved September 29, 2014, from Live Science: http://www.livescience.com/2851-gandhi-changed-world.html Read More