Freedom Fighter Who Wouldnt Fight

Freedom Fighter Who Wouldn't Fight Mahatma Gandhi

M

ohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) was a leader in India’s effort to win freedom from the British, who had ruled the country for nearly 90 years. He is referred to as Mahatma, which means “Great Soul.” He was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2, 1869. His father, a well-known local leader, died when Gandhi was only sixteen. When he was thirteen, Gandhi’s parents arranged for him to marry a girl he did not know named Kasturba. These arranged marriages were the custom at the time. The couple’s first of four sons was born in 1888, just before Gandhi sailed to London, England, to become a lawyer. Gandhi returned to India in 1891, but was not successful as a lawyer in his home country. He decided to move to South Africa, intending to remain there only briefly. He arrived in 1893 and began practicing law. In South Africa, then part of the British Empire, Gandhi was faced with horrible prejudice against Indians. They could not occupy first-class railroad cars if whites were present. Many hotels forbade them entry. They were beaten and called names. Gandhi used the law to fight for the rights of the Indian people, but without violence. To protest injustices, he wrote letters and pamphlets and practiced peaceful non-cooperation: declining government services, refusing to cooperate with the authorities and exercising passive resistance, such as standing in front of a train to block its advance. After seven years, the South African government caved in to Gandhi’s calls for justice. His “brief ” law job in South Africa had turned into a 20‑year struggle for human rights. He was ready to return home and in 1914, he finally resettled in India.

F reedom F ighter W ho W ouldn ’ t F ight

At the age of forty-five, Gandhi began his efforts to free his homeland from the control of the British and bring independence to his country and people. He urged his fellow Indians not to buy anything made in Britain. He led peace marches and went on hunger strikes. He told thousands to refuse to follow any British law that was unfair. The British government did not like what he was doing and, in 1922, he was jailed for two years. His colleague, Jawaharlal Nehru, continued the struggle for India’s political freedom. But Gandhi did not give up and within fifteen years of his return to India, he had become the leader of the movement for Indian independence. The British arrested him again, but he believed that to be imprisoned for a just cause was honorable. On August 15, 1947, India became an independent country with Nehru as its first prime minister. But fighting took place between the major religions of India: Hindu and Muslim. In January 1948, at the age of 78, Gandhi began a fast with the aim of stopping the bloodshed. After five days, the opposing leaders promised to cease fighting and Gandhi ended his fast. He was assassinated twelve days later. Gandhi set an example for millions. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used many of Gandhi’s methods to make social change in the U.S. Among Gandhi’s messages are:

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“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

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“Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”

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“Hate the sin, love the sinner.”

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“Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.”

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“I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.”

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“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

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“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”