But under pressure from Gandhi's crowds of supporters, British authorities released him and eventually abolished the unjust tax system. Gandhi later said, "I declared that the British could not order me around in my own country.
Despite his differences with Britain, Gandhi actually supported the recruitment of Indian soldiers to help the British war effort. He believed that Britain would return the favor by granting independence to India after the war. Instead of granting India independence after World War I, Britain continued its colonial regime and tightened restrictions on civil liberties. Gandhi responded by calling for strikes and other acts of peaceful civil disobedience.
During one protest assembly held in defiance of British orders, colonial troops fired into the crowd, killing more than people. A British general then carried out public floggings and a humiliating "crawling order.
The massacre and crawling order turned Gandhi against any further cooperation with the British government. In August , he urged Indians to withdraw their children from British-run schools, boycott the law courts, quit their colonial government jobs, and continue to refuse to buy imported cloth.
Now called "Mahatma," meaning "Great Soul," Gandhi spoke to large crowds throughout the country. Many answered Gandhi's call. But as the movement spread, Indians started rioting in some places. Gandhi called for order and canceled the massive protest.
He drew heavy criticism from fellow nationalists, but Gandhi would only lead a non-violent movement. In , the British arrested Gandhi for writing articles advocating resistance to colonial rule. He used his day in court to indict the British Empire for its exploitation and impoverishment of the Indian people. When he was released after two years, Gandhi remained determined to continue his struggle against British colonial rule. He also decided to campaign against Hindu-Muslim religious hatred and Hindu mistreatment of the so-called untouchables, whom he called the Children of God.
In Gandhi's mind, all of these evils had to be erased if India were to be free. In , Gandhi carried out his most spectacular act of civil disobedience. At that time, British colonial law made it a crime for anyone in India to possess salt not purchased from the government monopoly.
In defiance of British authority, Gandhi led thousands of people on a mile march to the sea where he picked up a pinch of salt. This sparked a mass movement among the people all over the country to gather and make their own salt.
Gandhi was arrested and jailed, but his followers marched to take over the government salt works. Colonial troops attacked the marchers with clubs. But true to Gandhi's principle of non-violence, the protesters took the blows without striking back.
Gandhi explained, I want world sympathy in this battle of Right against Might. Gandhi now held the attention of the world, which pressured the British to negotiate with Indian leaders on a plan for self-rule.
The British, however, stalled the process by making proposals that aggravated Indian caste and religious divisions. The Mahatma decided that he had to do everything he could to eliminate Hindu prejudice and discrimination against the untouchables if India were ever to become a truly free nation.
In , he announced a fast unto death" as part of his campaign to achieve equality for this downtrodden caste. Gandhi ended his fast when some progress was made toward this goal, but he never achieved full equality for the Children of God. In the age of the MeToo movement, for example, leaders for gender equality and an end to sexual harassment must attack the intertwined issues of religion, family structure, sexism, and the transformation of labor markets.
Similarly, to eradicate the HIV virus will require new drugs and vaccines, but will also transformation in the health care system, cultural norms around sexuality, building rural health delivery programs and many other things. These will take a life time to achieve and require leaders with great credibility and trust amongst the communities they are seeking to help and change. This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Nov 12, , pm EST. All rights reserved. Culture Explainer.
How Mahatma Gandhi changed political protest His non-violent resistance helped end British rule in India and has influenced modern civil disobedience movements across the globe. Widely referred to as Mahatma, meaning great soul or saint in Sanskrit, Gandhi helped India reach independence through a philosophy of non-violent non-cooperation.
Editor's Note: This story originally misstated how long Gandhi lived after India gained its independence. He died a few months later. Share Tweet Email. Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars.
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Afterwards, the killings multiplied. Gandhi toured riot-torn areas in an appeal for peace and fasted in an attempt to end the bloodshed. Some Hindus, however, increasingly viewed Gandhi as a traitor for expressing sympathy toward Muslims. In , Gandhi endured the passing of his father and shortly after that the death of his young baby. A second son was born in India Kasturba gave birth to two more sons while living in South Africa, one in and one in Godse knelt before the Mahatma before pulling out a semiautomatic pistol and shooting him three times at point-blank range.
The violent act took the life of a pacifist who spent his life preaching nonviolence. Godse and a co-conspirator were executed by hanging in November Additional conspirators were sentenced to life in prison. Satyagraha remains one of the most potent philosophies in freedom struggles throughout the world today.
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Indira Gandhi was India's third prime minister, serving from until , when her life ended in assassination. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.
Martin Luther King Jr. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the s. Akbar the Great, Muslim emperor of India, established a sprawling kingdom through military conquests but is known for his policy of religious tolerance. Until his assassination, he vigorously supported Black nationalism.
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