Gandhi's Program Of Tolerance example essay topic

Mohandas Karam chand Gandhi was one of the leading spiritual, political, moral, and cultural leaders of the 1900's. He helped free India from British control by using a unique method of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi is honored by the people of India, as the father of their nation. He was slight in build, but had great physical and moral strength. He was assassinated, by an Indian, who resented his program of tolerance for all creeds and religions. Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869, in Por bandar, India.

His parents belonged to a Vaisya (merchant) caste of Hindus. Young Gandhi was a shy, serious boy. When he was 13 years old, he married Kas turba, a girl the same age. Their parents had arranged the marriage. Gandhi had four children. Gandhi studied law in London.

He returned to India in 1891 to practice law, but he met with little success. People in India called Gandhi the Mahatma (Great Soul). His life was guided by a search for truth. He believed truth could be known only through tolerance and concern for others and that finding a truthful way to solutions required constant testing. He called his autobiography My Experiments with Truth. Gandhi overcame fear and taught others to master fear.

He believed in nonviolence and taught that to be truly nonviolent required courage. He lived a simple life and thought it was wrong to kill animals for food or clothing. Gandhi developed a method of direct social action, based upon principles of courage, nonviolence, and truth, which he called Satyagraha. In this method, the way people behave is more important than what they achieve.

Satyagraha was used to fight for India's independence and to bring about social change. Gandhi led many campaigns for Indian rights in South Africa. He was arrested many times by the British, but his efforts brought important reforms. Gandhi also worked for the British when he felt justice was on their side. In 1914, Gandhi returned to India.

Within five years, he became the leader of the Indian nationalist movement. Gandhi led a Satyagraha campaign that succeeded in preventing passage of one of these bills. The other was never enforced. Gandhi called off the campaign when riots broke out. He then fasted to impress the people with the need to be nonviolent.

His belief in the cruelty of imperial rule was demonstrated by the Amritsar Massacre of April 13, 1919. A British general ordered his men to fire on an unarmed crowd, and almost 400 Indians were killed. This made Gandhi even more determined to develop Satyagraha and to win independence through nonviolent resistance. In 1930, Gandhi led hundreds of followers on a 240-mile march to the sea, where they made salt from seawater. He was jailed for the last time in 1942. Altogether, he spent seven years in prison for political activity.

He believed that it is honorable to go to jail for a good cause. India was granted freedom in 1947. The partition of India into India and Pakistan grieved Gandhi. He was saddened also by the rioting between Hindus and Muslims that followed.

Gandhi had worked for a united country, and he had urged Hindus and Muslims to live together in peace. On Jan. 13, 1948, at the age of 78, Gandhi began his last fast. His purpose was to end the bloodshed among Hindu, Muslim, and other groups. On January 18, their leaders pledged to stop fighting and Gandhi broke his fast.

Twelve days later, in New Delhi, while on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Gods e, a Hindu fanatic who opposed Gandhi's program of tolerance for all creeds and religions, shot him three times. I choose Gandhi for me report, because I was born in India, and I wanted to learn more about how my country got its freedom. Gandhi is a man that I well respect not only for his beliefs on non-violence but how a simple man who had no power in society believed that he could make a difference.

Bibliography

World Leaders Past & Present: GANDHI. Bush, Catherine The Essential Gandhi. Fischer, Louis web.