A Brief Assesment of the Life and Legacy of Mohatmas Gandhi and a Comparrison to a Modern Day Issue

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Mohandas Gandhi was born on the 2nd October 1869. He was educated as a lawyer in London and moved to South Africa to start work, in an Indian law firm, as a barrister. Gandhi felt that Indians were mistreated and unfairly discriminated against. In South Africa Gandhi was riding 1st class on a train however the white conductor told him to move to standard class even though he had paid for the ticket. Gandhi refused to move so was thrown off at the next station. He was a qualified lawyer yet he was still not afforded any social status because of his ethnicity. Indians in South Africa had to carry a pass which a policeman could check whenever he wanted. This outraged Gandhi and he decided to do a peaceful protest against them. He gathered a crowd of Indians which attracted the attention of a few policemen. Gandhi friend burnt his pass and was arrested. Gandhi continued to burn the passes of the people there. He refused to retaliate despite being repeatedly beaten. He was arrested and taken to a prison hospital. Throughout his time in South Africa he was taken to prison many times. Whilst there he befriended an English vicar called Charlie Andrews when talking to him, although Hindu he used biblical references to prove his point (“enemy strikes you on the right cheek, offer the left”). He achieved the abolition of the pass laws, however now the Indians had to be finger printed. He told people not to fight but also not to give their finger prints. In South Africa he developed the idea of “Satyagrha”- steadfastness in truth- and set up communities called Ashrams. Ashram is an Indian word that could mean community, village or world. In 1914 the South Africa government gave in to many of Gandhi's demands. Shortly afterwards he moved back to India. In 1920 he became a leader of the Indian National Congress who decided on Gandhi's idea of peaceful protest against the British.

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