Mohandas Gandhi Satyagraha

MOHANDAS GANDHi Satyagraha. Meaning force or firmness of truth, Mohandas Gandhi worked and lived by this word. By peaceful, non-violent demonstrations he little by little took hold of the people of India's love and honor and freed them from British rule. This is his story: On October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India, a region of Queen Victoria, Mohandas Gandhi was born to Kaba Gandhi and his wife. Although his father, Kaba, was the chief Minister for the Maharaja of Porbandar, he and his family lived in a small house and belonged to a Hindu caste of merchants called banjas. As he grew, Mohandas became a small, shy and skinny boy, afraid of others' opinions. He never spoke out, but although he was never a clever child, others were surprised by his gentleness. At the age of thirteen, he was married to Kastaurbai, a pretty yet strongwilled girl of the same caste. He would now live with his wife, instead of his mother and father whom he had cared for for so long. Before this, Mohandas had told lies, had smoked, and had eaten meat, which was strictly forbidden of Hindus. Now, suddenly, he felt guilty and that he had hurt himself and in some ways those who he cared for. So, in desperation, he told his father, and they cried together. One year later Kaba Gandhi died. Mohandas was sixteen. At eighteen he traveled to England to study law and secretly to see for himself what made the English so powerful. He enrolled in a college of law but quit after one term. He felt that he didn't fit in, so he studied the Standard Elocutionist for use and knowledge of proper ettiquitte. After a while he quit this also because he saw no use anymore. Quitting became a popular theme in his early life. Sometimes he quit because he was bored with something and just grew out of it, or sometimes when he just couldn't accomplish anything. For example, he took English dancing and violin lessons to become more distinguished, but he was very clumsy and quit after six lessons. He did not quit every thing though. He worked at some things if he thought that it would in some way help him. He studied material on Common & Roman laws and had to pass major exams on it. Despite all of the quiting and studying, he became a lawyer. He was not a very distinguished or even good one at first, but later became respected by his friends and clients after his work on a case in South Africa. Becoming a moral leader was a very long and slow process. Gandhi was not looking for success or fame but something more; equality, respect, but most of all, peace. He had seen the hate the white man had for Indians. And for what reason? Their color or heritage? This did not seem right to him, so he began his life long struggle of never ending peaceful protests and his silent fight for justice for all. Mohandas Gandhi died in January of 1948. (The actual date is in dispute. The information from my book said that his death was on the 30th, but the World Book Encyclopedia says that it was Jan. 13th) He was shot 3 times by Godse, a Hindu himself. The whole world mourned for Gandhi, a man who had no authority in government, but definitely had earned the respect and most importantly, the love of his people. Showing love and humanity through peaceful acts, he became well- known and well-liked. For instance, in 1906 the Zulus in Africa (blacks) rebelled. A new tax had been forced upon them and they had refused to pay and decided to instead, fight. Sadly, they were almost at once crushed by the well-armed white people. There were many wounded so showing as much fortitude as possible, Gandhi and a group of his volunteers marched 40 miles a day through hilly country carrying much needed medical supplies to heal them. At first some of the soldiers wouldn't let him go, but eventually they understood. Some even thanked him. Gandhi also, no matter how they hated this, wanted peace between the Muslims and the Hindus. Their religions were always against each other and were fighting. The Hindus thought that Gandhi was becoming a traitor and siding with the Muslims. This was far from the truth- Gandhi was only looking for peace. He felt strongly about this and was, unfortunately, the cause of his assassination. Gandhi did not struggle against others for his race only. He fought for equality for all. He led Indian workers against other Indians in a cotton mill strike which was successful. He also worked to show that the untouchables (very poor and supposedly unclean people) were the same as everyone else. He did this by living as simply as they did and sometimes with them. It never quite did solve the problem, but it did help. A major decision in Gandhi's life was that of his marriage to Kasturbai. In India it was tradition to marry early, at 13 in his case, and to have your child married to the same caste. His marriage was

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