Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi
Resilience
Mahatma Gandhi is a prime example of resilience in handling the challenges of life. During his boyhood and youth in South Africa, Gandhi faced discrimination based on race as he was Indian who were considered inferior by the Europeans and the natives. The prejudice he faced in his boyhood affected him while staying in Africa. It led to his development into an activist who articulated for the treatment of Indians and Africans equally as their white subjects. Gandhi practiced anti-racist campaigns through engaging in debates with the white where he opposed motions conducted on discrimination of Africans and Indians by the British (Bligh & Robinson, 2010). Gandhi also introduced a campaign through his newspaper which was named ‘Indian Opinion.’ The newspaper featured stories about the discrimination that was faced by colored people in South Africa as a result of the white regime. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Gandhi introduced protests with the help of other colored people in South Africa. The protests conducted by Gandhi, Satyagraha, were non-violent. They were aimed at solving the problem experienced by the colored people due to the refusal of the white people to treat the colored people in South Africa as their equals (Narain Sharma, 2012). Gandhi mobilized the colored people in order to form peaceful protests due to his ability to think openly. His open-mindedness, unlike other colored people, helped him to come up with a solution to the prevailing situation in South Africa.
Moreover, Gandhi’s had a selfless character. The selflessness of Gandhi also helped him to mobilize more protesters against British rule (Narain Sharma, 2012). He sacrificed to engage in opposition towards the British colonial rule in India by analyzing situations facing the common countrymen and then finding ways in which solutions for the prevailing situations would be met. His selfless character led to him to introduce various non-violent protests against the British rule in India. The protests were aimed at achieving equal treatment for all countrymen and alleviating the high taxes that were imposed on Indians by the British rule. Unlike other Indian countrymen, Gandhi was equipped with problem-solving skills which require focusing on the end game of a solution to a certain problem. He did this by living a self-sufficient life and fasting together with other countrymen in a community where he introduced anti-colonialism to common Indians thus helping him to fight more for success.
Gandhi faced different obstacles during his lifetime. One of the main challenges was being imprisoned multiple times due to the opposition that he offered the British government. His continued determination to achieve self-rule for India led to multiple imprisonments. The largest obstacle of imprisonment was serving a two-year jail sentence under unfavorable conditions. Despite this, Gandhi was determined towards achieving the demands he made to the British government in India (Winder & Schmitt, 2014). Gandhi continued articulating for the civil rights of Indians so as to achieve self-rule for India. He made various demands from the British government in India. His determination lasted until he was assassinated through being shot to death by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.
Despite Gandhi’s failure to overcome the final obstacle which led to his death, Gandhi is still considered as a successful person in India through his achievements both in South Africa and India. He portrayed leadership and problem-solving skills which show his level of resilience through the successes he achieved after overcoming numerous obstacles
References
Bligh, M., & Robinson, J. (2010). Was Gandhi “charismatic”? Exploring the rhetorical leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(5), 844-855. doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.07.011
Narain Sharma, J. (2012). Satyagraha: Gandhi’s Approach to Conflict Resolution. Cooperation for A Peaceful And Sustainable World Part 1, 265-276. doi: 10.1108/s1572-8323(2012)0000020014
Winder, G., & Schmitt, M. (2014). Geographical imaginaries in The New York Times’ reports of the assassinations of Mahatma Gandhi (1948) and Indira Gandhi (1984). Journal of Historical Geography, 45, 106-115. doi: 10.1016/j.jhg.2014.03.001