Between 1901 and 1902, he traveled extensively by train in India to learn his own country again – which built the foundation for him to be the leader for his own nation. By 1914, he returned India for good.
In July 1917, Gandhi led a successful non-violent campaign fighting for the rights of the indigo workers in Champaran (Bihar). In March 1918 he led a peaceful strike of Ahmedabad (Gujarat) Mill workers for higher wages and in June 1918, a remission of taxes was granted in the area of Kheda (Gujarat) after a no-tax campaign led by Gandhi.
The non-violent protest or “Ahimsa”, also called “satyagraha” which means insistance and adherence to truth, in a non-violent manner was a way of life to Gandhi. He was good at symbolism. In 1930, Gandhi chose to break the salt law to support the launch of Civil Disobedience movement as he knew that the salt issue affected every single indan. Another symbolic act was the popularization of the “Charkha” or spinning wheel due to its practical use of spinning loincloth as a symbolic for economic independence. The methods he used in Satyagrahas were prayers, fasts, penance, strikes and defying certain civil laws etc.
To his despair, in 1948, when India became an independent country, the country was partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. His belief that love is the only solution to injustice was so deeply rooted into his heart that when Hindu – Muslim massacres occurred after the partition, Gandhi fasted to the brink of death to quell the two religious group. On January 30, 1948, 12 days after the break of his last fasting, Gandhi was shot at a prayer meeting in Delhi by a Hindu fanatic, Naturam Godse, blaming Gandhi for the partition and “betraying” the Hindus.
- Mahatma Gandhi
This website is created by Sue Franz as a class assignment for MG648, "Leadership" of Master of Management Program at Aquinas College.