Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi
Non-violent
resistance implies the very opposite of weakness.
Defiance combined with non-retaliatory acceptance of
repression from one's opponents is active, not passive.
It requires strength, and there is nothing automatic or
intuitive about the resoluteness required for using
non-violent methods in political struggle and the quest
for truth.
-Mahatma Gandhi 1936
Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi
was
a full-fledged revolutionary firmly committed to nonviolence. He
took the lead in long struggle for India's independence from
Britain, worked for elimination of racial discrimination in
South Africa, promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity, abolition of
untouchability. He organized what later recalled as the
"advent of satyagraha" or nonviolence movement and
raised consciousness about independence and self-reliance in
India by employing fasting and wearing home-spun Indian fabric (Khadi).
He was imprisoned many times for leading protests and
nonviolence movements against discriminatory laws and abusive
working conditions. India gained independence from Great Britain
in 1947. Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu fanatic upset over
Gandhi's tolerance of Muslims. Gandhi's wife Kasturbai Kapadia
Makanji Gandhi was a constant source of wisdom and inspiration
for Gandhi and those who knew her.
