Mahatma Gandhi

             "You must be the change you wish to seek in the world" (Gandhi). This statement conveys the idea that heroes change the world through their actions. Gandhi's actions illustrated that which he wished to seek inthe reformation of India and South Africa: an independent and hardworking nations. But Gandhi wasn't always like this from childhood. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2^nd, 1869, in Porbandar, India, as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. During his childhood, Gandhi was spoiled and mischievous. In his autobiography, My Experiments with the Truth, Gandhi said, "I am not proud of my actions. All I can say about them is that the past is the past, and I must now look toward the future." In his adult years, Gandhi left India and headed for London to study law at Oxford University. After his studies, he returned back to India where he was offered a job at an Indian law firm in Durban, South Africa. A turning point in his life occurred: "While traveling in a first-class train compartment in Natal, Gandhi was asked by a white man to leave. He got off the train and spent the night in a train station meditating. He decided then to work to eradicate race prejudice. Shortly after the train incident, he called his first meeting of Indians in Pretoria, South Africa and attacked racial discrimination by whites." He planned nonviolent marches, protests, and fasts. "This launched his campaign for improved legal status for Indians in South Africa, who at that time suffered the same discrimination as blacks" ("Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi"). Gandhi stayed in South Africa until 1914 to give civil rights to Indians, and then moved on to his own country of India where he spent a total of 33 years until he finally won independence for India. Though the path that Gandhi took was extensive and rigorous, he persevered. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a civil rights activist, is a deserving hero because he used progressive steps to make great change, demonstrated bravery by never backing down, and implemented patience to see his mission through to the end.

Gandhi's ability to advocate for change and to improve the lives of Indians and South Africans made him a deserving hero. When Gandhi worked for the people of South Africa, he heard their pleas for independence in not only South Africa, but also in India. Hearing this, Gandhi had no choice but to take action: "By 1896 Gandhi had established himself as a political leader and undertook a journey to India to launch a protest campaign on behalf of Indians in South Africa. It took the form of letters written to newspapers, interviews with leading nationalist leaders and a number of public meetings" ("Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi"). Gandhi was a person of action. He took little steps by coming back to India "to launch a protest campaign," and made a big leap in achieving his lifelong dream of independence for India. His letters slowly stirred emotions within people, thus creating the fight for independence: "Following the Amritsar Massacre of some 400 Indians," in India, during the year 1919, "Gandhi responded with noncooperation with British courts, stores, and schools. the Khadi movement-Gandhi's urging that Indians spin their own clothing rather than buy British goods. He cherished the ideal of economic independence for the village" ("Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi"). Gandhi's will for independence of the individual person led to the employment and profit of many Indians. He made the individual worker independent; less reliant upon British goods. His idea of a nonviolent strike against buying British goods led the country to independence from the British. Because of his ability to advocate beneficial ideas, India's economy, as well as its people, started to become independent themselves. By putting sanctions on British goods, a revolution started. On top of the improvements he made, Gandhi was able to stand up for the Indians who wanted change in South Africa and India, thus making him a hero. 

Gandhi was threatened, attacked, and even faced attempted murder; however, because he was a hero, he courageously never backed down. While Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a Muslim leader, was part of the government of India, Jinnah desired the separate Muslim state of Pakistan, which would create the overall separation of Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi didn't want that. He wished for India to not only be independent from Britain, but to also be unified among the people- like America's cultural diversity.  Sadly, Jinnah did not heed Gandhi's words and instead declared the date August 16 to be "Direct Action Day". On that day and several others, due to fights between Hindus and Muslims, thousands of people died and even more wounded. Violence stained the country:  "Aggrieved, Gandhi went to Bengal, saying, 'I am not going to leave Bengal until the last embers of trouble are stamped out'. He went to Noakhali, a heavily Moslem city in Bengal, where he said 'Do or die' would be put to the test. Either Hindus and Moslems would learn to live together, or he would die in the attempt" ("Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi"). Gandhi's valiance allowed him to stand up to his actions. Aside from the fragile respect he had from his fasts and marches, Gandhi was walking on a thin line that could have killed him. When he said "Do or die would be put to the test," he stood by his words. He pushed his boundaries to its limits and persevered. His actions proved to be courageous because he stood up against what he thought was wrong even though he was threatened and pressured; but this wasn't the worst of the situations that he faced. In 1896, Gandhi traveled from South Africa to India just so that he could bring his family to South Africa: "While in India, Gandhi informed his countrymen of the plight of Indians in Africa. News of his speeches filtered back to Africa, and when Gandhi reached South Africa, an angry mob," of British whites, "stoned and attempted to lynch him" ("Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi"). Despite the attempts to harm him for his actions, Gandhi continued his fight for independence. He did not back down, even though they tried to hang him. His bravery overcame it all. In the end, Gandhi's boldness stood among all, and allowed him to push his mission for independence, as well as unification, forward. 

Another heroic trait of Gandhi was his patience, which he followed and illustrated within his work, allowing him to see things through to the end. On October 13, 1913, Gandhi started a protest, in South Africa, because of the £3 tax imposed on Indians. As stated in the article "Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi" on the South African History Online website, weeks after the start of his march, between 4000 and 5000 miners joined his cause. During the march, Gandhi was arrested multiple times. Each time Gandhi was arrested, he was freed on bail, but each of the periods of his arrests would last months. Every time he was freed, he would join the march again. Despite being arrested multiple times, Gandhi never lost his calm and stayed patient. His inclination to continue to march was due to his superfluous amount of persistence. After his time spent during this march and many other protests, Gandhi was finally awarded for his patience over the years. On August 15, 1947, India won its independence from Britain. All of Gandhi's efforts, over the span of 33 years, were answered on that day. Gandhi knew that patience was a virtue and he held true to it. It took many grueling years of prison and riots and peaceful protests; but in the end, he made it to India's independence, the thing he strived for all those years. If he didn't have that patience, he would have given up in the middle, but he didn't. Out of all the efforts that Gandhi put in, his persistence was the key to the finalization of his dream.

Throughout the span of years in which Gandhi rebelled against Britain, the traits that gave him the ability to win independence were his change making actions, courageous standings against non-supporters, and persistence in his mission that spanned over 33 years; but above all, his inspiration towards others is his greatest heroic quality. His use of nonviolent methods and astounding changes in character have not only inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, but many others as well. In their article, "Mohandas Gandhi (1869 - 1948)," BBC News says, "His doctrine of non-violent protest to achieve political and social progress has been hugely influential." Gandhi's achievement of independence through nonviolent methods inspired others to try his methods because of the success it brought. People like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, followed his ideas of nonviolent marches, protests, and strikes. In addition to his coherent inspiration through nonviolent means, Gandhi's great character change from childhood to adulthood inspired others to the possibilities that are available to them. As a child, Gandhi was selfish, spoiled, and mischievous; even as a young adult. In his autobiography, My Experiments with the Truth, Gandhi says, "In my childhood, I would usually cause mischief whenever I had the chance. Even as I grew up, I never got out of my terrible selfish habits, and the people closest to me have been hurt because of it. As of right now I wish I could undo my actions, but all I can do is make up for them in my ethical practices." Gandhi, like every other person, had bad habits and indulgences surrounding him, but his will to change is what inspires people. Most people usually think that they are who they are and can't change their ways, but Gandhi's actions disproved that theory and inspired people to follow in his footsteps. His autobiography was written based on this reason to make others change their ways for the better. Gandhi inspires me to be one whom stands up for what he believes in while inspiring others along the way. All of Gandhi's actions, traits, and inspirational factors led him to be the great figure he is today: an inspirational civil rights activist with progressiveness, bravery, and patience. Above all else, he is a deserving hero.

Works Consulted

"Mahatma Gandhi Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.

"Mahatma Gandhi Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 22 May 2013.

"Mohandas Gandhi (1869 - 1948)." BBC News. BBC, 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. 

"Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography In Context. Web. 2 May 2013.

"Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi | South African History Online." Mohandas (Mahatma) Karamchand Gandhi | South African History Online. South African History Online, N.d. Web. 09 May 2013. 

Gandhi, Mohandas. An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Boston: Beacon, 1957. Print.

Zach, and Ashley. "Mahatma Gandhi Main Page." Mahatma Gandhi Main Page. N.p., N.d. Web. 09 May 2013.