Mahatma Gandhi

A hero is someone who portrays humility, kindness, bravery, and compassion to help others and mankind. My hero is shows all of the above traits and more, using words and non-violent methods to achieve equality and independence for his country; my hero is Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 as the youngest son of 3 children, and during his youth was a shy, soft-spoken and obedient child. At the age of 18, he left India to study law in London. He vowed to his mother that he would live a simple and frugal lifestyle, and stick to his vegetarian diet. This vow was kept until his dying day and passed on to his followers as a way of meditation and religious as well as practical practice because vegetables would not only satisfy the needs of hunger and nutrition, it was also cheaper than meat which was important as meat was expensive during Gandhi’s time.

At the age of 23, Gandhi was travelling in a first class carriage on a train in South Africa when railroad officials told him to transfer to the third class carriage, even though Gandhi was holding a first class ticket. When Gandhi refused to leave, a policeman arrived and threw him off the train. It was this defining moment that changed Gandhi’s life forever; he would dedicate his life to fight for equality and independence for his people the Indians. After fighting for Indian rights in South Africa for 21 years, Gandhi returned to India where he fought for Indian rights and equality and lived there for the remainder of his life.

Gandhi decided to use civil disobedience and non-violent protests to fight for his objectives because he believed that non violence was the only way that freedom and democracy could truly be achieved, which means not fighting back even if your enemies beat and hurt you. Armed conflict and riots would get you nowhere, leaving only a trail of destruction and hatred behind its path. Gandhi believed that nonviolent protests could earn your opponent’s respect and open their eyes to their injustices. After years of non-violent protests, Gandhi and his followers finally achieved their lifelong dream of independence from the British, making India an independent country.

Gandhi has been extremely inspirational to me because he taught me that you can achieve whatever you want as long as you work hard enough for it, and that reasoning and words can get what you wish, if not more, than violence and fighting can. With his non-violent protests, Gandhi taught me that enemies will eventually come to respect you and your ways, as your persistence will wear them down and open their eyes to what you are doing.