James Dean? Che Guevara? Arafat, Mobutu, who?
Mohanda Karamchand Gandhi, the quiet revolutionary, and was living proof that violence isn’t requisite for societal, especially political change.
Trained in law in London from 1888, then he initially served the Indian expatriate community in South Africa for twenty-one years, and it is during this time that he formed his social and political views. He opposed the race laws that affected his people, which brought physical and political retribution against him, but he persevered, and peacefully, influencing people and decisions where he could.
But in 1915 he returned to India. There he immediately threw himself into the fight for independence from Britain. Gandhi used law, legislation, and commincation to take the fight through the people for Indian sovereignty. He harnessed the people and the process. Again he was gaoled, and targeted by the British administration. Yet his response was always peaceful protest. He organised peaceful protests, trade boycots, local product fidelity, and more. He hit the British economically, administratively and politically, a very astute leader. One high point was the famous Salt March in 1930 where Ghandi organised a boycot against the British salt tax, he and thousands who joined him along the way, marched 388 kms from Ahmedabad to Dandi on the coast, it captured the nation and wounded the British image irreparably. The administration loathed Gandhi, and Churchill branded him as seditious and dangerous, a Hindu Mussolini! He was a true rebel, but without a gun.
Indian independence arrived August 15, 1947. It was tainted for Gandhi by the seprate agreement of the British to allow the partition of India to include East and West Pakistan as separate states for Muslims. Gandhi opposed the move. Many died in the process, but civil war did not erupt.
Gandhi believed that love could win over hate. His life is testimony that it can, and it can bring down empires and open the door to new visions. His patience won out in the end.
Sadly he was assasinated on January 30 1948, but his life was clearly not in vain. He has been a model for many others of many cultures and beliefs, and an inspiration for peaceful protest for change (Aung San Suu Kyi and Benazir Bhutto come to mind). But he, I’m sure would be the first to acknowledge that what mattered was that he’d managed to inspire his own people, that’s my kind of rebel, peaceful, loving, grass-roots based.
Two quotes of his that I love are:
“the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
“You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.”
Paul,
pvcann.com
parallax 
He was a rebel with a cause!!
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Good Point Moira, yes to that
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Awesome post … loved it 🧡 Respect To The Greatest Leader Mahatma Gandhi Ji 🙏🏻
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Thank you, and yes respect to him
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a great hero who continues to inspire many … such a huge impact for his tiny frame … just like Mother Teresa and Dalai Lama 🙂
Good things come in small packages ..
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Good point, yes, small but dynamic 🙂
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great way to express it!
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yes 🙂
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Lol, fixed, I got one right, not sure why that happened 🙂
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No worries..I could sense from your writeup that you were writing in a flow.
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I was, and I didn’t carefully check, too late at night. But thank you for that, much appreciated.
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My pleasure.
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Inspiring to be reminded that one person can truely change the world by peaceful action using love not hate and peace not violence.
>
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Absolutely! The father of non violence 🙏
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Yes indeed, what a guy!
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Gandhi was an an extraordinary person…also the most famous person that found a measure of success using Gandhi’s philosophy was Martin Luther King….
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You have a nice blog and you also write well. Can you please review my first article. I want to know whether it has got any potential or not.
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Happy to try and be of help, happy to be a sounding board. yes 🙂 thank you for asking.
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If you need an email – pcann10@gmail.com
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thanks
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Thank you, Paul! I adore him, but he had to die. So its not really my way. Have a good weeken. Michael
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True, and you have a good weekend too Michael.
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Thank you Paul! Michael
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I think whether or not violence is necessary depends on the situation you’re in and the change you’re trying to bring across. The end of slavery in Haiti, for instance, required force. Every time the soldiers tried to be diplomatic and make concessions, the French, Spanish, English and the US tried (and failed) to outsmart them. Force bought them freedom, albeit at a dear price.
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Yes I’d agree, sadly many other armed rebellions weren’t sustainable, notably the American War of Independence did too.
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Desperate people are quicker to turn to arms after prior negotiations fail, but like you pointed out, it’s not always sustainable or effective.
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Yes, but as you say, sometimes the choice we need, I sometimes wonder how I would respond, I feel my temp going up with injustice, not sure I’d be peaceful.
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Hmmm… for me, it depends on the situation and the rights I believe I hold. I would fight tooth and nail in Jamaica for personal injustice, and have done so, as it is my home. I am not however a fan of guns.
I would not fight with more than words in the US, as I’m not a citizen and as of January 2017, lost a lot of my rights as a resident due to changes to immigration laws. When I first came here, under Obama, the only thing that separated me from a citizen was that I could not vote. So much for that.
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Sorry to hear that. Yes our news kept us up to date with that disaster, the changes to residents rights. Yes it sure does depend on the context and what you believe, for some it is their defining moment. Thank you.
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Wow, Paul! Really a great post! Thanks so much for the info and insights from and about Ghandi. I so loved the first quote of his! It is a very sad indictment of America’s history, isn’t it??? Bravo!! Thanks so much for sharing this.
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Many thanks for your kind words, much appreciated.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet and commented:
Come and discover the most successful revolutionary ever in Paul’s post – REBEL WITHOUT A GUN
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Very kind, thank you
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My pleasure, Paul! We could use a few more souls like Ghandi!
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We sure could.
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Pingback: Rebel Without A Gun — parallax – SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS COVENANT HOUSE
Thank you
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