Thesis on "Gandhi Mahatma"

Thesis 7 pages (2159 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most influential leaders in world history. His political and societal philosophies were instrumental in the fight for freedom during the American Civil Rights movement, and freedom movements in Ireland and South Africa. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how Gandhi became a world leader. The research will also utilize John Maxwell's the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You.

Background Info

According to a book entitled, Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures the great leader was born in 1869 in Porbandar, India. His given name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and he experienced a middle class upbringing as a member of the Vaishya caste. His father and grandfather were both Prime ministers in Porbandar.

According to the book, Gandhi was not an excellent student although he did attend high school and Samaldas College. By the age of 13 he was married to Kasturbai a girl who was also thirteen. When both Gandhi and his wife were eighteen their son was born. It was also at this time that Gandhi decided that he wanted to become a Barrister (lawyer) and that he needed to go to England to do so. Going to England was viewed as an offence against his caste and he was excommunicated upon leaving.

How Gandhi became a World leader

Gandhi's arrival and stay in England proved rather beneficial in shaping the leader he would become. It was in England that Gandhi first read the bible and other holy books. It was also at this time that he came to understand and respect different faiths. Eventually he passed the bar and returned to India. Upon his return to India he worked as a lawyer but he was unhappy. It was at this time that he received a request to go to South Africa to work on a case (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987).

Although the case he worked was completed in a matter of months, Gandhi observed and experienced the treatment of Indian people in South Africa and ended up living in South Africa for many years. Gandhi formed an organization in South Africa that was charged with the purpose of assisting Indian people living in South Africa. It was at this time that Gandhi really began to emerge as a leader. He organized the Indian community in South Africa as it pertained to fighting for their rights. It was also at this time that Gandhi began to develop the philosophy of non-violent civil disobedience. Gandhi was 24 years old when he first arrived in South Africa, it was 1893 (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987).

After spending three years in South Africa, Gandhi went back to India to get is wife a family, Gandhi visited various areas of India and even visited areas that suffered from a plaque. During his visit to the city devastated by plaque, Gandhi attempted to assist the people in any way that he could. He taught them more sanitary habits that could assists in stopping the spread of the plague. He remained in India for a few months and returned to South Africa after receiving a plea for his return from the Indian community residing in Natal (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987).

It was upon his return that Mahatma the leader was born. Upon his return officials in South Africa had been made aware of his work in India and the ship in which he was travelling was quarantined. Eventually the ship was permitted to come ashore but when Gandhi arrived he was brutally beaten because of the way he organized and assisted the Indian community in South Africa. Although Gandhi could have held his attackers criminally responsible for their actions, he decided not to do so. Gandhi returned to India for brief period of time at the end of the Boer War in South Africa. He was quickly called back to South Africa (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987).

During this second stay in South Africa, Gandhi underwent a spiritual change and abandoned much of the luxuries that he had grown accustomed to as a lawyer (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987). In other words he began to live a more frugal life. Gandhi embraced the principle of non-possession established by Bhagvad Gita. Gandhi also embraced the principles of community living as proposed by Ruskin in the book "Unto this last." According to this book, community living was the way in which harmony could be attained.

Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures explains that Gandhi could not appreciate an ideal without wanting to practice it, he immediately set about to buy a farm where such a life could be lived. Thus was founded the famous Phoenix colony, on a hundred acres of land, some fourteen miles from Durban. But Gandhi could not stay long at Phoenix. Duty called him to Johannesburg where also, later, he found another colony on similar ideals, at a distance of twenty-one miles from the city. He called it the Tolstoy Farm. In both these ashrams, as settlements organized on spiritual ideals are known in India, the inmates did all the work themselves, from cooking to scavenging. Extreme simplicity of the life was observed, reinforced by a strict code of moral and physical hygiene (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1987)."

In addition, inside of these communities medicine was not allowed. Gandhi only believed in natural remedies. Everyone living inside of these communities was expected to learn some type of craft so they could contribute to the community.

Throughout his time in South Africa he opposed different laws and practices that were discriminatory towards Indians. One such law was known as the Black Act which was designed to force Indians to be fingerprinted and registered with the South African government.

At that time Indians in South Africa were not permitted to live in certain areas and they were discriminated against in ways that were extremely harsh. Many Indians opposed this act including Gandhi but when government leaders promised to repeal the act if Indians would voluntarily registered (Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1989). Gandhi believed that the government would do as they promised and he persuaded his countrymen to register. Following the voluntary registration of Indians including Gandhi in 1907 the South African government abandoned their promise to repeal the act. Indians were outrages and many took this anger out on Gandhi who was brutally beaten by some of his countrymen, who felt that he betrayed them. During this time Gandhi was arrested several times as he protested the treatment of Indians. Finally in 1914 Gandhi and the government of South Africa came to an agreement that was satisfactory to the Indian community in South Africa. After spending more than twenty years in South Africa, Gandhi finally returned to India in 1915(Mahatma Gandhi-His Life in Pictures, 1989).

Upon his return he began working with peasants and manual laborers. Gandhi listened to their grievances and organized classes to assist them in bettering themselves. He also went to the government on their behalf to persuade lawmakers to act in their interests. Gandhi soon became a leader to the masses and although some of his policies were controversial, Gandhi was revered and loved by many of the people of India (Parekh, 1989). His development as a leader was forged during the twenty years he spent in South Africa; however it was culminated in India where he worked diligently for his people (Parekh, 1989). Gandhi was also recognized as a world leader during this time and other leaders began to embrace some of his philosophies. Gandhi's influence on the world and various freedom movements have lasted the test of time. Most recently his passive resistance model has been used by the Buddhist monks of Tibet as they fight for their freedom from the Chinese.

Gandhi and the Irrefutable Laws

It is obvious that Gandhi did not become a leader overnight. His beliefs about how society should exist and how to create such a society took years to develop. Although Gandhi made some mistakes as a leader, he was indeed a man who led the masses and has greatly influenced world changing movements throughout the globe. So, how did Gandhi become a word leader? Perhaps the simplest way to answer this question is to explore whether or not Gandhi's leadership encompassed the "21Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. These laws and Gandhi's adherence to these laws are as follows

The lid law- this law asserts that a people group can not grow any further than the leader will allow. Thus the leader acts as a lid. Gandhi desired for people to have the capacity to stand on their own and he trained people with this in mind. He definitely wanted people to grow and he always exemplified growth.

Law of Influence- Gandhi was definitely influential. He could organize people and influence their behavior and even the manner in which they thought.

Law of E.F. Hutton- E.F. Hutton had the capacity to get… READ MORE

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