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India, just like any other country was colonized by the one of the western countries, who perceived themselves as superior when compared to the rest. In ancient times, trade was highly treasured among the powerful countries. This led them to explore and control less powerful empires in order to expand both their political and market boundaries, by colonizing them. However, this was not without resistance. The colonized countries became aware of their rights and begun seeking for their independence. Different countries took different avenues when fighting for independence. India was not an exception since struggled to attain its independence.
In its independence struggle, India used non-violent channels to oppose and gain its sovereignty from its colonizer, the British. Among other people in India, Mohandas Karamchard Gandhi believed in what he termed as finding “…another remedy which, though, very simple, is more powerful than rebellion and murder” (Ackerman and Duval 61). Gandhi was motivated by the fact that Russians had previously tried to fight for their independence by assassinating a ruler in vain.
However, when Russians decided to declare a general strike without violence, independence was granted by their colonizers. “They had left their jobs and informed the Czar that, unless justice was done, they would not resume the work. What was there even Czar could do against this? ” Gandhi wrote (Ackerman and Duval 61). Gandhi, a 36 years old lawyer, started the struggle by writing various political philosophies to revolutionize the Indians on their rights to independence, while he was studying law in South Africa. To many, “his name is almost synonymous with non-violence” (Parel and Ronald 163).
He had also heard other countries who gained their independence through non-violent channels. This motivated Gandhi to enlighten his native people to also do the same. According to his reasoning, the British government existed because the Indian worked in order to pay taxes and serve the colonizers. With the prevailing restrictions in the country, it was easy for Gandhi to incite his countrymen to take arms against the harsh conditions they were being subjected to by their masters. Despite Gandhi writing philosophical works, he “was not a political philosopher in the formal sense. But he was a political philosopher in the Socratic sense” (Parel and Ronald 165).
With a religious background, Gandhi saw an opportunity to tap the unity induced by religious groups in the society. There was a close connection between practical and spiritual activity. As such, anything derived through violence will never give justice to the Indians, according to Gandhi. In his first step, Gandhi created a movement which he named it as ‘passive resistance’. This movement was to oppose any form of injustices done to the natives by the British. However, the movement faced the wrath of the colonizers where they were physically assaulted and oppressed so as to renounce their movement (Parel and Ronald 163).
Satyagraha is the name that was given by Gandhi to the movement’s actions. He believed that the natives would rather face oppression, prejudice and suffering for fighting for the truth, than be oppressed silently. However, Gandhi realized the weakness of personal sacrifices. As such, he knew he had to establish a more rigid movement to be seen as a political tool by his rivals. “What Gandhi sought was a return to an idealized past: the Indian village community, purge of some of its more obviously degrading features and repressive features, such as untouchability” (Moore 374).
Apart from mobilizing several parties in the homeland, Gandhi went out of India to lobby for support from other Indians who were living outside the country. Through critique political writing, he was able to revolutionize other Indians on the oppression they were facing under the rule of the British. His first work was recognized in South Africa weekly, Indian opinion. The work was in form of a dialogue where the editor was talking to the reader, in reference to the Indian terrorists. Basically, the work was calling for swaraj, or in other words independence.
Unfortunately, while he was making his efforts to rescue his homeland from the British, the natives started having internal conflicts mainly religious-related ones. Gandhi called for the unity among the Muslims and the Hindus in order to fight their common enemy. He also condemned the oppression of the women and the poor. “During the late eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth centuries, the British introduced new systems of taxation and land tunure, as well as textiles that may have damaged artisan castes” (Moore 316). In his last kick, Gandhi decided to encourage the Indians to make their own salt, which was the most taxed by the British government.
This was to counter attack the new levies which were introduced by the British masters. New salt levies were introduced probably because it was the most basic thing for every Indian. This act was termed as inhumane by Gandhi. Those who collaborated with the British were totally discriminated from traditional cerebrations such as weddings, probably to discourage them from their acts of collaboration.
His first victory was breaking the salt law. This was very easy as those who had access to sea water would make their own salt. The ‘salt makers’ were protected from the police in form of rings by dozens of volunteers. This became a general activity which was adopted by the natives simultaneously. These activities encouraged the natives to continuously defy British orders. The British retaliated by ordering the police to physically assault the protesters.
Despite being assaulted physically, the Indians engaged in non-violent protests. To the Indians, this was a badge of courage in their quest to obtain their freedom. Gandhi believed that “the spirit of voluntary poverty has to be nourished by daily manual labor. No matter what one’s station in life, one had to engage in some limited kind of manual labor, if one took swaraj seriously” (Parel and Ronald 173).
At one time, protestor raised their own flag in front of congress, but was later removed by armed police. Women played a critical role in the reforms of the country, from being in the front lanes during protests, to carrying the process of salt extraction from the sea water. Most of them were brutally attacked by law enforcers while most of them ended up in the jail in 1930. Eventually the British continued to lose support from the natives. Finally they gave up their oppressive ways and gave in to the Indian congress demands. In 1935, the Indians saw the elections of provincial governments whose aim was to enhance the role of provincial legislatures (Moore 315).
With reference to what was witnessed in India, one can comfortably conclude that writing plays a key role in politics. Through writing, Gandhi, among others, was able to achieve what was achieved by other countries through violence. Solidarity is also a key tool in political arena. Through solidarity, the Indians were able to defy various rules of colonial government. The highest solidarity among the women came as a surprise to both the congress and the British government.
They actively participated in the making of the salt, particularly in fetching the water from the sea for boiling. Courage was also a key political tool which was witnessed through the collusion of the police who were armed and non-violent Indian protestors. Religion teachings are often closely related to politics. Gandhi realized this and maximized it to his advantage so as to awaken the Indians.
The role of suffering is also highly reflected in India’s struggle for independence. This implies that nothing comes on a silver platter. As a politician, one has to forego some of the personal comfort so as to make a change in politics of any given form. Political field is a highly demanding. Before Gandhi was able to take shape in inciting the Indians, he used his own resources, time and knowledge to awaken the sleeping country. This demanded most of his resources, as well as time without compensation from his natives. In other words, political field is more of a calling rather than a carrier.
Works Cited
Ackerman, Peter and Jack Duval. A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000. Print.
Moore, Barrington. Social Origins Of Dictatorship And Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1966. Print.
Parel, Anthony, and Colin Ronald, eds. Comparative Political Philosophy: Studies Under the Upas Tree. Lanham Boulder New York Oxford: Lexington Books, 2003. Print.
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