Gandhi and Non-Violent Protest.

Essay by tdesando86College, UndergraduateA, September 2005

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Non-violent resistance played a major role in India's struggle for independence. There were other people that used this but one person that sticks out in most people's minds is Gandhi. If Gandhi had used another form of fighting back, he probably would have been killed and wouldn't have been able to help lead India to independence.

Non-violent resistance is when people do not use violence to resist something such as the government. Instead of using violence, peaceful things are used such as talking and protests. Even if they are shot at or are being attacked, they will not fight back physically but they will fight back with their words. The most famous person to use non-violence resistance was Mahatma Gandhi. He was born in India on October 2, 1869. He sailed from Bombay to England so he could study law. He became a lawyer and sailed for South Africa to become a lawyer for an Indian firm, after that he extensively helped fight for Indian rights.

The first group that was formed to rid India of foreign rule was the Indian National Congress in 1885 and the second is the Muslim League in 1906. World War I is what really began the nationalist's movement. The Indian citizens and the British government made an agreement, if India was to help in the war, they promised reforms that would lead to self-government. Because of this, over a million Indians enlisted in the British military. In 1918, Indian troops returned home, they were hoping that the British government would keep their promise but they didn't. This cause many Indian citizens to react violently. Because of the way that the Indian citizens reacted, the British government passed the Rowlatt act. This act allowed the government to jail protesters for up to 2 years...