Film Lesson: "Gandhi"

When Gandhi was alive he was a great man with amazing ambitions and fantastic ways of achieving these goals he set for himself. We all know Gandhi for his heroic success in getting his country to independence. The amazing thing was unlike most places that got their independence Gandhi and his followers didn’t use violence but civil disobedience to gain a goal many places under British rule wanted. Civil disobedience was a benevolent way of doing something it is also the process of getting something without breaking laws that will end you up in jail. These civil disobedience were always ideas of Gandhi on how to destroy the British empire without force or violence on his side of the field - the field being the need for independence and the way of getting it. There were many ways in which Gandhi used civil disobedience in order to spark the flame, which will light the Indian’s gathering and need for independence. His first act I believe was when he got together a few people – more or so a public gathering but I chose not to think of it like that because then it would be breaking a law – and burned these papers they had to carry around that marked them. These papers told these people were they belonged in the food chain and such.

Gandhi didn’t like that, so he decided to burn them. It wasn’t against the law or anything of that sort, nor was he hurting anyone. So in his attempt of getting India free it was civil disobedience not only that but it was somewhat successful in its own way despite the fact not many burned there papers. It was successful because it alarmed people that a revolution was on the crisp of beginning. Another thing Gandhi and his followers did was a salt march. The salt march was this few hundred-mile walk Gandhi and those that followed him did because the British Empire taxed the salt. You see, salt was an important part of the Indians diet, because if they didn’t have salt they’ll be dehydrated. Anyway, they went to the ocean, got the water and waited so the water evaporated and what was left was salt. The Indians gathered it all and gave it to there fellow country-mates. Lastly he tired to tell his followers to not buy anything from the British, like clothes and such things. Instead to weave your own clothes. Gandhi himself devoted two hours a day to weave his clothes. That’s why you always see him wearing this white diaper looking thing.

Gandhi believed that non-violence was the answer. In one of his quote he even says 'an eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind'. This guy told Gandhi to use violence because the British were using it. But he didn't want to because it wasn't the answer. He didn't believe that you have to use violence to get what you want. Instead, he took all the hits and such, and so did his followers. Of course that is how it started and then they got tried of it and fought back. But Gandhi in order to stop it went on an extreme diet and because this man was so important the fighting in the Indians side stopped. Gandhi said that they have to endure the hits and though that the British would see they are wrong. It worked pretty well because as much as the British tried to break them for example they killed them and harmed them the Indians didn't fight back at all.

I think it was all about this man, because no one after him tried this path to gain independence. At least they weren't as successful as he was. Without him, the spark to start the "fight" wouldn't have been put if he wasn't for him. The rest of the Indians although detesting the British feared what they would do. So if it wasn't for Gandhi rising to the occasion India still would have been were it was years ago. However, it might have happened anyway, if he just went to the back of the train and not kicked off. But it would have taken maybe a few more years so a person would beginning to stand up to the British Empire. But I think that it was better that it happened early not a few year later like it would have happen if Gandhi didn't begin to define the British and there rule over India. I believe that world war two was taking place.