Gandhi, King and Mandela: What Made Non-Violence Work?

All through history governments and empires have been overthrown or defeated primarily by the violence of those who oppose them. This violence was unremarkably successful however, there have been several situations, when violence failed, that protesters have had to farm to other methods. Non-violent protesting never confabmed to be the right course of action until the ideology of Mohandas Gandhi spread and influenced successful protests across the world. Non-violent methods were successfully used, most nonably, by Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther mightiness, jr., and Nelson Mandela.Mohandas Gandhis methods not only led to Indias independence from Britain but as well had victories over racial discrimination in south Africa. Gandhi saw, upon his return to India from South Africa, that Britain had run Indias people into poverty and subordination. Indians were not allowed to manufacture or own their own salt. This affected the poor population most because of how a good deal they used salt. Gandhi began by writing to the English Governor in India describing his intention to convert the British people through passive resistance and to make them see the wrong they have done to India (Document 1).He felt that the British overtop was a curse. Even though Gandhi spent a nitty-gritty of 2.338 days in prison, he did not feel the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoners box (Doc. 7). People followed Gandhi in his protests and umteen followed him into jail feeling firm in their resolution of passing their monetary value in jail in perfect happiness and peace (Doc. 7). piece of music he was in jail, Mme. Naidu, an Indian poetess, filled in his position in leading protests. She encouraged the protesters by reiterating that they must not use whatsoever violence they would be beaten but they must not dissentnot even raise a hand to ward saturnine blows (Doc. 4). The author felt that the western mind finds it difficult to grasp the image of nonresistance, but this was not the case.Just 25 years later Martin Luther ability, Jr. found his own kind of victory using Gandhis techniques. King began his career of peaceful protests as a follower, not a leader. In 1960, he toke part in the lunch counter sit-ins in auberge to bring the whole issue of racial injustice under the scrutiny of the conscience of Atlanta (Doc 2). King hoped to help not just the ignominious population but the white population as well. By 1963, King had been chosen as head of the Southern Christian Leadership meeting which sought to aid in the efforts to put an end to segregation. He reli able-bodied volunteers to serve in their non-violent army knowing that they would have to accept and subscribe violence without retaliating (Doc. 5).Their will to fight was from the conviction that they were right. Kings followers were so empowered that, for their participation in the Montgomery raft boycott, people had rushed down to get arrested they were now proud to be arr ested for the cause of liberty (Doc. 8). King got white and blacks to work together for the defect on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (Doc. 11). He wanted them to b able to sit down together at a table of sexual union.Nelson Mandela used the same Gandhian principles of nonviolencethat seeks to conquer through regeneration (Doc. 3). He lived under the strict laws of apartheid that separated the white Dutchmen from the native African population. In similar circumstances as M.L. King, Mandela supported the same acts of nonviolence in order to gain rights for South Africans. He knew that attempts at violencewould be devastatingly crushed under the power of the state. At his protests in Johannesburg in 1952, he knew that the authorities would seek to intimidate, imprison, and perhaps attack them (Doc. 6) however, like Gandhi, he encouraged the volunteers not to retaliate.Mandela spent 26 years and 8 months in jail as punishment for his protesting however, he felt that no resign was too great in the struggle for freedom (Doc. 9). He spent time in jail with other protesters that all felt that whatsoever sentences they received, even the death sentence their deaths would not be in egotistical (Doc. 9). Freedom for the South African people from apartheid finally came in 1993. To Mandela this was not just the freedom of his people but the freedom of all people, black and white (Doc. 12). South Africas New Democracy rose afterwards years of continuous nonviolence from the populace.Gandhi, King, and Mandela each fought for their causes with a method that was in truth rarely used but even less rarely successful. Their efforts at peaceful protest without retaliation to attacks were successful in overthrowing trans-continental rule and shutdown segregation of races. Gandhi transformed the idea of non-violence into a way to fight for freedom and justice which would ultimately end in success and peace.