Preview

Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2235 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement
Intro
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always,[1][2] defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance. In one view (in India, known as ahimsa or satyagraha) it could be said that it iscompassion in the form of respectful disagreement.
The Civil Disobedience Movement led by M K Gandhi, in the year 1930 was an important milestone in the history of Indian Nationalism. There are three distinct phases that mark the development of Indian Nationalism. In the first phase, the ideology of the moderates dominated the political scenario. This was followed by the prominence of the extremist ideologies. In the third phase of Indian Nationalism the most significant incident was the rise of MK Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, to power as the leader of Indian National Movements. Under his spirited guidance, the National Movements of the country took shape.
Factors Leading to the Civil Disobedience Movement
The prevalent political and social circumstances played a vital role in the launching of the Civil Disobedience Movement. The Simon Commission was formed by the British Government that included solely the members of the British Parliament, in November 1927, to draft and formalize a constitution for India. The chairmanship of the commission rested with Sir John Simon, who was a well known lawyer and an English statesman. Accused of being an 'All-White Commission', the Simon Commission was rejected by all political and social segments of the country. In Bengal, the opposition to the Simon Commission assumed a massive scale, with a hartal being observed in all corners of the province on February 3rd, 1928. On the occasion of Simon's arrival in the city, demonstrations were conducted in Calcutta. In the wake of the boycott of the recommendations proposed by Simon Commission, an

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gandhi’s acts follow Thoreau’s ideas from Civil Disobedience. He does so by not following the British laws set upon India. In the article, Gandhi Leads Civil Disobedience, the author states, “On March 12, 1930, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi begins a defiant march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt, his boldest act of civil disobedience yet against British rule in India”. Gandhi leads a march for something he believes is unjust. Thoreau asks in Civil Disobedience if people should be content with unjust laws, or should they endeavor to fix them. Reflecting upon that, the article states that, “Gandhi set out from Sabarmati with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. There,…

    • 168 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil Disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. The action of Civil Disobedience is usually, not always though, classified as being not violent resistance. Also, it may be compared as compassion of respectable disagreement.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mohandas Gandhi launched a policy of nonviolent noncooperation against the British following the Massacre at Amritsar in 1919 (Boss, 2012). He used his moral outrage guided by reason to effect change in the cultural norms of India and ultimately helped India gain independence in 1947. Gandhi’s efforts have greatly impacted social and political reform, and have influenced later civil rights movements.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To be human is to be disobedient. For good or evil. disobedience has been the one constant, universal trait that characterized human beings since the beginning of time. Behind every great human achievement is an act of disobedience, a rejection of the conventional wisdom, a defiance of authority, or a decision, a choice made to take the path less travelled. History is replete with men and women who by their disobedience changed history, often for the better, though sometimes for the worse.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Breaking News! Indian citizen Mohandas Gandhi is organizing a protest to reduce British taxes on salt, 36 years after he made a compromise with the South African government about Indian suffrage. This was accomplished by what Gandhi and what other Hinduist followers consider satyagraha; or civil disobedience.” I switched the small, tattered, black and white TV off. I was amazed how one leader could bring down a strong government with a big military force, just with civil disobedience. Ever since I was born, we were controlled over British colonial rule. My parents were forced to work as peasants, because all the high-paying jobs were taken by whites. Because of inaccessibility to medical assistance, my mom died. My father was so stricken with…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is a key part of the rights that all Americans now have. Civil disobedience allows for the people to take a stand against rules and regulations that they do not agree with. From movements such as ending slavery, women voting, and racial equality, civil disobedience was a major factor in getting the attention of those who had the position to make a change. Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on a bus, which brought national attention to rising concerns of racial equality in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King Junior held many rallies and marches to make his point well known, and impossible to ignore by the people who had the power to change the laws of the day. From as far back as Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Peaceful Protest

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nonviolence is a necessity in civil disobedience, as it immediately differentiates between civil protests and others. By taking nonviolent…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience: conscientious and public opposition of law or government demands to influence legislation of government policy. Coined by the renowned Henry David Thoreau and built upon the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, civil disobedience is used worldwide by citizens to voice themselves to the government. Breaches of law have not only been prominent in Thoreau’s era, Martin Luther King Jr.’s era, but now, in current opposition against President Trump’s inauguration. As with every controversy, civil disobedience is met with two conflicting sides: is it wrong to break a law in any circumstance or should citizens be allowed to protest to bring change to the government? The core of a democratic-republic country is it’s citizens.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey laws in hopes of changing government laws or policies. Civil disobedience has changed many unjust things for different groups of people it was a major key during…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is the act of protesting without inciting violence. There are many examples of such things throughout history just like the Civil Rights Movement during the 10960’s as showcased through movies and media like Selma and there are some examples going on today. Such as the The Poor People’s Campaign that is going on to this day. I’m going to be comparing and contrasting the two examples, discussing the kind of people that took place in each instance, what its about and the leaders that orchestrated the event. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement, the Poor People’s Campaign is not discriminate, for the most part a single race.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Civil disobedience has always been a debated and polar opinionated topic since the first days that it was presented. Whenever it comes to going against a law that is set in stone as something to abide by in a society, some controversial actions are going to follow. The person who played the role as somewhat of a backbone in this movement was Henry Thoreau. In 1849, when Henry Thoreau re-iterated the idea of civil disobedience to the people of American following the Mexican war, it was viewed by some as extremely controversial, some viewed it as treason, and then there were the followers that were completely accepting of it and felt it necessary. This is why, when the idea came of mixing this idea of civil disobedience that was already controversial, with the slavery and whether it should be used against the fugitive slave act, was a real catalyst for uproar and praise. The uproar clearly came from some people with high positions in the United States. Two advocates for the compromise of 1850 and the fugitive slave laws were two candidates for president of the United States, Franklin Pierce from the democratic party and Winfield Scott. Although Franklin Pierce, the eventual winner of the election, wasn't as candid about his beliefs regarding slavery, he was definitely opposed to civil disobedience against the fugitive slave laws. These supporters generally included northern democrats and southern Whigs. The opposition to the compromise of 1850 and the fugitive slave act consisted mainly of abolitionists of slavery at the time. The most powerful and effective users of their rights to civilly disobey usually came from the north mainly because they had the opportunity. The fugitive slave act caused citizens living in the north were required to return escaped slaves if they found them. If they were not to return the slaves, they were lawful to pay a $1,000 fine. Some abolitionists that did not abide these rules and rather than returning slaves,…

    • 1951 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Civil disobedience is the act of disobeying the law but in a peaceful manner while accepting the consequences. Many people feel it is wrong and disruptive; however, it is what makes people free and true to themselves and what they believe in. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because it is truly giving the people their freedom. It does not harm anyone, since it’s only done to prove one’s point or to let them stand up for what they believe is right.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History will reveal the major part civil disobedience has played on overcoming governmental injustices. Today, people know Gandhi’s Salt March to Martin Luther King’s demonstrations. Gandhi’s actions helped gain India’s its independence and King’s tactics were instrumental in winning rights for black people in the United States. Others situations include the successful protest of 1998 rioters in Indonesia against the despotic system of government under the Suharto regime.[3] In the US during the early 1900s strikes organized by mistreated workers led to the introduction of labor unions, end of child labor and improved job benefits.[4] Those in the opposite mindset believe that civil disobedience is counter-productive and that the court system should combat unjust laws. However what all these causes listed above has in common was that, “there was no other avenue open to redress grievances” making civil obedience the only way to protest…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil disobedience to me means a group or an individuals protesting or blocking a civil action against the government. To me I personally been in a situation where I was involved in a dispute. At the time I was attending Harris Stowe State University and the university was celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr like they do for the past 15 years and during the time of the ceremony it was the whole issue of the Michael Brown case. So there were angry protestors that marched on campus grounds as well as me and a group of students were coming back from community service project and the angry protestors were inside the Henry Givens Auditorium as well as Mike Brown mother. The angry protestors had interrupted the program and got kicked outside of the auditorium, so they continued to stand outside with the other protestors from the MLK march and the angry group started to yell and tell me and the rest of the…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays