Independence Day 2023: Many countries were inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent principles, these leaders had a deep impact

Posted on 14th Aug 2023 by rohit kumar

Independence Day 2023: On August 15, 1947, after a long struggle and the sacrifice of many freedom fighters, our country was liberated from British rule. This year India is celebrating its 77th Independence Day.

 

Many freedom fighters have done movements for this freedom, in which Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence movement had a very important role. The Indian independence movement has not only been inspirational for political movements of the current generation, but the Gandhian nonviolent approach to protest also inspired future political movements around the world.

 

Do you know that India's freedom struggle has influenced political movements around the world? In this news, we will tell you how many countries and countries have been inspired by the Indian movements that started for independence and what has been its impact.

 

Another such movement inspired by the Gandhian approach was the American Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th century. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by Christian beliefs and Gandhi's nonviolent activism. In an interview, King said that he admired freedom fighters, wherever they were, and believed that nonviolence was the best approach.

 

Civil Rights Movement in America

The Civil Rights Movement in America was greatly influenced by the Indian independence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. Martin Luther King Jr. read and understood Mahatma Gandhi very deeply. Along with this, Martin tried to understand his non-violence movement in great depth.

 

Till his last breath in 1968, Luther continued to lead the civil rights movement for African-Americans and his influence cannot be underestimated that of Gandhi. According to information, Martin Luther King said that he felt Gandhi was the greatest person in the modern world.

 

According to the website Biography.com, King first used the principle of nonviolence during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The movement was started because Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.

 

There was a mass protest by African-Americans to desegregate the bus system in Alabama, which lasted a full 13 months. The movement came to an end in 1956 when segregation on the bus system was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. After this decision, Luther said in front of a crowd of people, "Jesus Christ showed us this way and Mahatma Gandhi of India showed us how to walk on this way."

 

King elaborated on many of Gandhi's teachings about nonviolence in his book, Stride Toward Freedom. King wrote that 'the nonviolent resister, not only refuses to shoot his opponent, he also refuses to hate him.'

 

In 1959, King visited India with his wife, Coretta Scott King, for a five-week visit, during which he met Mahatma Gandhi's family, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and many other Indian activists.

 

anti-apartheid movement in south africa

The anti-apartheid movement in South Africa also drew a lot of inspiration from India's independence movement. The foremost leader of the struggle, Nelson Mandela, cited Mahatma Gandhi as his inspiration and said that it was because of Mahatma Gandhi that he got the inspiration to lead the movement.

 

Mandela wrote in his biography that "Nonviolent agitation is effective as long as your opposition follows the same rules that you are following, but if peaceful protest is mixed with violence, it loses its effect." To me, nonviolence was not a moral principle, but a strategy."

 

There is no doubt that Mandela saw nonviolence as an integral part of the anti-apartheid movement. During the three decades that Mandela was in prison, he studied and understood Mahatma Gandhi very deeply. After his release from prison, Mandela became the first president of apartheid-free South Africa and succeeded in bringing the country together through his truth and reconciliation.

 

Harris Majeke, former South African ambassador to India, has said, "Nelson Mandela is the father of South Africa, while Mahatma Gandhi is our grandfather." He said, "Mandela was inspired by Gandhi's Satyagraha campaign."

 

Aung San Suu Kyi took inspiration from democracy

Like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., Aung San Suu Kyi was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement and the Indian independence movement, and the non-violent principles adopted by Gandhi. Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying in 2012 that several leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had inspired her in her quest for a democratic Myanmar.

 

However, during a speech, she said, "I was attracted to the path of non-violence, but as some people believe that I felt the same way on moral grounds, it is wrong."

 

Foreign media quoted Suu Kyi as saying about Myanmar's political struggle in 2012, "We can draw inspiration from the victories of our forefathers, but we cannot confine ourselves to our history in search of ideas and tactics.", who can help us in our struggle."

 

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