Question

19999 lines on Mahatma Gandhi

Answer 1

Non-violence or ‘ahimsa’ is a practice of not hurting anyone intentionally or unintentionally. It is the practice professed by great saints like Gautam Buddha and Mahaveer. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the pioneer personalities to practice non-violence. He used non-violence as a weapon to fight the armed forces of the British Empire and helped us to get independence without lifting a single weapon.

Role of Non-violence in Indian Freedom Struggle   

The role of non-violence in the Indian freedom struggle became prominent after the involvement of Mahatma Gandhi. There were many violent freedom struggles going on concurrently in the country and the importance of these cannot be neglected either. There were many sacrifices made by our freedom fighters battling against the British rule. But non-violence was a protest which was done in a very peaceful manner and was a great way to demand for the complete independence. Mahatma Gandhi used non-violence in every movement against British rule. The most important non-violence movements of Mahatma Gandhi which helped to shake the foundation of the British government are as follows.

Champaran and Kheda Agitations

In 1917 the farmers of Champaran were forced by the Britishers to grow indigo and again sell them at very cheap fixed prices. Mahatma Gandhi organized a non-violent protest against this practice and Britishers were forced to accept the demand of the farmers.

Kheda village was hit by floods in 1918 and created a major famine in the region. The Britishers were not ready to provide any concessions or relief in the taxes. Gandhiji organized a non-cooperation movement and led peaceful protests against the British administration for many months. Ultimately the administration was forced to provide relief in taxes and temporarily suspended the collection of revenue.

Non-cooperation Movement

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the harsh British policies lead to the Non-cooperation movement in 1920. It was the non-violence protest against the British rule. Gandhiji believed that the main reason of the Britishers flourishing in India is the support they are getting from Indians. He pleaded to boycott the use of British products and promoted the use of ‘Swadeshi’ products. Indians denied working for the Britishers and withdrew themselves from the British schools, civil services, government jobs etc. People started resigning from the prominent posts which highly affected the British administration. The Non-Cooperation movement shook the foundation of the British rule and all these without a single use of any weapon. The power of non-violence was more evident in the non-cooperation movement.

Answer 2

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