Rumors made Gandhiji a popular leader comment ?
The peasants regarded Gandhiji as their ‘Messiah’ and considered him to be having many beneficial and miraculous powers. Many rumours were in circulation at various places regarding his miraculous powers. At some places the common masses came to believe that he had been sent by the king to remove their miseries and resolve their problems and he had such power that he could even reject the orders of all the officials.
At some other places it was affirmed that Gandhiji’s power was greater than even the English king and it was claimed that with his arrival the colonial rulers would run away out of fear.
In many villages this rumour was in circulation that the persons criticising Gandhiji got their houses mysteriously caved and their standing crops getting destroyed without any reason.
Gandhiji was popular with many names such as ‘Gandhi Baba’, ‘Gandhi Maharaj’ or ‘Mahatma’ among the peasants. They considered him as their saviour and believed that only he could save them from the exorbitant rate of land revenue and the oppressive activities of British officials.
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Answer:
Gandhi would teach us countless lessons about life, leadership and much more. Gandhi learnt his Leadership skills during his years in South Africa, and honed them in India.
He was naturally charismatic. He had a "feel" for his Follower's needs which was uncannily correct. But he did develop formal tools and methods to become a better Leader over time. He had a rock-solid value system from which all of his activities stemmed, he wanted to make major changes at every turn in his life, and he had a totally interdependent relationship with his followers. As a man of action, he used the 4 E's throughout his life: Envision, Enable, Empower, and Energize. Although there are many traits and behaviors that caused the success of Gandhi, the research has a few picked ingredients:
1. Leadership by examples
Gandhi's greatest ability was to walk his talk at every level and in every way. India continues to be a nation of many diverse nationalities but never did they so unanimously identify with another leader as they identified with Gandhi and this was across classes and communities which were even more sharply divided than they are these days. He practiced what he preached at every possible level. Be it how he dressed like the poorest Indian with a hand woven cotton cloth that barely covered his body and had the simplest of watches and glasses. When it came to personal possessions, unlike today's leaders he had the barest of minimum.
2. Treatment to others
His letters and writings to other great leaders in India, the world and even to young children never had a patronizing or "holier-than-thou" element but always looked at everyone as equals. Leaders who have put their interests over the organizations they created have prospered as individuals but always at the cost of the institution they built or worked for. He made an effort to truly understand his people. He spoke from their point of view...from what motivated them. It has been said that, when he spoke publicly to large audiences it was like he was speaking to you individually.
3. Persistence
A critical success for Gandhi was the support he got across the nation and in the international community. A significant part of this was due to his extraordinary persistence once he had articulated his vision and his methods. His determination in following through on what he preached was often at cost to his own well-being.