Mahatma Ghandi: A Source of Inspiration

Hi everybody!

   In this post I'm going to talk about of one of the greatest characters in history of the human rights fight, Mahatma Gandhi and how this man got an influence in the world with his ideology and his wisdom.

   Firstly, I must say why I chose this topic to my entry. Well, all began when I was working with my group in our presentation about Martin Luther King Jr's life. In that moment, I really shocked with relevance that Gandhi's words had in the Luther´s movement of civil rights and how this words and thoughts full of peace and love motivated him to fight in a peaceful way. I remember that when I was reading about this meeting with Gandhi in one of the chapters given by professor to my group. I was thinking something like: "This guy was really awesome and not only per give inspiration to so many people including the great Martin Luther KIng, but by his beautiful way to fight against injustice through love."

   Following the main idea I will try to answer the following question: 
Who was Mahatma Gandhi?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (generally known as Mahatma Gandhi) was the primary leader of India's independence movement and also the architect of a form of civil disobedience that would influence in the world. 

He was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar (India). He studied Law in London. Nevertheless in 1893 he went to South Africa, where he spent 20 years opposing to discriminatory legislation against Indians. Due to he was the pioneer of Satyagraha (one of the most potent philosophies in freedom struggles throughout the world) and he started the resistance through the mass non-violent civil disobedience, he became one of the major political and spiritual leaders of his time. 

In 1914, Gandhi returned to India, where he supported the Home Rule movement, and became leader of the Indian National Congress, advocated a policy of non-violent non-co-operation to achieve independence. He always struggled to alleviate poverty, liberate women and put an end to caste discrimination, with the ultimate objective being self-rule for India.

Following his civil disobedience campaign (1919-22), he was jailed for conspiracy (1922-24). On his release from prison (1931), he attended the London Round Table Conference on Indian Contitutional Reform. In 1946, he negotiated with Cabinet Mission wich recommended the new constitutional structure. After independence (1947), he tried to stop the Hindu.Muslim conflict in Bengal, where he was murdered in Delhi by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic.

   Even after his death, Gandhi's words still are a symbol of hope and love in a world full of inequalities and discrimination especially to minorities. In addition, the non-violence philosophy of Gandhi was and is a source of inspiration to many people who want to participate in movements in favor of human rights.

   Finally, I invite you to listen the follow emotive speech of this great man:

Hope

I dont know if what I'm going to write could count as SPOILER but just in case be careful if you haven't read the wonderful book that is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and read this entry under your own responsibility. 

I'm going to talk about my favourite part of the book, the part that got me tearing up and thanking God for the perfect character development and the writing (yeah, I'm the "very emotional" type of reader).

Right before the most important basketball match, between Reardan and the Wellpinit Redskins, before Junior has to face Rowdy again, a journalist interviews Junior. After a few awful takes, Junior speaks from the heart, and it's one of the most overwhelming and inspiring things:

"I feel like this is the most important night of my life," I said. "I  feel like I have something to prove to the people in Reardan, the people in Wellpinit, and to myself."

"And what do you think you have to prove?" the guy asked.

"I have to prove that I am stronger than everybody else. I have to prove that I will never give up. I will never quit playing hard. And I don't just mean in basketball. I'm never going to quit living life this hard, you know? I'm never going to surrender to anybody. Never, ever, ever."

Here I felt the change, here you can clearly see the difference and the development of Junior's character. After the talk with Mr. P, you could see how lost Junior felt, all the worries that affected him, and his lack of confidence. 

But in the interview, you see Junior as a person who won't let anybody or anything stop him from fulfilling his dreams, as someone who won't give up no matter how hard it gets. 

And it's really inspirational, it gives hope, that it's the only thing stronger than fear (got the reference?). And this hope transcends everything; it doesn't matter if you're a Native American, an Afroamerican, a Chilean.

We see prejudices, discrimination and bullying towards people in every single culture and race. And no one should never feel like they're not enough. You are worth it, you should fight for your dreams.

Follow Junior's example and don't let ANYTHING STOP YOU. Follow the HOPE road.

I'm looking forward to your comments... did you like the book as much as I did? did you cry? what was your favourite part? Please leave your opinion below :) Thanks for reading.