“Be the change that you wish to see in the world." a quote by Mohandas Gandhi that shaped his life long achievements to the fullest. He influenced the world with nonviolent resistance and is still mentioned today. Gandhi is a symbolic leader who freed an entire country through acts of peace and nonviolence. He was initially a lawyer fighting for the rights of Africans against apartheid, and later put forth ideas that changed the course of history in India ("Mahatma Gandhi-Biography-Anti War Activist", 1). Gandhi remains to have placed one of the most significant non-violent resistance ideologies in the 20th century. His ability to unite the Indian people against the British rule is remarkable, since he had no prior political movement and was …show more content…
He was born into a privileged Hindu Modh family,with his parents and three siblings("Mahatma Gandhi| History", 1). His father(Karamchand Gandhi) was the Chief Minister of Porbandar, and his mother was religious and followed pacifist ideologies(Mahatma Gandhi| History, 1). As a matter of fact, his mother(Putilbai Gandhi) influenced Gandhi on his own thoughts about mutual tolerance, non-injury to live beings and vegetarianism(Mahatma Gandhi| History, 1). Through his childhood Gandhi was not only affected by his mother's wisdom but her eternal love and care for him. Gandhi was the youngest sibling among his two brothers Laxmidas and Karsandas, and only sister Raliatbehn.(Childhood- Mahatma Gandhi, 1) Even as a child Gandhi obeyed his mother's teachings on not eating meat or drinking wine(Childhood- Mahatma Gandhi, 1). Young Mohandas did not shine in the classroom nor in conversations. He went to an all boys school in Rajikot until high school(Childhood- Mahatma Gandhi, 1). He was shy and tongue-tied in company and was considered as a mediocre student(Childhood- Mahatma Gandhi, …show more content…
Through his works for bettering the South African's lives he started to be known as Mahatma- great soul(Gandhi in South Africa, 1). He began with securing valuable local South Africans concessions. When facing unjust laws, he created a strategy called satyagraha (truth-force), were campaigners would go to peaceful marches and present themselves for arrest(Gandhi in South Africa, 1). This method became extremely significant in many other nonviolent movements around the world. This contributed to strengthen his personal dignity and lawyer skills. Even Gandhi was being discriminated against, shown when the local magistrate asked him to remove the turban he was wearing(Gandhi in South Africa, 2). Another incident happened, when Gandhi had to travel to Pretoria for a court case, he had a first-class ticket but when the the conductor realized that he-Gandhi- was Indian he ordered him to move to the third-class area(Gandhi in South Africa, 2). Gandhi refused for he had a valid ticket, and was ejected from the train in Pietermaritzburg(Gandhi in South Africa, 2). "Today, there is a plaque at the station in Pietermaritzburg that reads: 'In the vicinity of this plaque MK Gandhi was evicted from a first-class compartment on the night of 7 June 1893." (Gandhi in South Africa, 2) This particular story caused Gandhi to find his true pace in fighting nonviolently against racial oppression. That date marked the beginning of Gandhi's works. He