Why Did Gandhi's Nonviolent Movement Work?

Mahatma Gandhi
Manav Patel
Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi was a humanitarian who used peaceful topics to fight for the freedom of India. He walked 250 miles from his Ashram to Dandi, a coast off of Eastern India. He then proceeded to pick up a lump of salt, thereby defying British Law. This story leads us to ask the question, why did Gandhi’s nonviolent movement work? Basically, he could convince the people to join him instead of killing off nonbelievers. He also because of how crippled Britain was, and the fact that his base of followers was so devoted and big. These three reasons combined were the main reasons that Gandhi won freedom for his country. One huge reason that he won was due to the amount of devotion that came from his group of followers. They believed that he was wise, which is how he earned the title Mahatma, or Wise One. They would follow him to the end of the Earth. This is supported by the article The Dharasana Salt March, 150 Miles North of Bombay, India, where the line “Gandhi’s body is in jail but his soul is with you-Naidu” (Doc B) is a great speech given by Madame Sarojini Naidu who was to take his pace should be he jailed. She is calling to the Indians to take up his wish, and that even though he is not there

Rather than killing them (like the British) he would persuade them. Since the British would harshly punish those who disobeyed their orders, they would lose the trust of the people. On the other hand, Gandhi would convince people around him of his beliefs, then they would have a chance to tell others of what he had said. Also, according to the picture Salting the Lion’s Tail, Gandhi would persuade his enemies (British) that he meant no harm and that they could trust him, but when he salted the tail he made it easier to catch them (Doc D). Basically, Gandhi would get close to the people so that they knew that he trusted them, whereas Britain would kill their