Essay Sample: How Was Gandhi’s Work Successful?

Gandhi was a very wise man who accomplished many things, all of them in the right direction toward a more peaceful world.  He protested many flaws in society with nonviolent actions that changed the world positively. Many people strive to be like him and think like him because his ideas for nonviolent protest were so effective. Gandhi believed that everyone had the right to live free and not be controlled by the government or be divided into social groups based on education, wealth, or where they are geographically located. He wanted society to be less judgmental of people for uncontrollable factors. Gandhi saw many flaws in his home country, India, that were simply unfair. His main methods that inspired many leaders around the world were civil disobedience, jail time, and communication. This essay will answer what strategies Gandhi used for nonviolent protest and why these strategies were efficient.

Firstly, one of Gandhi’s main strategies for nonviolent change was civil disobedience. Civil disobedience means somebody refusing to follow the law in an act of political protest, preaching that a certain law is unfair or unjust. Gandhi used this a few times, and it worked. One example is when Gandhi was going against the English salt tax. This law prevented Indians from collecting their salt freely. Gandhi saw this as an unfair law and broke the law as an act of protest against Lord Irwin, the Governor of India. Gandhi wrote a letter to Lord Irwin prior to him breaking the law stating that he doesn’t want to break the law, but he feels he must do it to show the people as well as the government the wrong that the salt tax has brought on the people of India. Although he is threatening to break the law this is still a peaceful, nonviolent tactic because it doesn’t harm anybody and it shows the people the capabilities of nonviolence.

This brings me to Gandhi’s next strategy, probably one of his most effective, but also one of his most subtle. Jail time. After Gandhi broke any law, such as an act of Civil disobedience, he would spend some time in jail. In fact, from 1908-48 Gandhi spent 2,338 days in jail, nearly 7 years of his life were taken away from him because he was doing the right things. He didn’t seem to mind much about it though, in fact, he may have seen it as an accomplishment that he was doing the right thing, and it was working and inspiring his followers to do the right thing as well. Gandhi said he never regretted entering the “prisoner’s box”. By being put in jail, he showed the people that the government was the aggressor that was trying to silence him. Using this strategy of jail time further motivates and proves to his followers that jail time is just a small price to pay for changing the world in a good direction.

Finally, the last nonviolent tactic that Gandhi used was communication. Throughout the last two strategies, Gandhi wrote to his enemy. Whether it was in a note, in person, or his journal, he always portrayed the government as his friend; but it wasn’t always a mutual respect. Although he is protesting against the government, he still doesn’t want to be enemies with them. Gandhi talked with the leaders of the countries that were oppressing their people, he used reasonable negotiation and it showed that he wasn’t enemies with the government, he was just against their rules. Gandhi talked to the one in charge and addressed him as his friend and that worked. Gandhi and Lord Irwin became friends. Their friendship might not have been the main reason for his success with changing the salt tax law, but communication and negotiation with the person you're trying to persuade is vital to changing their mind. Gandhi recognized that and realized he could use this and use it to his advantage. Another thing that this did was it showed his followers another way that they could be peaceful, but also make a change in society without protesting.

In conclusion, Gandhi was a great man who changed the world majorly. He knew that the most efficient way to make change was peacefully and that it was important to act in the favor of the people to form a successful society. He used several strategies to manipulate his opponents and it worked. Although some (if not all) of these acts broke the law and probably also broke some important trust he created with his friends and followers, none of them were directed at the people or ever harmed anybody. Several world role models followed his values and used Civil disobedience, Jail Time, and communication to impact the world around them positively. These many famous people such as Martin Luther King Jr, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Albert Einstein followed his values and teachings as the best way to make a change somewhere. The world was significantly impacted by not only Gandhi, but by his ideas that other people followed to change the world further.