Colby BeachMr. KrakatAP World History5-23-18Mohandas Gandhi: A BiographyIn 1612, the British East India Company took control over India. Two centuries later, in1858, the English took full control over India, calling it the jewel of the BritishEempire. Afterthe Great War had ended,however, nationalism started to arise throughout India among its manypeoples. New organizations like the Indian National Congress were established, and with themnew leaders, especially Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi, whooriginallywas born in India but went toLondon to study law, and then to South Africa where he worked with an Indian firm, was one ofthe most influential leaders to come out of this time, leading him to become one of the mostinfluential leaders in the world. Using his experience of fighting against racial segregation inSouth Africa, Gandhi was able to use philosophes like non violence to rally the Indian peopleagainst the British, enabling them to eventually gain their independence.After studying law for three years, Mohandas Gandhi, a young aspiring lawyer lookingfor a job, travelled to South Africa in 1893 after hearing about the chance to bealegal counsel toa merchant named Dada Abdulla1. The moment Gandhi arrived however, Indian discriminationwas very present in South Africa and he was able to experience it first hand. In order to travel toa court case in Pretoria, Gandhi had to ride the train in which he had a first class ticket for.However, the train conductor ordered him to move to a third-class compartmentbased solelybecause he was Indian. Standing his ground, Gandhi refused and was forced to leave the train.1Sahoboss. "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi." South African History Online. January 31,2017. Accessed May 29, 2018. .
This famous incident is a prime example of Gandhi’s will power and ability to stand his groundwhen it came to moral and political problems. Although Gandhi’s trip in South Africa wassupposed to be short, he ended up staying a full 21 years there, and this event is a perfect pretexton why he did. As a response, Gandhi and several other fellow Indians formed the Natal IndianCongress in 1894 after hearing about the removal of Indians from voting. Within a week theycreated a petition with 10,000 signatures to try and combat the bill, and although the bill waseventually passed, the congress that formed was able to become incredible popular in the ensuingmonths and lead non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment of the white peopletowards the native Africans and Indians. After bringing his family and 800 Indians to SouthAfrica, Gandhi then started to encourage Indians to join the Indian Ambulance Corps, serving tothe wounded during the Boer War. Although this was helping the British and discriminationcontinued, Gandhi believed that in order to demand rights from Britain, they would first have toshow their loyalty and their respect to the crown2. Also,in South Africa, Gandhi’s protests
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