Nationalism in India

Gandhi is viewed today by the high school educated individual as a hero for his nonviolent methods in resisting the British Imperial government and a prophet of peace for the world. However, it is not such common knowledge that he was actually part of a nationalist rising in India that would eventually lead to the fall of British rule in India. And while many see Gandhi as a Saint and flawless in his approach to resistance, these eight sources say that although he was instrumental in the rise of nationalism his methods and the way nationalism evolved was inefficient and set India up for a equally tumultuous few decades after establishing their own government.
To understand Gandhi’s role in the rise of nationalism in India, it is essential to first understand what principles he stood behind. His most elementary theory was that of satyagraha, was implemented in all areas of his resistance including opposing an unreasonable agriculture tax, the Salt March and it was the reason there were hardly any violent uprisings against the British rulers. It was a policy of nonviolent resistance in order to achieve truth. In his own words, “to refuse a thing firmly and plainly in the name of truth - that is satyagraha.”[1] He also believed in the concept of swadeshi, which involved limiting the use of material goods to those produced in India, to as great of an extent as possible. The reasons for this are that it would help drive the British out because one of their objectives in keeping India under their control was the huge gain in capital they received as a result of being able to mass sell British goods to Indians. Another reason is that Gandhi valued a simple life so much so that he even started a small community of 70-80 people called Tolstoy Farm where he aimed to be as self-reliant as possible. “Everything, therefore, from cooking to scavenging was done with [their] own hands”[2]; they even built the buildings by themselves. He obviously committed his life to the...