Nonviolent Protests In The 1800's

In the 1800's, Britain's rule over the Indian people was oppressive. Several attempts were made to influence and alter the Indian culture including forcing English to be taught as a primary language along with creating laws that banned specific muslim practices such as sati, which allowed a widow to be burned to death on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. As they continued to change their culture, movements such at the rebellion of 1857 fought to object to these new rules. These were all violent protests often created by military personnel who in many cases were the main participants in these movements. These protests resulted in thousands of dead and injured people and the impact of the movement was minimal with barely any change. The idea of nonviolent resistance was first thought of by
By gathering the community together to support him and urging them to get arrested, he turned himself into a civil rights leader that the British government was unable to control. Essentially, their hands were tied. The government was unable to arrest Gandhi without causing more disobedience from the public and if they let him continue with his work, they would be allowing these illegal actions to take place on a national scale. The power that this gave Gandhi not only made him more powerful, but it allowed him to carry out the salt march to the highest extent to which he was capable of. By successfully completing the march, Britains power over the indian poeple was severely weakened, which played a large part in Indias eventual independence. This salt march gave Gandhi the recognition he needed to be seen as the powerful leader he was, while also forcing the British government into a losing battle. Although the negotiation with the British government didnt result in the repeal of the ban, the power the british lost had a much greater benefit that led to more than any repeal would have