Preview

Passive Resistance

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
460 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Passive Resistance
What is Passive Resistance? Passive Resistance is the nonviolent act of resisting to methods of the government, a dweller of power, or certain laws. Since 1897, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi has acted on this idea, after questioning his people’s [Indians] status with the British Empire. There were many protest, five in which Gandhi was arrested. When he went to prison, he went on hunger strikes, greatly embarrassing the British Empire. Gandhi later died in 1948, inside of a prison, fighting for the civil rights and liberties of people under the British control. Martin Luther King Jr. practiced the same form of passive resistance and went through obstacles, such as being arrested for protesting, as did Gandhi. He was later assassinated in 1968, fighting for African American civil rights.

The British ruled the Indians with little regulations, regulations or interference from their government. They treasured India for their potential, but that changed when the Industrial Revolution transformed Britain into the world’s workshop. Britain realized that India was a major supplier of desirable raw materials for their workshop and Britain’s view of India’s potential, was altered into the idea of the profits they can make from India. The British created restrictions, preventing the Indian economy from working on its own. Indians were forced to buy goods and produce raw materials for the British to manufacture and sell for their own profit. Indian [people] felt that they were being unfairly treated and they disagreed with British rule. Nationalists groups emerged with the thought of staying loyal to their culture and history and used civil disobedience to accomplish this.

Nationalist groups wanted to reject British goods, by buying their own. They wanted to have their own schools and boycott government establishments, but British imperialism grew over time. The idea of Social Darwinism was applied (“Might makes right”). This meant that the superior [British]

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Imagine living in India when the British took full control, and then being forced to change your day to day life. The british had an economic interest in India which started during the 1600’s. During the Industrial Revolution, India was considered a prized possession by the British because they supplied raw materials to the factories for production. Eventually, the British took full control of India, and made some major changes that significantly impacted India. Although the British had a negative economic impact on India, they had a positive impact on both the political and social aspects of India. The British were able to set a foundation for India, and create a justice system while containing violence, even though they had to take away some Indian rights to do so.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To begin with, British imperialism helped to revise the legal system in India. Several things needed to be changed therefore many reforms began to occur. The legal system changed to promote justice towards all Indians no matter their classes. They worked to put an end to the caste system and slavery once and for all. Much of the population was Hindu and followed the Hindu customs and traditions even those that were hurtful or not beneficial to society or the country of India. For example one of the Hindu customs referred to as “Sati” is a belief that a widow must join her husband in death therefore she is required to throw herself unto his funeral…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Therefore Britain did not care about Indians and their well-being, and instead only cared for their own profit and gain. In addition, Britain was able to control the Indian economy due to mercantilism. Mercantilism is the establishment of foreign trading monopolies. This can be seen in India where the British took raw materials from India, produced them in their own industries in Britain, and sold the finished products back to India (Textbook, pg. 358). Britain was able to control the economy because the imported goods were much cheaper than the ones made in local Indian industries.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The British East India company held India in its grasp until the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857 happened. Because of the rebellion England decided to take more control over the colony by having the actual government take root and complete control in 1857. With Britain having taken over India they turned it into a very efficient colony and maximizing its potential, while also putting controlling and racist laws to Indians and restricting them in most ways, by forcing them to farm non food crops, destroying whole industries and unneeded deaths from famines, to a massacre of peaceful protesters.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Once the British took over they paid them very poor and they had poor living conditions, compared to the British. The Indians were forced to be low ranked. As previously stated the Sepoys were forced to be gone overseas, which they really didn’t like. They forced the Hindus who were in a higher caste fight in remedial jobs and forced them to fight over seas , this really made them angry because in their religion it forced them to go down in the caste system. The British then did things that really offended the Muslim and Hindi people by using pig and cow fat for greasing the rifles. The Muslims and Hindu people thought of those things as sacred. Over all the British treated the Indians like…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Brits, however, soon had their response. Niall’s arguments here consider the fact that although the British preached liberty and freedom, and did many things that were morally right such as outlawing slavery, they still seemed to contradict themselves in India in which they seemed far less tolerant to compared to their many white colonies. In fact, much of India’s civilians were put to work by the Brits in conditions much like that of the slaves elsewhere! Contrary to what it may seem, British rule wasn’t bad in every sense. They actually invested and introduced many advancements to India’s way of life.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Their economy was negatively affected, their outspoken leadership was vibrant, and their opposing forces resulted in more violence. Britain deeply valued India’s…

    • 2080 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blatantly, the British wanted the Indians to abandon their traditional customs and culture for a more European approach. Nevertheless, many Indians did not approve of this and initiated a rebellion. These Indian protesters carried out The Great Rebellion (or “Indian Mutiny”) and were victorious in having the British cease their efforts of forcing their standards on them. This example is one of many throughout history that proves social structures often are the root of…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1800’s in India, Britain had already set up colonized empires. Britain hoped to gain valuable resources such as iron and coal from imperialising India, as well as felt as it was their moral need to guide and culture the Indians, which is referred to as the ‘white man’s burden’. To help with this, the British created the British East India Company to deal with matters in India. The British believed Indian culture and…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    SPICE Chart on Imperialism

    • 1668 Words
    • 6 Pages

    4. British held most of the political and economic power and they used this to restrict Indian-owned industries including cotton textiles. This led to a loss of self-sufficiency for many locals and, in the late 1800s, India experienced a severe famine.…

    • 1668 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Therefore, the lack of visibility renders a passive resistance movement useless and aids the unjust government by purporting a narrative that their actions are justified. Examples of successful passive resistance movements of the past have been defined by the sacrifices of safety and security made by their respective leaders. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, would not have been able to facilitate the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in areas like voting and employment, had he not made himself the public face of the movement. His great contribution to the livelihoods of black Americans ultimately cost him his life, as he was assassinated by openly racist James Earl Ray, who opposed his work. Those who take on the great feat of spearheading a passive resistance movement must be aware and accepting of the unavoidable risks they must assume.…

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Sepoy Rebellion

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages

    India has a history of being a fractured nation, at times this disunity was even able to save them from being taken over by conquerors like Alexander the Great. However, their luck was doomed to run out. India has always been a country rich in resources, making it natural prey to the British imperialists who not only wished to exploit these resources but the people of India as well. With a viewpoint such as this, it’s simple to see why Indian's view of British Imperialists evolved into yet another divided nation, with some coming to accept and see the benefits of Britain's political control, while others couldn’t come to terms with how easily the British system disregarded them and how altered it was from the once great Mughal Empire. Despite…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Peaceful resistance to laws certainly has a positive impact on a free society. There are many examples of when peaceful resistance has positively impacted a free society from the past and even some events that have happened recently. One of the most famous instances is obviously Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for Civil Rights. He lead by example and lead by his beliefs. In the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" he questions many southerners on how they could be Christian but turn a blind eye to how African Americans were being treated. Once he was out of jail he often preached this message as well. This changed the mind of many white southerners and helped Martin Luther King Jr. get more support.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the early twentieth century, India was a colony of Great Britain who used the region as a source of textiles and various other goods that could not be found in Europe. Great Britain gave the people of India very little say in political issues and had restricted rights. Naturally, the people of India did not like this and wanted their own country and government. However, Great Britain did not want to give up their prized colony. Gandhi believed the best way to fight against the oppressive British Government was to use peaceful protest. This way, there would not be violence and only protesters could be hurt. Through non-compliance and disobedience, the people of India hoped to make the British government realize that they were not welcome and that they would not be their loyal subjects anymore. As Gandhi himself put it, “But so long as there is yet life in these our bones, we will never comply with your arbitrary laws” (Applebee 377). Gandhi’s On Civil Disobedience was a clear message to the British crown that they would no longer be oppressed by their government and that they would not cease to resist their rule until they obtained their independence. Just like Thoreau, Gandhi believed that the best way to stand up to a government was to disobey that government in any way and to do whatever possible to do what is…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    British Imperialism

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of civil disobedience in India. Before the independence movement in India began, India was a British Colony since the 1760s. Prior to British imperialism and colonialism in India, many Indians hand craft their tools and clothes for survival. Since the British took over most of India due to the British’s commercial interests in the region of India. The British East India Company defeated the Newab of Bengal which…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays