The movie “Gandhi” about the life of the inspirational leader Mahatma Gandhi is very interesting and has provided uch insight into the life of this leader. In the beginning phases of the movie, Gandhi is shot and killed. Millions of people gather and watch the following funeral. A western reporter spoke highly of this man by saying he was someone who generations in the future would look back on and wonder how such a person could have ever lived. As I watched the movie I began to understand what the reporter was saying. This man caused change throughout a nation of millions and millions of people using no violence. I would call that a miracle and in the beginning I would have called it impossible.

The following scene shows Gandhi in his earlier years on a train traveling in South Africa. My first thought was that he was an Englishman or at least from European decent because of the clothing he was wearing. It wasn’t until he was identified as Gandhi and called colored by the train engineer that I realized my mistake. I believe the director intended most viewers to see this and realize that the difference in people’s color really wasn’t that much of a difference at all. Gandhi had a very well pronounced British accent and wore an English style suit after spending time in England and becoming a lawyer. The train coachman made him get off the train because they did not allow colored people to ride first class. I found this very similar to what the South African leader Nelson Mandella put up with in later years. Nelson Mandella like Gandhi was a lawyer who was searching for freedom for their country. Unlike Mandella, Gandhi was very humble and didn’t want violence. He sought freedom through peace and spent many years doing this.

Gandhi’s first act of bringing around change in South Africa was when he decided to burn his legal travel papers. Very few people were present when he burned his papers. He was beaten by a policeman and hurt to the point where he could not stand up. At another point in the story police horses tried to run over the peaceful mob lead by Gandhi. The policemen were unsuccessful and the government bothered by this act and others decided to give into Gandhi by repealing the laws. I found it amazing that this man was able to cause so much relative change with so little work. I believe it had a great deal to do with the fact that nobody had ever challenged the government in such a long time and that they might have been very surprised and setback by these acts.
When Gandhi reached his homeland of India after being a national hero in South Africa many important people wanted him to help create change in India. The rich native traders and leaders of India found strength in him and said they would support him in his cause and told him not to worry about money or things of the world because he would be taken care of. Gandhi then set off for to travel around India so he would be able to better understand the people. He had a good friend named Charlie who would follow him everywhere and help him out. From the beginning I knew I liked the character of Charlie. He was a hard working Christian minister who believed in Gandhi’s ideas of freeing India. I found comfort in knowing that some Europeans believed in his ways.
Gandhi himself was a very smart man and quick at reacting to smart comments. He was short and rather brown but could speak and act so well as to cause many people to follow him. Gandhi was very humble and would make sure he did his share of the work around his household but he would expect others to follow in his footsteps. Gandhi in the movie as well as in real life was very stubborn and made sure he got his way but at the same time he was very humble and as the movie continued he dressed up more like the people around him and less like a lawyer. I think this is very interesting and shows how much he loved the people he was around.
The movie follows this leader through the humble years of his life as he learned to help others and help his nation. I found that the director did a very good job as Gandhi got older. I know the movie actually took twenty years to produce and I think that the actor got older during the process to make it a more realistic movie. Gandhi believed in peaceful revolution and asked his people to follow in his footsteps. The European leaders in India began to be bothered and at one point when Hindu leaders were gathered with 15,000 people an army of British solders came in and killed over 1,500 innocent men, women, and children. Gandhi in his humble way asked that there be no retaliation by his people or the people of India. He often said “an eye for an eye, and if everyone did this then the whole world would be blind.” He was completely correct and right in his stance of peace and no retaliation. I am positive that without Gandhi millions of people would have suffered. Although people did retaliate in violence, Gandhi decided as long as there would be violence, then he would fast and pray and if he died then at least he wouldn’t see the people fighting. I think this is sometimes an ignorant answer to the problem but it did however work. The people fought back and soon realized that anger was not the answer and that as long as they fought Gandhi their national hero would continue to die. The people realized that they needed Gandhi and soon came to peace.

Gandhi focused all of his attention to the different ways of peaceful revolting. He was imprisoned more than once and was often separated from his friends, family and wife. After so many imprisonments the government decided that imprisoning Gandhi was not the answer. This small brown man once lead a demonstration to show the people that salt, which was a taxed British import, belonged to all the people. This was against the law and the government imprisoned thousands of people. I think that what he did, as a leader was awesome but sometimes if not all the time dangerous.

At one point the native Indians had a day of fasting and prayer in which nothing happened on the streets or markets. The British had to handle everything themselves. After becoming tired of the people’s refusal to follow the restricting laws the British government decided to let India go. Soon more trouble came with the differences inside the motherland but again Gandhi through his fasting and prayer brought peace to millions of people.

I had always wanted to understand Gandhi and I know that his inspirational story has changed not only the lives of south Africans but also people around the world. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. looked to Gandhi for inspiration and his philosophy on peaceful change. Although I don’t feel that passive resistance is always the answer I take courage in knowing that change can be brought about peacefully and have come to appreciate the hard work and change that this great leader brought to the world and the inspiration he has brought to others.

© Copyright 2004, John Heathcote. All Rights Reserved.