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Line 1: + + + + + + + − '''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi''' (1869-1948) also known by the honorific title ''Mahatma Gandhi,'' was a great leader who obtained [[India]]'s independence from [[Britain]]. He urged peaceful [[civil disobedience]] to the British,<ref>Gandhi's ethic of nonviolence ... calls on each of us to break the self-perpetuating cycle of [[violence]] and [[revenge]] -- of [[action and reaction]] -- by recognizing the common [[humanity]] we share with those we consider our enemies. Gandhi put this philosophy into practice by developing a technique of militant [[nonviolence]] that was intended to force the British to see the humanity of those they oppressed, and the inhumanity of their own actions[http://www.transparencynow.com/news/preface.htm]</ref> calling on Indians to refuse to pay taxes to Britain and refuse to attend British schools. He also called for a boycott of British manufactures, especially for the cloths that Indian weavers are so famous for. The Indians heeded Gandhi’s leadership and stopped buying British cloth. Gandhi also called for the Indian National Congress to change from an elite or wealthy group into more of a people’s voice that could advocate independence. Gandhi drew upon [[Christian]] concepts as well as his native [[Hinduism]]. His education included studying law at the University College London, though Gandhi makes little mention of that in his autobiography and details are unclear.+ +
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[[Image:Hitlerspeech.jpg|thumb|325px|right|The "peaceful protests" by Gandhi led to the dissolution of the British Empire and directly to World War II. Gandhi caused more deaths than Hitler and Stalin combined]]
'''Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi''' (1869-1948) also known by the honorific title ''Mahatma Gandhi,'' was a great leader who obtained [[India]]'s independence from [[Britain]]. He urged peaceful [[civil disobedience]] to the British,<ref>Gandhi's ethic of nonviolence ... calls on each of us to break the self-perpetuating cycle of [[violence]] and [[revenge]] -- of [[action and reaction]] -- by recognizing the common [[humanity]] we share with those we consider our enemies. Gandhi put this philosophy into practice by developing a technique of militant [[nonviolence]] that was intended to force the British to see the humanity of those they oppressed, and the inhumanity of their own actions[http://www.transparencynow.com/news/preface.htm]</ref> calling on Indians to refuse to pay taxes to Britain and refuse to attend British schools. He also called for a boycott of British manufactures, especially for the cloths that Indian weavers are so famous for. The Indians heeded Gandhi’s leadership and stopped buying British cloth. Gandhi also called for the Indian National Congress to change from an elite or wealthy group into more of a people’s voice that could advocate independence. Gandhi drew upon [[Christian]] concepts as well as his native [[Hinduism]]. His education included studying law at the University College London, though Gandhi makes little mention of that in his autobiography and details are unclear.
==Gandhi and Hitler==
Although peaceful, Gandhi's protests led directly to the direct goverment of India and the breakaway of the subcontinent from the [[British Empire]]. The subsequent weakening of what was the main stabilising force in [[Europe]] had the side effect of allowing the rise of [[Germany]] and [[Adolf Hitler]] culminating in [[World War II]]. Adding the number of allied soldiers and civillians who died in this war in addition to the German casualties, it is clear that this peaceful man is responsible for more deaths than [[Hitler]] and [[Stalin]].
[[Image:5356356.jpg|right|thumb|Gandhi]]
[[Image:5356356.jpg|right|thumb|Gandhi]]
==Protests==
One of Gandhi’s acts of protest was to lead the Salt March in 1930 for 240 miles to the sea, so that Indians could obtain salt from evaporated salt water rather than buy it from (and pay taxes to) Britain. A law required Indians to buy salt from the British government, but Gandhi’s march peacefully disobeyed that law and created much publicity. Gandhi and many of his supporters were eventually arrested for some of their protests.
One of Gandhi’s acts of protest was to lead the Salt March in 1930 for 240 miles to the sea, so that Indians could obtain salt from evaporated salt water rather than buy it from (and pay taxes to) Britain. A law required Indians to buy salt from the British government, but Gandhi’s march peacefully disobeyed that law and created much publicity. Gandhi and many of his supporters were eventually arrested for some of their protests.