Gandhi

Gandhi or as the citizens of Indian called him as Gandhiji or Bapu (Father of the nation) is a remarkable human being. As how the movie started with his assassination, and when the whole world was mourning for a great loss, the commentator caught my attention, and I bet everyone who was watching or has watched the movie. He explains how Gandhi was not a ruler of mass land, has not invented anything and without any wealth on him, but you can see how he made a difference and brought the whole nation together. He fought against the rights of the woman in India and the untouchables, he went against discrimination, and brought independence to India.

Few scenes that I found interesting were the scenes when Gandhi asked a shilling from a general and when he fasted as a way to stop the riots or protest that happened. The first scene actually caught us off guard, Gandhi asking the British a shilling for a ride back home, even one of them gave a shocking expression. This first move in my opinion was a subtle way of saying there will be change, and he was on a roll to make that change.

The second scene was when he fasted as a way to tell the people to end the riots and protests which Gandhi strongly opposes, because he wanted to gain India’s Independence with non-violence. Once the people knew he went into fasting, they stopped the riots and the protest. I found this interesting, how can one human, can affect millions of people? They respected Gandhi, they worshiped him, and I believe most importantly, they trusted him. They trusted him that, he knows what he is and was  doing, thus, the citizens follow whatever he wanted. This dialogue was particularly captivating for me “If I fast, I will die, but if you (Gandhi) fast, people go all sorts of trouble to keep you alive”.

After watching the movie, I could gather some of his characteristics and strategies that made him a great leader, which gained and influenced millions of followers. Initially, he was not a good talker, he did not know the tricks to be a good speaker, but once he got the hang of it, he projected his voice clearly, he used hand gestures, he had a rage in him that could be heard, but he never projected in a violent manner. He was adamant, humble and a great risk taker. He lived like the Indians live. He also knew what needs to be said and what the people wanted to hear, which is a type of good persuasion. For example, my personal analysis was when, during his speeches, he would bring up, the awful laws of British, and when he got the audience aroused, he then mentions the rights of the people of India should deserve. However, most definitely, he was determined, he did not give up on the people. No matter how many times he was in and out of prison, he always continued what he had started. I think when the people of India saw that, they knew that he would lead them to independence, which influenced everyone to be a part of the fight.

In a nutshell, I wished Gandhi was still around to witness the riots, protest and terrorism that are happening in this world, we need good souls like him, it is silly to think such way, but think about it, the world would be so much better if we follow his footsteps of non-violence, the footsteps of a small brown man in a shawl and loincloth- Gandhiji.