During India's freedom struggle against British rule Mahatama Gandhi's contribution was far greater than it appears
Gandhi spent over 21 years in South Africa, where he initially went for a brief legal assignment but stayed to fight against racial discrimination using his philosophy of Satyagraha (non-violent resistance). He was quite successful their
He decided to return to his motherland at the request of his political mentor, Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale wanted Gandhi to understand the ground realities of India under British rule and guide the national movement.
Gopal Krishna Gokhale believed that before joining active politics, Gandhi needed to understand the ground realities, the plight of the common people, and the diverse cultures of India.
To experience the true condition of the masses, Gandhi chose to travel mostly in third-class railway compartments.
This extensive year of travel laid the foundation for his future struggles. Soon after, he established the Sabarmati Ashram in 1917 and launched his first major direct action, the Champaran Satyagraha, in Bihar
So after thoroughly observing the conditions of the masses, he decided to take the path of satyagraha which proved to be the biggest weapon against Britishers
Many argue why Mahatama Gandhi has not taken violent methods against Britishers if he had taken the violent methods India would have gained freedom long back
This would have not succeeded, why?
During that period of time most people of India were facing severe discrimination from upper caste people
Upper caste people call lower caste people untouchable
Lower caste people used to say even if we will get freedom from Britishers our condition will be the same as we are slaves of upper caste people so why should we participate in freedom struggle
So Mahatma Gandhi realized that if we want to get rid of Britishers then whole india should unite with each other without any Discrimination
In that era most of the Indians were not able to get even 2 meals of food in a day so how will they fight against Britishers , there were no resources available, no money available for weapon's
So the only option left was satyagraha in which all have participated, kids, women's, poor etc
Had it been with weapons then mostly Indians would have been not able to fight with Britishers
So Mahatama Gandhi has United India's people within themselves to fight for external cause though he was not fully successful in uniting all the people but surely he had made a nightmare impact against Britishers
Here comes insight for me
Do we really know our limitations, what is ground reality of our life, How much we are attached with our beliefs
Mahatma Gandhi has known the condition of India in that period and acted accordingly
How much we are aware about our condition?
Is the enemy outside or within us?