Jaime Garza
Leadership activity
Mohandas Gandhi was born in the 2nd of October, 1869. He was raised by a wealthy family, and by a
devoted mother, who taught him his well-known pacifist ways. He studied law in London and made
a firm in Natal, South Africa, where he fought against racial segregation. After years of indignation
because of the racism in India, he founded the Natal Indian Congress, where he made his first nonviolent civil protest. He returned to India in 1916, where he continued to practice non-violent
protesting and raised awareness of the oppressive practices in Bihar. Over time, his fame and
influence continued to spread, and began to lead the Indian National Congress in 1921, who worked
for complete political independence from the British. In 1922 he was put into a 6-year prison
sentence for civil disobedience. After he was released, he remained for some time out the public
eye, until the British introduced a tax on salt in 1930, where he led a 250-mile march. Because of his
ever-increasing influence, the British were forced to give rights to the people, and eventually give
them full independence.
“What barrier is there that
love cannot break?”
He is a leader because he not only convinced, but he spurred people
to believe and act upon what he thought was right. He was able to
achieve independence for an entire nation, without spilling a single
drop of “enemy” blood. He also was the paragon of humility and
pacifism in his time; he showed everyone a perfect example of the
ideas he tried to spread.
"Mahatma Gandhi." History. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
I chose him because I see in him
the most essential characteristics
a leader must have. Whatever he
tried to convince people to do, he
did it, and he tried to bring the
best out of those who followed
him. He did not need words for
the people to go to him, his
actions alone did that, and that’s
why I chose him.