Non-violent protest: What today's dissidents can learn from Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi believed that self-rule should extend to all people, rich and poor, male and female, and at all levels of society

Almost a century ago, Mohandas K. Gandhi – commonly known by the honorific Mahatma, the great-souled one – emphasised nonviolent resistance in his campaign for Indian independence.

Today, as my research shows, Gandhi has become an iconic figure for people seeking social change, including communities across the United States.

Explaining nonviolence

For Gandhi, nonviolence was not simply the absence of physical violence. Self-rule and radical democracy in which everyone participates in the governance process were also part of Gandhi’s idea of nonviolence.

He believed that self-rule should extend to all people, rich and poor, male