Notes

think Mohandas Gandhi was one of the most significant persons in the 20th century. He was the one who proved that it is possible to fight very successful without violence. He fought his whole life with humanity, tolerance, ideas and without violence. He showed the way to a better world. And still today there are many people who love him and who use his philosophy to change the world. A very important example is the fight against wars. Usually people who fight against a war try to fight without violence. They march through cities and try to convince people not to go to the war or something like that.
Another very popular example is the fight against nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. Demonstrators sit on the road in front of a nuclear power station or block the way of trucks or trains, which carry nuclear waste. Another very popular example is the French tests of nuclear weapons in the pacific. People opposed them and the press all over the world was talking about these tests. That was non-violent resistance. Marches all over the world and other non-violent actions. Also Martin Luther King didn't use violence in his fight for the rights of the black people in America.
An example which all of us see and experience from time to time, is the strike. Gandhi made the strike as a way of fighting popular and it is still used today very often. At the start of the 20th century the British Empire was the biggest empire in the world. India was it's biggest colony and was very important to Britain. Gandhi managed to
get India independent of the British. The biggest Empire in the world lost a war of independence against a country like India which not even used violence and good weapons for it's fights. That was a sign for the world. And especially for the other countries ruled by the British. It was then that many of those countries saw their
chance for independence. Gandhi showed them the way. And that was one of the main causes for the independence of many of those countries.
Fights for rights happened and still happen all over the world again and again because there are always people who push others down. I think Gandhi played a big part in the fight for humanity and the rights of minorities. I think Gandhi was and is still a very significant person. He changed people's minds and opened lots of peoples minds. Still today when people see the movie that was made about his life and his fights they think about this person and how successful non-violence and rebellion can be. And that it is important to save the (human) life and not to destroy it.