Gandhi and his Leadership Styles

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Gandhi and his Leadership Styles
Student’s Name
Institution
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Introduction
Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in an orthodox Hindu family and belonged to a
caste of merchants (bathhouses). His father was the chief minister of the small principality of
Porbandar (the territory of the present state of Gujarat). After receiving a law degree in London,
Gandhi served as the legal counsel of an Indian firm in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, where
more than 100,000 Indians lived at that time. In Pretoria, he first declared himself as a political
leader. There, under his leadership, there were mass demonstrations of Indian migrants against
laws that discriminated against people on the basis of race. To achieve this goal, Gandhi used
tactics of pressure on the enemy without using violent means and called it satyagraha (lit.
"persistence in the truth"). His teacher and spiritual mentor, he considered Leo Tolstoy. Gandhi’s
leadership were shaped by many things, which include cultural, historical, political and personal
factors.
The cultural context in which Ghandi emerged as a leader
Gandhi has a rich history. Frequently the title of mahatma (big soul) is confused with his
first name. Mahatmas is called many saints of the Hindu tradition, to Gandhi it seems that this
title was given to him by Rabindranath Tagore who, in turn, had been called guru (teacher) by
Gandhi. His political enemies, however, said that he had called himself that way. In his
autobiography Gandhi says he does not consider himself worthy of such a title, however, the
truth is that he ended up abandoning his original name and signing "Mahatma Gandhi", which
indicates that, somehow, he ended up accepting the homage and, possibly, believing in the
greatness of his soul. He belonged to the caste of the banias , and was the son of the prime
minister of the small principality, a position that had become hereditary in the Gandhi family. It
happens that many Banyan families, because of their close ties to the British administration and

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because of their knowledge of finances, had stopped dealing with trade (the name Gandhi means
grocer or storekeeper) to devote themselves to public administration, to the service of the English
or of the principalities. Supposedly Gandhi was destined to pursue that career, but, at the age of
19, he decided to leave for England to study law. This decision implied a conflict with his family
and with his caste, who opposed the trip. The question reached the point that the leadership of
the caste decided to expel him, turning him into an outcast if he followed his purpose. Despite
this, Gandhi continued with his plans and settled in London to continue his studies. Then, when
it acquired renown, the caste revoked this decision, but one branch of the banias always refused
to readmit it into its bosom1.
Back in India with his law degree, Gandhi tried to establish himself in Bombay to
practice the profession. But there were many lawyers, Gandhi was not too dynamic, and the
break with his caste limited him greatly in his work possibilities. She also had to support her
family, since she had married at the age of 13 with Kasturbai, a girl of the same age, and by then
she had two children. Given this situation, Gandhi accepted a contract offered by an Indian
company based in Natal (South Africa), to go to work there2.
Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa, with a brief interregnum in 1896-97 when he
traveled to India to bring his wife and children. During his African period, he had the opportunity
to suffer racial discrimination and deprivation of rights. In South Africa in general and in Natal
in particular, there was a significant number of Indians, most of whom arrived there as braceros
hired on the plantations. After his contract, Gandhi decided to stay there and start his political
action. In 1894 he founded the National Indian Congress of Natal, with himself as secretary
1 Deats, Richard L. Mahatma Gandhi, Nonviolent Liberator: A Biography. Hyde Park, N.Y.:
New City Press, 2005.
2 Deats, Richard 67

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general. From there began a series of non-violent protests against the growing political
discrimination against the Indians, bringing to the press and the government numerous
expressions of grievances.
In that circumstance, beginning in 1906, Gandhi began a campaign, using for the first
time the concept of satyagraha. The campaign spread over time and suffered an increasingly
violent repression, with thousands of Indians imprisoned, including Gandhi himself on several
occasions. Finally, the new South African president Jan Smuts agreed to negotiate with Gandhi.
From these negotiations no lasting benefits emerged for the Indians of South Africa, but Gandhi
gained immense prestige, which transcended the framework in which, until then, he had
developed his actions.
In India itself, and even in Britain, began to talk about him and his methods of struggle.
With that new prestige preceding him, Gandhi returned to India in 1914. Upon his return, Gandhi
knew how to maneuver to obtain reconciliation with his caste. In fact, it was the large textile
industrial banias that financed Gandhi and his ashram. To a large extent this had to do with
Gandhi's initiative known as khadi, promoting manual spinning by the peasants. The return to
traditional spinning was not only an element that could be interpreted as a repudiation of British
textile imports, it was also a key piece for the support of the Indian textile industry, controlled by
the banias3.
Gandhi also did his best to have close relations with the British. In fact, at that time he,
like many other enlightened Indians, considered that British domination had been beneficial for
India, providing peace and progress. In the context of the First World War, Gandhi was placed in
3 Deats, Richard L. Mahatma Gandhi, Nonviolent Liberator: A Biography. Hyde Park, N.Y.:
New City Press, 2005.