A rebellion is generally defined as a simple refusal to accept some authority, law or code imposed by a ruling power. Of course, a rebellion need not involve physical violence or military action, as was the case with the Indian Independence Movement and their spiritual/political leader, Mohandas Gandhi.
Gandhi was a young lawyer who adopted the mantel of a religious leader in order to oppose British rule. The British had colonized the area in the middle of the nineteenth century and for decades they had imposed laws that resulted in the subjugation and abuse of the native Indian population. In effect, they became second-class citizens in their own country.
Then Gandhi arose and chose to oppose the Empire, not with fists or guns or violent revolts, but with a new philosophical practice he called Satyagraha. In short, it was a form of non-violent resistant that influenced other famous leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Of course, Gandhi was forced to subject himself to all but inhuman hardships. He was never a rich man with a mansion and jaloezieen at the windows.
However, he did free his country from the yoke of British colonial rule. Though the process took quite some time, the British officially left India on 15 August, 1947.
Gandhi was killed by an assassin’s bullet less than six months later. Still, his legacy has lived on in the minds and actions of the leaders we mentioned and his simple philosophy and righteous stand against an Empire is something that should never be forgotten.