M.K. Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh: Paths to Independence

Describe the different approaches used by M.K. Gandhi and Ho Chi Minh to rid their respective countries from the political control of Western nations. Explain how and why each was motivated to follow very different paths to the same goal.

Mohandas Gandhi, born in 1869, was a man who saw himself as a moral teacher in the quest for religiosity and truth. He led the independence of India from the British. The British had controlled India politically and economically for nearly 200 years. Gandhi was a very religious man. Many of his political views came from his strong religious beliefs. He also believed strongly in non-violent protest. He not only wanted India to become independent, but he wanted them to achieve spiritual maturity through the use of the Satyagraha. Satyagraha, or the “truth-force,” involved selective non-violent law breaking by a large group of people.
He did not think that breaking the law was wrong because he viewed it as taking a stan...