Ahimsa, My Tribe

Ahimsa is an Indian word, which means non-violence or non-injury. It does not mean to raise a weapon and fight. It means to fight with no bloodshed. You must love your enemy no matter what. Even if your body is covered in blood, you have to love your enemy. That is called Himsa, which is the opposite of Ahimsa.The pronunciation is .him.s. Ahimsa had been the highlight of Indian Independence. Father of India, Mahatma Gandhiji, practiced Ahimsa. He also led the nation to independence. His real name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, fondly called as Mahatma or Bapu. While the revolt against British rule continued, Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 after solving a case in South Africa. He worked as a lawyer . On his return, he saw the revolt was going on and no one could communicate and work out a plan because there were more than thirty Indian languages. There was no common language. Even though they formed an old plan a long time ago, the plan Revolt of 1857 was a failure since it was poorly organised. He chose peaceful processions and demonstrations as a means to fight the British force. How did he accomplish his mission? Let us see how he did it. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was the worst massacre ever in the Indian history. The person repsponsible for it was General Dyer. He was the worst person India had to face. On April 13th, 1919, people had assembled in a place called Jallianwala Bagh for a peaceful prayer. Dyer locked all the people in the hall and shot fiery bullets from the outside. So many Indians died at that point of time. After that incident, a few people reacted violently. Gandhiji immediately organised a peaceful hunger strike. It was called 'Satyagraha'. Indians united and followed the path of Ahimsa. They never took a step in the path of Himsa. In 1919, Gandhiji gave lots of calls for 'Satyagraha' against the Rowlatt Act that the arrogant British had just passed. The Act curbed the fundamental rights of the people. It also gave the police so much power. Mahatma Gandhiji along with another leader, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and the Indians, strongly felt that the British had no right to restrict people's basic freedom. The whole of India called the Act devilish and tyrannical. Gandhiji requested the Indian people to observe Satyagraha on April 6th, 1919. It was the day of non-violent opposition to the Rowlatt Act , and the day of humiliation and prayer and strike. There were a lot of demonstrations and strikes in the country. The Government used violent measures to control the people. Many were beaten up and jailed.

Next came the Simon Commission. In 1927, Simon visited India. When all the Indians had gathered , getting ready to fight, Gandhiji said, Stop, we will follow the path of Ahimsa. We'll never ever follow the path of Himsa as Britishers do. We must follow the way of God. We cannot have a fight that is the path to enmity at any time. We will follow the path of love. They made signs and slogans saying, 'Simon Go Back'. Almost every Indian participated at once. Simon could not land on the Indian soil. He could not do much. So, he had to leave and go back to Britain. The third is the 'Dandi March'. The British collected tax for salt. People had to pay for salt and salt taxes. Why pay for salt? Why don't we make our own salt instead of paying the money eating Britishers?, Gandhiji advised. They all took sea water in urns, boiled it, let the water evaporate, and had all the salt they needed. Thus, they broke the 'Salt Law'. The Britishers beat them with sticks and also arrested them. Still, they did not lift their arms against the Britishers. Many were put in jail. It united India since salt was basic to all sections of the people. Even the rich and the poor participated. What Ahimsa teaches? Ahimsa teaches tolerance, perseverance, and acceptance of people. It teaches to forgive people. [16] Can we follow Ahimsa today? Yes, we can. The kids bullying the other kids can stop themselves, or the other kids could just love him or her. Many Indians still follow the path of Ahimsa. One good example is A.R.Rehman, an Indian Music Director, who has won two Oscar awards. As a young boy, Rehman lost his dad, and his mother showed him the path of Ahimsa. He said he was glad he chose that path. I also remember another incident that happened recently. Once there was a nanny who was taking care of two children. The parents had gone to work. They said, After the babies are asleep, you have to clean up the house and then take rest. The nanny was so furious that she stared at the babies. In a rage, she took out a knife and cut the babies' neck off and went away in a car. When the parents returned, they saw that the babies had been killed by the nanny. The nanny was taken to court. She was later sent to jail. If the nanny had negotiated with the parents, she wouldn't have ended up in jail. After learning about Ahimsa, I realised war is definitely not a solution to disputes. War is not a way to peace, but Ahimsa means happiness and peace to the whole universe, and you won't loose your life. It helps me forgive my friend's

mistakes. It helps me befriend them.