I’m reading about the Indian freedom struggle for the third time, but even this time, it didn’t fail to give me goosebumps. Remember that before the British came, there was no concept of ‘India’ as a nation- it was just a cluster of kingdoms. So imagine the sheer persuasive power of leaders like Gandhi, Nehru and Bose, who united thousands of people, from different cultures, races and religions, to come together and fight for their country.
British taxed something as basic as salt, taking away the basic right of taste from the poor. And so, Gandhi started the Dandi March of 360 kms (on foot!), with 72 followers, to reach the Dandi coast. That moment when he takes one handful of salt from the coast in his hand, thus defying every oppression the British Raj stood for, sends shivers through my spine. Sometimes the simplest of acts changes the whole course of history.
They say that the world has seen the best of persuaders in two people- Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler. The difference between their utilisation of their persuasion powers is captured in this apt quote:
“Every man has two wolves inside himself- one is good and the other is evil. Which one will win? That depends on the one you feed…”