Gandhi Commemorative Speech Essay

Specific Purpose: To commemorate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi Central Idea/Thesis Statement: Gandhi is considered to be one of the most influential and admired individual who played an important part in the independence of India Introduction Attention Getter: George Washington. What comes to your mind when I say that name, â€Å"First President of the United States† or maybe â€Å"Father of the nation†? Yes, to Americans he is the father of this nation just as Gandhi is a father of my nation, India. Today I’m going to talk about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi also known as â€Å"Bapu† meaning father. Relative to Indians and India, he led us to independence in 1947 from the British Rule. Preview: I am going to commemorate Gandhi by providing an insight on his two of his personal qualities, non-violence and simplicity. Central Idea/ Thesis: I won’t speak in the context of his life and ways, but I would rather put a light on his personal qualities and would start with how non-violence led him to greatness and finally how he lived his entire life with simplicity. Starting with my first point, Main Point 1: His bravery as an individual, transcended into the millions who were under the British Empire A. India was one of the prized countries under British Rule 1. India was a country rich in traditions and culture thousands of years old. 2. The British Empire took control of the government of India. 3. Ancient traditions and religions were thrown out. As you can well imagine, the native people of India suffered greatly. When Gandhi came to India from South Africa, Instead of encouraging native born Indians to take up arms and force the British colonists out of their country, Gandhi created a policy of non-violent protest. â€Å"Non-violence,† he said, â€Å"is a weapon for the brave.† Gandhi explains his philosophies and way of life in his autobiography â€Å"The Story of My Experiments with Truth.† One of his famous quote was â€Å"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. † Gandhi was aware that this level of nonviolence required incredible faith  and courage, which he realized not everyone possessed. He therefore advised that everyone need not keep to nonviolence, especially if it were used as a cover for cowardice. Main Point 2: His simplicity sold the idea that he wanted no praise for return to his services Moving on to my second point, Gandhi earnestly believed that a person involved in social services should lead a simple life which he thought could lead to divinity. He gave up western style clothing upon returning to India from South Africa. He dressed to be accepted by the poorest person in India, advocating the use of homespun cloth. Gandhi and his followers adopted the practice of weaving their own clothes from thread they themselves spun and encouraged others to do so. It was Gandhi’s view that if Indians made their own clothes it would be an economic blow to the british establishment in India. Consequently, the spinning wheel was later incorporated into the flag of india. He subsequently wore a dhoti for the rest of his life to express the simplicity in his life. Conclusion Moving on to the conclusion, Review: I have shared with you gandhi’s principles in nonviolence and simplicity which played a major role in Indian freedom movement. Clincher: I hope I made you learn bit about a great Indian freedom fighter who made India. I thank you all for listening my speech.