The revolutionary who receives the Person of the Modern Era award must have love for human life,
must be self sacrificing, and has to have done an action that is beneficial to this world. This
person must have changed the world and must have made it better place, done it in a peaceful manner,
and not caring about their personal gains all the way through. A person like that is Mohandas
Gandhi. The Person of the Modern Era should be Mohandas Gandhi because he had love for human life.
Gandhi worked for the freedom of Indians using nonviolence and he was able to gain their freedom.
"In 1919, Gandhi became president of the Indian National Congress and formed the Satyagraha League
to launch a mass civil disobedience campaign against repressive colonial laws. The non-cooperation
movement's broader goal was the achievement of Swaraj, or home rule, to be won through such tactics
as boycotting British goods and institutions and courting mass arrests and jailings" (Biography
Resource Center p.5). This quote shows that Gandhi never lifted a finger against his powerful
opponent, Great Britain. He used boycotting, fasting, and marches to get his point across. "The
generally peaceful movement provoked a savage British response, most notoriously when British troops
massacred four hundred Indians attending a nonviolent demonstration in Armitsar, Punjab state. Along
with thousands of others, Gandhi himself was arrested in 1922 and sentenced to six years in prison
for seditious conspiracy" (Biography Resource Center p.5). This quote shows that even when his
people were slaughtered and he was put behind bars he never harmed a British soldier. He had a self
control of a magnitude that no other man of this era has possessed. And his self control could only
be supported by the passion that he had; his on going stubbornness to never harm a human being.
This shows his love for human life. Mohandas Gandhi should be the Person of the Modern Era because
he was self sacrificing. He spent six years in prison, and was only released when he was to sick to
live there (Biography Resource Center p.5). If someone is willing to sit in prison for six years
for their cause, then they must be very committed to it. And Gandhi was, and he didn't worry
about his own self interest either. He often lead his marches, and many of which could be very
dangerous with the British officers always close by. Another action he chose to do was
"fast-unto-death" (American Decades p.9). Gandhi chose to do this because it showed his
opposition to the granting of seats, especially for Hindu "untouchables". This proves he only
cared for his people and would do anything to help them reach their goal of self rule and equality.
He starved himself to prove that everyone deserves the right for a place in the government if they
have the credentials. All of these things show that Gandhi was self sacrificing. The person of the
modern era should be Mohandas Gandhi because he did a beneficial action to the world. He freed the
Indian nation from the clutches of greedy Great Britain and by doing that Gandhi took Great
Britain's "Jewel in the Crown" right from the royal jewels. This gave the people of India
their hard earned independence. "…he returned to active leadership of the Congress as British
intransigence helped the nationalist movement recover strength and unity in the late 1920s"
(American Decades p.8). Gandhi worked as a leader in the political field as well as the spiritual.
His fasts inspired others to join his cause. "Gandhi spoke out passionately for religious
tolerance and began a "fast unto death" to protest the bloodshed", (American Decades p.9). His
actions lead others to join his marches, the most famous being The Salt March. Through his marches,
and other passive resistant acts, India gained its independence. He led India to home-rule, and
with it they could make the laws they wanted and run their country how they thought it should be
run. They didn't have to do things a foreign ruler made them do, and they didn't have to listen
as a government, who didn't understand them, told them how to rule their own country. With
Gandhi's gift of freedom they were under their own control. That is the third reason Gandhi
should be awarded the Person of the Modern Era award; he did a beneficial action to the world. The
revolutionary who receives the Person of the Modern Era award must have love for human life, must be
self sacrificing, and has to have done an action that is beneficial to this world. Gandhi showed
his love for human life by supporting nonviolence. He showed he was self sacrificing by fasting and
doing six years of jail time. Lastly he did a beneficial action to the world by freeing India from
the colonial rule of Great Britain. All of those characteristics prove he should be awarded the
title of Person of the Modern Era.