Did Gandhi's and Mandela's childhood and upbringing prepare them for future roles? (PDF)

Essay from the year 2014 in the subject Biographies, grade: 1,3, University of Kent (Department of International Relations), language: English, abstract: The essay will outline how Mahatma Gandhi¿s and Nelson Mandeläs childhood and upbringing prepared them for future roles. It will look at the two political leaders within the time period of Mandela's upbringing until his imprisonment and concerning Gandhi from his birth until the liberation of India.

Therefore, will this essay focus on their family background and their schooling in order to answer the question raised. Later on, will the author draw comparisons between the two of them and intend to illustrate how their early experiences influenced their political actions. In particular how it shaped and predetermined their attitude towards non-violent protest.

This is of importance in order to portray the lives of these two figures who shaped the history of the 20th like no other in an unpreceded, unique and non-violent manner. They both liberated their nation from enormous burdens, which had their cause and origin in the colonial past of the nations. Gandhi like Mandela enabled their nation to self-agency to overcome the suppressive colonial system, whereas Mandela succeeded in overcoming the racist system of apartheid.

The political leaders had both encountered racism only after they grew up and had therefore and idea that racism and suppression is not natural status and they therefore turned against racism. Gandhi is often referred to as the father of post-colonial India, and is perceived as one of the leading examples of practiced nonviolence as a form of conflict management and overcoming injustice. The public¿s interest in his life and his concept of non-violence has been enormous even after his death. Especially, since several groups have referred to his concrete examples of non-violent civil disobedience.