Would Ghandi style non violence have worked in overthrowing the Apartheid Goverment in South Africa?

Question

Would Ghandi style non violence have worked in overthrowing the Apartheid Goverment in South Africa?

Answer 1

It is something  we will never know, however, Gandhi did go to South Africa to help with some of the problems there before he turned his full energy to India!  His ideas only work if there are lots of people who are willing to put then into practice.  It is like that with all things.  Even really bad, awful, terrible, horrible, wicked people need others to help them put their ideas into practice.

Answer 2

No, because unlike the British, who ultimately will support the underdog, Boers have no feelings what-so-ever towards black South Africans, other than seeing them as an under class or even non-humans.

The other reason for Gandhi's success in India, was that he had massive Labour and Working Class support here in the UK.

Gandhi by the way spent a lot of time in SA but never once attempted to overthrow the white minority government there.

GANDHI living saint in my life time.

============cut n paste from wiki==============

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, IPA: [moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmtʃən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi]) (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. He is commonly known around the world as Mahatma Gandhi (Sanskrit: महात्मा mahātmā or "Great Soul", an honorific first applied to him by Rabindranath Tagore) and in India also as Bapu (Gujarati: બાપુ bāpu or "Father"). He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and world-wide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Gandhi first employed non-violent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers in protesting excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, for expanding women's rights, for building religious and ethnic amity, for ending untouchability, for increasing economic self-reliance, but above all for achieving Swaraj—the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in protesting the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (249 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, on numerous occasions, in both South Africa and India.

Gandhi practiced non-violence and truth in all situations, and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he had hand spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and social protest.

Gandhi assassination - eyewitness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34jm36Zlo...

INDIA - JEWELL IN THE CROWN

Answer 3

The young people of 1940 can remember the developments of GANDHI`s  Non-Violence very good?.  At that time the Un-Divided India, Forcibly taken over from the British ruling (QUEEN) even without having the mentality of Democracy? So the situation was different than. the present India or else where? to day we have within few seconds of an Horrible event,  can read or see in Internet, as such the Old theory of Gandhi cannot function.  Due to the simple reasons that, the POWER MONGERS Like n***s in Germany? or most of the Europeans who established in South Africa, Asia, and Latin America etc came from Europe? and. til date did not change?  their modus operendi of understanding the Non Violence?  As long as the PRODUCTION of Heavy calibre weapons are produced desto more POWER MONGERS cropping up? thus the Non Violence  to understand,  needs the mentality of Live and Let Live principles? which is missing in almost all Countries Ruling people? So the apartheid sauces story of Nelson Mandela  has no relevance to the Gandhi's working system? at that time?  but the Churches who supported with all possible ways,  finance and other help gave a chance to Nelson Mandela`s?.

Answer 4

No

Answer 5

Gandhi was not always in favour of non-violence.  During his time in South Africa he was a Sergeant-Major in the local militia during the Zulu rebellion in Natal.  He received the Natal Rebellion Medal with clasp 1906 for his services.

To answer your question, I do not believe his actions would have done anything apart from getting him killed, should he have applied the same tactics against the South African regime.

Answer 6

Yes

Mandela's approach was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired him and succeeding generations of South African anti-apartheid activists. Indeed, Mandela took part in the 29 January – 30 January 2007 conference in New Delhi which marked the 100th anniversary of Gandhi's introduction of satyagraha in South Africa

Gandhi coined the term Satyagraha to describe his philosophy of non-violent resistance.

Satyagraha theory also influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. during the campaigns he led during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

Its root meaning is holding onto truth, hence truth-force. I have also called it love-force or soul-force. In the application of satyagraha, I discovered in the earliest stages that pursuit of truth did not admit of violence being inflicted on one’s opponent but that he must be weaned from error by patience and sympathy.

For what appears to be truth to the one may appear to be error to the other. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine came to mean vindication of truth, not by infliction of suffering on the opponent, but on oneself

Answer 7

,you cant talk to savages they would bite your head off.

Answer 8

Part of the reason non-violence worked in India was because it was possible to embarrass the British into acting in a civilized fashion.  But even Ghandi was blind to the limitations of non-violence.  He suggested, for instance, that the Jews could have prevailed against the n***s had they used his techniques, which is of course stupid.

South Africa?  I think not.  The Afrikaner regime was merciless, violent, and savage.  They were not embarrassed by what they did to their fellow man.  Non-violence would not have worked against them.  They should consider themselves lucky that they weren't overrun and thrown into the sea.