Mahatma Gandhi was the charismatic intellectual and mass-movement
leader who brought the cause of independence for British colonial
India to world attention. His ideas, especially the satyagraha model
of non-violent protest, have influenced both nationalist and internal
movements throughout the world. By means of non-violent civil
disobedience, Gandhi helped bring about India's independence from
British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own
independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire and replace
it with the Commonwealth. Gandhi's principle of satyagraha ('"truth
force"), often roughly translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of
truth," has inspired other democratic activists, including Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He often stated his values were
simple, drawn from traditional Hindu beliefs: truth (satya), and
non-violence (ahimsa).
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1796:
The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now
Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto), which was judged to be
less vulnerable to attack by the Americans.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada)
1884:
The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary)
1946:
Norwegian politician Trygve Lie was elected the first UN
Secretary-General.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygve_Lie)
1958:
Egypt and Syria merged to form the United Arab Republic.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Republic)
2003:
The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during
reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th and final mission.
This was the second total loss of a Space Shuttle.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this
world of sin and woe... No one pretends that democracy is perfect or
all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of
government except all those other forms that have been tried from time
to time." -- Winston Churchill
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill)