FREE ESSAY ON NATIONALISM

NATIONALISM

One person or a group of people can take on a major role of the unification process that
brings upon nationalism for their country. To get a better understanding of what
nationalism is, one must learn the meaning of "nationalism." Nationalism is the devotion
to the interests or culture of a particular nation. Nationalism is a striving force that
can help a country thrive. There are also different ways that a country can achieve
nationalism. Two different people/organizations with two different tactics were able to
achieve a feel of nationalism among their country. The first group that will be discussed
is the IRA, or the Irish Republican Army. Mohandas Gandhi started the second movement of
nationalism, with his belief of "passive resistance." These two thoughts were opposite in
how nationalism was attempted to be achieved.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA), was started on Easter in 1916, when a group of Irish
militants refused to wait any longer for their independence from Britain. The small group
launched a revolt against British rule. Although the Easter Rising was quickly
suppressed, the execution of 15 rebel leaders stirred wider support for their cause. When
Britain again failed to grant home rule in 1919, civil war erupted in Ireland. Members of
the IRA carried on a guerrilla war against British forces and their supporters. Civilians
were often caught in the crossfire. The constant battle for Irish independence continues
today with its gory display of violence. The IRA's goal was and still is today to achieve
Irish nationalism by the abolition of the British political influence in Ireland,
especially Northern Ireland.
Mohandas Gandhi came from a middle-class Hindu family. At the age of 19 he was sent to
England to study law. After returning to India, he tried to set up his own law practice
but soon joined an Indian law firm in South Africa. For 20 years, Gandhi fought laws that
discriminated against Indians in South Africa. In his struggle against injustice, he
adopted the weapon of nonviolent (passive) resistance. He called it satyagraha, or
"soul-force." In 1914, Gandhi returned to India and joined the Congress Party. His ideas
inspired Indians of all religious and ethnic backgrounds and he encouraged them to resist
British rule. Above all, Gandhi preached the ancient tradition of ahimsa, nonviolence and
reverence for all life. He applied this idea to fight the British rule. By using the
power of love, he believed, people could convert even the worst wrongdoer to the right
course of action.
Gandhi's "passive resistance" became more and more popular and he soon had many followers
and he encouraged peaceful protests. People still followed Gandhi even though many of
them were killed by the British government in the peaceful protests. Gandhi's campaign of
nonviolence and the self-sacrifice of his followers slowly forced Britain to agree to
hand over some power to the Indians and to meet other demands of the Congress party.
These two different ways of achieving a feel of nationalism within their countries are
different in how they are done, but they are not different in their entirety. They are
both very similar but yet very dissimilar. The IRA and Gandhi's "passive resistance"
movement are similar in that they both want to achieve nationalism by attaining their
independence from the same country, Britain. They were also successful in gaining a large
following for the struggle of freedom, but this is where their similarities end.
The IRA was and is a very violent group when getting their message across. They have
killed thousands of Irish civilians in their ever-going quest for complete autonomous
rule. Gandhi's "passive resistance" approach toward freedom through nationalism is a bit
different because unlike the IRA, Gandhi preached of a very peaceful way of getting what
the Indians wanted. Gandhi's movement resulted in the loss of civilians but that number
was minimal compared to that lost by the IRA. While Gandhi was alive he was able to
achieve some freedoms from Britain faster than the IRA has. And due to Gandhi, India has
received complete and total autonomy.
Nationalism is the key that unites people, and ideas of how nationalism can be achieved
differs throughout the world as shown between Ireland and India.
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