Gandhi, the man responsible for leading a revolution in the footsteps of nonviolence, setting a precedents for generations to come, and the icon of peace thought himself to be a failure. Gandhi despite many successful protests like the Salt March, believed that he was a failure simply because he (a normal human being) could not prevent the partition of India and Pakistan. Gandhi took this burden upon his shoulders in the belief that he failed humanity, but what he fails to understand is that humanity failed him. He was one man trying to change the minds of many strong-willed individuals and because he could not cause them to waver in their support of the partition, he died believing that he was a failure.
With all respect to Gandhi, I staunchly disagree; Gandhi in no way was a failure. Gandhi was a teacher. Teaching was his only responsibility. He taught at his own expense and dedicated his life to sharing his message of satyagraha, civil disobedience, noncooperation, and most importantly peace. He sacrificed everything to teach, even spending several years in jail to ensure that his goal was reached; he cannot be held liable for the fact that his teaching apparently fell on deaf ears. In my opinion Gandhi in no way failed. He held up his part of the bargain, but his students did not hold theirs.
Above all, someone with Gandhi's international iconic status should not even be considered a failure. Years after his death, people still follow in his traditions of peaceful resistance. Even our country, America, learned from Gandhi and took into account his principles as shown with Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Rights Movements. He is also a world wide symbol of peace. He is in literature, film, and even o stamps. His enormous impact after death is no short of remarkable; a failure could not achieve this much.
What do you believe? Do you beleive that someone with the accomplishments of Gandhi, world wide appeal and iconic status is a failure? Or do you feel that because he could not do the impossible and prevent partition that Gandhi was a failure?
I think we're still seeing Gandhi's influence today. The revolutionaries in Egypt were influenced by the author Gene Sharp, who was himself influenced by Gandhi. So there are still contemporary echoes of his influence. If we see him as a teacher of a new idea, satyagraha, then I think you're right.
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