Comparison of the India Freedom Struggle
and the Animal Rights Movement
My name is Julia Weir, and my class did these projects in order to educate others about global and local injustices, and what activists are doing to fight them.
The global movement I chose to study was the India Freedom Struggle, which happened from 1858 to 1947, and its overall, main goal was to end British rule in India, and to gain independence for the Indian people. And in the end, they succeeded, getting the British to relinquish their hold on India.
The local movement I chose to study is the Animals Rights Movement. It’s happening in the USA, right now. The main goal of the movement is to save, protect, and provide care and treatment for animals. So far, the movement has had success in decreasing the amount of homeless and abused animals, and increasing the amount who live in safe homes.
One problem that came up in both of the movements I studied is people not listening to or caring about the cause.
It came up in the Indian Freedom Struggle because at first when the protesters were demonstrating their cause, the British government didn’t really listen. The protesters were ignored, but they had to keep fighting.
It comes up in the Animal Rights Movement because many people don’t think that animals deserve rights, that they don’t have feelings and are a waste of time. Others might not want to change their ways, or think that the humane way of treating animals is just wrong. Although some people just don’t care about what is best for animals.
A highly effective strategy to gain power is protesting, which is when a group of people speak out against an organization, or law, or some other injustice. They make their opinions clear and try to get the thing they are protesting to change, or just end.
This strategy was used in the Indian Freedom Struggle when the Vykom Untouchables were protesting the fact that because of their place in the caste system, they couldn’t use certain roads leading to Hindu temples. They marched on one of these roads in protest, and the police barricaded the road. The Untouchables responded by taking turns standing at the barricade for 16 months. After all that time, the upper caste people finally invited the Untouchables to use the temple roads.
This strategy is used in the Animal Rights Movement when activists organize protests against current or proposed laws that they feel are unjust to animals. The SF SPCA organizes these kinds of protests often.
The reason protesting is effective is because it is peaceful, and it makes a clear statement for your cause and what you believe in. It also lets whoever you are protesting against know that other people are opposed to what they’re doing, and that it is hurting someone.
A second highly effective strategy is educating the public, which is when you give the general public information about your cause and what you’re fighting for, so that they can make informed decisions.
This strategy is effective in the Animal Rights Movement, because the SF SPCA has a humane education department that educates thousands of children on “proper pet care and animal welfare issues“ each year.
The reason educating the public is effective is that is gets the right information out to the public. You can’t control what they do, but you can help them make informed decisions. There is a lot of misinformation spread around, and the SPCA’s effort is disproving the wrong stuff.
Two qualities that are needed to succeed against difficult odds are conviction and compassion.
We see the need for conviction in the India Freedom Struggle because the fighters need to be able to convince others that their view on the issue of freedom is right. They need to be strong, and convincing. They need to conviction to fight!
We see the need for compassion in the Animals Rights Campaign because the activists are fighting for lives, and it’s hard to fight for something you don’t believe in. They need to be compassionate about saving animals’ lives, and they need to have compassion to put all of their energy into their fight.
Before we studied these movements, I thought couldn’t take power. But after studying them I see that with the right personal qualities and resources, even I could make a difference. If you have supporters, and the ability to speak in front of large crowds, then you could take power for what you believe in.
The global movement I chose to study was the India Freedom Struggle, which happened from 1858 to 1947, and its overall, main goal was to end British rule in India, and to gain independence for the Indian people. And in the end, they succeeded, getting the British to relinquish their hold on India.
The local movement I chose to study is the Animals Rights Movement. It’s happening in the USA, right now. The main goal of the movement is to save, protect, and provide care and treatment for animals. So far, the movement has had success in decreasing the amount of homeless and abused animals, and increasing the amount who live in safe homes.
One problem that came up in both of the movements I studied is people not listening to or caring about the cause.
It came up in the Indian Freedom Struggle because at first when the protesters were demonstrating their cause, the British government didn’t really listen. The protesters were ignored, but they had to keep fighting.
It comes up in the Animal Rights Movement because many people don’t think that animals deserve rights, that they don’t have feelings and are a waste of time. Others might not want to change their ways, or think that the humane way of treating animals is just wrong. Although some people just don’t care about what is best for animals.
A highly effective strategy to gain power is protesting, which is when a group of people speak out against an organization, or law, or some other injustice. They make their opinions clear and try to get the thing they are protesting to change, or just end.
This strategy was used in the Indian Freedom Struggle when the Vykom Untouchables were protesting the fact that because of their place in the caste system, they couldn’t use certain roads leading to Hindu temples. They marched on one of these roads in protest, and the police barricaded the road. The Untouchables responded by taking turns standing at the barricade for 16 months. After all that time, the upper caste people finally invited the Untouchables to use the temple roads.
This strategy is used in the Animal Rights Movement when activists organize protests against current or proposed laws that they feel are unjust to animals. The SF SPCA organizes these kinds of protests often.
The reason protesting is effective is because it is peaceful, and it makes a clear statement for your cause and what you believe in. It also lets whoever you are protesting against know that other people are opposed to what they’re doing, and that it is hurting someone.
A second highly effective strategy is educating the public, which is when you give the general public information about your cause and what you’re fighting for, so that they can make informed decisions.
This strategy is effective in the Animal Rights Movement, because the SF SPCA has a humane education department that educates thousands of children on “proper pet care and animal welfare issues“ each year.
The reason educating the public is effective is that is gets the right information out to the public. You can’t control what they do, but you can help them make informed decisions. There is a lot of misinformation spread around, and the SPCA’s effort is disproving the wrong stuff.
Two qualities that are needed to succeed against difficult odds are conviction and compassion.
We see the need for conviction in the India Freedom Struggle because the fighters need to be able to convince others that their view on the issue of freedom is right. They need to be strong, and convincing. They need to conviction to fight!
We see the need for compassion in the Animals Rights Campaign because the activists are fighting for lives, and it’s hard to fight for something you don’t believe in. They need to be compassionate about saving animals’ lives, and they need to have compassion to put all of their energy into their fight.
Before we studied these movements, I thought couldn’t take power. But after studying them I see that with the right personal qualities and resources, even I could make a difference. If you have supporters, and the ability to speak in front of large crowds, then you could take power for what you believe in.