By Ingrid Oo
The history of the world is intertwined with uprisings and protests, for “Revolutions are the locomotives of history.” Each new popular revolt makes history, pushes the world forward, and creates a new lesson for humanity to learn. This essay will explore how the study of world history, has helped me understand how protests against injustice rally popular support, push for progress against corrupt systems of power and continue to inspire change in the long run.
The study of history has taught me a great deal about the importance of protests and the value of learning from them. By demonstrating dissatisfaction with inequities in society, protests can make changes easier. They also have powerful long-term impacts, laying the ground for future protests to take place and more progress to be made.
One significant example of this is the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation rebelled against the Catholic Church’s position as an intermediary between believers of the Christian faith and God, pushing for worshippers to have more control over the practice of their faith instead of purchasing salvation from Catholic officials. By breaking away from the rigidity of the Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation damaged the power held by the Catholic leadership and led to the airing of many more theological views in Europe and strove to reconnect believers directly to scripture. However, what was crucial to the success of the Reformation were the efforts to involve people in rebelling against the Catholic Church. Using the printing press, Martin Luther was able to spread his message, rallying the people behind his cause. As people moved away from the perceived elitism of Catholicism, the voice of the people became the voice of God, and the Catholic church had no choice but to pursue reform through its Counter-reformation, attempting to make the church less corrupt and more democratic. Through the efforts of reformers across Europe, the Catholic Church found itself in an increasingly unstable position as its legitimacy as the “one true Church” was threatened. Not only did these protests succeed in making changes in the theological sphere, making Christianity across Europe much more accessible to the populace, but the Reformation had an impact on the wider political climate in Europe, pushing parts of Europe towards liberalization and democracy.
The fact that the Reformation still holds valuable lessons for today highlights its long-term impact. Firstly, it demonstrated how new technology can be used to communicate ideas en masse in protests – in Luther’s day, the printing press and his 95 Theses; today social media and slogans. Furthermore, by encouraging the free discussion of ideas among the public as people began to question long-held beliefs about religion, the Reformation set a precedent for a culture of defiance towards repressive regimes in Europe, thus contributing to the eventual rise of democracy in Europe in later years. Even now, some European nations are upheld as beacons of democracy because of the knock-on effects of the Reformation, highlighting how protests can spread and encourage even more progress to be made by future generations.
Another important protest was the 1930 Salt March, a pivotal moment in India’s fight against British imperialism. The salt tax in India at the time gave the British Raj a monopoly on salt in India and provided 8.2% of its revenue. At the same time, this policy hurt the poorest the most as salt was a staple in most diets, highlighting the gaping inequality in colonial Indian society. In the process of the march, Gandhi withheld the payment of the salt tax and rallied his fellow men behind his cause, turning resentment towards the unfair tax system into a desire for self-determination. This peaceful protest was widely covered by the press, a fact that Gandhi exploited by issuing regular statements about the protest. The press also reported on the violence that peaceful protesters were confronted at the hands of the police, further emphasising the failings of the British colonial government. Through this highly publicized display of dissatisfaction with the government, the moral failings of the colonial leadership were exposed for the world to see, leading to instability in the British Raj as more demonstrations inspired by the Salt March took place, forcing the colonial administration to release Gandhi from prison to conduct talks with the Viceroy of India, eventually paving the way for India’s independence from colonial rule.
The main strength of the 1930 Salt March lay in its effectiveness in rallying the public toward supporting Indian self-determination. As the protest was highly publicized by the contemporary press, the fight for independence was not confined to the colonial government versus Indian activists, but also to the people of the world, who were swayed towards supporting Indian sovereignty, therefore highlighting how protests that sway public opinion can change or affect the choices rulers make. Furthermore, this protest also demonstrates the long-term impact of protests. Though this march alone did not directly bring India closer to independence, the public opinion and demonstrations it inspired chipped away at British rule over the subcontinent until it crumbled. The effects of this protest were even felt internationally, like in the USA and South Africa, where Gandhi’s protest also inspired others to peacefully demonstrate against persecution and injustice.
Studying these protests that shaped the course of history holds different advantages for different people. To the activist, it provides inspiration – a hopeful reminder of what protests can achieve – and serves as a guide to bringing a cause to fruition. To governments, it can illuminate the circumstances which caused uprisings, and they can consult these lessons to prevent such circumstances from materializing again. However, what everyone can take away from the study of this aspect of history is the high regard in which humans hold justice. So many protests and revolutions have the fight for fairness at their very heart, and the risk that people are willing to put themselves in for causes they believe in surely demonstrates the lengths people are willing to go through for equality. That is what protests can teach us.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the YPS or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the YPS.
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