Julienne Renee M.

Diona JORIZAL
ODGE8

Reflection Paper: Rizal and Gandhi

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

Everywhere around the world, we see the apparent issues of inequality and
injustice. And these issues can pertain to factors of oppression, violence, and corruption
from neighboring countries or colonies. In the past, we can recognize brave and
influential individuals who create their own means to achieve peace and fairness. In the
Philippines, we have Dr. Jose Rizal. He is known to be a patriot, physician,
ophthalmologist, and a man of letters. He wrote several poems and two well-known
novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, to unmask the brutality and corruption of
the Spanish colony in the country. His actions, contributions, and execution reignited the
revolutionary force and his fellow Filipinos to recognize and fight for justice. And in
India, honored as the country’s father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. He is a lawyer,
social activist, politician, writer, and spiritual leader of the nationalist movement against
the British rule of India. He advocated for the rights of his people and fought for the
independence of his country from Britain. He led nationwide campaigns to expand
women’s rights, religious and ethical beliefs, ease poverty, and the need to eliminate the
injustices of the caste system. He applied the principles of nonviolence and civil
disobedience, which created an impact on India’s independence from foreign
domination. However, he met his death through an unfair assassination.

Personally, Dr. Jose Rizal and Mahatma Gandhi are similar in their approach and
perspective to nonviolence and civil disobedience. According to Dr. Rizal, “Reforms
should not be violent and transitory.” And in the words of Gandhi, “I object to violence
because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is
permanent.” Both of them were also influenced by their parents and had the privilege to
attain high education. And here, I want to emphasize that education has the inherent
power of allowing us to recognize, commit, and create change. They used their gained
knowledge to portray the sense of both patriotism and nationalism. They both fought for
liberty and equality through means of reform and advocacy. They both experienced
difficult situations of being imprisoned and criticized for their actions, which also led to
Rizal’s reason for execution and Gandhi’s assassination. Despite this, there was no
regret or guilt for what they have done to show their patriotism and nationalism.
 Both of these heroes continue to be influential in their respective countries
because of the bravery that they have shown to attain peace, equality, and justice.

In the Philippines, we still face the factors of powerful foreign countries,

corruption, inequality, and injustice. We need to bear in mind the importance of
noncooperation and civil disobedience in regards to the threats that we are facing as a
country. We can preserve our dignity as Filipinos by recognizing the essential value of
education, the influence of a campaign, the impact of a peaceful protest, and the power
of advocacy. The method of achieving reform through peace and nonviolence may
come a long way, but it’s better than letting our dignities stoop low with violence and
bloodshed.

We, too, can be inspirations and heroes to our fellow citizens. We must recognize
that every action, every need for change, every wish of the unprivileged and deprived,
every advocacy, and every initiative starts with us.

“On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but
his heart.”
- Jose Rizal