The Indian Independence Movement was a movement against the British who had ruled India for over 200 years. They first came to India for their raw resources. India ultimately wanted to be self-sufficient and independent. Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of the Indian independence movement and led a nonviolent revolution. Gandhi's independence movement is very significant because it drastically changed the lives of Indians, moving from British rule to independence. The English easily gained the upper hand and controlled the Indians with their superior army and weapons. According to Phillips & Gritzner (46), the English had a puppet ruler and were draining the various regions of their resources. The East India Company is a British company that ruled many regions of India. The East India Company had its own army and established many trading posts. Britain had simply taken the riches from India and had not forced the Indians to assimilate, so the Indians had no major problems with them and made treaties that helped the British. The British were very helpful by making some changes in the government to reduce corruption and helped build canals, railroads, and even a postal system (Philips & Gritzner, 47). These are some of the many things they did to modernize India. Britain was convinced that their government was better than that of India and forced British rule on the Indian kingdoms. They also began to take away local political power, which made Indians unhappy and led to a rebellion in 1857. The uprising was called the Indian Revolt and for many it was the beginning of the Indian independence movement. After the revolt, new treaties were made so that there would be no interference with the Indians and new boundaries and the Indians could stand high......middle of the paper......will be passed on August 15, 1947. After the movement, Gandhi strove to bring peace between Hindus and Muslims. His fight for unity stopped much of the fighting and killing between the two religions. He was assassinated by a Hindu extremist in 1948. One of his followers, Jawaharlal Nehru, who first sided with Britain, was impressed by Gandhi's movement and changed his position. He became the Prime Minister of India and tried to find solutions to the problems of the newly independent nation. The problems ahead were that their government was based in Britain and also to resolve disputes between Hindus and Muslims. This independence movement is very significant because it marks the end of Britain's dependence on India's raw materials. This is a very rare movement because it takes a very strong country to be able to fight for nonviolence while rebelling against another country..