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Meera Atkinson Some of the most profound revolutionary movements in history have had non-violent roots. There have been remarkable individuals throughout history who have led the way forward. These non-violent revolutionaries have maintained that change be effected through the spirit of love, steadfastly refusing to resort to force. Here we salute our top 10 famous agents of peaceful change.
1. Jesus of Nazareth  The “Prince of Peace” challenged corruption and the political status quo, resulting in his arrest as a political prisoner and his crucifixion. Jesus called not just for change in individual hearts and minds but also for sweeping change in political, social and economic structures, which would suggest that Christianity itself is revolutionary. Jesus’ commitment to non-violence can be best summed up by his famous quote, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".
2. Mahatma Gandhi  Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader who led the Indian independence movement, pioneered Satyagraha, a philosophy of truth and resistance to evil through active, non-violent means. Jailed on numerous occasions, Gandhi lived humbly, making his own clothes and adhering to a vegetarian and ‘fruitarian’ diet until his assassination in 1948. In 2007 the United Nations nominated his birthday, October 2, to the International Day of Non-Violence.
3. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet  Born in 1935, the current Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader in exile of Tibet, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the world’s most famous Buddhist monk. Proclaimed the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama at the age of two, he was made Tibet’s Head of State in 1950, aged 15, one month after China invaded Tibet. After an uprising and resistance movement failed, the Dalai Lama took up residency in India where he has advocated for Tibetan independence. Despite reports of Chinese atrocities in Tibet, the Dalai Lama has maintained a peaceful position. Asked how he manages to do so in the face of brutality he replied, “The antidote to hatred in the heart, the source of violence, is tolerance. Well-developed tolerance makes you free from the compulsion to counterattack.”
4. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Martin Luther King was the charismatic leader of the US civil rights movement. A Baptist minister, his oration skills made history with his “I have a dream” speech. In 1964 he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. A doctor of philosophy and an adherent of the non-violent disobedience illustrated by Gandhi, King instead utilised the power of peaceful protest and the modern media to challenge segregationist policies in America’s south. Having led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to significant success, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
5. Nelson Mandela  Mandela didn’t start out a peaceful revolutionary. An educated, royal-blooded African, Mandela joined the African National Congress and in the early 60s became leader of its armed wing. He was involved in sabotage campaigns against military and government targets as part of a guerrilla war to end the South African system of Apartheid. After 27 years of imprisonment, Mandela emerged into the international spotlight, committed to peace and reconciliation. He proceeded to lead the nation as the first President of South Africa to be elected in fully representative democratic elections.
6. Mother Teresa  This Albanian Roman Catholic nun founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta in 1950. During more than 40 years of ministry, nursing the dying, the sick and the needy, Mother Teresa became an internationally renowned humanitarian and advocate for the poor. The Missionaries of Charity includes hospitals, schools, hospices for people with HIV/AIDS and leprosy, counselling and soup kitchens that operated in 123 countries by the time she died. She was later beatified by Pope John Paul II.
7. Meena and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan  The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) was formed in Kabul in 1977 as an independent political and social organisation of Afghan women, dedicated to fighting for human rights, women’s rights, social justice and democracy by non-violent means. Its founding leader, Meena, was assassinated in 1987, but the organisation has continued to express her commitment to giving a voice to the voiceless women of Afghanistan. RAWA has established many programs including schools, hospitals, orphanages, literacy courses, vocational training, food aid and assistance to the marginalised. Despite changes in government in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban government, women have continued to be marginalised.
8. Aung San Suu Kyi  Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma. She is also a pro-democracy activist, advocate of non-violent resistance, Buddhist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Over the past two decades, Kyi has been placed under house arrest by the ruling military dictatorship for long periods of time, where she currently remains. In December 2007 the US House of Representatives voted unanimously to award Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal.
9. Swami Vivekananda  Swami Vivekananda is a world famous spiritual leader of the Vedanta philosophy, who was instrumental in bringing Vedanta and yoga to the West. He was also a key figure in the Hindu reform movement. Vivekananda made a critical connection between modern physics and Vedanta philosophy and was widely respected by Western scholars. His appearance at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago became legendary and Vivekananda is credited as the inspiration for India’s freedom struggle movement and for advancing understanding of the relationship between spirituality and science.
10. Lady Godiva  Fable has it that the “Patron Saint of Engineers”, Lady Godiva, a beautiful Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest an oppressive tax imposed by her husband on his tenants. The townspeople are ordered by Lady Godiva to stay behind their shutters as she rides through town but the tailor, known as Peeping Tom, looks and is struck blind. Historians doubt that the ride ever took place; nonetheless, Lady Godiva remains a peaceful revolutionary in legend.
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