In the early 1900s, a series of revolutions erupted in South and East Asian countries, India and China, eventually leading to significant change in government systems and ideas that are still popular today. Tensions between the British government and the Indians caused much anger and devastation in Indian societies, such as the Amritsar massacre which revealed the true nature of Britain's power over India. Indians across the country were enraged by the authority Britain had gained over the years. China faced problems of its own: foreign imperialism, warlord revolts, and great disorder in government and society itself. (The Modern World, 405) The revolutions in these two countries were carried out by two important figures of the revolution: Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Tse-Tung. Even though the two wanted change in their countries, they did it in completely different ways. Mao sought the use of violence to gain political power, while Gandhi addressed the love of power through nonviolent protests. Although Mao and Gandhi believed in and practiced a form of civil disobedience, their opinions differed regarding the use of violence and how society should be structured. Both believed in civil disobedience, although they did not interpret disobedience in the same way. Thoreau's ideas on civil disobedience influenced Gandhi to refuse to obey laws created by India's colonialists that seemed unfair to Indians. He influenced the Indians to boycott British goods, refusing to buy things sold by the English, mainly cotton fabrics, and encouraged the Indians to make their own products, as they had done before the arrival of the English. Over time, many laws... middle of paper... of life were enacted. Unlike any other revolutionary leaders, Mao and Gandhi knew how to address what their countries really needed. Whether it was freedom from colonialism or oppression from the upper classes, they knew what their people needed. Gandhi knew that his people enjoyed rights that the British had banned, and he peacefully fought hard to recover them. He also believed that Indians should not forget their traditions and culture, no matter how hard the Western world pushed to change them. Mao believed that the working class should have equal, if not greater, power than any other class in China. In fact, he believed there shouldn't even be any lessons. Everyone wants equality, whether in China or India. Mao and Gandhi were able to give their country equality, freedom, and a philosophy that would influence their countries' political and moral decisions for decades to come.