Many would argue that the world's most influential civil rights leader was Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian revolutionary, who led the fight for Indian freedom and independence from British Imperialism. Gandhi was the pioneer of a concept, known as satyagraha- or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience. He taught his followers to protest in peaceful ways for the most effective message. Gandhi himself often went on hunger strikes and spent time in jail for his actions. Leaders of the civil rights movement in America- most notably Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.- took the advice of Gandhi and led their own peaceful revolutions.