Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of Indian nationalism, who envisaged independence for India and a society based on fairness for all people. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, a city in British-ruled India, on October 2, 1869. Ghandi was raised as a devout Hindu, and the religion instilled in him the teachings of nonviolence and respect for all.
In 1888, Gandhi started attending a law college in London. There he was introduced to prejudice against his Indian heritage. In 1892, Gandhi went to South Africa, a British colony at the time, to work as a lawyer. There was a lot of discrimination against Indians by the British. He resisted this discrimination, as it went against his belief of equality for all. An example of this resistance is when he refused to give up his seat to a European on a stagecoach, causing the driver of the stagecoach to beat him severely. Protests started taking place, and the British began to take means to control these movements and protests. Gandhi was arrested, and put in jail. Gandhi was eventually, in 1914, able to end a major tax for the Indian workers. Gandhi returned to India before World War I. The British Raj in India established direct rule for the British over the Indians, and also established a bureaucracy to keep records. Although some Indians were allowed to join the civil service, they were not paid as well as the Britishers. Also, Indians were not allowed to live in the same community as Britishers. Because of these reasons, the Indians began to resent the British. In 1906, the Indians of the Indian National Congress formed the Muslim League, which addressed their unique concerns such as being the minority in the population. The Indians wanted Home Rule (more local autonomy), as they felt they were educated enough and deserving of this. The British promised the Indians that since they helped the British army during World War I, they would grant the Indians Home Rule. After the war, the British seemed to have changed their minds. They kept the Indians under British surveillance, and the Rowlatt Acts were passed which extended Britain’s powers. Gandhi, who had returned from South Africa before World War I, became furious with the British. He thought that it was his moral duty to end the evil British rule. Gandhi said that the British should either keep their promise or else the Indians will not cooperate with the British. This was the beginning of the Noncooperation Movement. The Indians started having meetings where they discussed the Rowlatt Acts, and this was illegal since they had no assembly rights. During an Amritsar gathering, Indians started speaking out publicly against the Rowlatt Acts, and the British began a massacre of the Indians. This massacre in Amritsar, in 1919, marked the beginning for the second Indian struggle for independence. Gandhi and leaders of the INC were outraged. They no longer wanted Home Rule, but rather independence from the British. The Muslim League, though, still advocated for Home Rule, not complete independence. This was because they felt threatened as a minority. Gandhi was arrested and tried for treason, and pleaded guilty. He was put in prison for seven years. This was a major aspect of civil disobedience, as Gandhi wanted to bring attention to the injustice against the Indians by the British. Gandhi felt that he had not caused a threat to life or property, so his being arrested was an act of injustice. During his time in prison, Gandhi organized his thoughts after being inspired by Henry David Thoreau, who opposed the Mexican War and refused to pay his taxes. Gandhi was also inspired by the New Testament, and the concept of loving your enemy. The Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita, which taught him about unselfishness and willingness to fight injustice was also a source of inspiration for Gandhi. At the end of these seven years, he had a well thought out plan, and referred to his strategy as civil disobedience rather than noncooperation. In 1922, Gandhi stated that the Indians were not ready for swaraj, or Self Rule, yet but they should prepare for it. He said that they should show respect for all Indians, even the untouchables. The untouchables become known Harijans, or children of God, because of Gandhi. He thought that they should get away from the caste system in order to truly succeed. He also supported the swadeshi, or self-supporting, economic strategy. The Indians began making their own cloth, and resisted paying certain taxes. Gandhi led the Salt March in 1930, in order to eliminate the Salt Tax, a tax on salt, which harmed India’s poor population. The Salt Tax was beneficial to the British as they financed subjugation of India by the Salt Tax. If having India as a colony was no longer profitable for the British, the Indians thought they would eventually leave. This did end up happening, because after World War II, the British did not want to stay. They did not want to raise taxes from their own people for a war against India, and they did not want to spend their money on a war. The Indian Independence Bill was passed in 1947, which gave India independence, as well as the formation of another Muslim nation, Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of India’s Muslim League and founder of Pakistan, disagreed with Gandhi’s thinking. Jinnah believed that Gandhi’s Hindu ideology could not support common Indian nationalism. Jinnah wanted Hindu-Muslim unity, and believed that this could not be achieved with Gandhi’s Hindu thinking. Muslims advocated for a new Muslim nation, so they would not be discriminated against as a minority. Gandhi’s civil disobedience movement dramatically increased the political awareness and nationalism among Indians. Gandhi received the name “mahatma” meaning “great soul” as a result of his peaceful actions to attain his goal. Gandhi’s civil disobedience strategy, as well as his patience, proved to be successful as the ultimate goal of Indian independence was achieved. Gandhi’s thinking would go on to inspire future leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr., showing that violence is not a necessary tactic to achieve a goal. This is clearly demonstrated through Gandhi’s peaceful yet effective acts of civil disobedience. - Sameen Faruqi |
The Salt March in 1930, which Gandhi led in order to eliminate the Salt Tax
Modern day location of Pakistan and India
Gandhi with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan
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Bibliography
"Mohandas Gandhi." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Lewis, Terrance L. "Mahatma Gandhi." Great Lives from History: The Twentieth Century. Ed. F. Gorman Robert. 10 vols. Salem Press, 2008. Salem History Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Coulter, Frances A. "Mohammed Ali Jinnah." Great Lives from History: The Twentieth Century. Ed. F. Gorman Robert. 10 vols. Salem Press, 2008. Salem History Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
"Mohandas Gandhi." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Lewis, Terrance L. "Mahatma Gandhi." Great Lives from History: The Twentieth Century. Ed. F. Gorman Robert. 10 vols. Salem Press, 2008. Salem History Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Coulter, Frances A. "Mohammed Ali Jinnah." Great Lives from History: The Twentieth Century. Ed. F. Gorman Robert. 10 vols. Salem Press, 2008. Salem History Web. 29 Mar. 2014.