Mohandas K. Gandhi

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Mohandas K. Gandhi

• The Man of Non-violence

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EQ

• How was Gandhi, a man of diminutive stature, able
  to gain the independence of India from Great
  Britain?
• Why is civil disobedience such an effective, but
  potentially dangerous, tactic?
• Why is violence always an easier tactic to adopt
  but usually less effective?

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Background

• The failure of the Indian independence movements
  to achieve Indian independence in the 19th
  century should not be seen as a failure of the
  movement itself.
• The seeds of nationalism and independence did
  take root but it would take years for the
  independence to come.

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Background

• Mohandas Gandhi would be the man who would insure
  that the struggles of the past would lead to
  freedom and independence in the future.

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• Born a Hindu in 1869
• Claimed later to be a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh, a
  Christian and a Jew
• Opposed to Caste System in India that separated
  people and oppressed them.
• Studied law in London in late 19th century and
  studied most of the major world religions

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• Developed the belief that all people, regardless
  of color, religion or caste, have value
• Took a job in S. Africa representing Indian
  businesses
• Got a firsthand look at racism against Indians on
  the train to S. Africa when he was thrown off for
  having purchased a first-class ticket, which was
  reserved for whites only

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• Gandhi protested the treatment of Indians in S.
  Africa by staging a protest where Indians burned
  the identification cards they were required by
  law to have (whites did not have to have any such
  cards).
• This protest was Gandhis first attempt at
  non-violent, civil-disobedience.
  Civil-disobedience is the refusal to obey unjust
  laws. This was to be Gandhis standard approach
  for the rest of his life.

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• When Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he said he
  would not oppose the British effort in WWI. He
  said it would not be right to do so.
• Gandhi, like so many other Indians, expected that
  Indian cooperation with the British war effort
  would result in the British granting Indian
  independence at the end of the war.

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• When WWI was over, the British failed to live up
  their end of the deal and nationalists in India
  turned violent.
• British passed the Rowlatt Act, which prohibited
  mass meetings and allowed for protesters to be
  jailed, w/o trial for up to 2 years.

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• A protest of the Rowlatt Act was organized in the
  city of Amritsar in northern India in 1919
• The ban on public meetings was not widely
  publicized and people did not realize the meeting
  was illegal
• British general Dyer moved his soldiers into an
  area where thousands of unarmed protesters were
  quietly listening to speeches

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• Dyer gave the order to fire and his soldiers used
  rifles to kill over 400 of the protesters,
  including women and children.
• In response to the British failure to adequately
  punish Dyer and others, Gandhi called for a
  program of Indian non-cooperation with the
  British.

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Mohandas Gandhi, the Man

• This was all part of what Gandhi called the
  Satyagraha or Truth Force.
• By not hitting back, the Indians would force the
  British to face their own inhumanity that truth
  would compel them to free the Indians

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• To accomplish his goals, Gandhi encouraged the
  Indians to refuse to buy English goods and
  instead to buy Indians goods or make their own.
• He had Indians refuse to send their children to
  public schools, to vote and to boycott (refuse to
  do business with) British businesses.
• Non-violent, non-cooperation

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• Gandhis followers refused to go to work on
  certain days and the British struggled to keep
  the country going when the Indians refused to
  cooperate.
• The boycotts were very successful and took a hard
  economic toll on the British.
• One of the most famous non-violent protests was
  Gandhis Salt March in 1930.

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NaCl March

• To protest the salt tax (which was minimal but
  was significant in that whoever controlled the
  salt controlled India b/c without salt, nothing
  can survive in India), Gandhi and his followers
  marched 240 miles to the sea to make their own
  salt

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NaCl March

• The British then arrested the leaders of the
  march when they reached the sea
• The salt marchers then tried to take over the
  salt works that processed the salt and the
  marchers were severely beaten by guards
• The protest was unsuccessful, but led to the
  world taking notice of the British actions in
  India

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Independence

• The first step toward Indian independence was the
  1935 Government of India Act, which allowed for
  local self-government and democratic elections.
• In 1947, after more than 3 centuries, Britain
  granted India its independence

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EQ

• How was Gandhi, a man of diminutive stature, able
  to gain the independence of India from Great
  Britain?
• Why is civil disobedience such an effective, but
  potentially dangerous, tactic?
• Why is violence always an easier tactic to adopt
  but usually less effective?