India Seeks Independence

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India Seeks Independence
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Objectives

• Identify the origins of Indian nationalism.
• Explain what motivated the Indian independence
  movement after World War I.
• Analyze how Mohandas Gandhi influenced the
  independence movement.
• Describe the impact of the Salt March on the
  course of the Indian independence movement.

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Terms and People

• Amritsar massacre an incident in 1919 in which
  British troops fired on an unarmed crowd of
  Indians
• ahimsa an ancient Hindu doctrine of nonviolence
  and reverence for all life
• civil disobedience the refusal to obey unjust
  laws
• untouchables members of the lowest caste in
  India
• boycott a refusal to buy goods

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How did Gandhi and the Congress party work for
independence in India?
Gandhi was inspired by Hindu traditions as well
as American ideas about civil disobedience. He
led the Congress party through a series of
nonviolent actions against British rule.
Worldwide negative reaction to the harsh British
reprisals against Indians forced the British to
give Indians concessions. However, Britain
refused to grant India independence.
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British leaders provided promising young Indians
with a British education, thinking this would
lead them to accept British culture and rule.

• The Indian National Congress formed in 1885 to
  propose self-rule within the British Empire.
• Muslims feared that Hindus might dominate any
  government. In 1906, they founded the Muslim
  League and soon began talking about a separate
  Muslim state.

Instead, educated Indians returned home and began
nationalistic movements.
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Unhappy with British rule, some Indians
protested, rioted, and attacked British residents.

• On April 13, 1919, a large but peaceful crowd
  gathered in an enclosed field in Amritsar in
  northern India to hear several Indian speakers.
• The British commander at Amritsar had banned
  public meetings.
• British soldiers fired on the crowd, killing
  nearly 400 people and wounding more than 1,100
  others.

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The Amritsar massacre was a turning point in
Indian nationalism.

• Instead of self-rule, the Indian National
  Congress now called for full independence.
• In the 1920s, Mohandas Gandhi united Indians
  across class lines in the struggle for
  independence.

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Gandhi came from a middle-class Hindu family. He
Studied law in England Moved to South Africa and fought against laws that discriminated against Indians in South Africa Returned to India in 1914 and became the leader of the Indian National Congress
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Gandhi urged equal rights for all men and women,
as well as for the untouchables.
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Gandhis ideas about nonviolent resistance came
from many sources.
Hindu tradition The ancient doctrine of ahimsa
Western influences Equality for men and women Christian teachings about love American philosopher Henry David Thoreaus ideas about civil disobedience Democracy Nationalism
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Gandhi challenged British rule in nonviolent ways
during the 1920s and 1930s.

• He called for an Indian boycott of British-made
  goods, especially cotton textiles.
• He worked to restart Indias traditional
  industries.
• He mobilized mass support for Indias
  independence by protesting the British monopoly
  on salt.

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Although natural salt was available in the sea,
the British required Indians to buy only salt
sold by the monopoly.

• In March 1930, Gandhi and 78 followers began to
  walk 240 miles to the sea.
• By the time he arrived, thousands more had joined
  the Salt March.
• After picking up a lump of salt from the surf,
  Gandhi was arrested and jailed.
• His example inspired tens of thousands to collect
  sea salt and engage in other nonviolent protests.

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Tens of thousands were imprisoned, and newspapers
around the world criticized the British for their
brutal treatment of Indians.
Gandhis campaign forced the British to give some
power to Indians and to meet other demands of the
Indian National Congress.
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