Can one individual make a difference?
India’s Man of the
Millennium?
Lesson 2
Newsletter Date
Below is a VERY BRIEF description of the life and times of Mohandas Gandhi or as he is more commonly know, simply
Gandhi. Small in stature, Gandhi was a giant in history and a giant killer as well.
Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in 1869 to Hindu parents in the state of Gujarat in Western India. He
entered an arranged marriage with Kasturbai Makanji when both were 13 years old. His family later
sent him to London to study law, and in 1891 he was admitted to the Inner Temple, and passed the bar
becoming a lawyer. Gandhi next move to South Africa where he worked ceaselessly to improve the rights of
immigrant Indians who were treated as second class citizens. It was there that he developed his creed of passive
resistance against injustice, satyagraha, meaning truth force. Gandhi was frequently jailed as a result of the protests that he led. Before he returned to India with his wife and children in 1915, he had radically changed the lives
of Indians living in Southern Africa.
Back in India, it was not long before he was taking the lead in the long struggle for independence from Britain.
Only four years after his return the British army killed over 1000 Indians at a demonstration that became known
as the Amritsar Massacre. The event turned millions of Indians into nationalists who joined Gandhi’s cause.
Gandhi took this new support and build a movement for Indian independence. Gandhi never wavered in his unshakable belief in
nonviolent protest and religious tolerance. When Muslim and Hindu compatriots committed acts of violence, whether against the
British who ruled India, or against each other, he fasted until the fighting ceased. Independence, when it came in 1947, was not a
military victory, but a triumph of human will. To Gandhi's despair, however, the country was partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. The last two months of his life were spent trying to end the appalling violence which ensued, leading him to fast to the
brink of death, an act which finally quelled the riots. In January 1948, at the age of 79, he was killed by an assassin as he walked
through a crowed garden in New Delhi to take evening prayers.
Questions:
Spotlight on South Africa:
Name 3 of Gandhi’s accomplishments:
Located at the southern tip of Africa,
South Africa or “Cape Colony” has
Unio
n of
been an important British colony
What does satyagraha mean?
since its incorporation into the Empire in 1795.
Originally South Africa was important as a refueling station along the trade routes between
What was the effect of the Amritsar Massacre on the people of India?
Europe and Asia, however since the discovery
of valuable mineral resources, South Africa’s
importance to the Empire has magnified ten
What did Gandhi hope to accomplish by fasting?
How did Gandhi die?
fold. In the late 1800’s both gold and diamonds were discovered in South Africa’s interior leading to a migration of laborers from
India into South Africa. The arrival of the Indians was not always welcome as South Africa
had a strict policy of racial separation called
Apartheid.
A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.
Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi was an Indian _________ who freed
India from _________________ through
____________________________.
Gandhi Notes
Although Gandhi was a ______, he was respected
by ___________________ alike. Gandhi’s dream
was for a ________________________________
Inspired by Gandhi’s words and the impact of the
_________________ Indian nationalists began a new
push for Independence in 1919 after ________________
In 1947 when the British granted independence they decided to __________________India into two separate
countries, ______ as a home for ________, and
__________ as a home for ____________.
Violence broke out between Muslims and Hindus over
the partition. Gandhi appealed to the public to stop the
violence by ______. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was
shot and killed. In all, _________ Muslims and Hindus
moved and over _________ were killed in the violence.
Muhammad Ali _______ became the leader of
Muslim Pakistan while Jawarharlal ________
became the 1st President of Hindu India
Jinnah
Nehru
Many world leaders were influenced by Gandhi’s non-violent approach. Among those inspired by Gandhi were American Civil Rights
leader ______________________ and