Mahatma Gandhi
1.
MAHATMA GANDHI
M
ohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India. He became one of
the most respected spiritual and political leaders of the 1900's. GandhiJI helped free the Indian people
from British rule through non-violent resistance, and is honoured by Indians as the father of the Indian
Nation
The Indian people called Gandhiji 'Mahatma', meaning Great Soul. At the age of 13 Gandhi married
Kasturba, a girl the same age. Their parents arranged the marriage. The Gandhis had four children.
Gandhi studied law in London and returned to India in 1891 to practice. In 1893 he took on a one-year
contract to do legal work in South Africa.
At the time the British controlled South Africa. When he attempted to claim his rights as a British
subject he was abused, and soon saw that all Indians suffered similar treatment. Gandhi stayed in
South Africa for 21 years working to secure rights for Indian people.
He developed a method of action based upon the principles of courage, non-violence and truth called
Satyagraha. He believed that the way people behave is more important than what they achieve.
Satyagraha promoted non-violence and civil disobedience as the most appropriate methods for
obtaining political and social goals. In 1915 Gandhi returned India. Within 15 years he became the
leader of the Indian nationalist movement.
Using the principles of Satyagraha he led the campaign for Indian independence from Britain. Gandhi
was arrested many times by the British for his activities in South Africa and India. He believed it was
honourable to go to jail for a just cause. Altogether he spent seven years in prison for his political
activities.
More than once Gandhi used fasting to impress upon others the need to be non-violent. India was
granted independence in 1947, and partitioned into India and Pakistan. Rioting between Hindus and
Muslims followed. Gandhi had been an advocate for a united India where Hindus and Muslims lived
together in peace.
On January 13, 1948, at the age of 78, he began a fast with the purpose of stopping the bloodshed.
After 5 days the opposing leaders pledged to stop the fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days
later a Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse who opposed his program of tolerance for all creeds and
religion assassinated him.
2. What Was the Salt March?
The Salt March
Britain abolished its own salt tax in 1825, when the mineral became important to the
manufacturing processes emerging in the Industrial Revolution [source: Le Couteur].
Nevertheless, the tax persisted in British colonies like India, where it was illegal to collect even
natural deposits of salt.
To understand why the British salt tax was so oppressive to the Indian people, it helps to know a
bit about the subcontinent's climate and culture. India's hot weather promotes sweating, which
drains the human body of its salt supply. And because Indians don't eat much meat -- a natural
source of salt -- they rely on supplementary salt to maintain a healthy amount in the body. Taxing
the mineral that Indian people relied on for survival was just one way that the British government
kept Indians under its thumb.
But on the morning of March 12, 1930, Gandhi set out to change that. He and 78 followers
started marching from the Sabarmati Ashram toward Dandi on the Arabian Sea. More people
joined the band of protesters along the journey of 240 miles (386.2 kilometers). Covering
between 10 to 15 miles (16 to 24 kilometers) a day, Gandhi reached his destination in 24 days
[source: Nojeim]. During the march, he stopped in villages to convince government officials to
resign in protest and to encourage people to pledge nonviolence. When he got to the sea, Gandhi
collected a chunk of salt, which was against the law. The act inspired a crime wave of illegal salt
collection and thousands of arrests.
The frail, 61-year-old Gandhi didn't have to walk -- he could have taken a car or train to gather
salt from the sea. But he knew what he was doing. His march was a symbolic protest designed to
attract media attention and inspire action more than anything else. Many historians now consider
it his most powerful campaign. It soon led to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, an agreement that made it
legal for people to gather and manufacture salt. What's more, the government lifted the tax a year
later.
In large part due to Gandhi's campaigns of nonviolence, Britain finally awarded India
independence after World War II. Gandhi's philosophy and writings have continued to inspire
others, including Martin Luther King Jr., to seek change through nonviolent civil disobedience.
Source: http://history.howstuffworks.com/asian-history/salt-march2.htm
"Ghandi leads Salt March." Image. Library of Congress. Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web.
6 Dec. 2011.
7. Introduction from Gandhi’s Speech on the Eve of the Salt March
In all probability this will be my last speech to you. Even if the Government allow me to
march tomorrow morning, this will be my last speech on the sacred banks of the
Sabarmati. Possibly these may be the last words of my life here.
I have already told you yesterday what I had to say. Today I shall confine myself to what
you should do after my companions and I are arrested. The programme of the march to
Jalalpur must be fulfilled as originally settled. The enlistment of the volunteers for this
purpose should be confined to Gujarat only. From what I have been and heard during the
last fortnight, I am inclined to believe that the stream of civil resisters will flow unbroken.
But let there be not a semblance of breach of peace even after all of us have been
arrested. We have resolved to utilize all our resources in the pursuit of an exclusively
nonviolent struggle. Let no one commit a wrong in anger. This is my hope and prayer. I
wish these words of mine reached every nook and corner of the land. My task shall be
done if I perish and so do my comrades.
Source: Mahatma, Vol. III (1952), pp. 28-30 Source: Selected works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume-Six
http://www.mkgandhi.org/speeches/dandi_march.htm