Mahatma Gandhi and India’s Path to Independence
1: Biography of Mohandas K. Gandhi
Mohandas K Gandhi was one of the most remarkable and influential
leaders in world history. Born in 1869, Gandhi grew up in a pious Hindu
household and was married by the time he was thirteen. In 1888 he went
to London to study law. While in London, Gandhi began to embrace his
Hindu background. He became a devout vegetarian and beginning each
morning by reading the Bhagavad Gita. After finishing law school, he
accepted a job in the British colony of South Africa in 1893 to defend the
vibrant Indian community there against British segregation. Here he
experienced British oppression first hand: He was thrown off a train even
though he had a first class ticket, forced to remove his turban in a
courtroom, and even barred from a number of hotel rooms, restaurants,
and walkways. These experiences would forever alter Gandhi’s
perception of the British and fuel his desire for Indian Independence from
British rule.
Questions:
1. What did Gandhi study in London? What impact do you think his British education may have had on
him?
2. Why did Gandhi go to South Africa? What are Indians doing in South Africa?
3. What is the significance of his experience in South Africa?
2: Gandhi’s Philosophy
Mao Zedong, leader of China’s 20th century independence movement
once argued that “political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.” The
philosophy of resistance developed by Gandhi to gain Indian
independence from British rule was the antithesis of Mao’s philosophy.
Gandhi’s “weapon” was Civil Disobedience. During the 25 years he
spent in South Africa, Gandhi embraced the Indian philosophy of
tolerance and nonviolence (ahmisa) and developed a technique of passive
resistance that he called satyagraha (Civil Disobedience). Influenced by
asceticism and the teachings from all of the world’s major religions,
Gandhi argued that the best way to gain independence from British
exploitation was through peaceful, non-violent means. As he put it:
Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the
reverse of resistance by force. When I refuse to do a thing that is repugnant to
my conscience, I use satyagraha (Civil Disobedience). For instance, the
British government has passed an unfair law which is applicable to me… I do
not obey the law and accept the penalty for its breach, I use satyagraha. It
involves self sacrifice.
Gandhi argued that by publicly refusing to obey unjust laws or actions
and humbly accepting the repercussions, one could expose the hypocrisy
and racism inherent in British “Liberal” Government in India and thereby overturn it.
Questions:
1. What philosophies influenced Gandhi’s development of Satyagraha (Civil Disobedience)?
2. Explain Satyagraha.
3. How did Gandhi’s philosophy of resistance against Imperialists differ from Mao Zedong’s?
3. The Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC) was created with British approval in 1885 as a
forum for educated Indians to communicate their views on public affairs to British
colonial officials. Representatives from all parts of the Indian sub-continent aired
grievances concerning the legacies of Imperialism: poverty, famine, exploitation of
Indian resources and labor, tariffs that harmed Indian industry, British racism etc.
By 1900, the INC began demanding independence from British rule. This
movement however, was thwarted by WWI and then again by WWII. Many
Indians, both Hindus and Muslim, rallied to the British cause in their fight against German tyranny. However,
as each “total war” dragged on, Britain increased its exploitation of its colonies. When each war was over, the
independence movement was renewed with vigor and, the Indian national Congress was converted into an
effective instrument of independence. There was however one problem. Many Indian Muslims began to fear
the prospect of an independent India ruled by Hindu’s. Indian/Muslim tensions had remained high since the
days of Aurangzeb and were exacerbated by British Imperialism. Muslims within the Indian National Congress
split in 1906 and formed the Muslim League under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (in image above).
While the Muslim League worked side by side with the Indian National Congress in achieving Independence
from British rule, they demanded the creation of a separate Islamic state once independence was made a reality.
Gandhi was deeply saddened by the prospect of “two India’s.” But there was little he could do—not all Indians
were as tolerant and accepting of other faiths as he was.
Questions
1. Why was the Indian National Congress formed?
2. How did European events influence the evolution of the Indian independence movement?
3. Why did Muslims form the Muslim League?
4. Boycott of British Goods
By 1920 Gandhi had become the undisputed leader of the Indian
Independence Movement. His unique mixture of spiritual intensity
and political activism appealed to a broad section of the Indian
population, and in the eyes of many he became their Mahatma, or
“Great Soul.” In 1920 the Mahatma guided India into its first great
satyagraha—the boycott of British cotton textiles. Indians had
spun most of the cotton textiles that traversed the global trade
networks from the ancient to the early modern eras. However,
during the modern era, European industrialization ensured that the
British could produce better quality textiles more efficiently.
This effectively ruined the ancient Indian textile industry, forcing most Indians into the fields to grow cash
crops such as cotton to be shipped to English factories. Gandhi recognized that economic self-sufficiency was
an important pre-requisite for self-governance, so to remedy this economic imbalance, Gandhi called on the
people of India to refuse British textiles and return to wearing rough homespun Indian cloth. Gandhi himself
devoted two hours every day to spinning and encouraged Indians, rich and poor alike, to follow his example and
spend time spinning cloth on home made spinning wheels (see image above). Indians gathered all over the subcontinent and burned their British made clothes, replacing them with their traditional homespun Indian garb.
The boycott was very effective. The sale of British cloth in India dropped dramatically and more importantly,
the boycott of British cotton unified the Indian people under Mahatma Gandhi, and forced the British
government to take notice of the little man wearing home spun loin cloth.
Questions
1. Explain the significance of the history of cotton in India.
2. How was the boycott of British textiles an example of Civil Disobedience?
3. How was the boycott a success?
5. The Salt March
In the days before refrigeration was available to most Indians,
salt was an important commodity in the hot, humid conditions
of the Indian sub-continent. Indeed it was essential in
preserving food and therefore preventing famine. The British
therefore recognized that the control of the salt trade was a
crucial element in controlling the massive Indian populace. The
British held a monopoly on the salt trade making it illegal for
Indians to produce and/or sell therefore forcing Indians to buy
salt from the British government. Furthermore, the British
heavily taxed the commodity making salt too expensive for
many impoverished Indian families. In 1930, Gandhi organized
the great salt satyagraha—the Salt March. To show their opposition to the unjust laws, Gandhi and his
followers marched 240 miles to the sea to where they would prepare their own salt by gathering sea water and
allowing it to evaporate. Other Indians marched on the British salt-works with the intent of shutting the salt
warehouse down. Police officers beat the peaceful protesters with clubs, and not a single Indian protester raised
his arm in violent retaliation. Instead they continued to march towards the salt-woks, accepting British
brutality. An American journalist was an eye-witness to the event, and effectively described “The sickening
whacking of clubs on unprotected skulls… the people writhing in pain with fractured skulls or broken
shoulders.” Newspapers all over the world covered his story and the event generated global support for Gandhi
and India’s independence from British tyranny.
Questions
1. What is the significance of salt in Indian history?
2. Why did the British want to control the salt trade?
3. How is the Salt March an example of Civil Disobedience?
4. What role do European technologies like the newspaper play in the Indian Independence movement?
6. Indian Independence
Following the destruction of World War II, Britain could no
longer hold on to most of its colonies. Britain was battered and
India was successfully challenging its authority. On August 15,
1947, the British flag as ceremoniously lowered from the Indian
capital of New Delhi and the flag of India, emblazoned with the
unmistakable image of a spinning wheel was raised (see image to
the right). Gandhi however did not attend the celebration. He
was deeply depressed by the fact that independence meant
partition—the separation of India into the Hindu state of India
and the Muslim State of Pakistan. To Gandhi, this was the
“vivisection” (the medical term for cutting up a living body) of
his beloved, newly independent nation. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist
who despised Gandhi’s tolerant attitude towards Muslims. This event—the assassination of the peaceful man
who was most instrumental in India’s independence movement—reflects the deep antagonisms between
Muslims and Hindus that led to partition.
Questions:
1. When did India achieve its independence?
2. What is the image in the center of the Indian flag? Why?
3. Define partition.
4. How does Gandhi’s assassination reflect the “vivisection” of India?