Great_soul Mahatma Gandhi 09

8/8/2019 Great_soul Mahatma Gandhi 09

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INDIGOThe Life of

Mahatama GandhiBy

Louis Fischer



Learning Objectives

To know that forgiveness, and peaceful means, canbe more effective than revenge and violence.

Why and how rules and laws are made and enforced,why different rules are needed in differentsituations and how to take part in making andchanging rules

To think about the lives of people living in otherplaces and times, and people with different values

and customs. To realise the nature and consequences of racism,

teasing, bullying and aggressive behaviours, and howto respond to them and ask for help.



¶An for an

makes the whole world blind.·

--Mohandas Gandhi



Mohandas Gandhi was born in the state

of Gujarat, India in 1869.



At the age of

thirteen Mohandaswas married toKasturba.

The marriage hadbeen arranged for himby his family.

They had four sons.



When he was 18 Gandhi came to Londonto train as a barrister.

He tried behaving like an Englishman and

took up ballroom dancing. We know thathe took a dislike to his landlady·s boiledcabbage!

In these days he got ¶stage fright· whenspeaking in court.



He returned toIndia in 1891,then accepted a

job at an Indianlaw firm in SouthAfrica.



His experience of racism in South Africaproved to be a turning point in his life.

He was refused admission to hotels, beaten upwhen he refused to give up his seat to a white

man on a stage coach «..

«and thrown off a train when he refused tomove to a third class compartment, after hehad paid for a first class ticket.



When he was about to

return to India, he heard

that a law was going

to be passed to prevent

Indian people from voting.

He decided to draw attention to thisinjustice and became an activist.



However, Gandhi said:

¶There are many causes that I amprepared to die for, but no causes that I

am prepared to kill for.·

He developed a new non-violent way tomake things right, by getting lots of

people to disobey unfair laws, and to beunco-operative with rulers who weretreating them badly.



Over the next seven years Gandhi led anon-violent campaign of resistance to laws

which were unfair to ¶coloured· people.During this time thousands of Indians,including Gandhi, were flogged or jailed,

and many were shot for striking or burningtheir registration cards.



Eventually the government was forced

to seek a compromise with Gandhi, andwhen he left South Africa, conditionsfor Indian people had greatly improved.



In 1915, back in

India, Gandhi setup an ¶ashram· - aself-sufficientcommunity, where

he ate a simplediet, and lived likethe poorest

villagers.



He spun his own yarn and made hisown cloth. He encouraged others to

do the same, instead of buyingimported British material.



At this time Indian villagers were poorlypaid, and many were dying of famine.

In 1918 Gandhi began a campaign to getthem to stand up for themselves againstthe British who were ruling India.



It was at this time that

Gandhi became known asMahatma,

which means ¶Great Soul·.



The British

becameworried aboutkeeping control.Soldiers were

ordered toprevent

people from

gatheringtogetherfor meetings.



Nevertheless, in 1919 ten thousand unarmedpeople attended a protest meeting in

Amritsar.

Without warning, British soldiers fired onthe crowd, killing nearly 400 people, andwounding over one thousand.

People were very shocked by this atrocity,and many more joined Gandhi·s campaign.



Meanwhile the

British rulerscontinued to collectheavy taxes from the

people, which keptthem in poverty.



In 1930 Gandhi led a 248 mile march to

the sea, as a protest against a tax onsalt. Thousands joined him in making saltof their own.

Over 60,000

people were

arrested.



However, the British government wasforced to negotiate with Gandhi, and

they agreed to release politicalprisoners if he stopped his campaign ofnon-co-operation.



In 1933 Gandhiwent on a fast for21 days to drawattention to the

treatment of thevery poorest peoplein India, who he

called ¶The Childrenof God·.



During the second World War, Gandhiand his followers made it clear thatthey wouldn·t support Britain unlessIndia was granted independence.

In 1942 Gandhi was arrested by the

British, and imprisoned for two years.



By 1947 Gandhi·s campaign had weakened

the British government·s hold on thecountry, but with independence looming,killings and riots raged between Hindusand Muslims who hoped to take control of

the new Indian government.



It was decided to divide Indiainto two separate countries -India and Pakistan. Gandhi wasstrongly opposed to this idea, but

was forced to agree because ofthe threat of civil war.





The violence continued.Gandhi's appeals for calmwere ignored, so he

began another fast.

Only when the Hindu, Sikh and Muslimleaders promised to renounce violencedid he agree to take a sip of orange

juice.



A few days later, on January 30th

1948 Gandhi was shot by a Hindufanatic on his way to a prayermeeting in Delhi.



His ashes were dipped in all the major rivers of theworld before being enshrined in the Mahatma

Gandhi World Peace Memorial.



In India Gandhi is often called ¶TheFather of the Nation.·

Gandhi·s birthday,

October 2nd, is a

public holiday in India.

Click here for Timeline Tool



¶Be the Change you want to

see in the World!·Mohandas Gandhi



A LESSON IN SELF-RELIANCE

C. F. Andrews, a friend from South

Africa days came to render help. Hecan be seen in the background with a

felt hat. But Gandhiji, as part of civil

disobedience, refused bail offered by

the Magistrate. He implored

Andrews to leave for Fiji, which he

did. Gandhiji did not want Indians toappear leaning on Britishers in this

struggle.

Among the Bihari supporters who

accompanied or followed Gandhiji to

Champaran were: Brajkishore

Prasad, Shambhoo Sharan andRajendra Prasad (from Patna); Ram

Navami Prasad and Dharani Dhar

Prasad (from Muzaffarpur); and Gaya

Prasad (of Motihari)



CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

That day in Champaran, when I saw the indigo

farmers of Champaran for the first time, I came face to

face with God" said Mahatma Gandhi, then only

Mohandas K. Gandhi.It was the people of Champaran who conferred the title

"Mahatma" on him for the first time in 1917.

And it was in Motihari that by defying Government's

order to leave the area, and by making a very cool and

dispassionate statement explaining his reasons, he

launched the non-violent civil disobedience movement

which ultimately led to India's independence.



The school at Bhitharwa near Bettiah in

Champaran built by Gandhiji. As it existed then.



Recently built Gandhi Smarak at Motihari



Sign at the top is on the arch over the entrance gate

at the Mahatama Gandhi memorial in Motihari



THEME

Unequal battle between oppressed andoppressor.

Oppressed foil wicked designs of the greedy

landlords.Truthfulness, sincerity of purpose and

indefatigable efforts of Indian leaders and

masses bear fruit.

Triumph of campaign against unjust British.



MESSAGE

Patience, perseverance and determination helpone overcome all odds and adversities.

While managing crisis focus on solution rather

than problem. Be self-reliant instead of looking for shoulders to

lean upon.

Important ±

teach people courage and fight own battles ± independently and fearlessly

± rather than lending support in critical situations



Glossary

reconvened ² met again after a break. resolute ² determined. co-operation ² teamwork, mutual support sharecropper ² farmers who give part of

their crop as rent to the owner. civil war ² a conflict between two groups

within the same country. extorted ² obtained by using force or

threats.



Useful Web Links

http://www.facinghistory.org/campus/BeTheChange - Be The Change-learn about todays activists and how you can be the change

http://www.dosomething.org/ - a website for young people about taking

action

http://www.idealist.org/teachers/index.html - idealists without borders

resources and activities for teachers http://www.idealist.org/kt/index.html - idealists without borders website

for children

http://www.indianchild.com/mahatma_gandhi.htm - information about

Mahatma Ghandi

http://www.myhero.com teaching resources and thousands of stories of remarkable individuals written by children and adults alike

http://www.bethechange.org/ - posts, ideas and information on how to

bring about positive change



If you enjoyed this lesson, why not try:

Sacrificing All for the Dream

How Martin Luther King achieved change through

peaceful protest. The nature of prejudice.

Pioneering Nurses

How Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale overcameprejudice in order to help others. The importance of

good hygiene, particularly in hospitals.

Documents

Great_soul Mahatma Gandhi 09