Mahatma Gandhi October 2 1869 January 30 1948

Mahatma Gandhi October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948 • Born and raised in a Hindu family in Bombay Presidency – Father was a senior government official • 1888: Went to London to study law • 1893: Moved to South Africa to work in an Indian law firm

Gandhi in South Africa • Spent 21 years working in South Africa • Considered wealthy Muslim leaders & impoverished Hindu laborers all Indian – Believed “Indianness” goes beyond religion or caste – Understood complexities of religion and class systems of India through the Indians in Africa. • Faced discrimination and prejudice while in South Africa

Gandhi in South Africa • Stayed in India to help Indians in South African fight against discrimination – Founded Natal Indian Congress (1894) • Created unified Indian political force • 1906: First act of non-violent protest – New law required Indian colonies to register – Gandhi urged Indians to fight the law by refusing to register or burn registration cards – Thousands were jailed, beaten, or shot

Gandhi in India • Returns to India in 1915 – Part of Indian National Congress • Made to allow a greater level of government ‘sharing’ between Indians and British • Soon became more radical, opposing the British moving towards independence – Gandhi Lead non-violent protest that helped peasants find relief from high taxes and forced cash crop production of British government • Became leader of INC in 1920 – Goal: use non-violence & non-cooperation to attain full independence for India

Amritsar Massacre April 13, 1919 • Amritsar: holy city of Sikhism – Many recent demonstrations caused British to ban gatherings in the city • 15, 000 -20, 000 people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to for religious festival • Fear of rebellion caused British general to order 50 riflemen to shoot into the crowd – Shots lasted for 10 minutes – 1650 rounds fired – According to British: ~400 killed – According to Indians: ~1000 killed

Gandhi’s Plan for Swaraj • Swaraj: complete individual, spiritual, political independence • Non-violence extended into swadeshi policy – Boycott of foreign made goods, especially British – Included boycotts of British institutions & courts, and abandonment of all British titles • Swadeshi gained popularity, but not all had the same discipline of non-violence as Gandhi…

Chauri Chaura • February 5, 1922: 2, 000 protesters marched towards Chauri Chaura center to protest against police brutality. • Police fired warning shots above the crowd – In response, crowd threw stones at officers • Police opened fire on crowd – Crowd infuriated, attacked police, torched police shelter

Response • Gandhi fasted for 5 days – Felt he was wrong to push mass swaraj movement without training people in non-violence • INC halted the mass noncooperation campaign • Gandhi was arrested for treason – Sentenced to 6 years in jail

Another Push for Independence • 1928: Gandhi called for the British government to grant India “Dominion Status” – Would become self-governing colony – Threatened a new campaign of non-cooperation – No British response • January 26, 1930: Indian National Congress celebrates India’s Independence Day

Salt March • British Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt – All salt had to be bought from Britain – British had very high tax on salt • March 12, 1930: Gandhi began the 388 kilometer journey to the sea to make his own salt – Hundreds of thousands joined in the civil disobedience – Over 60, 000 arrested – Gandhi arrested May 5; campaign continued

Salt March • As Salt March grew, additional marches & peaceful protests also continued. • After Gandhi’s arrest, an Indian poet lead 2, 500 protesters on a march toward a salt depot – Approached 400 policemen – Policemen beat the unarmed, nonviolent protesters with clubs • None fought back

Gandhi-Irwin Pact • British Viceroy, Lord Irwin, released Gandhi from prison – The two had 8 meetings, lasted 24 hours total • Pact released all political prisoners in exchange for civil obedience – Signed March 1931

Focus on Untouchability • 1932: British government set up a separate electorate for the Untouchables of India – Gandhi fasted for 6 days • Yerwada Pact ended fast: reserved seats in the electorate for the “Depressed Class” • 1933: toured India to help end untouchability

Quit India: World War II • Gandhi felt India could not support a war being fought for “democratic freedom” when India, itself, was denied freedom. – Declares British should “Quit India” – Called on Congressmen and Indians to maintain a “do or die” mentality for independence • Between 1939 -1941 more than 100, 000 Indians are jailed, injured, and killed by police for engaging in “Quit India” protests.

Break before Independence • 1942: Muslims in India begin to align themselves with the British – Feared their interests would be ignored by Hindu majority of INC – Tensions grew between Muslims and Hindus in India • Gandhi & INC: Quit India; Muslim League: Divide India, then Quit – Many riots between groups until Independence

Indian Independence: 1947 • India Independence Act – Created two new independent nations: India and Pakistan • 10 -12 million people moved from one side of the newly created border to the other • Violence and riots during displacement killed up to a million people • Gandhi wanted independence, but did not want India “carved up” and divided