Life of Gandhi-His Concepts
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Transcript of Life of Gandhi-His Concepts
Biography of Mohandas Gandhi
and
Concepts Gandhi gave us
2015
Biography
Mohandas Gandhi
Early Life / Background
• Born in Porbandar, India
• Born on October 2, 1869
• Father was Diwan (Prime
Minister) of Porbander
• Porbander was a small state
in the Kathiawar Agency of
British India
Early Life / Background Continued
• Mother was Putlibai
• Grew up with the Jain
traditions
• Jainism has ancient
traditions - vegetarianism,
religious tolerance,
fasting, and compassion
Life As a Teenager
• Married Kasturbai
Makhanji at 13 years
old
• This was an arranged
child marriage
• Had 4 sons with
Kasturbai Makhanji
Education
• Average student in school
• Went to England in 1888 to
study law at Univ. of London,
became a barrister
• Barristers are special kinds of
lawyers that have more direct
contact with clients.
Journey to South Africa
• Traveled to South Africa
in 1893
• Treated very unfairly by
European people
• Thrown off train and
beaten by driver
• Gandhi began to
question Indian status in
the British Empire
South Africa
• Stayed in Africa longer to
assist Indians in opposing
a bill that did not let them
vote
• Helped found Natal Indian
Congress in 1894
• This was a political force
South Africa
• Adopted satyagraha
• This means “devotion to the
truth”
• Told Indians to defy the law
and suffer through
punishments instead of
resisting
• Satyagraha began to mature
Accusations of Racism
• In one report, Gandhi said
that Kaffirs are dirty and
troublesome
• He also said the white race
should be the predominant
race in South Africa
• This lead people to the idea
that he was racist
The Zulu War of 1906 • Britain declared war on the
Zulus in 1906
• Zulus killed two British officers
after introduction of poll tax
• Gandhi encouraged Britain to
allow Indians to be recruited
• Indians allowed to treat
wounded soldiers
Role in World War I
• Invited by Viceroy to War Conference in Delhi in 1918
• Invited to show support to Empire and to recruit Indians for war
• Attempted to recruit combatants
• “Appeal for Enlistment” in 1918
• Gandhi told Viceroy’s secretary that he will not hurt anybody
Role in World War I
• “To bring about such a state
of things we should have the
ability to defend ourselves,
that is, the ability to bear
arms and to use them…If
we want to learn the use of
arms with the greatest
possible dispatch, it is our
duty to enlist ourselves in
the army.” (Gandhi: “Appeal
for Enlistment”)
Kheda
• Gandhi began to
clean up villages in
Kheda
• Villages were dirty
and full of crime and
alcoholism
• Built schools and
hospitals and
encouraged people to
work together to stop
conflicts and crimes
Kheda Continued • Arrested by police on
charges of creating unrest
• People protested outside jail until Gandhi’s release
• Led protests against landlords signed an agreement
• It granted farmers more control over their farming and cancelled collections until they were more wealthy
• Gandhi named “Father of the nation”
Resistance Against Britain • Used non-cooperation
and non-violence against Britain
• Spoke about how violence was evil and was not the solution to anything
• Sought to complete self government and control Indian government institutions
• Turned into Swaraj, or individual and spiritual political independence
Resistance Against Britain • Urged Indians to
wear khadi instead of
British clothes
• Urged people to
boycott education
and law
• Also urged people to
forsake British titles
and honors
• These ideas achieved
widespread success
and increased
peoples’ will to resist
Resistance Against Britain
• Gandhi called off
campaign in 1922 out
of fear of violence
erupting
• Gandhi was arrested
on March 10, 1922 and
tried for sedition
• Sentenced to six years
in jail
• Released for an
appendicitis operation
after 2 years
Resistance Against Britain
• Indian National
Congress split into two
factions without Gandhi
• One faction favored
participation in the
legislatures
• Other faction opposed
this
• Hindu and Muslim
cooperation for non-
violence breaking down
The Salt March
• Spent a lot of time trying to resolve the conflicts between the Swaraj and Indian National Congress
• British boycotted commission by Indian political parties
• Gandhi threatened British with another non-cooperation campaign
The Salt March
• The British did not respond
to the threat
• January 26, 1930 was
celebrated as India’s
Independence Day
• Gandhi started new
Satyagraha against the tax
on salt in 1930
• Marched with thousands of
other Indians for 241 miles
from Ahmedabad to Dandi
to make salt himself
The Salt March • Britain responded by
imprisoning over 60,000
people
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact was
signed in 1931
• This freed all prisoners in
return for suspension of
civil disobedience
movement
• Gandhi invited to attend
Round Table Conference in
London to represent Indian
National Congress
After the Salt March
• Gandhi arrested and British
failed to isolate him from his
followers
• Government granted
untouchables separate
electorates under constitution
• Gandhi protested and forced
government to come up with a
better arrangement
• Gandhi started a new
campaign to help the
untouchables lead better lives
After the Salt March Continued
• In 1934, Gandhi was
almost assassinated
three times
• Gandhi resigned from
party membership
because his popularity
would stifle the
membership
• Also, this helped Gandhi
avoid being a target for
Raj propaganda
Return to Politics in 1936 • Wanted a total focus on winning
independence
• Allowed Congress to adopt socialism
• Had an argument with President
Subhas Bose
• Bose did not commit to democracy
and had little faith in non-violence
• Bose left Congress after Gandhi
announced of Bose’s abandonment
of his principals to the All-India
leaders
World War II
• Gandhi declared that India could not be a party to a war fought for democratic freedom when India had none
• Gandhi started to write a resolution called “Quit India” for Britain
• Many people believed not helping Britain was unethical
• Gandhi would not support the war unless India was granted independence
Arrest During World War II • Arrested in Bombay on
August 9, 1942
• Suffered two painful losses in prison
• His secretary, Mahadev Desai died of a heart attack
• Wife, Kasturba died after being imprisoned for 18 months
• Gandhi released at the end of the war for failing health due to a malaria attack
• Britain indicated that India would be given power
India’s Freedom and Partition • Gandhi was opposed to
partition
• This opposition caused Hindus and Muslims to criticize Gandhi
• Gandhi was condemned for undermining Muslim rights
• He was accused of turning a blind eye to atrocities against Hindus and for the creation of Pakistan
• Some people even said he caused India to divide
Freedom and Partition Continued
• Gandhi opposed any
partition that planned to
divide India
• Congress approved the
partition plan to prevent
a Hindu-Muslim war
• Gandhi was eventually
forced to let the partition
be approved to avoid
war
Struggle and Pakistan
• Worked with Hindus and Muslims to keep peace
• Gandhi saddened when Muslims voted for Pakistan and Muslims and Hindus could not agree with each other
• Gandhi protested that money should be donated to restore homes in Pakistan
• After much debate, the Government agreed to pay Pakistan since Gandhi refused to change his mind
Assassination
• Gandhi was shot by
Nathuram Godse on
January 30, 1948 during
his nightly walk
• Godse and his
conspirator were
convicted and executed
on November 15, 1949
• Gandhi’s ashes were
poured into urns and
sent across India for
memorial services
• Gandhi’s memorial is
located at Raj Ghat in
Pune, India
Literary Works • Edited newspapers including
the Harijan, Hindi, Indian Opinion, and Young India
• Wrote autobiography: “An Autobiography of My Experiments With Truth”
• A political pamphlet: “Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule”
• Also paraphrased John Ruskin’s Unto This Last
• Gandhi’s complete works were published in the 1960’s and revised in 2000
Concepts Gandhi gave us
SATYA AHIMSA SARVODAYA
Concepts Gandhi gave us
• SWARAJ
• SWADESHI
• SATYA
• SATYAGRAHA
• SARVODAYA
M. K. Gandhi - 1909
• The only motive is to serve my country, to
find out the Truth, and to follow it. If,
therefore my views are proved to be wrong, I
shall have no hesitation in rejecting them.
• If they are proved to be right, I would
naturally wish, for the sake of the
Motherland, that others should adopt them.
Hind Swaraj- A foundational text
• In ‘Hind Swaraj’ Gandhi combined rejection of the
liberative contribution of modernity with an attempt
to integrate these positive elements with a
liberating re-interpretation of tradition.
• With his critique from within the tradition, Gandhi
becomes the great synthesiser of contraries within
and across traditions.
Ancient-Indian vs Modern-West
• For Gandhi civilisation was by definition a moral
enterprise: "Civilisation is that mode of conduct
which points out to man the path of duty“
• Unacceptable were the two points - ‘might is right’
and the ‘survival of the fittest’.
• Also, colonial imperialism, industrial capitalism,
and rationalist materialism.
Swaraj
• Swaraj as ‘self rule’ and as ‘self-government’
• The first as self-control, rule over oneself,
was the foundation for the second, self-
government. In this second sense, local
self ~government was what Gandhi really
had in mind.
• Gandhi very decidedly gives priority to self-
rule over self-government, and to both over
political independence, swatantrata.
Indian cultural Values
• Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj presents us with an
idealised version of Indian culture that is
completely counterpunctal to the ‘Modern West’.
• Here we pick out three seminal themes:
• Swaraj (Self rule),
• Swadeshi (Self governance) and
• Satya (Truth).
Swaraj is not mere replacing of the English
• Essential to both meanings swaraj, was a sense of
self-respect that is precisely Gandhi’s answer to
colonial rule.
• For Gandhi freedom in its most fundamental sense
had to mean freedom for self-realisation. But it
had to be a freedom for all, for the toiling masses,
and the privileged classes, and most importantly
for the least and last Indian.
• For Gandhi real rights are legitimated by duties they flow
from, for both are founded on satya and dharma.
• The modern theory of rights reverses this priority and
founds rights on the dignity and freedom of the
individual.
• But comprehensive morality can never be adequately
articulated or correctly grasped in terms of rights alone.
Swadeshi: as a means for swaraj
• It is this commitment of the individual to his
‘desh’ that was Gandhi’s Indian alternative
to western nationalism.
• The village Gandhi idealised was not just a
geographic place, or a statistic, or a social
class.
• It was an event, a dream, a happening, a
culture.
• As he used "the term ‘village’ implied not
an entity, but a set of values"
Satya
• SATYA: Truthfulness, honesty,
transparency, accountability, expanding
conscience, awareness and responsibility;
justice with compassion; taking
responsibility for past mistakes; pluralism;
• understanding of the multiplicity of truth;
humility and respect for others’ truths;
holding on to relative truth but continuing
quest for further truth; attempting to arrive
at a consensus on key issues; quest for
truth.
Sarvodaya
• Sarvodaya is upliftment or welfare of all.
• Gandhi first encountered this noble notion in the book
titled ‘Unto This Last’ by John Ruskin, in 1904.
• The impact of this reading was powerful that it proved
to be a life changing experience for Gandhi.
• He was determined to change his life in accordance
with the ideals of the book.
Ruskin’s ideology was based on three fundamental
tenets;
• That the good of the individual is contained in the
good of all.
• That a lawyer’s work has the same value as the
barber's in as much as all have the same right of
earning their livelihood from their work.
• That a life of labor, i.e., the life of the tiller of the
soil and the handicraftsman is the life worth living
Sarvodaya was a social ideology in its fundamental
form. Emancipation of disparity between social
classes was its objective. and it could be best
implemented by political will and state machinery.
It would affect in letter and spirit the singular
objective of Sarvodaya; inclusive growth and
progress. For Gandhi and for India, this meant
grassroot level uplift which began from the villages
and from the most deprived classes.
Sarvodaya requires
• Purity of means and ends; welfare of all
and welfare of last first.
• Peaceful resolution of conflicts,
constructive work to build up a nonviolent
world order,
• Relief and rehabilitation work; removing
structural (indirect) violence.
Satyagraha and Passive Resistance
Satyagraha was a combination of reason,
morality and politics.
Gandhi defined ‘passive resistance’ as he
called it then as "a method of securing rights
by personal suffering“.
It appealed to the opponent’s head, heart
and interests.
Nonviolent struggle for freedom
• Gandhi was the first leader to bring non-violence
to centre stage in the struggle for freedom with the
British.
• He was well aware that adopting "methods of
violence to drive out the English" would be a
"suicidal policy".
• Hind Swaraj was precisely intended to stymie such
a soul-destroying venture.
Gandhi’s Hinduism.
Thus one remarkable re- interpretations
of Hinduism that Gandhi effected was
that of the Gita.
This text intended to persuade a
reluctant warrior on the legitimacy and
even the necessity of joining the battle.
Gandhi reworks its ‘nishkama karma’ to
become the basis of his ahimsa and
satyagraha!
Gandhi as a global thinker
• An ecological understanding now requires a new and deep realisation of our interdependence. We have only one earth, we must learn to share and care.
• Thus, with regard to the economy and polity, Gandhi would have the village as his world.
• With regard to culture and religion, it was the world that was his village! Surely, here we have a viable example of thinking globally and acting locally.
Gandhi : Faith & Reason
• For Gandhi, "individuality" must be "oriented to self-realisation through self-knowledge... in a network of interdependence and harmony
informed by ahimsa“
• Nor was this to be an interdependence of dominant-subservient relationships so prevalent in our local communities and global societies.
• His Swadeshi envisaged a more personalised and communitarian society on a human scale.
Gandhi would have asked us to believe in
• Dignity of manual labor; Attention to Sanitation.
• The good of the individual is contained in the good
of all.
• Each can and should serve society by his own
labor and profession in the field of his choice.
• There is no colonialism today, it is for us bear
responsibility for improving our village, city and
India.
Gandhi wanted education to help India move
away from the Western concept of progress,
towards a different form of development
more suited to its needs and more viable, for
the world as a whole. True education is that
which trains all the three abilities, spiritual,
intellectual, and economic, simultaneously.
Gandhian strategy for confronting terrorism
• Stop an act of violence in its tracks. The
effort to do so should be nonviolent but
forceful.
• Address the issues; Maintain the moral high
ground.
• Gandhi insisted on means that are
consistent with the moral goals of those
engaged in the conflict.
• A violent posture adopted by public
authorities could lead to a civil order based
on coercion.
Thus a nonviolent response to terrorism is already
an element of political discourse. It is not a new
idea, but rather a strand of public thinking that
deserves attention and, Gandhi might argue,
one that warrants respect. As a pragmatic idealist,
Gandhi would be pleased to know that nonviolent
approaches to terrorism were taken seriously not
only because invariably they were the right thing to
do, but also because they have worked.
People Influenced by Gandhi
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
and James Lawson were
influenced by Gandhi
• Albert Einstein
exchanged written letters
with Gandhi in 1931
• Former vice-president Al
Gore was influenced by
Gandhi
• Also, current president
Barack Obama says
Gandhi is a major
influence on his life
Holidays and Awards • Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated
every October 2 in India
• On January 30, schools and many countries celebrate the School Day of Non-violence and Peace
• Man of the Year in 1930
• Runner-up to Einstein as person of the century
• Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize awarded to distinguished social workers
• Nominated five times for Nobel Peace Prize
Gandhi in Modern Culture
• “Gandhi” was a film in 1982
• Gandhi is the main theme in
the 2006 Bollywood film,
“Lage Raho Munna Bhai”
• The 2007 film, “Gandhi, My
Father” tells about the
relationship between Gandhi
and Harilal
• The 1996 film, “The Making
of the Mahatma” documents
Gandhi’s twenty-one years in
South Africa
Thanks to Matt Evans
Movie Clip/Works Cited • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi
• http://www.mkgandhi.org/ • http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LS9FUwupaPM/SDKAY2LA-
fI/AAAAAAAAAHo/SOFvwfvZv38/s320/john_0911_gandhi-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photonparadise.blogspot.com/2008/05/mohandas-karamchand-gandhi-1869-1948.html&usg=__Ct9EyGKqO2-GMf9E2lUlvW2cSck=&h=320&w=115&sz=9&hl=en&start=11&itbs=1&tbnid=LKzXAwRWZa-bVM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=42&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGandhi%2BZulu%2Bwar%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1
• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi.html
• http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/mkgandhi.html
• http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wel0wt9lSLM&feature=related