Mahatma Gandhi – Presentation

Handout:

Quick Facts:

Born: 2 October 1869 Porbandar, Bombay Presidency, British India

Died: 30 January 1948 New Delhi, Union of India

Cause of death: Assassination (three bullets in the chest)

Other names: Mahatma Gandhi, Bapu

Known for: Prominent figure of Indian independence movement, Propounding the philosophy of Satyagraha and Ahimsa Religion Hinduism

Wife: Kasturba Gandhi

Children: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, Devdas

Parents: Putlibai Gandhi (Mother), Karamchand Gandhi (Father)

Ethical Values and Principles

Truth (Satya)

Non-Violence (Ahisma)

Vegetarianism

Self-Discipline (Brahmacharya)

Simplicty

Faith

Non-Possession (Aparigraha)

Equality (Savra Dharma Samanata)

Child Hood:

• Mother has great influence on him
• Child marriage with Kasturbai at the age of 13

Academic Career:

• Average Student
• Problems with entry test for college
• Unhappy: family wanted him to become barrister
• 4. September 1888 goes to study in London
• Made vow to observe the Hindu precepts
• Experiments with english customs: Takes dance lessons

Time in London

• Could not eat food “at home” => always hungry
• Found vegetarian resturant
• Joined the vegetarian society
• Got elected to executive committee
• Some vegetarians made him join the Theosophical Society
• Society studies Buddhist and Hindu literature
• Gandhi became interested in religion
• Reads Hindu and Christians scriptures
• Passed his final exam 10 June 1891
• Went to India 12 June 1891
• His mother died while he was in London (family kept quiet because of his studies)

Back in India

• Problems finding job
• Has to quit job as he runs foul of british officer
• Accepts job in South Africa because of bad circumstances

Gandhi in South Africa

• Experienced racism
• Starts to think about the place he has in society
• Extends stay-over
• Wants to support Indian’s trying to get the right to vote
• Helps to found Natal Indian Congress
• Forms a unified Indian political force
• 1906: Transvaal government wants to count Indian population

=> Mass protest in Johannesburg on 11th September

• Government was successful repressing Indian
• Public was shocked of violence used against peaceful Indians

=> South African General had to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi

• Satyagraha got developed

Role in World War I

• Recruits Indians for war
• Will not hurt / kill anybody
• Says that it is important to know how to use weapons

Champaran and Kheda (Regions of India)

• First big political success (1918): Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha
• Bad situation: dirty, unhygienic, alcoholism
• British want to increase tax
• Opens ashram
• Gains confidence of villagers
• Starts clean-up, building schools etc.
• Gets arrested for allegedly causing unrest=> Big protest in front of prison
• Freed he negotiates contract which gives farmers more rights
• Becomes famous=> Names like Bapu (= Father) and Mahatma (= Great Soul) develop

Non-cooperation movement

• Gandhi’s weapons: non-cooperation, non-violence, peaceful resistance
• Violence from British side => Indian react with violence
• Gandhi criticizes both sides
• Holds speech: No violence can be justified
• => Gandhi’s objective: complete individual, spiritual, political independence of India (Swaraj)
• 1921 Gandhi becomes Leader of National Indian Congress
• => Reorganizes party for national mass appeal
• => Membership for little fee
• Swadeshi policy: Boycott of foreign made goods, especially British
• Khadi: Should wear home-spun cloth
• Also boycott British educational institutes, jobs, law-courts, titles and honors
• Campaign has great success
• Called off because of violence
• 3rd time big campaign gets called off by Gandhi
• 15.000 supporters jailed
• Arrested 10 March 1922 => 6 years jail because of sedition, early release in 1924 (illness)
• National Congress splinters in 2 sections: Make own laws <=> use British laws
• Hindu and Muslim cooperation reduces
• Gandhi couldn’t restore old state

Salt Satyagraha (Salt March)

• Stays out of active politics in 1920s
• 1928 returns to the fore
• British government: New constitution commission without Indian representative
• =>Boycott of commission by Indian parties
• Congress (Dec 1928): Dominion status or non-cooperation with complete Independence
• Ultimatum: 1 year, Mahatma refers to views of Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru
• British don’t respond
• => 31 Dec 1929 India declares it’s Independence
• 26 January 1930: Indian Independence Day

• Satyagraha, cause: Tax on salt in March
• Salt March( 12 Mar – 6 April):
  • 388 km Ahmedabad to coastal Dandi
  • Wants to make salt himself
  • Thousands join
  • One of most successful campaign
• Britains jail over 60.000 people
• Lord Edward Irwin negotiates with Gandhi
• => Gandhi – Irwin Pact
• Britain: Frees all political prisoners
• India: Stops civil disobedience
• Mahatma invited to Round Table Congress London
• Disappointment: no discussion of power transfer
• Successor of Irwin: New campaign subduing nationalist movement
• => Gandhi gets imprisoned and isolated from followers (no use)
• 1932: Role in granting rights to vote to the class of untouchable ends in 3 assassination attempt (1934)
• => Leaves congress party
• Returns to politics 1936
• Wants focus on independence
• Accepts socialism as goal
• Conflict with Subhas Bose (president 1938): Contra Democracy, Non-violence
  • Bose resigned. Cause: Mass-resignment because of abandonment of Gandhi’s principles

Partition of India

• Plebiscite (=Volksabstimmung) about partition
• Riots => Gandhi goes and stops them
• Gandhi makes strong efforts to unite the Indian Hindus, Muslims and Christians

Assassination

• 30 January 1948: Shot by Nathuram Godse
• His last words maybe: “Oh God”
• Godse and his co-conspirator Narayan Apte executed on 15 November 1949

Sources

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9UxHwUfG2qQ/TGiyUAVcAOI/AAAAAAAAA0k/QUcHJbggIXI/s1600/mahatmagandhi.jpg

http://www.kurzbiografie.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/mahatmagandhi.jpg

http://www.slideshare.net/parthav_funny/mahatma-gandhi-presentation-961337

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi

dict.leo.org
translate.google.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha

en.wikipedia.org
maps.google.com

http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/80/Putlibai_Gandhi.jpg

http://www.mkgandhi.org/gphotgallery/1869-1914/images/d.jpg

https://geniusmothers.com/genius-mothers-of/governors-politicians/Putlibai-Gandhi/

http://hausaufgabenweb.de/deutsch/biografie/gandi/

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mahatma_ghandi.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/gandhi_mohandas.shtml

http://www.schulnote.de/Mahatma%20Ghandi_2476_hausaufgabe_referat.html

 

Download Handout