Mohandas
Gandhi
Mohandas
Gandhi was born in India on October 2, 1869. He was the youngest of three sons.
While in school, Gandhi was an average student. He did not have the best grades
or the most friends. He was kind of shy around other students. However, he was
very proud of things he had one, like the fact that he had never told his
parents or teachers a lie. In 1883, he married Kasturbai, the daughter of a
merchant. Gandhi wanted to become a doctor, but his schooling was not very
good. He failed at his first attempt of college and returned home. Some thought
he should go to Great Britain and study law. At the time, the British ruled
India. Going to Great Britain would cost money, but Gandhi did not have any
money. His older brother Laxmidas controlled the family’s property due to his
father’s death. In order to get money, the family property and Monhandas’
wife’s jewelry would have to be sold. Laxmidas believed in Gandhi and was
willing to sell the property. Mondandas’ wife did not want to sell her jewelry.
The leaders of his caste did not want him to go. It was against the rules of
his caste to take an ocean voyage. They said they would expel him from the
caste if he went. This meant that no member of the caste could give him any
help.
Mohandas was a Hindu. The rules of
their religion forbid him to eat meat. In high school, Mohandas’ best friend
was Muslim. His name was Sheikh Mehtab. Mehtab made fun of the Hindu rules
against eating meat. Gandhi wanted to be as a good as the British. Indians were
usually smaller and less physically powerful than the British. Many thought
this was because the British ate meat. Mehtab encouraged Gandhi to eat meat. He
secretly began to eat meat for a year, but he stopped so that his parents would
not catch him. While he was at college, he began reading books on being a
vegetarian and proudly followed the lifestyle his parents had taught him. He
also studied the Bible, the teachings of Buddha, and the words of an Indian
poet. The idea of returning love for hatred, and good for evil, fascinated him.
After graduation from law school,
Gandhi struggled as a lawyer in India. In April of 1893, he got a job
representing a Muslim trader in South Africa. Many Indians lived in South
Africa. While he did legal work, Gandhi discovered that Indians were treated
badly by the white South Africans. Just as Gandhi was preparing to leave South
Africa for home, he noticed a newspaper article about a proposed law that would
take the right to vote away from Indians. Gandhi suggested that the Indians
should protest. He decided to remain in South Africa and fight for civil rights
for Indians.
One of the things that the Indians
did not like was unfair taxes. The British taxed the land owned by Indians. The
British also controlled all the salt which they sold to the Indians at a
profit. Protests against British rule increased. The British army was used to
break up protests. At one place, the British shot 1,500 Indians, killing 379.
Gandhi decided to lead a protest against the salt tax. The idea was for the
protesters to collect their own salt. Gandhi began his march to the coast to
gather salt with 79 followers. By the time the protests reached the coast,
there were 2,500 people with Gandhi. The British had no intention of letting
the Indians gather their own salt. The British protected the coast with 400
policemen armed with steel-tipped sticks and 25 men with rifles.
During the years of protesting
British rule in India, Gandhi and some of his followers were put in jail many
times. However, the protests did not stop
during the time Gandhi was in prison. In time, almost every Indian living in
India was following Gandhi’s lead. In 1942, Gandhi’s work helped reach one of
his goals. On August 15, 1947, India gained independence. Gandhi would not be
able to enjoy the results of his work for very long. On January 27, 1948, he
was shot while going to evening prayer.
Gandhi’s mission was peace and civil
rights. He did not want to be considered a prophet or a philosopher. “There is
no such thing as Gandhism,” he warned, “and I do not want to leave any sect
after me.” He worked very hard for what he felt was right, but he did it in a
way that was non-violent. Gandhi did not think that violence would change the
mind of the British. In his footsteps, Nelson Mandela and Marin Luther King,
Jr. also fought for civil rights in a non-violent way.
Processing Questions
1. How are Nelson Mandela and Gandhi
alike?
a. Both wanted to be free from the
British
b. Both believed in peaceful protest
c. Both wanted to overthrow the government
d. Both became president of their
countries
2. What is civil disobedience?
a. A peaceful form of political protest
b. Breaking the laws and causing harm to
others
c. Getting arrested for speaking out
against the government
d. Overthrowing the government
3. Why did Gandhi want India to be free
from the British?
a. He wanted to become president
b. He wanted to get rid of the caste
system
c. He wanted all citizens to have equal
rights
d. He wanted the Muslims and Hindus to
get along
Gandhi Sensory Figure
DIRECTIONS: Write 2 sentences for each box from the perspective of Mohandas Gandhi.
I thought....
I said.....
I believe....
I heard....
I saw.....
I touched....
I traveled/walked....
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