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The Rebellion
In 1857, gossip spread among the sepoys, the Indian soldiers, that the cartridges of their new Enfield rifles were greased with beef and pork fat. To use the cartridges, soldiers had to bite off the ends. Both Hindus, who con- sider the cow sacred, and Muslims, who do not eat pork, were outraged by the news. The next day, on May 10, 1857, the sepoys rebelled. They marched to Delhi, where they were joined by Indian soldiers stationed there. They captured the city of Delhi. From Delhi, the rebelli -
In 1858 the British government took direct command of India. The part of India that was under direct British rule was called the Raj.
In 1858 the British government took direct command of India. The part of India that was under direct British rule was called the Raj. -
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in Porbandar, India.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in Porbandar on the northwest coast of India. His parents are not educated but are well off compared to others in their village, which allows them to provide a good education for their son. -
Gandhi marries Kasturbai Makhanji in an arranged marriage.
At the age of 13, Gandhi marries 14 year-old Kasturbai Makhanji. Following the customs of their region, the children are part of an arranged marriage. They will have four children together. -
Indian Self-Government
The Indian National Congress in 1885 and the Muslim League in 1906. At first, such groups concentrated on specific concerns for Indians. By the early 1900s, however, they were calling for self-government. -
Gandhi goes to London to enter law school.
Gandhi begins studies at University College London. He studies Indian law and also joins the Vegetarian Society while there. Gandhi avoids eating meat or drinking alcohol throughout his life. -
Gandhi returns to India to start his career as a lawyer.
After completing his studies, Gandhi returns to India to start a law practice in Bombay. However, too shy to speak up in court, Gandhi's attempts to be a lawyer fail and he accepts various other jobs in legal firms. -
Gandhi goes to South Africa to work for a Muslim Indian law firm.
Gandhi agrees to travel to South Africa to help a Muslim Indian law firm with a lawsuit. He is shocked by the racial discrimination he finds there when he learns he is not allowed to travel in the first class section of the train. The trip becomes a major turning point for him as he devotes his life to the pursuit of equality and justice. -
Gandhi publishes "The Green Pamphlet."
Gandhi writes a pamphlet about the discrimination Indians face in South Africa. Great Britain, which controls South Africa, believes that "The Green Pamphlet" is an anti-government document and begins to view Gandhi as a troublemaker. -
Gandhi is refused entry into South Africa.
Realizing that he is going to be staying in South Africa, Gandhi returns to Bombay to get his wife and children so he can bring them to South Africa. When their ship arrives at Port Natal in South Africa, a mob of angry white men, angry that he is stirring up trouble among the Indians, refuse to let Gandhi's family into the country. A local police superintendent helps Gandhi and his family leave the ship safely and he refuses to press charges on the mob. -
Foreign Rule
Two groups formed to rid India of foreign rule: the primarily Hindu Indian National Congress, or Congress Party, in 1885, and the Muslim League in 1906. -
Gandhi asks the Indian community of South African to refuse to comply with the Transvaal Asiatic Registration Act.
When the Transvaal government announces that all Indians must register and produce identification on demand or risk deportation, Gandhi asks Indians to peacefully resist. The Indians agree, setting off seven years of protest and struggle between the Indians and government. -
Gandhi is arrested for the first time.
Among the first to see the court magistrate for his refusal to register with the government in South Africa, Gandhi is arrested and spends all of his time in prison reading. When he is arrested later that year, he reads "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau and is even more committed to peaceful resistance. -
Gandhi is given the title Mahatma.
Rabindranath Tagore, and Indian poet and Nobel Laureate, refers to Gandhi for the first time as Mahatma. The title means "Great Soul" and is given by Hindus to only the holiest men. Gandhi is not fond of it because he believes all souls are equal. -
Hatred Against British
Indian troops returned home from the war. They expected Britain to fulfill its promise. Instead, they were once again treated as second-class citizens. Radical nationalists carried out acts of violence to show their hatred of British rule. -
Rowlatt Acts
The British passed the Rowlatt Acts. These laws allowed the government to jail protesters without trial for as long as two years. To Western-educated Indians, denial of a trial by jury violated their individual rights. -
Civil Disobedience
The Congress Party endorsed civil disobedience, the deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust law, and non- violence as the means to achieve independence. Gandhi then launched his campaign of civil disobedience to weaken the British government’s authority and economic power over India. -
Gandhi publishes the Declaration of Independence of India.
Having returned to India as a hero in 1915, Gandhi leads the movement to break away from Great Britain. He publishes the Declaration of Independence of India, representing the Indian National Congress, and makes his case for Indian independence. -
Gandhi leads the Salt March in India.
Forced to buy salt only from Britain, Gandhi protests the monopoly by leading the Salt March from Sabermanti to the Arabian Sea, 240 miles away. Gandhi led tens of thousands of people by the time they reached the sea, where they defied the law by making their own salt. Protests break out all across India and 60,000 are arrested, including Gandhi. -
Defy The Salt Acts
Gandhi organized a demonstration to defy the hated Salt Acts. According to these British laws, Indians could buy salt from no other source but the government. -
India Act
The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act. It provided local self-government and limited democratic elections, but not total independence. -
Horror
10 million people were on the move in the Indian subcontinent. As people scrambled to relocate, violence among the different religious groups erupted. Muslims killed Sikhs who were moving into India. Hindus and Sikhs killed Muslims who were headed into Pakistan. With the granting of its independence on August 15, 1947, India became the world’s largest democracy. -
Great Britain grants India and Pakistan their independence.
Calling it the "noblest act of the British nation," Gandhi celebrates India's independence from England. Unfortunately, the celebration does not last when hundreds of thousands of people die as the result of violence between the Muslims of Pakistan and the Hindus of India. -
Gandhi´s Death
A Hindu extremist who thought Gandhi too protective of Muslims shot and killed him on January 30, 1948.