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Period: to
Indian Independence
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Mohandas Gandhi
At the age of 19, Gandhi ventured to England to study law. Upon returning to India, he hoped to set up his own law practice. -
Gandhi in South Africa
Instead of setting up his own law practice in India, he joined an Indian law firm in South Africa. South Africa was an area where many Indians had settled with different dispositions. However, all of them endured racial prejudice from the white rulers of South Africa. -
Non-violence
Due to the discrimintation many Indians faced in South Africa, Gandhi fought laws against discrimination. Going against this injustice, he adopted non-violent resistance. He called it "satyagraha" or "soul force". -
Gandhi returns to India
Upon returning to India, Gandhi joined the Congress party. Gandhi's idealogies inspired many Indians of different ethnic backgrounds and religions to resist British rule. Gandhi preached the ancient doctrine of Ahimsa or non-violence and reverence for all life. he used this to fight against British rule, which included the power of love. He believed he could turn wrongdoers to the right thing, even if it involved sacrifice and suffering. -
Civil Disobedience
Gandhi embraced many western and Indian influences. He admired Christian teachings about love, as well as the work of Henry David Thoreau, who believed in civil disobedience (the refusal to obey unjust laws. He urged equal rights for ALL Indians, which included women as well as men. During this time, he launched many non-violent acts against British rule. -
Amristar Massacre
A large group of peaceful protesters gathered in the heart of the city to protest against British rule. British commander, General Reginald Dyer banned public meetings. However Indian leaders continued to address the crowds. So in response, Dyer sent in 50 soldiers to open fire on the crowd, which lasted for 10 minutes, resulting in an unfortunate number of casualties of almost 1500. This was significant to indians because it furthermore convinced them of the evils of British rule. -
Boycott of Bristish goods
Gandhi launched boycotts of Bristish goods. This included textiles, which urged Indians to wear only cotton grown and woven in India. Gandhi also worked hard to restore India's pride in traditional spinning and weaving industries, making the spinning wheel a symbol of the nationalist movement. Many women joined the movement, weaving their own clothes at home. Gandhi inspired Indians to "get rid of our helplessness." His civil disobedience campaigns gained support. -
Salt March- March 12, 1930
Gandhi continued his challenge with Britain. He and 78 followers went on a 240 mile march to the sea. By the time they reached the sea, other joined and the marchers numbered in the thousands. -
Salt March
In 1930, Gandhi set out to end the British salt monopoly. British claimed the sole right to produce and sell salt. They would collect money from the taxed sales on the salt to maintain their gov't in India. Gandhi saw the British salt monopoly as a negative aspect to Indians, since it showed a symbol of British oppression and burdened the poor. Indians were not allowed to touch the natural salt found in the sea, instead, they had to buy the salt sold by the government British rule was a "curse" -
Salt March- April 6, 1930
Gandhi walked into the sea and picked up a lump of sea salt in his hand. Gandhi broke the law. He urged others to follow his lead. Gandhi was afterward arrested and put into jail. His action made other start to collect salt. Congress party leaders even sold salt on the streets of the city. Thousands ended up in prison when Gandhi's campaign gained massive support. -
Salt March embarasses Britain
Many newspapers around the world went against Britain. The newspapers revealed the cruel act that police done on the peaceful protestors such as clubbing them. The Salt March embarassed Britain, which took pride in it democratic traditions. British officials were wrong in jailing Indians who wanted basic freedoms that British were entitled to in their own country. -
Separate Muslim State
The Muslim League gained an able leader in Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He also came from a middle-class background and studied law in England as well. He represented Muslim interests eithin the Congress party. However, he later threw his support behind the idea of a separate Muslim state, calling it Pakistan. -
World War II
India was moving foward with its independence movement when the second world war occurred. Indian leaders became more outrage when Britain furthermore postponed further action on independence and bringing India into a war without letting them know. Many nationalists launched a campaign of noncooperation, in which many people were jailed by the Brtitish. However, many Indians did help Britain during WWII. -
WWII Ends
When WWII ended, independence could no longer be put off. A new tragedy occured known as Hindu-Muslim violence, which raged on the Indian subcontinent. -
After WWII
After WWII, Britain finally agreed to the demands by Indian nationalists for independence. However, a new issue appeared on what would happen to the Muslim minority in a Hindu-dominated India. -
Tragedy Unfolds
Drawing up fair borders was not possible, since Hindus and Muslims lived next to each other. In 1947, millions of Hindus and Muslims crossed the borders of India and Pakistan in both directions. During this migration, northern India broke out into extreme violence from years of mistrust from Britain. In result, a million and more died with the majority them being Muslims. -
Muhammad Ali Jinnah/ Two States
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the leader of the Muslim League. He insisted that Muslims would have their own state, called Pakistan. Britain became convinced to divide or partition the subcontinent when riots betweein Hindus and Muslims broke out. In 1947, British officials drew borders to create Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan was made up of two widely separated areas that has large Muslim populations. -
Gandhi is killed
Mohandas Gandhi was horrified at the partition and violence that broke out in northern India, so he turned once again to satyagraha. On the thirtieth of January of 1948, Gandhi was assasinated by a HIndu extremist. "The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere." - Jawaharlal. His death helped end the worst violence, althought tensions between the two groups still existed.