Gandhiji

Peaceful Demands for Independence

  • Sepoy Mutiny

    Sepoy Mutiny
    Rumour was spread among sepoys (Indian soldiers) that rifles were greased with beef and pork fat, and so they had to bite at both ends to use the cartridges. Hindus and Muslims were outraged by this because the Hindus considered the cow a sacred animal, and Muslims didn't eat pork. The soldiers who refused to use them were then sent to jail. And so, on this dat, they rebelled, and marched to the city of Delhi and captured it. This rebellion then spread to northern and central India.
  • British Take Control

    The British government took control over India after the Sepoy Mutiny, and it became the last year in which the East India company was the leading power of India. The British promised to keep the treaties previously made with the East India Company, and to keep the free Indian states independent. However, the British were still continuing to be racist towards Indians and they believed that Indians would never be equal to them.
  • Indian National Congress is Created

    Indian National Congress is Created
    Nationalist feelings began to grow in India because of the class system that made them second-class citizens. They were paid less than the British even though they had the same job, and it was harder for them to gain jobs with higher positions. The growing nationalism led to the creation of the Indian National Congress to help them gain more say in the decisions made for India.
  • Discrimination

    The Indians living in South Africa were discriminated against by the British, and the lawyer, Gandhi, takes notice of this. He then decides that he's against this, and that he will gather people to create equality in the British Empire by peaceful means.
  • First Protest

    Muslim trader takes a stand by burning a pass that’s govt. property and is taken to prison. Gandhi is beaten when he tries to take a stand, so Gandhi and his followers begin to protest against the law of the British Empire and they are all taken prisoners.
  • Muslim League is Created

    Muslim League is Created
    The Muslim League was also created out of the growing nationalism. But besides focusing only on the Indian's concerns, they also focused on calling for self government since 1905.
  • Gandhi Returns

    Gandhi returns to India and his arrival is celebrated. He begins to write a journal in which he expresses his opinions, and many people begin to look for him to talk.
  • Gandhi Refuses

    Gandhi is being held by the British police until the magistrate’s speech, and he refuses to get help from his British friends. Gandhi refuses to do anything like leave India or pay 100 rupees to get out of jail, and this leads to him being released without having to pay.
  • Soldiers Return

    Indian troops return home from the war (WWI), and they were once again treated as second-class citizens. Then, the radical nationalists did violent things to show their hatred towards the British.
  • Rowaltt Acts

    Rowaltt Acts
    British passed the Rowaltt Acts, which were acts that allowed the government to jail protesters without a trial for a maximum of two years.
  • Revolt

    Gandhi organizes a revolt in which all Indians would united in prayer and fasting, and none would go to work.
  • Amritsar Massacre/Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

    Amritsar Massacre/Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
    10,000 Muslims and Hindus went to Amritsar in the spring to protest the Rowaltt Acts, and they intended to fast, pray and listen to speeches. The army comes in and begins to fire at innocent civilians in a garden; many were killed (1615 died) because of following Gandhi and other Indian leaders that had the same opinions as him.
  • Overall

    First, the Indians revolt against the British by burning their cloth that they had bought from them, and by making their own, to show how they didn't need them. Then, in another riot, police hurt some of the Indians, and so the rest of the Indians kill those soldiers. This leads to Gandhi deciding to fast until the revolts stop, which eventually, they do.
  • Civil Disobedience

    The Congress Party endorsed civil disobedience, which was the deliberate and public refusal to obey an unjust law, and nonviolence as a means to achieve independence. Gandhi then launches his campaign for civil disobedience to weaken the British govt. and their econocmic power over India. Gandhi told Indians to refuse to buy British products and so the British struggled to keep factories and everything going, without the Indians.
  • Salt March

    Salt March
    Gandhi organized a demonstration to defy the Salt Acts, which said that Indians could only buy salt from the govt. and had to pay taxes on salt. Gandhi and his followers walked to the seacoast, and there they began to get their own salt. They were then beaten by British soldiers; and a newspaper published this story, leading to people all over the world supporting Gandhi. And this led to about 60,000 people, including Gandhi, getting arrested.
  • Govt. of India Act

    British Parliament passed the Govt. of India Act, in which Indians had local self-govt. and limited democratic elections, but not complete independence. This act also fueled tensions between Hindus and Muslims
  • India Gains Independence

    India Gains Independence
    British House of Commons passes an act that granted India and Pakistan independence in one month’s time (separation due to Muslims and Hindus both being able to rule their own separate country, so Muslims, who lived in northern India would become the new nation of Pakistan). During that month, more than 500 native princes had to choose which nation to join, and everything had to be divided between the two nations.
  • Gandhi is Killed

    Gandhi went to the Indian capital of Delhi to plead for fair treatment of Muslim refugees. Gandhi is then murdered by a Hindu extremist who thought Gandhi too protective of Muslims.
  • Cease-Fire Over Kashmir

    Cease-Fire Over Kashmir
    After Gandhi was killed India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir.
    This continued until the UN decided to cease-fire in 1949 and the decision to have both rule over different parts of Kashmir.