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Birth
Gandhi was born in a small state on the west coast of India. His father was Karamchand, the prime minister of the state in which they lived. He was the second child in his family (Wakin 40). -
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain is the story of a boy growing up next to the Mississippi River. He pulls pranks and solves a murder with his best friend, Huck Finn. He also provides lighthearted humor and captivating insight on human nature. It is loosely based on Mark Twain's own boyhood (Grun). -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony was premiered in St. Petersburg Russia. It is 45 minutes long and was written in two months. It is meant to show depression and self loathing, which is shown by the low key of E minor (Grun). -
Inspiration
Gandhi was inspired to become an Indian rights activist by a white man on the train with him. This man objected to Gandhi riding first class and had him forced off of the train. He spent that night in a railway station where his political ideas began to form. Gandhi himself considered this incident as formative to his career (Clement 30). -
Natal Indian Congress
Mahatma Gandhi founded the Natal Indian Congress in South Africa. He wanted to give Indians who were living there a better voice in politics. It improved things such as education, cooperation, and sanitation for Indians. It was categorized as a political party but had little real power (Wakin 43). -
Satyagraha
Gandhi created the concept of Satyagraha in an effort to protest the Asiatic Registration Act in South Africa. Satyagraha is a form of protesting in which one resists the law without the use of violence. Gandhi announced his idea at a meeting of 3000 Indians in the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg (Ghosh). -
Mother's Day
Mother's Day was first announced in America by President Woodrow Wilson. It was inspired by Anna Jarvis who was a mother who gave up everything to buy gifts for the holidays. Mother's Day celebrations, however, can be traced back all the way to Ancient Greece (Grun). -
Panama Canal
Panama Canal is a passageway for boats that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was made by cutting through central America, more specifically the tiny country of Panama. Prior to the opening of this canal in 1914, one would have to sail all the way around South America to pass to the other ocean (Grun). -
Lowered rent for peasants
The first thing Gandhi did when he returned to India after 20 years was travel to the north to visit the peasants. Upon seeing their poor condition, he began to protest the treatment of them by the landlords. Through his protests he successfully forced the landlords to lower the price of rent (Wakin 46). -
Hartal
Mahatma Gandhi organized a nationwide strike called a hartal. His aim was to protest the application of wartime laws to Indian Independence leaders. Although Gandhi's aim was a peaceful strike where the people fasted and prayed together, people in some parts of India did get violent and vandalize British property (Wakin 47). -
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Time in prison
Gandhi was imprisoned for noncooperation with the British. This was because he would not work with British organizations, institutions, or commerce after the Dyer massacre. He was sentenced for six years but was released after two. During his time in prison he wrote his autobiography, "The Story of my Experiments with the Truth" (Wakin 49). -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 6
Jean Sibelius' sixth symphony was premiered at the Helsinki City Orchestra. He wrote it to serve as pure cold water for a music scene which he felt was getting too complicated. He recieved critism for its simplicity but it is the work which has been most influential for future Finnish composers (Grun). -
Salt March
The Salt March refers to the 240 mile walk Gandhi and 78 of his followers took to the Arabian Sea. It took 24 days and by the end thousands of people from across India were marching with them. They were protesting the tax on salt which made it unattainable for peasants. The point of the march was, when at the destination, to pick up sea salt off the beach. This disobeyed Britain's monopoly on the salt trade, thus protesting the tax . They succeeded despite Gandhi being arrested (Kytle 142-148). -
The 39 Steps
The 39 Steps is a horror movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It revolves around a Canadien who gets involved with a spy ring and is being falsely accused of murder. It is adapted from an action novel by John Buchan (Brun). -
Indian independence
India was declared independent at midnight on August 14 1947. Britain granted independence due to years of being worn down by Gandhi's Satyagraha. India was split into present-day India and Pakistan at this same time to prevent Hindu-Muslim civil war (Wakin 53). -
Assassination
Mahatma Gandhi was assasinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse. He was at a prayer meeting after a long fast when he was shot three times with a pistol. He died with the words, "Oh God," on his lips. This was only a year after reaching his goal of Indian independence (Wakin 53).
