India- Unit 2.2 Flashcards
What does Mahatma mean?
- means ‘great souled’
- usually refers to any great person in India, title of love and respect
What were Gandhi’s aims?
- Satyagraha- truth and non-violence
- respect for parents
- not to touch meat or wine
- improve the life of ‘untouchables’
- adopt a peasant lifestyle and reject western technology
- Hindus and Muslims to work together
- cleanliness and good habits as important as prayer
What were Gandhi’s methods?
- set up Ashram
- led the people’s protest= shops closed, people stopped going to work, bonfires with clothes
- chakras
- fasting
- Swaraj/ ‘Quit India’ Movement
- defines British making salt= went on salt March
- educated- studied law in Britain- threat to British
What is Satyagraha?
⚡️Sanskrit words meaning ‘truth’ and ‘obstinacy’. The word described Gandhi’s philosophy; he argued that every single individual was created to search for the truth
What is ashram?
🌾These were rural communities of fellow believers and followers. Living in an ashram involved renouncing all sexual relationships
What is charka?
🎯a spinning wheel. Gandhi believed that daily spinning by India’s leaders would bring them into closer contact with peasant life
What is fasting?
🍞The refusal to eat. Gandhi understood this 17 times.
What is dhoti?
🥻Gandhi discarded western clothes and began wearing a traditional Indian men’s garment, emphasising that all Indian clothes should be made from locally made cloth
What is ahimsa?
-a Sanskrit word meaning ‘not to harm’. Describes the non-violence used by Gandhi and his followers
What is swaraj?
-a Sanskrit word which generally means self-governance or “self-rule”. The word usually refers to Gandhi’s concept for Indian Independence from the British.
What is Jihad?
Arabic word meaning ‘struggle’ or ‘resisting’. It has come to mean a Muslim holy war.
How did Gandhi campaign?
- boycotting the law courts
- withhold taxes
- refusal to buy imported goods
- leave all government posts
- refuse invitations to social events run by the Raj
- remove children from government schools
- hand back all titles and decorations awarded by the Raj
- boycott elections to the new legislative assemblies
= all ahimsa (nonviolent protests and Satyagraha but NOT YET SWARAJ (self-rule))
What were the successes of the campaign?
- some realistic eg: mass refusal to pay taxes-would eventually stop most government departments functioning
- some methods of Satyagraha eg: some SUCCESSFUL boycott of student examinations, 200 lawyers stopped work, voters stayed away in 1920 elections, Indians didn’t attend official ceremonies such as in Calcutta 1921
- congress acquired deeper understanding of peasant’s needs through Satyagraha
- more “excitement” of change, growing ability to understand local grievances
- broader campaign for Swaraj
- Gandhi focused on areas of India where he knew campaigns would not fall to mobs
What were the failures of congress campaigns 1920-22:
- unrealistic eg: lawyers are not likely to leave practices- want children to have an education
- million’s of Indians unwilling/ unable to do concept of Satyagraha= followed own agendas and attempted to drive through new initiatives
- violence in provinces eg: in Bombay, hartal turned into 4 days of looting and rioting-53 dead and hundreds injured
- people not ready for self-discipline to make Satyagraha effective or concept wrong?
- Gandhi was arrested and charged with promoting disaffection. He was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
- feb 1922- mob of congress supporters torched a police station- killing 22
- in Punjab, Hindus forced Muslims to ‘purify’ themselves
- Muslims declared a jihad, killing British people. Forced conversion to a Islam
What should be the purpose of fighting back be according to Gandhi? What should it not be?
- fight for change and for justice
- better ways then violence
-punishment= leave to God
Why does Gandhi leave his Ashram? What are the problems?
-British landlords still charging rent- buying British cloth instead of Indian- no money for food- starvation
How does Gandhi defeat the British in the courts?
- gets rid of all British in Home Rule League- need to show can do by themselves
- refuses to co-operate= accepts charges willingly, boycotts eg: won’t lay for bail and boycotts any of court decisions
How does Gandhi choose to travel? Why do you think he does this?
- preferred food walk instead of drive
- Goes to Jinnah’s house
Why is Nehru anti-terrorist tactics?
- justify British repression
- following
What does Gandhi suggest to protest against the British Rule?
-active- make day of prayer and fasting= no administration, work…= hartals
What is the British reponses to Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Campaign?
-clubbing and killing Indian people back
Did Gandhi’s campaigns stay non-violent? What was his response to this?
-no riots breaking out
What is the British Army’s response to Indian meetings in Amritsar ?
- 1919
- Mass shootings
- sepoys (Indian Soldiers) doing it
- 1516 casualties, 1600 bullets
What is General Dyer’s reason for the massacre?
- had chance
- no provision for casualties
- divided response
What are Gandhi’s successes with these early campaigns?
- some of British consented to demands
- hartals, boycotts
- growing Indian following and unity of Home Rule Leagues (working together)
- prayer and fasting= new ideas and methods
- not just Gandhi but division in Raj itself- some signs of sympathy
What are Gandhi’s failures with these early campaigns?
- divide in Indian people- violent and non-violent= radicals and moderate
- consequences (violence)=Amritsar, British authority and control
- keeps being put in prison
- at first people don’t get him/ideas= not yet widespread/ methods understood eg: not wearing western clothes, judging Nehru themselves (caste system)
- long term
- misunderstood= not all following, population- get ‘not ready’
- long term= more power Gandhi gets, Jinnah more resentful, wants own ideas and agendas
How has Gandhi dressed himself on his return to India? What is his reason for this?
- same as comrades- traditional clothing-dhoti
- in prison, appealing to Indian people, against British clothing
Why is Gandhi a hero on his return to India? Is he ready for this role?
- congress party
- challenged British Empire
- not ready for concepts and philosophies