"My life is my message"
Gandhi's response to a journalist's question
about what his message to the world was
Karamchand Gandhi (his real name) was born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandar, a province of India. His father was a businessman and later a local politician and his mother a deeply religious woman (later, he said that she was nearly like a holy being for him). Because of his father, he belonged to the high Vaishya caste. His education was special: He had to fast to punish himself for his mistakes and he was told not to hurt living things and to tolerate other religions and sects. His family had lots of friends from other religions like the Jainism (living without violence in daily life) In 1883, as he was 12 or 13, he married the same old Kasturba, which was aranged by their parents because of the traditions of this time. By the way this marriage lasted until the dead of Kasturba in 1944, they had 4 children.As he was 18, Ghandi had the chance to go to Britain 
to study jurisprudence (law) and he leaped at this chance. There were a few problems because of his truth, the Hinduism, which was hard to follow in this very different world "Britain", but Gandhi went. He even accepted that he was banished from his caste, he was a "Parias" now. In 1891, as he was 22, he finished his study and went back to India where he tried the first times to be a lawyer, but he had a big problem: He was very shy and not self-confident, so he couldn't speak in front of the judge. Two years later he embraced an offer and went to South Africa to act for Indian immigrants. In this time, the imperialism and apartheid prevailed; Britain was a big power which dominated and ruled for example India and South Africa. The "whites" had all rights while the "others", the Indian, the South African (Zulus etc.) were repressed and treated like mud.
Gandhi went to South Africa without being informed about this conditions. He had different experiences which left their mark and formed his thinking: For example he was banished from a train, because he refused to go to the third class although he had a first class ticket; A "white" fellow passenger didn't want to travel with an Indian. Or an other experience: Gandhi was hit by a couchman, because he didn't want to leave his place for a European.
In this time, Gandhi began to lead protest marches and to develop his Satyagraha concept. "Satyagraha" is a term of him which means something like "stick to the truth". In life it was his kind to protest against repressing laws. He and his "followers" (he became a kind of leader) breaked the law and provoked a punishment or an arrest. In this way, they catched the attention of others, brought them to support them to and could stop the law often. Gandhi often get the abolition of a law, but the British colonial rule introduced a new repressing law all this times.
In 1915, after 20 years, Gandhi went back to India where he get the title "Mahatma" which means "big soul". There he fought for the Indian independence since 1920; India was ruled by Britain and wasn't a self-determined country; The Indians were poor and exploited. For example a farm: The farmer was a Britain always and the "little" workers who had to pay charges, hunger and poverty was wide-spread.
For his fight, Gandhi used his principle of Satyagraha and fought without violence. Millions went this way with him. Gandhi also lead the Indian Nation Congress (INC) which growed to a mass movement with Moslems and Hindus.
He organised demonstrations and protest actions like the 'salt marsh'. The problem was that Britain had introduced the salt monopol, so just Britains could obtain salt and trade with it. For the salt marsh, Gandhi and a lot of other people went 240 kilometres to the sea where they obtained salt and traded with it. So they reached that the Britains arrested a lot of Indians, also Gandhi.
(I saw a biography of Gandhi and somebody told that Gandhi asked for a glass of warm water after his arrest and as he get it, he put out a little bag with light powder and put something from it to the glass. As a high political Britain asked what it was, Gandhi said in a nice and friendly way: "This is salt which I obtained illegal from the Indian ocean.")
From 1942 to 1944 he demanded offical and public the immediatly Indian independence ("quit India!"). With this demand, he just spoke for all the Indians (If I don't remember wrong 300 millions, but all right 1/5 of the world population!). Then in 1947 Great Britain announced the Indian independence, Indian was free now! But the Britains announced also the division into the majority moslem Pakistan and the majority hinduism India. The consequence was that there were mass emigrations and fights between Moslems and Hindus: 500.000 people died in only a few weeks. With this trend one of Gandhis biggest dreams was destroyed: He dreamed of a united India with Moslems, Hindus and people of other religions which live in peace together. Gandhi thought that he had failed and began to fasten. So he reached that the fights became smaller and the Hindus and Moslems began to thought.
Then it was the 30th January 1948 when Gandhi went to a public garden to pray with lots of other people. There, a Hindu bowed down before Gandhi, get up and shot him three times.
I found out even more than I wrote down and I wrote down a lot. What I can short say is that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma ('big soul') Gandhi, was an impressive and strong-willed person. He fought for the civil rights of Indians in South Africa and 'Parias' in the Hinduism society and in front of all, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi fought for the freedom of 300 million people.
Pictures (in the right order):
(Gandhi as child)
(Gandhi's wife and children)
(Gandhi and a man in South Africa)
(Gandhi and others during the salt march)
(Gandhi in front of Indians)
Very nice article about an important person of our world's history! Well done and thank you!
ReplyDeletePlease don't write: "wrote down"... "I've written" is more suitable here :-) + "What I can shortLY say :-)"