Nationalism and Nonviolence in India WHAP/Napp
Do Now:
This passage was written by Mohandas Gandhi to help explain how India can become free.
…EDITOR: Passive resistance is a method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms. When I refuse to do a thing that is repugnant [offensive] to my conscience, I use soul-force. For instance, the Government of the day has passed a law which is applicable to me. I do not like it. If by using violence I force the Government to repeal the law, I am employing what may be termed body-force. If I do not obey the law and accept the penalty for its breach, I use soul-force. It involves sacrifice of self.
Everybody admits that sacrifice of self is infinitely superior to sacrifice of others. Moreover, if this kind of force is used in a cause that is unjust, only the person using it suffers. He does not make others suffer for his mistakes. Men have before now done many things which were subsequently found to have been wrong. No man can claim that he is absolutely in the right or that a particular thing is wrong because he thinks so, but it is wrong for him so long as that is his deliberate judgment. It is therefore meet [proper] that he should not do that which he knows to be wrong, and suffer the consequence whatever it may be. This is the key to the use of soul-force…
Source: M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, Navajivan Publishing House, 1946
What contribution did Mohandas Gandhi make to the Indian independence movement according to this document?
______
Notes:
I. Mohandas K. Gandhi
A. Indian nationalist
B. Nonviolent activist
1- Believed in Satyagraha
a) Truth-force; goodness prevails
2- Boycott of British Cloth
a) Encouraged Indians to stop buying foreign products
1. Made imperialism less profitable
3- Civil disobedience
a) To break an unjust law
b) Noncooperation with injustice
1. Salt March
a. Gandhi and followers marched to Sea
b. Made salt, broke law
4- Leader of Indian National Congress
a) Muslims formed Muslim League
II. Independence in 1947
A. Partitioning of India and Pakistan
1- Riots between Hindus and Muslims
B. Jawaharlal Nehru (First Prime Minister of India
1- Policy of nonalignment or neutrality during Cold War)
Questions:
1- Review Question: Define imperialism.
2- Review Question: Define British East India Company and Sepoy Mutiny.
3- Review Question: What was one effect of the Sepoy Mutiny?
4- Why did the British conquer India?
5- Did imperialism benefit Indians? Prove your answer.
6- Who was Mohandas K. Gandhi and what did he believe?
7- State two facts about the boycott of British cloth.
8- State two facts about the Salt March.
9- Define civil disobedience.
10- Why did Hindu-Muslim rioting occur at independence?
11- State two facts about Jawaharlal Nehru (be certain to include a fact about the policy of nonalignment).
Write four facts from the reading and speech about
Gandhi:
1- ______
2- ______
3- ______
4- ______
1. Which change occurred immediately after the region of British India gained its independence in 1947?(1) India became an ally of the Soviet Union.
(2) India adopted Islam as the official state religion.
(3) The region was partitioned into two separate states.
(4) A military dictatorship took control of the entire region.
2. Which leader is associated with civil disobedience and the Salt March?
(1) Kwame Nkrumah
(2) Jomo Kenyatta
(3) Mohandas Gandhi
(4) Ho Chi Minh
3. Which event in the history of the Indian subcontinent occurred last?
(1) Salt March
(2) Amritsar Massacre
(3) creation of Pakistan
(4) Sepoy Rebellion
4. A major goal of both the Sepoy Mutiny and the Boxer Rebellion was to
(1) remove foreign influences
(2) restore parliamentary government
(3) improve access to civil service examinations
(4) outlaw caste systems
5. The Amritsar Massacre and the Salt March are both associated with the independence movement in
(1) Iraq (3) China
(2) India (4) Kenya
6. Mohandas Gandhi is most closely associated with the
(1) support of violence and terrorism to end
British rule
(2) desire to strengthen the caste system
(3) use of civil disobedience to gain political
freedom
(4) establishment of a national religion in India / 7. People would prefer their own bad government rather than submit to the good government of a foreign power.
Which concept is characterized by this statement?
(1) nationalism (3) socialism
(2) communism (4) militarism
8. The gathering at Amritsar (1919), the rallies in Soweto (1976), and the demonstrations in Tiananmen Square (1989) directly resulted in
(1) rejection of Western ideas
(2) promises of economic reform
(3) movements toward democracy
(4) violence against the protestors
9. Which event in Indian history could be considered a result of the other three?
(1) Salt March
(2) Amritsar Massacre
(3) Sepoy Rebellion
(4) passage of the Independence Act
10. Which statement best describes a problem facing India today?
(1) Democracy has failed to gain popular support.
(2) Religious and ethnic diversity has continued to cause conflict.
(3) A decrease in population has led to labor shortages.
(4) Lack of technology has limited military capabilities.
11. At the end of World War II, the British decided to partition the Indian subcontinent into the nations of India and Pakistan. What was a primary reason for this division?
(1) India had adopted a policy of nonalignment.
(2) Religious differences had led to conflicts between Hindus and Muslims.
(3) Most of India’s valuable resources were located in the south.
(4) British India’s Muslim minority controlled most of India’s banking industry.