Movie Notes – Gandhi

(To help you understand major events in the film)

Terms to know:

  • Mohandas Gandhi – Gandhi’s born name
  • “Mahatma” means “Great Soul”
  • “Bapu” means “Father”
  • Gandhiji – When you see “ji” added to the end of a Hindu name, it designates honor, devotion, and respect. You will hear them call Gandhi this throughout the movie, sometimes with groups chanting Gandhiji.
  • “Cooley” and “Sammy” – Derogatory names used to describe the lower caste Indians.
  • Pandit Nehru – Becomes 1st prime minister of India
  • Mohammed Ali Jinnah – Becomes 1st prime minister of Pakistan
  • Sardar Patel – Hindu leader and supporter of the Indian independence movement

Progression of Events:

  • 1893 in South Africa—Gandhi is thrown off the train because he was riding in 1st class as a “colored” man. In South Africa at this time, apartheid laws were strict. All non-whites were required to carry pass cards and were restricted from certain parts of town. For example, non-whites were not allowed to walk on the city sidewalks. Gandhi moved to South Africa straight out of British law school (remember that India and South Africa were parts of the British Empire at this time). Gandhi had never experienced such persecution and that event on the train changed his life forever.
  • Gandhi’s first official protest involved the burning of the unfair Pass Cards. His friend was arrested and Gandhi was beaten for his part in the protest.
  • Shortly after this, Gandhi and some friends/supporters built their own community where people of all races and religions were welcome to live together. He was struggling with South African apartheid legislation, religious persecution, and Indians persecuting one another with the caste system. Gandhi wanted to combat ALL of these evils.
  • General Smut (South African leader for the British) passed new laws persecuting the Indian immigrants. His laws stated that all Indians must be fingerprinted and that no marriages other than Christian marriages would be considered legal or acknowledged by the government (most Indian citizens were Hindu so they would not have had a Christian marriage). British soldiers were given the privilege to walk in any Indian house at any time, with no need for a search warrant, cause, etc. Famous quotes at this protest:
  • “For this cause, I too am prepared to die…but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.”
  • “They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then they will have my dead body, NOT my obedience.”
  • Sidenote: Notice at the end of this protest that everyone stands in agreement with Gandhi’s non-violent plan. In order to trick the British soldiers into standing with them, Gandhi begins singing the British national anthem.
  • Gandhi and other Indian citizens in South Africa march to protest the unfair new laws. They carried signs that said, “We are citizens of the empire” to try to get the British to acknowledge them as human beings and citizens deserving of equal rights.
  • Sidenote: Many of the Indians living in South Africa at that time were immigrants who moved there to work in the mines. When they refused to go back to work and continued their protest, the British charged at them on horseback. The Indians’ quick thinking saved their lives! They laid down on the ground and confused the horses (horses won’t move if they are unsure of their footing).
  • British Christians walked out of church when Charlie Andrews, Gandhi’s preacher friend, spoke about the injustices towards the Indians.
  • Gandhi was imprisoned several times in his life, mostly for “sedition”, which is like treason, and for “disturbing the peace.” When we see him in prison in South Africa, he is concerned about the men giving up. His friend said, “They won’t give up. I’ve never seen men so determined! You’ve given them a way to fight.”
  • General Smut gives up and asks the laws to be repealed. He pulls Gandhi out of prison and speaks with him to ensure that the protests in South Africa will end now. Gandhi agrees and returns to India for the first time in years (since before he went to law school). Gandhi sails 3rd class and dressed as a “cooley” to honor the men he met in prison (many were servants and untouchables; lower castes in India). He began to draw attention not only to the inequalities between the British and Indians but also to the inequalities found in the caste system in his own country.
  • When Gandhi returns, he receives a hero’s welcome, but was uncomfortable with the attention. He is immediately rushed to meet key leaders in India’s growing independence movement (Nehru, Jinnah, Patel, etc.), who have heard about Gandhi’s works in South Africa and hope that he will join them in the fight for “home rule.”
  • Gandhi realizes that he knows little about India. A professor encourages him to “get to know her,” so he travels his country by train for over a year learning more about his country and all of the issues at hand. Only after he sees the “real” India will he feel comfortable speaking on its behalf.
  • Indian National Congress cries for home rule, but Gandhi sees no difference between them and the British because both are led by elite ruling classes. He wants to find equal representation for ALL Indians and find representation for India’s 700,000 villages. His message is not necessarily popular at first because unifying India would mean abolishing the traditional castes.
  • Gandhi now wears a loin cloth. “These are my clothes now. If I want to become one with them, I must be like them.” He begins protesting the British merchantile system by encouraging Indians to spin their own cloth and only wear “homespun” fabric.
  • While Gandhi is still in prison, Indians meet at a Sikh temple to discuss their nonviolent protests. The British are angry to find them meeting and bring in their troops. This is known as the “Amritsar Massacre.” 1516 Indian casualties with only 1650 bullets! If Gandhi had not been imprisoned, he would most likely have been killed here.
  • Gandhi adopts a British daughter (Mirabelle). She was the daughter of a congressman whose family did not agree with her political beliefs. She was welcomed into Gandhi’s family.
  • Gandhi and his supporters burned all British cloth to defy the British and their continued mercantile system, which made the Indians grown cotton and indigo to be sent back to Britain, turned into clothes, and was sold back to Indians at a high price.
  • Gandhi fasts due to the marching, riots, and police killings. Indians stop, but the British arrest him for sedition and sentence him to 6 years in prison anyway.
  • Porbandar State: Gandhi’s birthplace. Gandhi and his wife go back to visit and renew their wedding vows shortly after he gets out of prison.
  • Salt March to sea (240 miles) to make salt. A royal monopoly on salt makes it illegal for anyone to make salt. It must be bought (with a high tax) from the British.
  • Symbolism: The environment of India is coastal. Most living things in India require water and salt to live. The British control of salt symbolized the control of India to the people there. Defying the British was symbolic of taking back control.
  • Sidenote: they arrived at the sea to make salt on the anniversary of the Amritsar massacre. The world press did not miss this symbolism!
  • Congress officials are put in jail despite their non-violent resistance.
  • Dharasana Saltworks – Indians march to try to take back control. British soldiers beat the Indians with clubs as their wives pull them aside and try to treat the wounded, until they all collapse from exhaustion. Notice that the press is there. They had become very interested in India’s independence movement.
  • 1937 Gandhi goes to London for round table discussions regarding India’s independence. He meets with Prime Minister Ramsey McDonald, but India did not receive independence. The British become involved in WWII and Gandhi believed that they should not take advantage of the British while they were preoccupied with war. India’s independence movement is put on hold temporarily until after the war is over. Gandhi said, “We have come a long way with the British. When they leave, we want to see them off as friends.” Not everyone agreed, but most went along with him anyway.
  • Gandhi arrested again for speaking out against World War II (Hitler).
  • While in prison, Gandhi’s wife, Kasturba Gandhi, dies of a heart condition.
  • August 1947 – India and Pakistan gain their independence. A mass migration begins. Muslims in India want to move to Pakistan. Hindus left in Pakistan to move to India. A border war begins. Gandhi fasts (refuses to eat/drink) until the fighting stops claiming, “I cannot watch the destruction of all I’ve lived for.” Eventually it stops and he eats again.
  • Gandhi assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu extremist conspiracy (killer was Nathuram Godse, who was later hanged for this crime). They were afraid that Gandhi would give away too much to the Muslims and wanted India to be a Hindu-only country.