Gandhi Viewing Guide
1919: British General Reginald Dyer bans all public gatherings of Indians because nationalists are growing so demanding regarding Indian independence.
April 13, 1919 à Over 10,000 Indians break the law and gather in a public square in the city Amritsar. General Dyer orders his troops to open fire since the people were breaking the law. About 380 Indians were killed, with another 1,200 injured, either from gunshot wounds or from being trampled as the crowd tried to escape through the square’s one exit.
1920s/1930s: Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, begin to demand a separate nation from the Hindus. The Muslim minority is afraid that when India is in charge of its own government, the Hindu majority will not respect the Muslim minority. The Muslims want their own country to rule. Gandhi wants the Hindus and Muslims to work together as one nations. (Indians working with Indians.)
1930: British laws did not allow Indians to make their own salt from sea water, forcing them to purchase salt from the British. The Indians not only had to pay a higher price, but the British also included heavy taxes on the salt. To protest the salt tax, Gandhi led his followers on a 200 mile march from his home to the coast, where they proceeded to break the law and produce their own salt. Gandhi and approximately 50,000 of his followers were arrested for making their own salt. The rest of the world finally began to take a serious look at the situation which was building throughout India. The Indian Nationalist now had the world’s attention.
1945: By this time, the British were worn out from fighting in World War II as well as the Indians’ refusal to participate or cooperate in the war effort. The time had come for Britain to cut their losses and focus on the domestic issues of their kingdom and Europe. India would no longer be a colony but was granted the independence they had longed for.
1947: The Indian Independence Act was passed making India an independent nation. Along with independence came the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two separate nations. One was India, composed primarily of Hindus with Jawaharlal Nehru as its Prime Minister. The second was Pakistan, which was inhabited mostly by Muslims with Jinnah as its Governor General.
Violence broke out between the Hindus and the Muslims across the subcontinent, resulting in the deaths of over 500,000 Indians. A huge cross country migration took place as Hindus in Pakistan moved to India and Muslims in India moved to Pakistan.
January, 1948: Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist who felt that Gandhi had betrayed his own people by asking for Hindus and Muslims to reconcile.
Gandhi Says:
Scene 1: Amritsar Massacre
What is happening in the opening of the scene?
How does Gandhi propose to achieve India’s independence?
How do the British respond to Gandhi’s words?
What does Gandhi’s wife ask the crowd to do?
Scene 2: India Fights Back
What are the main subjects addressed by Gandhi’s speech?
“An eye for an eye makes ______”
Why does Gandhi begin to fast?
Scene 3: Guilty as Charged
Why was Gandhi arrested?
Scene 4: Civil Disobedience
The British had a royal monopoly on the manufacturing/sale of ______.
Why were the British so determined to hold on to this monopoly?
What was the result of the Salt March?
Scene 5: Independence
Gandhi attends a conference in Britain. While discussing the matter of independence, the British remark that there are “several Indias”. What did he mean and how could this be a problem for independence?
Scene 6: Hindus and Muslims
Jinnah (leader of the Muslim League) – “I will not stand by to see the mastery of the British replaced by the mastery of the Hindus.” – What does he mean by this?
How does Jinnah propose to solve the problem?
à What is the problem with the “solution”?
How does Gandhi respond to this idea?
What happens along the borders between Hindus and Muslims?
Scene 7: Fasting for Peace
Why does Gandhi stay at the home of a Muslim friend? Why is it considered dangerous?
How does the violence finally end between the Hindus and the Muslims?
Scene 8: Assassination
What was Gandhi planning to do right before he was killed?
Why was Gandhi killed?
**Someone like Gandhi could be effective in our world today? Explain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k3gSI1EKcEfeature=related – part 8 – Amritsar Massacre
- walk out? – how does Gandhi propose to achieve India’s independence
- how do the British respond to Gandhi’s words?
- Martyr
- Gandhi’s wife calls for boycotts à homespun movement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfe8nT2s824&feature=related – Part 9 – India fights back
- Gandhi speech – remove untouchables, remove British à non-violence à supports homespun movement
- visited by reporter
- violence between Hindus and Muslims
- eye for eye makes the world go blind
- fasts until they stop the violence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSk2L7uxjPc&feature=related – Part 10 – guilty as charged
- ends fasting
- arrested for sedition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Gasq6qfzU&feature=related – Part 11 – Civil Disobedience
- Salt March – royal monopoly on manufacturing/sale of salt
- symbolic – Absolute control of salt = control of India
- takes more than a “pinch of salt to bring down the British empire”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0at04_Qw7k&feature=related – Part 12 – Independence
- Gandhi goes to Britain à attend conference
- What do they mean by “several India”? How could this be a problem for independence
- arrested for anti-war speech
- wife dies
- end of WWII – Britain decides to give freedom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMP9ET6TIFE&feature=related – Part 13 – Hindus and Muslims
- Jinnah – I will not stand by to see the mastery of the British replaced by the mastery of the Hindus
- proposes separation – what is the problem with partition? (location?)
- I am a …………………..
- border clashes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-CVAycK7U&feature=related – Part 14 – Fasting for Peace
- violence continues
- despite danger, Gandhi stays at the home of a Muslim friend
- final fast
- the violence ends with the fast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydrz1Dl8jUU&feature=related – Part 15 – Assassination
- death of Gandhi