Gandhi
•Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in India on October 2nd, 1869 and studied law in England.
•After practicing law in South Africa during Apartheid, he returned to India in 1914 with a determination that people
should be treated equally, no matter their race or religion.
•He was shocked by the way Indians were segregated and oppressed by British authorities.
•After the Amritsar massacre, Gandhi quit practicing law and decided to devote his life to fighting for the equality of all
Indians.
•He was enraged at how the British discriminated against Indians.
•Gandhi believed it was time for the people of India to stop obeying the unjust British laws.
Nonviolence
•Gandhi did not think that forceful resistance was the right path for Indian independence.
•Instead, he encouraged his followers to practice nonviolent protests against the British in order to bring about social
change.
•Gandhi encouraged Indian followers to disobey unjust British laws in a peaceful manner, without using violence.
Social Change
•Gandhi developed what he called a “system of civil disobedience” and believed that it would make the world
recognize the injustice in India and force change without using violence.
•He believed that acts of goodness produced positive reactions while violence only produced negative ones.
•Gandhi led his followers in economic boycotts, hunger strikes, and nonviolent protests to oppose the unfair treatment
of Indians.
Salt March
•In 1930, Gandhi led a 240-mile march to the ocean to oppose a British tax on salt.
•Guards responded by clubbing and beating the peaceful protestors.
•News of this event spread worldwide and people around the world began to call for the British to grant Indian
independence.
Support
•Even though Gandhi and his followers practiced non-violence, the British authorities did not.
•The Indian protestors suffered brutal beatings and long prison sentences.
•Despite the dangers, more and more Indians followed Gandhi’s wisdom of non-violent resistance and generated
support for nationalism and independence.
Independence
•After fighting in WWII, Britain no longer had enough money or people to keep India under its control.
•Great Britain finally agreed to give up their colonial claims to India.
•On August 15, 1947, the Republic of India was established.
•Today, many Indians credit India’s independence to the efforts of Gandhi.
•Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in India on October 2nd, 1869 and studied law in England.
•After practicing law in South Africa during Apartheid, he returned to India in 1914 with a determination that people
should be treated equally, no matter their race or religion.
•He was shocked by the way Indians were segregated and oppressed by British authorities.
•After the Amritsar massacre, Gandhi quit practicing law and decided to devote his life to fighting for the equality of all
Indians.
•He was enraged at how the British discriminated against Indians.
•Gandhi believed it was time for the people of India to stop obeying the unjust British laws.
Nonviolence
•Gandhi did not think that forceful resistance was the right path for Indian independence.
•Instead, he encouraged his followers to practice nonviolent protests against the British in order to bring about social
change.
•Gandhi encouraged Indian followers to disobey unjust British laws in a peaceful manner, without using violence.
Social Change
•Gandhi developed what he called a “system of civil disobedience” and believed that it would make the world
recognize the injustice in India and force change without using violence.
•He believed that acts of goodness produced positive reactions while violence only produced negative ones.
•Gandhi led his followers in economic boycotts, hunger strikes, and nonviolent protests to oppose the unfair treatment
of Indians.
Salt March
•In 1930, Gandhi led a 240-mile march to the ocean to oppose a British tax on salt.
•Guards responded by clubbing and beating the peaceful protestors.
•News of this event spread worldwide and people around the world began to call for the British to grant Indian
independence.
Support
•Even though Gandhi and his followers practiced non-violence, the British authorities did not.
•The Indian protestors suffered brutal beatings and long prison sentences.
•Despite the dangers, more and more Indians followed Gandhi’s wisdom of non-violent resistance and generated
support for nationalism and independence.
Independence
•After fighting in WWII, Britain no longer had enough money or people to keep India under its control.
•Great Britain finally agreed to give up their colonial claims to India.
•On August 15, 1947, the Republic of India was established.
•Today, many Indians credit India’s independence to the efforts of Gandhi.