Caitlyn Fairey
Benton
Honors World Literature 2B
26 November 2011
Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Independence Movement
Mahatma Gandhi played a major role in the reform of India before, during, and after the
country declared independence in 1947. He led India, then a colony, in the revolt against the
British Empire by using the method of nonviolence. Gandhi attempted to reform India by
organizing many events, such as the Salt March, which protested the British’s rule that one must
buy their heavily taxed salt; fasting was another method of his peaceful protests. Mahatma
Gandhi was an important leader of the Indian Independence Movement in many aspects.
The Salt March was Gandhi’s most powerful impact in India’s fight for independence
from the British. “Mahatma Gandhi: Proponent of Peace” describes the Salt March as a peaceful
event that was of huge importance (Vander Hook 8). As seen in the “Dandi March” photo,
Gandhi was a small and modest man in the center of many other peaceful protestors (Dandi
March). The symbolic journey was an act of satyagraha, which means “civil disobedience” or
“soul force” (Vander Hook 12). By illegally scooping up salt on the shore, “Mahatma Gandhi:
Proponent of Peace” states that Gandhi proved to the British that India would not sit still with
British rule in India (Vander Hook 8). “Mohandas Gandhi: The Power of the Spirit” describes
the Salt March in the same manner as “Mahatma Gandhi: Proponent of Peace” does, in which
Gandhi and his followers went to the sea and collected salt (Sherrow 81). However, “Mohandas
Gandhi: Power of the Spirit” describes the march as more of a symbolic event, for “in defiance
of the law, he reached for a pinch of salt and held it above his head” (Sherrow 81). “Mahatma
Gandhi: Proponent of Peace” does not describe what occurred after the Salt March; there were
mass arrests of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself (Sherrow 81-83). “MAHATMA
GANDHI” concludes that the Salt March was the symbolic event where “thousands of Indians
… gathered sea salt” (Leathem). The symbolic journey was a pivotal event in the Indian
Independence Movement and in Mahatma Gandhi’s life.
The Amritsar Massacre was a decisive moment in the colony’s gaining of independence.
The All India Home Rule League, led by Gandhi in 1920, was described in “Mahatma Gandhi:
Proponent of Peace,” as an organization focused on the movement for India’s independence and
self-government, created as a result of the bloody event (Vander Hook 56). “Mahatma Gandhi:
Proponent of Peace” states that the organization was primarily created because of the Amritsar
Massacre (Vander Hook 56). The massacre occurred at a protest meeting led by Gandhi, in
which “the British recorded 379 killed and 200 injured, although others claimed hundreds more
deaths” (Vander Hook 52). As described in “Mohandas Gandhi: The Power of the Spirit,” the
Amritsar Massacre was significant since it “shocked and enraged people, increasing Indian
opposition to British rule” and “also united the Indian people” (Sherrow 67). Again,
“MAHATMA GANDHI” states that the event was a tragedy, where “not knowing of [the order
to ban public meetings], 5,000 Indians gathered in a square” and were open fired on by the
British (Leathem). In addition to other outcomes, “Gandhi as Mahatma” states that the massacre
was used politically to encourage a council voting boycott (Amin 302). The Amritsar Massacre
was the driving force of many protests in the Indian Independence Movement.
Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful protest fasting was the reason that India continued to fight
for independence. As described in “Mahatma Gandhi: Proponent of Peace,” the fact that, in the
year before his death, Gandhi would fast until death unless fighting stopped was one of his most
enduring legacies; fighting stopped, and Gandhi did have the power to make it happen (Vander
Hook 86-89). Violence broke out soon after India gained independence in 1947, and he fasted
again (Vander Hook 87). “Mohandas Gandhi: The Power of the Spirit” also describes this fast
unto death as a meaningful reason why India gained independence in the following years; during
this time Mahatma Gandhi begged “for calm and an end to the fighting in Bengal” as he was
traveling “from village to village, often on bare feet” (Sherrow 94). The photo “Dandi March”
elaborates on how modest he was, for in the Salt March he was wearing simple rags as clothing
and sandals (Dandi March). While fasting, “he was consuming only six hundred calories a day,”
which is “less than half of what even a thin person uses for energy” (Sherrow 94). However,
“MAHATMA GANDHI” states that the spiritual Gandhi “saw his life of nonviolence
culminating in mass violence” and fasted because of this (Leathem). Fasting was an effective
technique for moving India to fight for independence from the British Empire.
Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence in various aspects. He reformed India using
many events and methods of protesting, like the Salt March and fasting which were his most
remembered protests. Gandhi played an important role in India’s fight for independence by
organizing the Salt March, speeches, fasts, organizations such as the All India Home Rule
League, and through other actions.
Bibliography
Sherrow, Victoria. Mohandas Gandhi: the Power of the Spirit. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook, 1994.
Print.
Dandi March. 1930. Photograph. Dandi March. Detriot, 2006. 388-90. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Web. Oct. 2011.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX2687500151&v=2.1&u=char21995
&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w>.
Vander Hook, Sue. Mahatma Gandhi: Proponent of Peace. Edina, MN: ABDO, 2011. Print.
Amin, Shahid. "Gandhi as Mahatma:Gorakhpur District, Eastern UP,1921-2'" 290-301. Google
Scholar. Web. 22 Oct. 2011.
<http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:trueKWLhip8J:scholar.google.co
m/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,41&as_vis=1>.
Leathem, Rebecca. "MAHATMA GANDHI." Business Asia 15 Feb. 1999: 8. General OneFile.
Web. 25 Oct. 2011.