Gandhi
Activity Sheet 2
‘When East meets East’, Punch, or the London Charivari. August 9, 1944.
(Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah are expected to meet this month).
schoolhistory.co.nz
Page 1
9/07/2007
Questions
1. What date was this cartoon published?
2. Considering that ‘Wavell’ was the Viceroy and ‘Amery’ was the British
Secretary of State for India, what is the cartoonist saying about Gandhi?
3. Why has the cartoonist labelled this as “East meets East”?
4. Who is the seated figure?
5. Who is the figure that is standing in the doorway?
6. Which two political groups are depicted or represented in the cartoon?
7. What are the two ways in which the cartoonist showed the religion of the
standing figure?
8. What is the significance of the position of the chair?
9. How useful would this cartoon be as a predictor of the success of the
impending talks?
schoolhistory.co.nz
Page 2
9/07/2007
Possible Answers for Teachers
The cartoon depicts the Gandhi-Jinnah talks (held September 1944) on the Muslim
demands for an independent and separate Pakistan. The talks ended in failure.
1. What date was this cartoon published? 9 August 1944
2. Considering that Wavell was the Viceroy and Amery was the British secretary
of State for India, what is the cartoonist saying about Gandhi? It shows
continued support by Gandhi for Britain, an unwillingness to alienate Britain
and an aspect of Satyagraha.
3. Why has the cartoonist labelled this as “East meets East”? The term is
usually when ‘East meets west. Both Gandhi and Jinnah are from the ‘East’
and the cartoon depicts and predicts internal problems in India.
4. Who is the seated figure? Gandhi
5. Who is the figure that is standing in the doorway? Jinnah
6. Which two political groups are depicted or represented in the cartoon?
Moslem League and Indian Congress
7. What are the two ways in which the cartoonist showed the religion of the
standing figure? The mosque behind Jinnah and Jinnah’s clothing.
8. What is the significance of the position of the chair? If Jinnah sits down then
both people will have their backs to each other. That position is not useful for
face-to-face dialogue and it shows that no agreement is possible. Both are
unwilling to compromise.
9. How useful would this cartoon be as a predictor of the success of the
impending talks? It was signalled that they could not agree and talks
failed. Gandhi was idealistic in his expectations. Jinnah’s responses
should have been expected by Gandhi. Britain created the conditions
which had made it possible for the Muslims to demand their own state.
Jinnah had used Gandhi to gain traction for the Muslim League and
probably always wanted partition.
schoolhistory.co.nz
Page 3
9/07/2007