Life story of Gandhi.

1. Mohandas Karamchad Gandhi
By Matt Evans

2. Early Life/Background Info
• Born in Porbandar, India
• Born on October 2, 1869
• Father was Diwan (Prime
Minister) of Porbander
• Porbander was a small state
in the Kathiawar Agency of
British India

3. Early Life/Background Continued
• Mother was Putlibai
• Grew up with the Jain
traditions
• Jainism is an ancient
religion of India
• Traditions were
vegetarianism, religious
tolerance, fasting, and
compassion

4. Life As a Teenager
• Married Kasturbai
Makhanji at 13 years old
• This was an arranged
child marriage
• Had 4 sons with
Kasturbai Makhanji

5. Education
• Average student in
school
• Went to England in 1888
to study law at University
of London
• Also learned to become a
barrister
• Barristers are special
kinds of lawyers that
have more direct contact
with clients

6. Journey to South Africa
• Traveled to South Africa in
1893
• Treated very unfairly by
European people
• Thrown off train and
beaten by driver
• Gandhi began to question
Indian status in the British
Empire

7. South Africa Continued
• Stayed in Africa longer
to assist Indians in
opposing a bill that did
not let them vote
• Helped found Natal
Indian Congress in
1894
• This was a political
force

8. South Africa Continued
• Adopted satyagraha
• This means “devotion to the
truth”
• Told Indians to defy the law
and suffer through
punishments instead of
resisting
• Satyagraha began to mature

9. Accusations of Racism
• In one report, Gandhi
said that Kaffirs are
dirty and troublesome
• He also said the white
race should be the
predominant race in
South Africa
• This lead people to the
idea that he was racist

10. The Zulu War of 1906
• Britain declared war on the Zulus
in 1906
• Zulus killed two British officers
after introduction of poll tax
• Gandhi encouraged Britain to
allow Indians to be recruited
• Indians allowed to treat wounded
soldiers

11. Role in World War I
• Invited by Viceroy to War
Conference in Delhi in 1918
• Invited to show support to
Empire and to recruit Indians for
war
• Attempted to recruit combatants
• “Appeal for Enlistment” in 1918
• Gandhi told Viceroy’s secretary
that he will not hurt anybody

12. Role in World War I Continued
• “To bring about such a state of
things we should have the ability to
defend ourselves, that is, the ability
to bear arms and to use them…If
we want to learn the use of arms
with the greatest possible dispatch,
it is our duty to enlist ourselves in
the army.” (Gandhi: “Appeal for
Enlistment”)

13. Kheda
• Gandhi began to clean up
villages in Khedi
• Villages were dirty and full
of crime and alcoholism
• Built schools and hospitals
and encouraged people to
work together to stop
conflicts and crimes

14. Kheda Continued
• Arrested by police on
charges of creating
unrest
• People protested
outside jail until
Gandhi’s release
• Led protests against
landlords signed an
agreement
• It granted farmers
more control over their
farming and cancelled
collections until they
were more wealthy
• Gandhi named
“Father of the nation”

15. Resistance Against Britain
• Used non-cooperation
and non-violence
against Britain
• Spoke about how
violence was evil and
was not the solution to
anything
• Sought to complete self
government and control
Indian government
institutions
• Turned into Swaraj, or
individual and spiritual
political independence

16. Resistance Against Britain Cont.
• Urged Indians to wear
khadi instead of British
clothes
• Urged people to boycott
education and law
• Also urged people to
forsake British titles and
honors
• These ideas achieved
widespread success
and increased peoples’
will to resist

17. Resistance Against Britain Cont.
• Gandhi called off
campaign in 1922 out
of fear of violence
erupting
• Gandhi was arrested
on March 10, 1922
and tried for sedition
• Sentenced to six
years in jail
• Released for an
appendicitis
operation after 2
years

18. Resistance Against Britain Cont.
• Indian National
Congress split into two
factions without
Gandhi
• One faction favored
participation in the
legislatures
• Other faction opposed
this
• Hindu and Muslim
cooperation for non-
violence breaking
down

19. The Salt March
• Spent a lot of time
trying to resolve the
conflicts between the
Swaraj and Indian
National Congress
• British boycotted
commission by
Indian political
parties
• Gandhi threatened
British with another
non-cooperation
campaign

20. The Salt March Continued
• The British did not
respond to the threat
• January 26, 1930 was
celebrated as India’s
Independence Day
• Gandhi started new
Satyagraha against
the tax on salt in 1930
• Marched with
thousands of other
Indians for 241 miles
from Ahmedabad to
Dandi to make salt
himself

21. The Salt March Continued
• Britain responded by
imprisoning over
60,000 people
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact was
signed in 1931
• This freed all prisoners
in return for
suspension of civil
disobedience
movement
• Gandhi invited to
attend Round Table
Conference in London
to represent Indian
National Congress

22. After the Salt March
• Gandhi arrested and
British failed to isolate
him from his followers
• Government granted
untouchables separate
electorates under
constitution
• Gandhi protested and
forced government to
come up with a better
arrangement
• Gandhi started a new
campaign to help the
untouchables lead
better lives

23. After the Salt March Continued
• In 1934, Gandhi was
almost assassinated
three times
• Gandhi resigned from
party membership
because his popularity
would stifle the
membership
• Also, this helped
Gandhi avoid being a
target for Raj
propaganda

24. Return to Politics in 1936
• Wanted a total focus
on winning
independence
• Allowed Congress to
adopt socialism
• Had an argument with
President Subhas
Bose
• Bose did not commit
to democracy and had
little faith in non-
violence
• Bose left Congress
after Gandhi
announced of Bose’s
abandonment of his
principals to the All-
India leaders

25. World War II
• Gandhi declared that
India could not be a
party to a war fought
for democratic
freedom when India
had none
• Gandhi started to
write a resolution
called “Quit India” for
Britain
• Many people
believed not helping
Britain was unethical
• Gandhi would not
support the war
unless India was
granted
independence

26. Arrest During World War II
• Arrested in Bombay on
August 9, 1942
• Suffered two painful
losses in prison
• His secretary, Mahadev
Desai died of a heart
attack
• Wife, Kasturba died after
being imprisoned for 18
months
• Gandhi released at the
end of the war for failing
health due to a malaria
attack
• Britain indicated that
India would be given
power

27. India’s Freedom and Partition
• Gandhi was opposed
to partition
• This opposition
caused Hindus and
Muslims to criticize
Gandhi
• Gandhi was
condemned for
undermining Muslim
rights
• He was accused of
turning a blind eye to
atrocities against
Hindus and for the
creation of Pakistan
• Some people even
said he caused India
to divide

28. Freedom and Partition Continued
• Gandhi opposed any
partition that planned
to divide India
• Congress approved
the partition plan to
prevent a Hindu-
Muslim war
• Gandhi was
eventually forced to let
the partition be
approved to avoid war

29. Struggle in Pakistan
• Worked with Hindus and
Muslims to keep peace
• Gandhi saddened when
all Muslims forced to
Pakistan and Muslims
and Hindus could not
agree with each other
• Gandhi protested that
money should be
donated to restore
homes in Pakistan
• After much debate, the
Government agreed to
pay Pakistan since
Gandhi refused to
change his mind

30. Assassination
• Gandhi was shot by
Nathuram Godse on
January 30, 1948 during
his nightly walk
• Godse and his
conspirator were
convicted and executed
on November 15, 1949
• Gandhi’s ashes were
poured into urns and
sent across India for
memorial services
• Gandhi’s memorial is
located at Raj Ghat in
Pune, India

31. Literary Works
• Edited newspapers
including the Harijan,
Hindi, Indian Opinion,
and Young India
• Wrote autobiography:
“An Autobiography of
My Experiments With
Truth”
• A political pamphlet:
“Hind Swaraj or
Indian Home Rule”
• Also paraphrased
John Ruskin’s Unto
This Last
• Gandhi’s complete
works were published
in the 1960’s and
revised in 2000

32. People Influenced by Gandhi
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
and James Lawson
were influenced by
Gandhi
• Albert Einstein
exchanged written
letters with Gandhi in
1931
• Former vice-president
Al Gore was influenced
by Gandhi
• Also, current president
Barack Obama says
Gandhi is a major
influence on his life

33. Holidays and Awards
• Gandhi Jayanta is
celebrated every
October 2 in India
• On January 30, schools
and many countries
celebrate the School
Day of Non-violence
and Peace
• Man of the Year in 1930
• Runner-up to Einstein
as person of the
century
• Mahatma Gandhi
Peace Prize awarded to
distinguished social
workers
• Nominated five times
for Nobel Peace Prize

34. Gandhi in Modern Culture
• “Gandhi” was a film in
1982
• Gandhi is the main
theme in the 2006
Bollywood film, “Lage
Raho Munna Bhai”
• The 2007 film, “Gandhi,
My Father” tells about the
relationship between
Gandhi and Harilal
• The 1996 film, “The
Making of the Mahatma”
documents Gandhi’s
twenty-one years in
South Africa

35. Movie Clip/Works Cited
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhi
• http://www.mkgandhi.org/
• http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_LS9FUwupaPM/SDKAY2LA-
fI/AAAAAAAAAHo/SOFvwfvZv38/s320/john_0911_gandhi-
1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photonparadise.blogspot.com/2008/05/mohandas-karamchand-gandhi-1869-
1948.html&usg=__Ct9EyGKqO2-
GMf9E2lUlvW2cSck=&h=320&w=115&sz=9&hl=en&start=11&itbs=1&tbnid=LKzXAwRWZa-
bVM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=42&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGandhi%2BZulu%2Bwar%26hl%3Den%26sa%
3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1
• http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gan
dhi.html
• http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/mkgandhi.html
• http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wel0wt9lSLM&feature=
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