biogrphy of GANDHI

MAHATMA
GANDHI
20th CENTURY BIOGRAPHIES
HE SHOWED
THE WORLD
HOW TO
BRING
CHANGE
THROUGH
NONVIOLENCE
BY ANNE SCHRAFF
MAHATMA
GANDHI
BY ANNE SCHRAFF
Development: Kent Publishing Services, Inc.
Design and Production: Signature Design Group, Inc.
SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING
Three Watson
Irvine, CA 92618-2767
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Copyright © 2008 by Saddleback Educational Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without the written permission
of the publisher.
ISBN-10: 1-59905-248-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59905-248-9
eBook: 978-1-60291-609-8
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 10 09 08 07
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Mahatma Gandhi led the struggle for
Indian independence from the British
Empire. The British ruled India for
many years. Gandhi also gained civil
rights for the Indian population that
lived in South Africa.
Although Gandhi was a small, frail
man, he faced strong nations using only
his weapons of nonviolent resistance.
Encouraging all people to be kind,
honest, and peaceful, Gandhi refused to
return injury with injury.
4
C H A P T E R 1
5
Gandhi had no wealth and no political
position. He fought injustice with
prayer, fasting, and peaceful protest.
When Gandhi died, a young African
American college student far away in the
American South read about Gandhi’s
methods of bringing peaceful change.
His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
When King led his own struggle for the
equality of black America, he walked in
Gandhi’s footsteps.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was
born on October 2, 1869. He was born
in the small town of Porbandar on the
western coast of India. Mohandas was
born in a large room in the family’s
three-story stone house. Mohandas and
his family lived in the big house. Several
uncles and their families lived there too.
Mohandas and his family had just two
rooms for themselves.
Mohandas’ father, Karamchand
Gandhi, was a government official in
town. He had been married three times,
and each of his wives died. When he was
forty, he married a fourth wife. She was
thirteen-year-old Putlibai, Mohandas’
mother. It was very common for older
Indian men to marry very young brides.
When Mohandas was born, his mother
was twenty-two and his father was fifty.
The Gandhi family was comfortable
by Indian standards. The home had
many books, mostly about religion. The
Gandhi family was Hindu, as were most
Indians. The Hindu religion is very
complicated. It embraces a belief in
many gods and strict moral values.
Mohandas was a strange looking little
boy. He had a long, skinny neck, and
ears that stuck out. He had wild, thick
black hair. His best features were a
happy smile, and bright, twinkling
6
7
eyes. Mohandas liked to play with
rubber balloons and revolving tops. He
was small for his age and easily scared.
He was afraid of snakes, thieves, ghosts,
and the dark. He disliked all sports.
At the time Mohandas was born, India
was ruled by Great Britain. The culture
was dominated by the caste system.
Everything that happened to a person in
life depended on what caste they
belonged to. Your caste decided what
job you could get and who you could
marry. There were four major castes. At
the very bottom, there was a group of
people called the “untouchables.” They
were given the dirtiest jobs. They could
not walk on the public streets, or even
touch other people.
The top caste was the Brahmans, who
were scholars. Then, there were the
warriors. After that came the traders,
and finally the peasants. The Gandhi
8
family belonged to the trader class. The
name Gandhi means “grocer.” These
people could also work for the
government, as Mohandas’ father did.
When Mohandas was seven, his father
was promoted to a job in Rajkot, 120
miles from Porbandar. Mohandas
started primary school there. He had
problems with arithmetic. Mohandas
made no friends in school, preferring to
play alone. When Mohandas went to
high school, he disliked it even more
than he had disliked primary school.
Mohandas’ mother, Putlibai, was very
religious. She never ate a meal without
praying first. She went to the Hindu
temple every day. Putlibai had a strong,
quiet personality. Mohandas loved her
dearly. She was loving and tender
toward her children. Like most Indian
women, she wore heavy silver anklets
9
and gold bracelets. She also wore a nice
nose ring for special occasions.
Mohandas’ father was a serious, hardworking
man. Mohandas feared making
him angry. Although it is against Hindu
custom to smoke cigarettes, Mohandas
sneaked some cigarettes one day. Then
he stole money to get more cigarettes.
He felt so guilty about what he had
done that he decided he should kill
himself. He collected seeds from a
datura plant and ate them. Then he lay
down to die. The seeds, however, only
made him sleepy.
Sometimes Mohandas went with his
mother to the Hindu temple. The inside
of the temple was very dark. The
paintings on the walls were dramatic
and frightening. But Mohandas loved
his mother so much he would do
anything she asked of him.
10
When Mohandas was thirteen, he
began to ask questions about things that
bothered him. He could not understand
why the untouchables were treated so
badly just because they were born in a
lower social position.
At this time in India, there was no
indoor plumbing. (This was the case in
many places throughout the world.)
People used chamber pots in their
rooms, and somebody had to empty
them. This was a job only the
C H A P T E R 2
11
untouchables could do. Mohandas
watched the untouchables doing this. He
thought it was not fair. Why should these
people have the worst jobs and the least
pay? Mohandas believed that the
untouchables were just as good as he was.
Child marriage was customary in
India. So, when Mohandas turned
thirteen, his father decided he should
get married. Mohandas was still in high
school. After his marriage, he would
continue to live at home, but his wife
would be with him.
Mohandas and other boys his age did
not make friends with girls and choose
someone they liked. The marriages were
arranged by the parents. So Mohandas
was told he would be marrying Kasturba
Nakanji. She was the daughter of a
Porbandar merchant. Like Mohandas,
Kasturba was thirteen.
12
Mohandas was excited about the
wedding and the big feast that would
follow. Mohandas was dressed up like a
prince. He rode a beautiful horse to
Kasturba’s house to pick her up for the
ceremony. Then the two young people
stood on a platform looking like pretty
dolls. The Hindu priests prayed and
sang hymns. The couple exchanged
sweet cakes. They were now man and
wife. Mohandas took Kasturba home to
his parents’ house.
Kasturba was still a young girl. She
wanted to go out to play with her
friends, but Mohandas was very stern.
He told her she needed his permission
to go out at all. He was still in school
and lived with his parents. But
Mohandas understood what it was to be
a Hindu husband. He was the ruler of
the household.
13
Kasturba was tiny and delicate and
very lovely. Mohandas was jealous of
her. When she disobeyed him in even a
small way, he grew very angry. Now that
Mohandas was married, his grades
slipped in high school. He was too busy
watching over his wife to study.
At age fifteen, Mohandas became
friends with a Muslim boy who was
three years older than him. Sheikh
Mehtab had all the qualities Mohandas
admired. Mehtab was charming and
brave. He was a fine athlete. Mehtab
enjoyed the fact that Mohandas looked
up to him. He taught the younger boy
his own ideas.
Hindus, including Mohandas and his
family, were vegetarians. They did not
believe in eating meat. But Mehtab, a
Muslim, believed that eating the flesh of
animals made a person strong and
healthy.
14
Mehtab finally convinced Mohandas
to eat meat. They shared a meal of
roasted goat. Mohandas felt very guilty
about acting against his religion. He
threw up the meal right away.
That night Mohandas had a horrible
nightmare. He dreamt a live goat was
trapped inside his stomach, and it was
crying. But, even after this bad
experience, Mohandas continued to eat
meat with Mehtab. Mohandas got used
to it and stopped feeling guilty.
Karamchand Gandhi, Mohandas’
father, became very ill when his son was
sixteen. After school every day,
Mohandas went to his father’s bedside.
But, Mohandas wanted to go to his wife
instead. He felt the duty to be with his
father, but his heart was with Kasturba.
At the time, Kasturba was expecting the
couple’s first child.
15
One day, Mohandas found his father
sleeping, and he hurried off to his wife
for a short time. While Mohandas was
gone, his father grew sicker and died. It
was a terrible shock for Mohandas. He
was very sorrowful that his father died
without his son at his bedside.
Mohandas was torn with guilt that he
had failed his father. A few weeks later,
Kasturba gave birth to their child, but it
was very weak.
The baby lived only three days.
Mohandas blamed himself for the baby’s
death. He believed he was suffering this
misfortune because he had abandoned
his father in his time of sickness.
16
The death of Karamchand Gandhi
was a major blow to the family. It left
them without financial support. The
eldest son, Laxmidas, was twenty-two
years old, and he had no job. Mohandas
had two more years of high school to
finish. The family had to struggle to
keep Mohandas in school. They had to
rely on the help of uncles.
In January 1888 Mohandas was
eighteen. He had finished high school
C H A P T E R 3
17
and enrolled in college. He failed college
after five months. Kasturba gave birth to
their first healthy child, Harilal.
Mohandas could not support his wife
and son. He decided to find a profession
that would bring in good money. He
chose law.
Mohandas Gandhi was told that he
could become a lawyer if he went to
Great Britain and studied for three
years. This was less time than it would
have taken him to become a lawyer in
India. But the cost of this education in
Great Britain was thirteen thousand
rupees. That was a huge amount for a
boy from a poor family. There were no
scholarships.
Putlibai, Gandhi’s mother, did not
want her son to go to Britain. She
worried that he would make friends
with the wrong people and lose his
morality. She feared he would drink
liquor and eat meat. She was afraid that
he would even forget about his wife and
find other women.
Gandhi promised his mother that all
the time he would be in Britain he
would not eat meat, drink liquor, or
look at other women. So Laxmidas sold
all the family jewels to give his brother
enough money to be educated in
Britain.
There was still another problem with
Gandhi going to Britain. According to
his religion, he was forbidden to ride on
an ocean liner. So, when he decided to
go anyway, he was excommunicated
from the Hindu religion.
Gandhi’s family was not even allowed
to go down to the dock and say goodbye
to him. If they did they would also be
thrown out of the Hindu religion. So,
18
19
all alone, Gandhi boarded the S.S. Clyde
bound for London. He was eighteen
years old. He had nothing but his ticket,
a few pieces of clothing, and enough
food for the three week long journey to
Britain.
Ghandi in South Africa where he was an attorney.
Gandhi arrived in London and stayed
with another Indian student. He used
the money he had to buy some clothing
so he would look like the English
students. He wanted to fit in when he
arrived at London University for his
classes.
Gandhi remembered his promise to
his mother that he would be a strict
vegetarian, so he lived on meals of bread
and vegetables. He lived a very simple
20
C H A P T E R 4
21
life. Each night he added up everything
he had spent during the day on bus fare,
food, postage, and other items.
He kept trying to cut corners and save
money because he had so little. He
decided he was spending too much
money on bus fares, so he moved closer
to the university, and each day he
walked eight to ten miles to and from
classes.
Gandhi cooked his own breakfast of
cocoa and oatmeal. His lunch consisted
of vegetables. For dinner he had cocoa
and bread and sometimes boiled
spinach. Gandhi was very lonely and
homesick during his time in London.
The only pleasure he had was
occasionally eating at a small vegetarian
restaurant near where he studied.
In college, Gandhi studied French,
Latin, and physics as well as common
and Roman law. He improved his
English. He had no trouble passing all
his courses. In his free time, he
continued his study of religion.
Up until the time he was in London,
Gandhi had never read the sacred
scripture of his own Hindu religion: the
Bhagavad-Gita. Now he read it. He
learned that to be good, a man must be
generous and overcome pride, fear, and
ambition. Gandhi read the Christian
Bible too. He loved the New Testament,
especially the life of Jesus. He paid close
attention to the Sermon on the Mount.
He found its message of love and
forgiveness very powerful.
In June 1891 Gandhi finished his final
exam. The next day he left London. He
did not want to spend a single day
longer than necessary in London. He
did not enjoy the two years and eight
22
23
months he spent there. He had not
made a single friend, and he was
anxious to see his family.
When Gandhi arrived in Bombay (a
city now known as Mumbai), he was
met by his brother, Laxmidas, with
terrible news. Their mother had died
some time earlier. The news had been
kept from Gandhi. They were afraid
that he would be so heart-broken he
would quit school. Gandhi was deeply
attached to his mother. Now, grieving
for his mother, Gandhi set out to find
work in India.
Gandhi discovered that India was full
of lawyers and there was no need for
him. He spent many desperate days
looking for work. While at home, he
tried to teach his wife a skill she had
never learned—how to read and write.
But she resisted his efforts.
Laxmidas and the rest of the family
were disappointed that Gandhi was not
finding work. In October 1892 a second
son, Manilal, was born to Gandhi and
24
C H A P T E R 5
25
his wife. Now Gandhi had a wife and
two children to support. Gandhi did a
few odd jobs working with other
lawyers. He made some money. But he
knew he could not go on like this
without steady income.
Then he got an offer to go to South
Africa to help a Muslim lawyer prepare
a lawsuit. Gandhi hated to leave his
family again, but he had no choice.
Leaving his wife and sons with
Laxmidas, Gandhi set out for Durban,
South Africa, in April 1893.
South Africa was a large country ruled
by Great Britain. The largest population
was black Africans, and they had almost
no rights. The British were at the top of
the social system. At the bottom were
the Africans. In the middle but near the
bottom were Asians, mostly Indians.
They had come to South Africa to work
as laborers.
26
The white people included the ruling
British and the Afrikaners, or Boers.
The Boers were Dutch. Both the British
and the Boers agreed on the idea that
people of color were inferior.
Since Gandhi was very dark skinned,
he soon ran into trouble in South
Africa. Colored people were not allowed
to ride with white people on the trains.
They had to use a separate
compartment. When Gandhi was told
this, he refused to ride the train at all.
The Muslim lawyer with whom
Gandhi worked was Dada Abdulla. One
day, Gandhi went to court with him.
The judge asked Gandhi to remove his
black turban. Gandhi refused and said
he was insulted. He left the courtroom
rather than remove his turban.
When Gandhi tried the train again on
a journey from Durban to the Transvaal
27
border, he had a first class ticket. Still,
he was ordered to ride in second class.
When he refused, his luggage was
thrown off the train and he was shoved
onto the platform. Gandhi had to spend
the night in the cold station, shivering
without his topcoat which was in his
lost luggage.
Gandhi was deeply offended by the
bad treatment of his Indian brothers in
South Africa. He made up his mind he
would do something about it. He
remembered reading in the Bhagavad-
Gita that a good man was a man of
action, working for justice.
Gandhi helped Dada Abdulla win the
lawsuit. By then, he was nearing the end
of the year he planned to spend in South
Africa. But, to help his fellow Indians,
he decided to spend some additional
time there.
28
A bill called the “Indian Franchise”
was in the South African legislature. It
was meant to deprive Indians of the
right to vote. Gandhi believed the right
to vote was a basic human right. He
organized meetings of Indians to protest
the law with petitions.
Most Indians had come to South
Africa as indentured servants. They
had promised to work for a period of
time in exchange for their ticket to
South Africa. Now they were little more
than slaves. The government wanted to
take from them what little rights they
had. The Indians lost the voting battle.
Gandhi believed that the Indians in
South Africa were citizens of the British
Empire. He thought that they deserved
equality under the law. It was clear that
Gandhi had a lot of work to do in South
Africa. It seemed that he would not be
returning home soon.
29
After three years in South Africa,
Gandhi had become a successful lawyer
with a good income. He was also a
respected leader in the Indian
community. He published a pamphlet
titled, “The Grievances of the British
Indians in South Africa, an Appeal to
the Indian Public.” The pamphlet had a
green cover. It soon became known as
the “Green Book.”
In 1896 Gandhi returned to India for
a five-month visit with his family. He
C H A P T E R 6
30
decided that when he returned to South
Africa, he would bring his wife and sons
with him. Kasturba feared the move to
South Africa. She could only speak the
Gujarati language. She dreaded being
in a place where everyone around her
spoke English or another foreign
language. She was not sure she could
survive such an unfamiliar place. She
was also nervous about dealing with all
the Muslim friends her husband had
made.
Kasturba was a quiet, shy woman who
took great comfort in family and friends
she knew for a long time. But in the
end, Gandhi convinced his wife to move
to South Africa. In all the disagreements
between Mohandas and Kasturba
Gandhi, he always won.
When Kasturba Gandhi arrived in
South Africa, she had to give up her
31
comfortable traditional clothing—the
loose fitting dhoti and sandals. Now she
would have to wear more modern
clothing and hard leather shoes.
The Gandhi family moved to South
Africa in 1897. Their third son,
Ramdas, was born there. During
Gandhi’s absence from South Africa, the
“Green Book” had become famous.
Although the Indian people loved the
pamphlet, the Europeans hated it.
Gandhi was attacked by mobs of
Europeans on the street. He was struck
by rocks, mud, and garbage. He was cut
in the neck before he was rescued from
the mob.
There was a lot of tension in South
Africa between the British and the
Dutch. In 1899 full scale war broke out.
It was called the Boer War. Since
Gandhi was a British citizen, he felt he
32
had to side with the British. Gandhi did
not believe in war. But he volunteered to
form an ambulance corps to help the
British wounded.
Gandhi and other volunteers carried
wounded soldiers off the battlefield.
The ambulance corps that Gandhi led
consisted of African and Indian born
Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.
Gandhi hoped the good work done by
the volunteers would impress the
British. He hoped the British would
grant more civil rights to Indians.
Gandhi and thirty-eight members of the
corps were awarded the South African
War Medal for courage.
The Boer War ended with the British
victory. The Union of South Africa was
then established. South Africa withdrew
from the British Commonwealth. It was
ruled by Dutch politicians.
33
Kasturba Gandhi had her fourth and
last child, Devdas, in 1900. Her
husband served as a midwife. The
Gandhis lived in a villa on the beach.
Mohandas Gandhi ruled the family. He
did not want a European education for
his sons. Instead, he taught them
himself. Gandhi was a stern father. His
sons respected rather than loved him.
Gandhi himself had a stern father. He
was carrying on the tradition.
Gandhi forced his family to live a very
simple life without luxuries. They
washed their own clothing. Gandhi cut
his own hair. His friends sometimes said
that his hair looked like a rat had
chewed on it. Gandhi also made his wife
get rid of her jewels, which were very
special to her.
The worst sacrifice for Kasturba
Gandhi was having to empty the
34
chamber pots herself. In India, the
untouchables did this work for her and
all higher caste Indians. Now that this
job fell to Kasturba, she felt humiliated.
She obeyed her husband but shed bitter
tears.
In 1901 son Manilal became very ill
with typhoid fever, which turned into
pneumonia. The doctor prescribed
chicken broth and eggs for the child.
But Gandhi’s firm belief in
vegetarianism forbade this. Gandhi
treated Manilal himself. He gave his son
many hot baths and had him drink
orange juice and diluted milk. Gandhi
remained at the boy’s side for forty days.
Manilal finally recovered. Gandhi called
it a blessing from God for his own
faithfulness to his principles.
35
Gandhi bought eighty acres of fertile
soil in South Africa. He founded a
community called Phoenix. It became
the headquarters for Indian politics.
Forty to fifty followers of Gandhi lived
at Phoenix. There, they promoted the
simple way of life.
In 1905 there was a new law before the
South African legislature called the
Asiatic Law Agreement. The law was to
prevent further Asian immigration to
South Africa. The whites did not want
any more colored people.
C H A P T E R 7
36
Under the new law, all Indians over
the age of eight had to carry a
registration card. Police could ask to see
the card at any time. This was seen as a
way to find and deport illegal
immigrants. Gandhi bitterly opposed
this law and vowed a campaign of
resistance called “Truth Force.”
Hundreds and then thousands of
Indians carried picket signs and
marched in front of government offices.
They protested what they called the
“Black Law.” Gandhi publicly
announced that he would not register.
In January 1908 he was arrested for
failing to register. He was taken before a
judge. Gandhi was convicted and
sentenced to two months in jail. This
would be the first of many jail sentences
Gandhi served while fighting for justice.
Gandhi eventually worked out a
37
compromise with the government to
make registration voluntary. He was on
his way to register voluntarily when he
was attacked by a Hindu. The Hindu
man believed that Gandhi had given in
on the issue. Gandhi was struck in the
head with a stone, but he was not
seriously hurt.
Harilal, Gandhi’s eldest son, was
unhappy with his father’s strictness.
Home schooled, Harilal longed for a
formal education. When Harilal
married a local girl his father opposed
the marriage.
Then, Gandhi pushed his son into the
battle for civil rights in South Africa.
Harilal Gandhi was arrested. His wife
and young son were left alone while he
was in prison. Harilal blamed his father
for the misfortune.
38
Gandhi could clearly see how the
Indians in South Africa were abused.
But, he could not see how the black
majority was even more cruelly treated.
He briefly assisted the Zulus during
one of their uprisings. He carried the
Zulu wounded off the battlefield. But
otherwise, he did not get involved in
the victimization of blacks.
In October 1908 Gandhi was again
arrested for failing to carry his
registration card. He was sentenced to
two months at hard labor. Later, he got
three months at hard labor.
He spent nine hours a day polishing
the asphalt floor and iron door of his
cell. By the time he was released in May
1909, his fame had spread beyond
South Africa and India to the world.
His battle for Indian rights for South
Africa had captured the attention of the
world press.
39
Gandhi traveled to London to explain
his struggle. He published a pamphlet
called “Home Rule.” It asked Great
Britain to grant independence to India.
He also asked the Indian people to
return to their traditional ways. Harilal
was now in full rebellion against his
father. He left South Africa for India.
Now twenty-three, he desperately
wanted the high school education he
had been denied. He enrolled in an
Indian high school.
The breach between Harilal and his
father was now so deep it would never
be healed.
40
In March 1913 the South African
government made all non-Christian
marriages null and void. Gandhi and
other civil rights leaders reversed this
quickly.
In June 1914 Gandhi made an
agreement with the government which
was a freedom charter for Indians. The
Black Act was abolished, and all civil
rights for Indians were returned to
them. Gandhi called this a victory for
his methods of peaceful resistance. In
C H A P T E R 8
41
July 1914 Gandhi and his family
returned to India.
At this time, World War I was
breaking out. Germany, Austria,
Hungary, and their allies were fighting
against Great Britain, France, Russia,
and their allies. At the time, Great
Britain still ruled India along with some
Indian princes.
Gandhi continued to oppose all war.
Once again, he formed another
ambulance corps to assist the wounded.
Gandhi also asked Britain for home rule
for India. He demanded an end to the
untouchable class and equality for
women.
There was one specific way in which
women suffered greatly. That was the
tradition that if a man died his wife was
expected to jump onto the funeral pyre
to die as well.
Gandhi built a community of
followers at Sabarmati. He invited the
untouchables to join. There were ten
million untouchables in India. They
were forbidden to use public roads or
public wells. They had to live apart from
other people.
Since the untouchables had little
work, many had to scavenge for food
like animals. When Gandhi admitted
the first untouchable family to
Sabarmati, his wife was very upset.
Great Britain’s Government of India
Act of 1919 set up preliminary steps for
eventual home rule for India. But the
Rowlett Act of the same year established
severe penalties for sedition. Anything
that disrupted daily life in the country
could be called sedition.
Gandhi opposed the Rowlett Act. He
called a hartal, or an Indian day of
42
43
mourning. All businesses were closed
and there were massive protest
demonstrations. Gandhi also fasted.
The hartal spread throughout the
country. It gave the Indian people a
sense of new power. The hartal brought
life to a standstill in India.
In the City of Amritsar, the hartal
turned violent. Two Englishmen were
killed by an Indian mob. British
General E. H. Dyer was sent in to
restore order. He banned all further
demonstrations in the city.
When ten to twenty thousand Indians
gathered for a peaceful demonstration,
Dyer ordered his troops to fire into the
crowd. Gunfire rained on terrified
people running for their lives. On that
day, at least 379 died and hundreds were
injured. Gandhi joined the rest of India
in outrage against the atrocity.
In 1920, Gandhi joined the Indian
Home Rule League. He became its first
president. He now worked tirelessly for
India’s independence.
Everything in Gandhi helped make
him a powerful leader in India. He had
courage, vitality, and good humor.
Although he was fiercely devoted to his
cause, a smile would appear often on his
toothless mouth. He was selfless,
working always for the people.
44
C H A P T E R 9
45
The frail little man in the white dhoti,
his wraparound garment, became a
beloved symbol of peace and simplicity.
Gandhi became the greatest hope the
people had. He was Mahatma (Great
Lord) Gandhi.
Gandhi toured India in steaming hot
weather. He talked to crowds of one
hundred thousand people or more
during a seven month period. He ate
three meals a day. The meals consisted
of sixteen ounces of goat’s milk, three
slices of toast, two oranges, and a
handful of grapes or raisins.
He preached the simple, traditional
way of life. He spun cotton himself
several hours each day. In the
community of Sabarmati, cotton was
planted. Only homespun clothing was
worn. Gandhi prayed daily, chanting,
“Rama, Rama, Rama” (“God, God,
God”).
Gandhi wrote articles critical of
British rule. He accused the British of
shaking their "gory claws" into the face
of India.
The British in India used Muslim
volunteers in their army. Unlike the
Hindus, the Muslims had no problem
with military service.
Gandhi knew if he was to be successful
in freeing India, he had to win the
support of Muslims too. He wanted the
Hindus and Muslims to work together
as brothers. Gandhi designed a flag for
independent India. It has three colors,
red for Hindus, green for Muslims, and
white for purity.
On February 5, 1921, a large
demonstration for Indian independence
at Chauri Chaura turned violent. The
police clashed with the marchers and
46
47
opened fire. When the police ran out of
ammunition, the enraged crowd
attacked them. They murdered some of
the policemen. This horrified Gandhi.
On March 22, 1922, Gandhi was
arrested for sedition. He was convicted
and sentenced to six years in prison.
Many Indians wept as the smiling
Gandhi was led off to prison. He
believed that every time he went to
prison, he was bringing the day of
Indian independence closer.
Gandhi was content in prison. He
arose at four in the morning to pray and
meditate for six hours. He read books
and wrote letters. He spent hours
spinning thread. But he did not serve
the whole sentence. When he became
sick with appendicitis, he was freed.
Much to Gandhi’s sorrow, increasing
violence between Hindus and Muslims
broke out. Gandhi began a twenty-one
day fast for an end to the violence. On
the twenty-first day, Hindus and
Muslims came together to pray. Gandhi
ended his fast.
In 1925 Gandhi again toured India to
spread his ideas. Some Indians believed
he was the reincarnation of God. There
were claims that he cured the sick. But
Gandhi rejected all this. He said he was
only a man and his power was just the
power of persuasion.
Gandhi opposed child marriages,
urging no woman under the age of
twenty-one to be married. He was
especially upset at the many child
widows in India. Young girls were often
married to older men and when the
men died, the girls could not marry
again.
48
49
At this time in India, there were more
than eleven thousand widows under the
age of five. Eighty-five thousand widows
were between five and ten. Altogether,
almost four hundred thousand Indian
girls under the age of fifteen were
widows. Gandhi demanded that these
girls be allowed to remarry.
In his struggle to improve the status of
the untouchables, Gandhi gave them a
new name: Harijans, which means
children of God.
Gandhi believed India would become
independent when it was spiritually
ready. He encouraged virtuous living
among the Indian people. He led
discussions with Great Britain. Talks
between Gandhi and other Indian
leaders and the British fell apart in
1931. Again, Gandhi was arrested for
his political activities.
50
Gandhi fasted in prison. As he lay in
the shade of a mango tree in the prison
yard, he grew very weak. The British,
afraid he would die in their hands, freed
him.
As Gandhi struggled for his goals, the
personal tragedy of his relationship with
his son, Harilal grew worse. Harilal was
often drunk. He wrote mean letters to
his father accusing him of being abusive.
In 1936 Harilal became a Muslim.
Gandhi was deeply saddened.
In the 1930s the world was again
moving toward a terrible war. Germany,
under Adolf Hitler, was grabbing
territory in Europe. Italy, under Benito
Mussolini, attacked Ethiopia in Africa.
Japan had invaded China.
These three countries, Germany, Italy,
and Japan formed a dangerous alliance
51
called the Axis. The Axis threatened the
peace of the world. Gandhi clung to his
peaceful principles. Even in the face of
such massive evil as Adolf Hitler,
Gandhi believed that a peaceful
approach would work.
Gandhi said that if a country was
attacked by the Axis powers, it should
not fight back. Rather, people should
not cooperate with the invaders. He
believed with total peaceful resistance,
the invaders would be stopped. Many
people thought Gandhi was living in a
dream world.
Gandhi insisted that even if an
aggressor like Hitler took over a
country, he could occupy the land, but
he could not conquer the minds, hearts,
and souls of the people. In this way,
Hitler would fail in the end. Gandhi’s
pacifist attitude in the face of Axis
aggression around the world made the
British angry. They wanted active
participation of India in the fight
against the Axis, and Gandhi was
preaching peace. The British once again
arrested Gandhi in 1942, along with his
wife, Kasturba.
52
Kasturba Ghandi
53
Kasturba Gandhi had a weak heart.
While she was in prison, she
experienced shortness of breath. She
could no longer sleep lying down.
Instead she sat up at night with her head
resting on a table. She felt that she
would soon die. She asked that her sons
come. She wanted to see them for the
last time.
Manilal Gandhi was in South Africa,
and he could not come. The other three
C H A P T E R 10
54
sons arrived at their mother’s bedside.
Harilal was drunk when he came. He
was not allowed to see his mother until
he was sober. When he was able to see
her, Kasturba was overcome with joy.
In December 1943 Kasturba got
pneumonia. Her sons asked that she be
given penicillin. But Gandhi insisted
on treating her by natural means, with
honey and water. On February 22,
1944, Kasturba died with her head
resting in her husband’s lap. They had
been married for sixty-two years.
Gandhi felt that his wife had become a
part of himself. Now, part of him had
died.
At her funeral, Hindus, Muslims, and
Christians prayed, sang hymns, and
wept together. Kasturba’s body was
cremated in a funeral pyre according to
Hindu tradition. Her ashes were buried
on the prison grounds.
55
Soon after Kasturba’s death, Gandhi
became ill with malaria. The British
freed him. They were always afraid to
have him die while he was in their
custody. Gandhi walked from the prison
on May 6, 1944. This was his last prison
stay. He had spent two thousand and
eighty-nine days in Indian prisons and
two hundred and forty-nine days in
South African prisons.
Gandhi now focused all his attention
on uniting Hindus and Muslims and
gaining independence for India. But, he
faced terrible odds. The Muslims in
India wanted the country to be divided.
They wanted one part to be given to
them and the other part to the Hindus.
Gandhi wanted one united country
with all religions treating one another as
brothers.
56
In 1946 violence between the Hindus
and Muslims became so terrible that
thousands died. Men, women, and
children died on both sides. Gandhi was
horrified and heartbroken. He traveled
on foot across India pleading for peace.
He begged the Hindus and the Muslims
to give up their hatred and live together.
But, the violence continued.
Finally on August 15, 1947, India was
divided into two countries, Pakistan for
the Muslims and India for the Hindus.
This caused there to be millions of
Hindu and Muslim refugees. The
Muslim refugees fled into Pakistan.
Hindus in Pakistan fled into India.
India and Pakistan were now
independent.
The violence continued even after the
countries separated. On January 13,
1948, Gandhi began his final fast for an
57
end to violence. Gandhi was living in
Birla House. During the fast, he lay in a
crouched position with his knees pulled
up toward his stomach. He was losing
two pounds a day. His eyes were closed
as if in sleep.
When he spoke to those who came to
support him, his voice was weak. He
asked all Indians to purify themselves
and put an end once and for all to
violence. On the morning of January
18, a pledge was drafted by Hindus,
Muslims, and others, promising
tolerance for one another. Overcome
with joy, Gandhi ended his fast.
Not all Hindus were pleased with
Gandhi’s philosophy. Some blamed him
for the fact that now India had been
separated.
Some traditional Hindus clung to the
belief that the untouchables had to be
58
maintained in a lower position. They
resented Gandhi’s efforts to free the
untouchables from their burdens. From
among these angry people came thirtyfive-
year-old Nathuram Godse, a
newspaper editor. He began to plot
against Gandhi.
On January 25, 1948, Gandhi arrived
at a prayer meeting in good spirits. He
had been told that tolerance was
growing among Hindus and Muslims. It
was a cold day. Gandhi asked that the
people who came to pray be given straw
mats to sit on since the ground was
damp.
Nathuram Godse was in the front row
of the people who had come to see
Gandhi. He had a pistol in his pocket.
Most of the people bowed respectfully
when Gandhi appeared. Godse did the
same. Gandhi touched his palms
59
together. He smiled and blessed the
people who had gathered.
Suddenly Godse pushed forward. He
fired three shots at Gandhi from his
small automatic pistol. The first bullet
struck Gandhi’s stomach and came out
his back. Gandhi remained standing.
The second bullet tore through the
center of his body, also going out the
back. His white garment ran red with
blood. Gandhi’s face turned white. The
third shot entered his lung.
“Hey Rama!” (Oh God!) Gandhi
cried. His glasses fell off. The sandals
dropped from his feet as he slipped to
the ground. As Gandhi was carried to
Birla House, Godse was seized by the
crowd.
Gandhi still had a pulse when he was
laid down. But, when the doctors
60
arrived, there was nothing they could
do. Gandhi’s face was peaceful in death
as Hindu prayers were chanted around
his body.
Gandhi’s body was washed and
thousands prayed and wept as he was
carried to Jumna where he was laid on a
funeral pyre. A million people shouted
“long live Mahatma Gandhi” as the fire
consumed his body.
As the pyre burned, a frail man, his
body racked with tuberculosis, stood at
the edge of the crowd. It was Gandhi’s
son, Harilal. He came to pay his
respects. Gandhi’s ashes were cast into
the holy Ganges River.
From all over the world came words of
praise for the peaceful little man who
brought independence to India.
Gandhi was the man who taught the
world that revolutions could be won by
61
peaceful resistance. Gandhi fought his
battles without hatred. He preached
kindness and tolerance to all.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the
Baptist preacher who led the civil rights
movement in America in the 1950s and
1960s. He embraced Gandhi’s
principles of nonviolence, even in the
face of brutal attacks. Just as Gandhi
refused to stoop to hatred as he
struggled to free India, King clung to
nonviolence in his successful crusade to
end discrimination in the United States.
General Douglas MacArthur, famous
military leader of World War II,
commented on Mahatma Gandhi’s
death. He said that if civilization itself is
to survive, all mankind must eventually
accept Gandhi’s philosophy.
Mahatma Gandhi, by his life and
death, witnessed to peace.
62
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Arnold, David. Gandhi. New York:
Longman, 2001.
Coolidge, Olivia. Gandhi. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1971.
Fischer, Louis. The Life of Mahatma
Gandhi. New York: Harper and
Row, 1983.
Gandhi, M.K. Non-Violent Resistance
(Satyagraha). Mineola, New York:
Dover Publications, 2001.
abolish: to do away with
ambition: a desire of some kind
of achievement
anxious: worried, nervous
appendicitis: inflammation of
the appendix
atrocity: a terrible or appalling
act or situation
bill: a draft of a proposed law
breach: a break of friendly
relations
caste: an economic and social
division in Hindu society
ceremony: a formal activity on
an important occasion
chamber pot: a container used
for human waste
charming: nice; pleasant; polite
compromise: an agreement
between two parties
consist: to be made up of
convict: to find guilty of an act
corps: a group of people who
work together for a
specific purpose
cremate: to burn a body
after death
G L O S S A R Y
63
datura: a plant that can
be poisonous
defiance: disobedience,
rebelliousness
deport: to force to leave a
country or area
deprive: to deny or take away
dhoti: a piece of clothing worn
by Indian men
dreaded: to be anticipated
with fear
embrace: to welcome or to
hold close
excommunicate: to cut off
someone from
communication with a
faith or group
fast: to not eat in protest
found: to set up a community
grieve: to feel sad about
something or to mourn
indentured servants: someone
who is under a contract to
work for a specific amount
of time
inferior: not as good or
important
insult: to offend someone
lawsuit: a criminal or civil
action brought before a court
midwife: someone who helps a
woman give birth
morality: the idea of what is
right and wrong; ethics
null and void: no longer valid
occasionally: every now
and then
ocean liner: a ship that
travels across oceans
pacifist: a peaceful person
pamphlet: a booklet with
information about a
specific topic
penicillin: a medicine used to
fight a bacterial infection
persuasion: the process of
convincing people to do
something
petition: a formal request
pneumonia: a sickness that
involves an inflammation of
the lungs
preach: to give a speech trying
to convince people of
ones ideas
pyre: usually a pile of wood
used for burning a dead body
refugee: a person who escapes
a place to find safety
reincarnation: a new
embodiment of a person
resistance: the act of opposing
something
sacrifice: to give up something
valuable
scholar: a well educated person
sedition: something that is
illegal
sentence: the punishment that
is assigned to someone after
a trial
shock: a terrible scare
stern: very serious
stoop: to lower oneself
topcoat: a lightweight coat
tuberculosis: a disease that
often affects the lungs
turban: a piece of cloth that is
worn on the head
twinkling: blinking
typhoid fever: a sickness that
often causes death
victimization: to make a
victim of
virtuous: having many good
qualities
Zulus: a group of African
people
64
I N D E X
Abdulla, Dada, 26, 27
Afrikaners, 26
ambulance corps, 32
Amritsar, 43
Asiatic Law Agreement, 35
Bhagavad-Gita, 22, 27
Birla House, 57, 59
Black Law, 36, 40
Boer War, 31, 32
Boers, 26, 31
Bombay, 23
Brahman, 7
British Empire, 4, 28
caste system, 7
Chauri Chaura, 46
Durban, South Africa, 25
Dyer, Gen. E.H. , 43
Gandhi, Devdas , 33
Gandhi, Harilal, 17, 37, 39, 50,
60
Gandhi, Ramdas, 31
Gandhi, Karamchand, 6, 14, 16
Gandhi, Kasturba, 11, 12, 13,
14, 17, 30, 33, 34, 52,
53, 54, 55
Gandhi, Laxmidas, 16, 18, 23,
24, 25
Gandhi, Manilal, 24, 34, 53
Gandhi, Putlibai, 6, 8, 17
Godse, Nathuram, 58, 59
Government of India Act of
1919, 42
Great Britain, 7, 17, 18, 19, 41,
42, 49
Green Book, 29, 31
Gujarati Language. 30
Harijans, 49
hartal, 42
Hitler, Adolph, 50, 51
Home Rule League, 44
Home Rule, 39, 41, 43
India, 4, 5, 10, 17, 24, 38, 39,
41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 55, 56, 60
Indian Franchise, 28
Indian Independence, 4, 47
Jumna, 60
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 5, 61
London University, 20
London, 19, 20, 22, 39
MacArthur, Gen. Douglas, 61
Mahatma, 45
Phoenix, 35
Porbandar, 5, 11
Rajkot, 8
Rowlett Act, 42
S.S. Clyde, 19
Sabarmati, 42
Sheikh Mehtab, 13, 14,
South Africa, 4, 25, 26, 27, 28,
29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 39
Transvaal, 26
Truth Force, 36
Untouchables, 7, 42, 58