The Autobiography of a Follower of Gandhi
Under Construction
 

In the summer of 1997, all of India and Pakistan celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence from Great Britain. You are 97 years old and none of your grandchildren and great-grandchildren know the story about how you, an ordinary Indian, helped win independence for your nation. You decide write the story of your participation for your family. This is the story of how one person fought for human rights and independence. Each part should include at least one page and a memento (please do not include a memento that will rot, leak, or spill) connected with the story. Here is the beginning of your story:

Introduction-1915: Introduce yourself and tell about first seeing Gandhi. In 1915, while visiting Bombay, you (at the age of 15) go to India Gate, the entrance to India at the docks where the steamships arrive. That day a man named Mohandas K. Gandhi returned to India after studying law in England and working in South Africa. Greeting him at the dock and at a reception that day are four very important men:

Vallabhbhari Patel (a leader in the Congress Party)

Mohammad Ali Jinnah (founder of the Muslim League)

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (one of the founders of the Congress Party)

Jawaharlal Nehru (a young leader in the Congress Party and much later the first Prime Minister of India

These five men will defy the mighty British Empire unarmed. They will follow the methods of a small, quiet man dedicated to equality and non-violence. In their quest for Hind Swaraj or Indian self-rule, they will be beaten and imprisoned. Although you do not yet realize it, you will share their fate.


Part One-1918: Three years later in 1918, your friend from Cambridge University, Jawarharlal Nehru sends you a telegram. He wants you to go to Champarah to help document the injustices done to the people by their English landlords. You meet Gandhi for the first time after he has been arrested and released. He looks very different than the man you saw three years ago in Bombay. You explain why you have come. He looks at you intensely through owl-like glasses, "It will be hard work. You will have to live with the peasants. There will be risks." You nod earnestly not realizing that with so simple a gesture, your life will change forever. At that moment, you will become a follower of the Mahatma or great soul, fighting for Indian independence. Describe the meeting, the good and bad of the British Raj, and what you saw at Champarah and other Indian villages.

Part Two-1919: The British passed the Rowlatt Acts making it illegal to write, speak, or attend a meeting where people are advocating the Indian home-rule. Tell about the "Day of Prayer and Fasting" and the Amritsar Massacre.

After Amritsar, Gandhi tells the British: "You are master in someone else’s home. You must humiliate us to control us." Explain why you thought the British should now leave India.


Section Three-1930: Explain how Gandhi’s method of satyagraha worked. Use concrete examples from the reading, the text, and the movie. Especially discuss the salt march and the march on the Dharasana Salt Works. Explain why the reporter said Britain had lost her "moral ascendency," India is now free.

Section Four-1947: After World War II, a bankrupt Britain finally granted India her independence. Explain why India was partitioned when it gained independence. Tell how it affected the people (Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs) of India and Pakistan and why. Tell how it resulted in the death of your friend, Gandhi.

Timeline of Gandhi’s Life
http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/mkgtimeline.htm

The Mind of the Mahatma
http://www.ourindia.com/gandhi.htm

An Idealist
http://keirsey.com/gandhi.html

Mahatma Gandhi Album
http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/frtocmkg.htm

Chronology of Gandhi’s Life
http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000080.htm

India Info
http://www.indiainfo.com/

Jammu and Kashmir
http://www.jammu-kashmir.org/KIN/KoshSam/Complexities.html

Harappa
http://www.harappa.com/

Gandhi
http://www.engagedpage.com/gandhi.html

Gandhi, the Messiah of Peace
http://www.indiaspace.com/gandhiji.htm

The History of the Punjab
http://www.ualberta.ca/~mupal/punjab/history.html

The Salt March-A Force More Powerful
http://www.pbs.org/weta/forcemorepowerful/india/