Alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi

The British questioned the Congress party and Gandhi's authority to speak for all of India. Ambedkar as the representative leader of the untouchables. The Second Round Table conference was the only time Gandhi left India between and his death in Gandhi declined the government's offer of accommodation in an expensive West End hotel, preferring to stay in the East Endto live among working-class people, as he did in India.

After Gandhi returned from the Second Round Table conference, he started a new satyagraha. Gandhi was arrested and imprisoned at the Yerwada JailPune. While he was in prison, the British government enacted a new law that granted untouchables a separate electorate. It came to be known as the Communal Award. InGandhi resigned from Congress party membership.

He did not disagree with the party's position, but felt that if he resigned, Gandhi's popularity with Indians would cease to stifle the party's membership, which actually varied, including communists, socialists, trade unionists, students, religious conservatives, and those with pro-business convictions, and that these various voices would get a chance to make themselves heard.

Gandhi also wanted to avoid being a target for Raj propaganda by leading a party that had temporarily accepted political accommodation with the Raj. InGandhi returned to active politics again with the Nehru presidency and the Lucknow session of the Congress. Although Gandhi wanted a total focus on the task of winning independence and not speculation about India's future, he did not restrain the Congress from adopting socialism as its goal.

Gandhi had a clash with Subhas Chandra Bose, who had been elected president inand who had previously expressed a lack of faith in nonviolence as a means of protest. Gandhi declared that Sitaramayya's defeat was his defeat. Gandhi opposed providing any help to the British war effort and he campaigned against any Indian participation in World War II.

Gandhi's opposition to the Indian participation in World War II was motivated by his belief that India could not be party to a war ostensibly being fought for democratic freedom while that freedom was denied to India itself. As the war progressed, Gandhi intensified his demand for independence, calling for the British to Quit India in a speech in Mumbai.

InGandhi now nearing age 73, urged his people to completely stop co-operating with the imperial government. In this effort, Gandhi urged that they neither kill nor injure British people but be willing to suffer and die if violence is initiated by the British officials. Gandhi's arrest lasted two years, as he was held in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune.

During this period, Gandhi's longtime secretary Mahadev Desai died of a heart attack, his wife Kasturba died after 18 months' imprisonment on 22 Februaryand Gandhi suffered a severe malaria attack.

Alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi: Guadagni M, Biolo G. Effects of

Gelder then composed and released an interview summary, cabled it to the mainstream press, that announced sudden concessions Gandhi was willing to make, comments that shocked his countrymen, the Congress workers and even Gandhi. The latter two claimed that it distorted what Gandhi actually said on a range of topics and falsely repudiated the Quit India movement.

Gandhi was released before the end of the war on 6 May because of his failing health and necessary surgery; the Raj did not want him to die in prison and enrage the nation. Gandhi came out of detention to an altered political scene — the Muslim League for example, which a few years earlier had appeared marginal, "now occupied the centre of the political stage" [ ] and the topic of Jinnah's campaign for Pakistan was a major talking point.

Gandhi and Jinnah had extensive correspondence and the two men met several times over a period of two weeks in September at Jinnah's house in Bombay, where Gandhi insisted on a united religiously plural and independent India which included Muslims and non-Muslims of the Indian subcontinent coexisting. Jinnah rejected this proposal and insisted instead for partitioning the subcontinent on religious lines to create a separate Muslim homeland later Pakistan.

While the leaders of Congress languished in jail, the other parties supported the war and gained organisational strength. Underground publications flailed at the ruthless suppression of Congress, but it had little control over events. At this point, Gandhi called off the struggle, and aroundpolitical prisoners were released, including the Congress's leadership.

Gandhi opposed the partition of the Indian subcontinent along religious lines. Jinnah rejected Gandhi's proposal and called for Direct Action Dayon 16 Augustto press Muslims to publicly gather in cities and support his proposal for the partition of the Indian subcontinent into a Muslim state and non-Muslim state. Thousands of Hindus and Muslims were murdered, and tens of thousands were injured in the cycle of violence in the days that followed.

Archibald Wavellthe Viceroy and Governor-General of British India for three years through Februaryhad worked with Gandhi and Jinnah to find a common ground, before and after accepting Indian independence in principle. Wavell condemned Gandhi's "alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi" and motives as well as his ideas. Wavell accused Gandhi of harbouring the single-minded idea to "overthrow British rule and influence and to establish a Hindu raj", and called Gandhi a "malignant, malevolent, exceedingly shrewd" politician.

The British reluctantly agreed to grant independence to the people of the Indian subcontinent, but accepted Jinnah's proposal of partitioning the land into Pakistan and India. Gandhi was involved in the final negotiations, but Stanley Wolpert states the "plan to carve up British India was never approved of or accepted by Gandhi". The partition was controversial and violently disputed.

More than half a million were killed in religious riots as 10 million to 12 million non-Muslims Hindus and Sikhs mostly migrated from Pakistan into India, and Muslims migrated from India into Pakistan, across the newly created borders of India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan. Gandhi spent the day of independence not celebrating the end of the British rule, but appealing for peace among his countrymen by fasting and spinning in Calcutta on 15 August The partition had gripped the Indian subcontinent with religious violence and the streets were filled with corpses.

At p. There, he died about 30 minutes later as one of Gandhi's family members read verses from Hindu scriptures. Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless, we will not see him again, as we have seen him for these many years, we will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country.

Godse, a Hindu nationalist, [ ] [ ] [ ] with links to the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] made no attempt to escape; several other conspirators were soon arrested as well. The trial began on 27 May and ran for eight months before Justice Atma Charan passed his final order on 10 February The prosecution called witnesses, the defence none.

Eight men were convicted for the murder conspiracy, and others were convicted for violation of the Explosive Substances Act. Savarkar was acquitted and set free. Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were sentenced to death by hanging [ ] while the remaining six including Godse's brother, Gopal were sentenced to life imprisonment. Gandhi's death was mourned nationwide.

The engine of the vehicle was not used; instead, four drag-ropes held by 50 people each pulled the vehicle. Gandhi was cremated in accordance with Hindu tradition. His ashes were poured into urns which were sent across India for memorial services. InTushar Gandhi immersed the contents of one urn, found in a bank vault and reclaimed through the courts, at the Sangam at Allahabad.

On 30 Januarythe contents of another urn were immersed at Girgaum Chowpatty. Another urn is at the palace of the Aga Khan in Pune where Gandhi was held as a political prisoner from to [ ] [ ] and another in the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Los Angeles. These are said to be Gandhi's last words after he was shot. Gandhi's spirituality was greatly based on his embracement of the five great vows of Jainism and Hindu Yoga philosophy, viz.

Satya truthahimsa nonviolencebrahmacharya celibacyasteya non-stealingand aparigraha non-attachment. Some writers present Gandhi as a paragon of ethical living and pacifism, while others present him as a more complex, contradictory and evolving character influenced by his culture and circumstances. Gandhi dedicated his life to discovering and pursuing truth, or Satyaand called his movement satyagrahawhich means "appeal to, insistence on, or reliance on the Truth.

It was the satyagraha formulation and step, states Dennis Dalton, that deeply resonated with beliefs and culture of his people, embedded him into the popular consciousness, transforming him quickly into Mahatma. Gandhi based Satyagraha on the Vedantic ideal of self-realisation, ahimsa nonviolencevegetarianism, and universal love.

William Borman states that the key to his satyagraha is rooted in the Hindu Upanishadic texts. Bruce Watson states that some of these ideas are found not only in traditions within Hinduism, but also in Jainism or Buddhism, particularly those about non-violence, vegetarianism and universal love, but Gandhi's synthesis was to politicise these ideas.

Gandhi stated that the most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears, and insecurities. Gandhi summarised his beliefs first when he said, "God is Truth. The essence of Satyagraha is "soul force" as a political means, refusing to use brute force against the oppressor, seeking to eliminate antagonisms between the oppressor and the oppressed, aiming to transform or "purify" the oppressor.

It is not inaction but determined passive resistance and non-co-operation where, states Arthur Herman, "love conquers hate". It arms the individual with moral power rather than physical power. Satyagraha is also termed a "universal force", as it essentially "makes no distinction between kinsmen and strangers, young and old, man and woman, friend and foe.

Gandhi wrote: "There must be no impatience, no barbarity, no insolence, no undue pressure. If we want to cultivate a true spirit of democracy, we cannot afford to be intolerant. Intolerance betrays want of faith in one's cause. This end usually implies a moral upliftment or progress of an individual or society. Therefore, non-co-operation in Satyagraha is in fact a means to secure the co-operation of the opponent consistently with truth and justice.

While Gandhi's idea of satyagraha as a political means attracted a widespread following among Indians, the support was not universal. For example, Muslim leaders such as Jinnah opposed the satyagraha idea, accused Gandhi to be reviving Hinduism through political activism, and began effort to counter Gandhi with Muslim nationalism and a demand for Muslim homeland.

Although Gandhi was not the originator of the principle of nonviolence, he was the first to apply it in the political field on a large scale. Although Gandhi considered non-violence to be "infinitely superior to violence", he preferred violence to cowardice. Gandhi was a prolific writer. His signature style was simple, precise, clear and as devoid of artificialities.

The book was translated into English the next year, with a copyright legend that read "No Rights Reserved". Later, Navajivan was also published in Hindi. Gandhi also wrote letters almost every day to individuals and newspapers. Gandhi also wrote extensively on vegetarianism, diet and health, religion, social reforms, etc. Gandhi usually wrote in Gujarati, though he also revised the Hindi and English translations of his books.

Gandhi's complete works were published by the Indian government under the name The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi in the s. The writings comprise about 50, pages published in about volumes. Ina revised edition of the complete works sparked a controversy, as it contained a large number of errors and omissions. Gandhi is noted as the greatest figure of the successful Indian independence movement against the British rule.

He is also hailed as the greatest figure of modern India. The word Mahatmawhile often mistaken for Gandhi's given name in the West, is taken from the Sanskrit words maha meaning Great and atma meaning Soul. Innumerable streets, roads, and localities in India are named after Gandhi. These include M. As ofover countries have released stamps on Gandhi.

Florian asteroid Gandhi was named in his honour in September Gandhi influenced important leaders and political movements. In his early years, the former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was a follower of the nonviolent resistance philosophy of Gandhi. This legacy connects him to Nelson Mandela Gandhi's life and teachings inspired many who specifically referred to Gandhi as their mentor or who dedicated their lives to spreading his ideas.

Inphysicist Albert Einstein exchanged letters with Gandhi and called him "a role model for the generations to come" in a letter writing about him. Mahatma Gandhi's life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised it with greatest energy and devotion.

The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilised world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works.

We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come. Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood. Farah Omara political activist from Somalilandvisited India inwhere he met Gandhi and was influenced by Gandhi's non-violent philosophy, which he adopted in his campaign in British Somaliland.

Lanza del Vasto went to India in intending to live alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi Gandhi; he later returned to Europe to spread Gandhi's philosophy and founded the Community of the Ark in modelled after Gandhi's ashrams. Madeleine Slade known as "Mirabehn" was the daughter of a British admiral who spent much of her adult life in India as a devotee of Gandhi.

In addition, the British musician John Lennon referred to Gandhi when discussing his views on nonviolence. His reply was in response to the question: "Who was the one person, dead or live, that you would choose to dine with? He inspired Dr. King with his message of nonviolence. He ended up doing so much and changed the world just by the power of his ethics.

Gandhi's ideas had a significant influence on 20th-century philosophy. It began with his engagement with Romain Rolland and Martin Buber. Jean-Luc Nancy said that the French philosopher Maurice Blanchot engaged critically with Gandhi from the point of view of "European spirituality. American political scientist Gene Sharp wrote an analytical text, Gandhi as a political strategiston the significance of Gandhi's ideas, for creating nonviolent social change.

Recently, in the light of climate change, Gandhi's views on technology are gaining importance in the fields of environmental philosophy and philosophy of technology. Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in Nelson Mandelathe leader of South Africa's struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and segregation, was a prominent non-Indian recipient.

Alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi: Guadagni, Alieto Aldo. Braden

InGandhi was posthumously awarded with the World Peace Prize. Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prizealthough he was nominated five times between andincluding the first-ever nomination by the American Friends Service Committee[ ] though Gandhi made the short list only twice, in and That year, the committee chose not to award the peace prize stating that "there was no suitable living candidate", and later research shows that the possibility of awarding the prize posthumously to Gandhi was discussed and that the reference to no suitable living candidate was to Gandhi.

Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question. Indians widely describe Gandhi as the Father of the Nation. India, with its rapid economic modernisation and urbanisation, has rejected Gandhi's economics [ ] but accepted much of his politics and continues to revere his memory. Reporter Jim Yardley notes that "modern India is hardly a Gandhian nation, if it ever was one.

His vision of a village-dominated economy was shunted aside during his lifetime as rural romanticism, and his call for a national ethos of personal austerity and nonviolence has proved antithetical to the goals of an aspiring economic and military power. Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, is a national holiday in IndiaGandhi Jayanti. His image also appears on paper currency of all denominations issued by Reserve Bank of Indiaexcept for the one rupee note.

There are three temples in India dedicated to Gandhi. Gandhi's children and grandchildren live in India and other countries. Grandson Rajmohan Gandhi is a professor in Illinois and an author of Gandhi's biography titled Mohandas[ ] while another, Tarun Gandhi, has authored several authoritative books on his grandfather. Another grandson, Kanu Ramdas Gandhi the son of Gandhi's third son Ramdaswas found living at an old age home in Delhi despite having taught earlier in the United States.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Indian independence activist — For other uses, see Gandhi disambiguation. New DelhiDominion of India. British Raj until Dominion of India from Leadership of the campaign for India's independence from British rule Nonviolent resistance.

Kasturba Gandhi. Harilal Manilal Ramdas Devdas. Karamchand Gandhi Putlibai Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi's voice. Early life and background. Vegetarianism and committee work. Civil rights activist in South Africa — Europeans, Indians and Africans.

Alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi: -June I ALIETO ALDo GUADAGNI. La

Struggle for Indian independence — See also: Indian independence movement. Main article: Champaran Satyagraha. Main article: Kheda Satyagraha. Main article: Khilafat Movement. Main article: Non-co-operation movement. Main article: Salt Satyagraha. Main article: Quit India Movement. Partition and independence. See also: Indian independence movement and Partition of India.

Main article: Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Principles, practices, and beliefs. Main article: Practices and beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi. See also: Gandhism. Followers and alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi influence. Global days that celebrate Gandhi. Film, theatre, and literature. Current impact within India. Not to be confused with the Indian political family Nehru—Gandhi family.

Retrieved 24 January P Mahatma Gandhi A Chronology. Publications Division. ISBN The Floating Press. Archived from the original on 29 March Retrieved 29 March Archived from the original on 21 July Retrieved 21 July Identity and Religion: Foundations of anti-Islamism in India. Sage Publications. Mohandas Gandhi. Infobase Publishing. The name Gandhi means "grocer", although Mohandas's father and grandfather were politicians not grocers.

The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 7 October Retrieved 15 July The Ways and Power of Love: types, factors, and techniques of moral transformation. Templeton Foundation Press. Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma. University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 19 March Responses to Questions on Hinduism. Paulist Press. Retrieved 16 August Gandhi: A Spiritual Biography.

Yale University Press. John Zavos; et al. Public Hinduisms. Orissa Review January : 45— Archived from the original PDF on 1 January Retrieved 23 February The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Archived from the original on 7 March Retrieved 20 February Gandhi, his life and message for the world. New American Library. Retrieved 4 June Gandhi Before India.

Alfred A. Archived from the original on 2 July Nanda Archived from the original on 13 May Retrieved 3 June India Currents. Archived from the original on 16 January Retrieved 16 January Gandhi as Disciple and Mentor. Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original on 15 May Mahatma: Tendulkar, Mahatma; life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Archived from the original on 8 June Retrieved 11 August Gandhi — ". Archived from the original on 5 December Retrieved 26 September In Roxanne Reid ed. New History of South Africa 1st ed. The Journal of Modern African Studies. ISSN X. JSTOR S2CID Mawenzi House Publishers Limited. Archived from the original on 17 March Retrieved 17 March Archived from the original on 9 September Retrieved 17 September In JanuaryGandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi.

You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States. Your Profile. Email Updates. Mohandas Gandhi. Read more. History Rewind: Gandhi's Funeral Sign Up. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi was a renowned freedom activist and an authoritative or powerful political leader who played an essential role in India's struggle for Independence against British rule of India.

He was also considered the father of the country. No doubt, he also improved the lives of India's poor people. His birthday is celebrated every year as Gandhi Jayanti. His ideology of truth and non-violence influenced many and was also adopted by Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela for their struggle movement. In South Africa for about 20 years, Mahatma Gandhi protested against injustices and racial discrimination using the non-violent method of protests.

His simplistic lifestyle won him, admirers, both in India and the outside world. He was popularly known as Bapu Father. He was born on 2 October, in Porbandar, Gujarat. At the age of 13, Mahatma Gandhi was married to Kasturba which is an arranged marriage. They had four sons namely Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. She supported all the endeavors of her husband until her death in Mahatma Gandhi was the son of his father's fourth wife Putlibai, who belonged to an affluent Vaishnava family.

Let us tell you that in his earlier days, he was deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana and Harishchandra as they reflected the importance of truth. When Gandhi was 9 years old he went to a local school at Rajkot and studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography, and languages. At the age of 11, he went to a high school in Rajkot. As Gandhi attended the Indian National Congress, his hopes came true.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, one of the most prominent Indian politicians of the time, supported the resolution for the rights of Indians in South Africa and the resolution was passed. Through Gokhale, in whose house Gandhi stayed for a month, Gandhi met many political connections that would serve him later in life. However, his promise to always aid his friends in Natal soon prompted him to return to South Africa, when he received an urgent telegram informing him that the Boers had formed a peaceful relationship with British South Africans and now held political sway in the Cape Colony as well; the telegram also informed him that this would be a severe setback in his attempt to overturn discriminatory legislation targeting Indian South Africans.

Gandhi travelled back to South Africa immediately and met with Joseph ChamberlainSecretary of State for the Colonies, and presented him with a paper on the discriminatory policies instituted against the Indian population but Chamberlain instead rebuffed Gandhi and informed him that Indians living in South Africa would have to accede to the will of the Afrikanerswho now were granted increased political power as a result of the formation of the Union of South Africa as a dominion.

Gandhi began to organize a fast response to this new South African political configuration. Instead of working in Natal, he now established a camp in the newly conquered Transvaal region and began helping Indians who had escaped from the war in that region, and now had to purchase overly expensive re-entry passes. He also represented poor Indians who were dispossessed of dwellings in a shantytown by the authorities.

Gandhi also started a new magazine, Indian Opinionthat advocated for political liberty and equal rights in South Africa. The magazine, which initially included several young women from Europe, expanded its staff around the alieto guadagni biography of mahatma gandhi, increasing both Gandhi's popularity and the public support for his ideas.

At around the same time, Gandhi read John Ruskin's book Unto This Lastwhich maintained that the life of manual labor was superior to all other ways of living. As he adopted this belief, Gandhi chose to abandon the Western dress and habits, and he moved his family and staff to a Transvaal farm called the Phoenix, where he even renounced the use of an oil-powered engine and printed Indian Opinion by hand-wheel, and performed agriculture labor using old, manual farming equipment.

He began to conceive of his public work as a mission to restore old Indian virtue and civilization, rather than fall prey to modern Western influence, which included electricity and technology. Between andhe also changed another aspect of his personal life by achieving Brahmacharya, or the voluntary abstention from sexual relations. He made this choice as part of his philosophy of selflessness and self-restraint.

Finally, he also formulated his own philosophy of political protest, called Satyagraha, which literally meant "truth-force" in Sanskrit. In practice, this practice meant protesting injustice steadfastly, but in a non-violent manner. He put this theory into practice on 8 Septemberwhen, at a large gathering of the Indian community in Transvaal, he asked the whole community to take a vow of disobedience to the law, as the Transvaal government had started an effort to register every Indian child over the age of eight, which would make them an official part of the South African population.

Setting a personal example, Gandhi became the first Indian to appear before a magistrate for his refusal to register, and he was sentenced to two months in prison. He actually asked for a heavier sentence, a request, consistent with his philosophy of self-denial. After his release, Gandhi continued his campaign and thousands of Indians burned their registration cards, crossing the Transvaal-Natal border without passes.

Many went to jail, including Gandhi, who went to jail again in Gandhi did not waver when a South African General by the name of Jan Christian Smuts promised to eliminate the registration law, but broke his word. Gandhi went all the way to London in and gathered enough support among the members of the British government to convince Smuts to eliminate the law in Yet the Transvaal Prime Minister continued to regard Indians as second-class citizens while the Cape Colony government passed another discriminatory law making all non-Christian marriages illegal, which meant that all Indian children would be considered born out of wedlock.

In addition, the government in Natal continued to impose a crippling poll tax upon Indians entering Natal. In response to these strikingly unjust rules, Gandhi organized a large-scale satyagraha, which involved women crossing the Natal-Transvaal border illegally. When they were arrested, five thousand Indian coal miners also went on strike; Gandhi himself led them across the Natalese border, where they expected arrest.

Although Smuts and Gandhi did not agree on many points, they had respect for each other. InSmuts relented due to the sheer number of Indians involved in protest and negotiated a settlement which provided for the legality of Indian marriages and abolished the poll tax. Further, the import of indentured laborers from India was to be phased out by In JulyGandhi sailed for Britain, known throughout the world for the success of his satyagraha.

Gandhi was in England when World War I started and he immediately began organizing a medical corps similar to the force he had led in the Boer War, but he had also faced health problems that caused him to return to India, where he met the applauding crowds with enthusiasm once again. Indians continued to refer to him as "Great Soul," an appellation reserved only for the holiest men of Hinduism.

While Gandhi accepted the love and admiration of the crowds, he also insisted that all souls were equal and did not accept the implication of religious sacredness that his new name carried. In order to retreat into a life of humility and restraint, as his personal alieto guadagni biographies of mahatma gandhi mandated, he decided to withdraw from public life for a while spending his first year in India focusing on his personal quest for purity and healing.

He also lived in a communal space with untouchables, a choice which many of his financial supporters resented, because they believed that the very presence of untouchables defiled higher-caste Indians. Gandhi even considered moving to a district in Ahmedabad inhabited entirely by the untouchables when a generous Muslim merchant donated enough money to keep up his current living space for another year.

By that time, Gandhi's communal life with the untouchables had become more acceptable. Although Gandhi had withdrawn from public life, he briefly met with the British Governor of Bombay and future Viceroy of IndiaLord Willington, whom Gandhi promised to consult before he launched any political campaigns. Gandhi also felt the impact of another event, the passing of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who had become his supporter and political mentor.

He stayed away from the political trend of Indian nationalism, which many of the members of the Indian National Congress embraced. Instead, he stayed busy resettling his family and the inhabitants of the Phoenix Settlement in South Africa, as well as the Tolstoy Settlement he had founded near Johannesburg. For this purpose, on 25 Mayhe created a new settlement, which came to be known as the Satyagraha ashram derived from the Sanskrit word "Satya" meaning "truth" near the town of Ahmedabad and close to his place of birth in the western Indian province of Gujarat.

All the inhabitants of the ashram, which included one family of untouchables, swore to poverty and chastity. After a while, Gandhi became influenced by the idea of Indian independence from the British, but he dreaded the possibility that a westernized Indian elite would replace the British colonial government. He developed a strong conviction that Indian independence should take place as a large-scale sociopolitical reform, which would remove the old plagues of extreme poverty and caste restrictions.

In fact, he believed that Indians could not become worthy of self-government unless they all shared a concern for the poor. As Gandhi resumed his public life in India inhe delivered a speech at the opening of the new Hindu University in the city of Benareswhere he discussed his understanding of independence and reform. He also provided specific examples of the abhorrent living conditions of the lower classes that he had observed during his travels around India and focused specifically on sanitation.

Although the Indians of the higher-castes did not readily embrace the ideas in the speech, Gandhi had now returned to public life and he felt ready to convert these ideas to actions. Facing the possibility of arrest, just like he always did in South Africa, Gandhi first spoke for the rights of impoverished indigo-cultivators in the Champaran district.

His efforts eventually led to the appointment of a government commission to investigate abuses perpetrated on the indigo planters. He also interfered whenever he saw violence. When a group of Ahmedabad mill workers went on strike and became violent, he resolved to fast until they returned to peace. Though some political commentators condemned Gandhi's behavior as a form of blackmail, the fast only lasted three days before the workers and their employers negotiated an agreement.

Through this situation, Gandhi discovered the fast as one of his most effective weapons in later years and set a precedent for later action as part of satyagraha. As the First World War continued, Gandhi also became involved in recruiting men for the British Indian Armyan involvement which his followers had a difficult time accepting, after listening to his passionate speeches about resisting injustice in a non-violent manner.

At this point, although Gandhi still remained loyal to Britain and enamored with the ideals of the British constitution, his desire to support an independent home rule became stronger. As time passed, Gandhi became exhausted from his long journey around the country and fell ill with dysentery. He refused conventional treatment and chose to practice his own healing methods, relying on diet and spending a long time bedridden, while in recovery in his ashram.

In the meantime, the unrest in India increased exponentially with news of the British victories over the Ottoman Empire during the Middle Eastern theatre of the First World War. The prospect of the only major Muslim power in the world ceasing to exist was an unacceptable proposition to many Indian Muslims. After the end of the war, the British colonial government decided to follow the recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee, which advocated the retention of various wartime restrictions in India, including curfews and measures to suppress free speech.

Gandhi was still sick when these events took place and, although he could not protest actively, he felt his loyalty to the British Empire weaken significantly. Later, when the Rowlatt Act actually became law, Gandhi proposed that the entire country observe a day of prayer, fasting, and abstention from physical labor as a peaceful protest against the injustice of the oppressive law.

Gandhi's plea generated an overwhelming response as millions of Indians did not go to work on 6 April As the entire country stood still, the British colonial government arrested Gandhi, which provoked angry crowds to fill the streets of India's cities and, much to Gandhi's dislike, violence erupted everywhere. Gandhi could not tolerate violence so he called off his campaign and asked that everyone return to their homes.

He acted in accordance with his firm belief that if satyagraha could not be carried out without violence, it should not take place at all. Unfortunately, not all protesters shared Gandhi's conviction as ardently.