Mahatma Gandhi
| Mahatma Gandhi | |
 | |
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, August 1942 | |
| Birth name | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi |
|---|---|
| Nickname (s) | "Bapu" ("father"), "Mahatma" ("great soul") |
| Birth | 2 October 1869 Porbandar , Gujarat ,  British India |
| Deaths | 30 January 1948 (78 years) Delhi ,  India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation (s) | Politician |
| Training | Lawyer |
| Honors | Father of the Nation |
| Family | Nonviolent |
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (in gujart : ; Romanized: API : / mo hnda s krmtnd ga nd i / ), born in Porbandar , Gujarat on 2 October 1869 , died in Delhi on 30 January 1948 , is a leading policy , important guide spiritual of India and the independence movement in this country. It is commonly known and called in India and the world as Mahatma Gandhi (from Sanskrit , : - "Mahatma" is a title all his life he refused to associate himself .
Lawyer who studied law in England, Gandhi developed a method of civil disobedience nonviolent South Africa , by organizing the Indian community's struggle for civil rights. Upon his return to India, Gandhi encouraged the farmers and poor workers to protest against taxes as too high and the widespread discrimination and put on the national struggle against colonial laws created by the British. Became the leader of Indian National Congress , Gandhi led a nationwide campaign to help the poor, for the liberation of Indian women , for brotherhood between communities of different religions or ethnicities, for an end of untouchability and discrimination of caste , and economic self-sufficiency of the nation, but especially for Swaraj - the independence of India from foreign domination.
Gandhi led the Salt March , the famous opposition to the tax on salt. It was he who launched the movement also call Quit India on 8 August 1942. He was imprisoned several times in South Africa and India for its activities, he spent a total of six years of his life in prison.
Follower of Indian philosophy , Gandhi lived simply, organizing an ashram that was self-sufficient. He made his own clothes - the traditional dhoti and shawl India, with cotton yarn with a charkha (spinning wheel) - and was a vegetarian. He practiced rigorous fasts for long periods, for self-purification as well as a means of protest.
Summary
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Youth in India (1869-1888)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born October 2, 1869 in Porbandar in the present state of Gujarat , India. Gandhi was born and lived all his life as' Hindu , but in a family open to other religious communities, whether Jain , Muslim or Parsi .
He showed a lot of affection and respect for his parents. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, is a member of the court of Rajasthan , then premier of the tiny principality of Rajkot, and Gandhi were the last six generations. Gandhi described him as a man who, despite a limited education, is able to solve problems through experience. His mother, Poutlibai, is the fourth and last wife of his father, whom she has four children, Gandhi is the youngest of them. He keeps most of her memories of a woman of great piety, strictly observing religious vows, including fasting, and rituals Vishnuite. So Gandhi was born into a wealthy family (his father, who wore gold jewelry, may, for example, offer to her youngest son an accordion, but the house was home to several families that Gandhi must coexist); that said, his family, from the caste of Vaishyas (merchants), does not belong to upper castes of Brahmans (scholars, religious) and Kshatriyas (warriors), superiority is sacred and cosmic order, not economic.
Gandhi in his own words a poor student in elementary school Porbandar, then became very studious but shy and sensitive to college Rajkot .
In May 1883, at the age of 13, Gandhi was married through his parents Makhanji Kasturba (also spelled "Kasturbai" or known as "Ba"), which is the same age. They have four son, Harilal Gandhi , born in 1888, Manilal Gandhi , born in 1892 Ramdas Gandhi , born in 1897 and Devdas Gandhi , born in 1900. Following the marriage, his studies were delayed by a year but being a good student, she is allowed to skip a class, which will not be without it cause problems in the school .
His father was ill for a long time and he worships, when Gandhi died 16 years. It will remain marked by his inability to attend its last moments because he spent the night with his wife. Gandhi believed that his life is because of what he saw as a lack of filial piety as the baby shortly after they had survived only a few days .
Gandhi forged during this part of his life very important aspect of his ethics and his personality such as honesty, tolerance, respect for his elders, the vegetarianism and especially the rejection of lying and truth-seeking .
He passes the entrance examination at the University of Samaldas Bhavanaga located in Gujarat in 1887 but is completely overwhelmed by demands that seem out of reach .
Studies in England and return to India (1888-1893)
On the advice of an old family friend, he decides to go to law school in England, an opportunity that meets enthusiasm. He promises his mother present Becharji Svami a monk Jain and other advisors of the family, to follow the precepts and Hindus "not to touch the wine, nor women, nor meat" . Caste opposed his departure, considering that life in this country can only lead to a loss of faith. Gandhi, highlighting the vow made to his mother and supported by his family, decides to leave anyway and was sentenced to be outcast by the leader of her community .
Gandhi therefore falls to the University College London September 4, 1888 at the age of 18 years to become a lawyer. He tries to some extent to adapt to English customs, by dressing as a gentleman and taking dance classes, but he refuses to eat meat at his guests. He later attended London's vegetarian restaurants. Instead of simply sticking to the promise made to his mother, he goes beyond by focusing on diet and more particularly to vegetarianism. He joined the Vegetarian Society and became a member of the executive committee for a while. Gandhi later said it gave him a first experience of organizing an institution .
Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society , founded in 1875 and dedicated to the study of literature Buddhist and Brahmanic hoping to strengthen universal brotherhood.
Thanks to them, Gandhi studied more carefully the Bhagavad Gita , which affected him deeply, especially through the idea that desire is a source of agitation of the mind and suffering. It then develops an interest in religion, which is not confined to Hinduism but also extends to other religions like Buddhism , the Islam and Christianity , which it retains among others the incentive to respond by Non-violence "if someone strikes you on the right cheek, show him the left cheek."
He takes the boat to India June 12, 1891, two days after being admitted to easily Bar of England and Wales. It was however much more difficult to ply his trade: his studies remained theoretical: he still has no knowledge of Indian law and has difficulty speaking in public. He first tries to move to Mumbai but had to resign after six months because of cash flow sufficient.
Gandhi then returned to Rajkot to work with his brother, lawyer too. There drafts motions and briefs, taking advantage of the goodwill of his brother. However, he is sickened by the climate of struggle for power that surrounds him, by the obligation of having to curry favor with the hierarchy, including British officers. He jumps at the opportunity when Indian company offered him a contract for one year in South Africa. He sees this as an opportunity both to leave India, to travel and gain experience, and then embarked for Africa in April 1893.
civil rights movements in South Africa (1893-1915)
At this point in his life, Gandhi is someone sweet, timid and politically indifferent. He read his first newspaper at age 18, has no law that a bookish, he ignores the commercial aspects affecting Indian trading community that will form its main clientele . Without special facilities in the exercise of his profession, he is prone to stage fright when speaking in court . South Africa is the changing dramatically, first by giving him, for his professional success, ensuring that it lacked previously , secondly by arousing political consciousness by the testimony of discrimination against blacks and Indians to whom he will face in this country.
Anecdotes, first reported by Gandhi as "Experiments with Truth", can explain the evolution of Gandhi's position at this time of his life. A day in the courtyard in the city of Durban , the magistrate asked him to remove his turban. Gandhi refused and was expelled from the court. Later, he was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg , after refusing to move from first-class carriage at the third when he has a valid first class ticket . On another occasion, traveling by stagecoach, he was beaten by a driver because he refuses to travel on the footboard to make room for a European passenger . On this trip, he was rejected from many hotels because of his skin color.
These incidents were described by several biographers as a turning point in his life and then they served him a catalyst for his activism. By being a direct witness of bigotry, racism , and prejudice and injustice against Indians in South Africa that Gandhi started to reflect on the status of his people and his own place in society. Gandhi responds by first protests and gets the Indians dressed in European can travel first class .
At the end of his contract, Gandhi prepares to return to India. However, during a farewell party in his honor, he learns that the assembly of Natal is preparing legislation to ban the right to vote in India. His hosts asked him to stay to help because they lack the skills to oppose this bill. He circulated several petitions against the law to the Government of Natal and the British government. Although unable to prevent the passage of this law, allows his campaign to draw attention to the plight of Indians in South Africa. Persuaded to stay by his supporters, then he founded the Natal Indian Congress in 1894, making himself the post of secretary. This organization is transforming the Indian community into a political force uniform, publishing evidence of segregation in British South Africa.
Gandhi returned briefly to India in 1896 to bring his wife and children live with him in South Africa. Upon his return in January 1897, he was attacked by a mob of white South Africans who try to lynch him . A first indication of the values that will shape its future campaigns is his refusal to file a complaint against his assailants, adding that was one of his principles not to resolve personal issues before a court.
Early in the Second Boer War in 1899, Gandhi declared that Indians must support the war effort if they want to legitimize their citizenship applications. He organized a volunteer ambulance corps of 300 free Indians and 800 coolies from India, called the Indian Ambulance Corps, one of the few medical units were assisting the South African blacks. Gandhi himself was a stretcher at the Battle of Spion Kop . Gandhi is decorated for the occasion. Nevertheless, at the end of the war, the Indian situation does not improve, and even continues to deteriorate.
In 1904, after founding the newspaper Indian Opinion, reading Unto This Last by John Ruskin 's influence grows Gandhi deeply and fundamentally change life in the years that follow. He bought shortly after the Phoenix facility, which becomes the Tolstoy Farm, named in honor of the writer, where all the editors involved in farm work and receive the same pay regardless of occupation, nationality or color skin. He began the practice of fasting, stop drinking milk, cut his hair himself and cleans toilets (work reserved for untouchables in India) and encourages his wife and friends to do the same . In 1905-1906, the reputation of competence and integrity of Gandhi are the lawyer of choice for merchants Gujarati , which ensures sustained activity in prosperous law firm he heads. This allows him to have comfortable incomes of about 5000 pounds per year, and further demonstrates its contempt for material comfort, "more than an attitude of" natural "in Gandhi is a deliberate choice" .
In 1906, the Government of Transvaal passed a new law requiring the registration of the entire Indian population. At a meeting of protest in Johannesburg on 11 September 1906 , Gandhi adopts for the first time his methodology of satyagraha (devotion to truth), or non-violent protest, calling his fellow Indians to defy the new law and suffer the punishment that would result instead of resisting with violence.
This plan was adopted, leading to a struggle of seven years during which thousands of Indians and Chinese are jailed (including Gandhi himself on numerous occasions), whipped or even killed for going on strike, refused to register, burned their registration cards or have resisted non-violently. It was during this time that Gandhi began a correspondence with Leo Tolstoy , where they exchanged views on nonviolence and global politics until the death of Russian writer . Civil disobedience culminated in 1913 with a miners' strike and the march of Indian women.
Although the South African government suppresses indigenous protesters successfully, the public reacts violently with extremely harsh methods used against peaceful demonstrators Asian. Finally General Jan Christiaan Smuts was forced to negotiate a compromise with Gandhi. The non-Christian marriages again become legal and a tax of three books representing six months salary, imposed on Indian workers who wanted to become free (that is to say the coolies), is abolished .
Fighting for independence of India (1915-1945)
On his return to India, Gandhi discovers he does not know his own country. He decides to go back and forth, going from village to village, to meet the Indian soul and know its true needs.
In May 1915, Gandhi founded an Ashram on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in India and called Satyagraha Ashram (also known as the Sabarmati Ashram ). Once housed 25 men and women who make vows of truth, celibacy, of ahimsa , poverty, and serving the people of India.
As he did in South Africa, Gandhi asked Indians to enlist in the army to help the British in the First World War. His reasoning, rejected by many, was also there that if you wanted to citizenship, freedom and peace in the Empire, it would be good to participate in his defense.
He made speeches at meetings of the Indian National Congress , and is introduced into politics by Gopal Krishna Gokhale , who is one of the most respected leaders of the party at that time.
He rushes in 1917 the abolition of the indenture of coolies , Indian immigrants working in conditions akin to slavery in the British and French colonies. Gandhi had met for the first time the coolies in South Africa and launched his first petition against the indenture in 1894 .
Champaran and Kheda
The first major success came in 1918 with Gandhi's Satyagraha Champaran and Kheda , although for the latter, he was involved along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel , who serves as his right arm and head of the rebels.
In Champaran, a district of the State of Bihar , he organized the Civic Resistance to the tens of thousands of landless farmers, for the serfs and the poor, small landholders who are forced to grow the indigo and other export products instead of growing the food necessary for their subsistence. Oppressed by the militias of landowners mostly British, they receive only meager compensation, leaving them in extreme poverty. The villages are under conditions of hygiene deplorable and alcoholism , discrimination against untouchables and purdah are widespread. During a terrible famine, the British still want an increase in their taxes, which makes the situation desperate.
In Kheda , in Gujarat , the problem is identical. Gandhi will establish a ashram bringing together a large number of supporters and volunteers in the region. There he led a comprehensive study on the villages, reflecting the atrocities and terrible living conditions. Winning the confidence of villagers, he directs the cleaning of villages, building schools and hospitals and encouraging local leaders to condemn and eliminate social problems described above.
The peak of the crisis comes when he is arrested by police for "disturbing public order" and is asked to leave the province. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated around the prison, police stations and courthouses seeking his release, that justice grants to grudgingly.
Gandhi led strikes and demonstrations against landlords who, under the direction of the British government, signed an agreement giving more compensation and more control over production to poor farmers, and a cancellation of the tax until the end of the famine. If Gandhi for material gains of victory are minimal, the fact that farmers have gained a political consciousness is invaluable .
It is from this time that Gandhi was christened by the people Bapu (Father) and Mahatma (Great Soul). In Kheda, Patel represented the farmers and got the same victory.
Gandhi's fame spread, so the whole of India.
Non-cooperation
In 1919 in Punjab , the Amritsar massacre , where hundreds of civilians were shot by British troops, causing trauma throughout the nation and increased public anger and acts of violence.
Gandhi criticizes both the actions of the United Kingdom and the retaliatory violence of Indians. He wrote a resolution in which he presents his condolences to British civilian victims and condemning the riots. It is accepted despite early opposition party after Gandhi explains his position during an emotional speech in which he put forward his principle that all violence is evil and can not be justified .
After these massacres that Gandhi focuses on independence, which became the Swaraj is to say outright independence, both personal, spiritual and political leader by becoming the Executive for the Congress Party in December 1921. Under his leadership, the Congress was reorganized with a new constitution, citing the goal of Swaraj. The party membership is open to all who are willing to pay a nominal fee. A hierarchy of committee is established to improve discipline, transforming the party elite into a mass organization, size and national representativeness.
Gandhi extends its principle of non-violence movement and its policy of Swadeshi boycott foreign goods, especially British goods. Linked to this policy, it asks that the khadi (home-made garment) is worn by all Indians instead of British textiles. Rich or poor, male or female, must run every day to help the independence movement .
This strategy instills discipline and commitment to eliminate the less motivated or more ambitious. It also allows to include women in the movement, at a time when such activity was not considered "respectable" for women. Gandhi called for further boycott of judicial institutions and schools, to resign from government posts and rejection of <a href = "Titres_et_honneurs_britanniques" title = "Titles and British Honours" class = "mw-redirect"> British titles and honors.
"Non-cooperation" has a great success, increasing excitement and participation from all segments of Indian society. When the movement reached its peak, it suddenly stops following violent clashes in the city of Chauri Chaura, in the Uttar Pradesh in February 1922. Fearing that the movement turned to violence, and convinced that it would ruin all his work, Gandhi stopped the campaign of civil disobedience .
The Swaraj and the Salt March (satyagraha)
Gandhi remains outside any unrest during most of the 1920s, preferring to resolve disputes between the Swaraj Party and the Indian National Congress, and increasing initiatives against segregation of the untouchables, alcoholism, ignorance and poverty.
He returned to the front of the stage in 1928. The previous year the British government appointed a new commission to reform the constitution that did not count a single Indian in its ranks. The result is a boycott of the commission by all parties in India. Gandhi supported a resolution at the Congress of Calcutta in December 1928 asking the British government to choose between granting the status of protectorate of India or face a new campaign of non-violence to outright independence.
Gandhi attenuates the views of more young people like Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru , who want to seek immediate independence, but must give a period of one year in the UK instead of two as he was planning to compensate .
As the British did not meet the 31 December 1929 the Indian flag is deployed in Lahore. On 26 January 1930 was celebrated by the Congress Party and almost all organizations such as Indian independence day.
Taking his speech, Gandhi launched in March 1930 a new campaign against the tax on salt, first by the famous salt march to Dandi from Ahmedabad from March 12 to April 6, 1930. 400 km long, thousands of Indians are joining the march to the sea to collect their own salt. The Indians then invest peacefully salt deposits. This campaign is one of the most successful but the British Empire reacted by imprisoning over 60,000 people .
The government, represented by Lord Edward Irwin , decided to negotiate with Gandhi. The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in March 1931. The British government agrees to release all political prisoners against a suspension of the civil disobedience movement. Furthermore, Gandhi was invited to a roundtable in London as the sole representative of the Congress Party. He spent three months in Europe. This conference is disappointing for Gandhi and the nationalists because it focuses on the princes and Indian minorities rather than a transfer of power.
In addition, the successor of Lord Irving, Lord Willingdon , begins a new campaign of repression against the nationalists. Gandhi was arrested again, and the government tries to destroy its influence by isolating it completely from his supporters.
This strategy is a failure, because in 1932, following the campaign manager untouchable Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , the government attaches to untouchable status separate election under the new constitution. In protest, Gandhi fasted for six days in September 1932, forcing the government to adopt a more equitable agreement through negotiations with Palwankar Baloo, the champion of cricket became untouchable political leader.
This marks the beginning of a new campaign by Gandhi to improve the lives of the untouchables, whom he called Harijans, children of God. On 8 May 1933 Gandhi began a fast of 21 days to help the Harijan movement .
During the summer of 1934, three assassination attempts took place against him.
When the Congress Party chose to contest elections and accept power in exchange for a federation status for India, Gandhi decided to leave the party. He does not disagree with this action of the party but he thought that if he resigned, his popularity would cease to stifle the party members, which then included both communists, socialists, trade unionists, students, as religious conservatives or liberals.
Gandhi does not become a target for British propaganda by leading a party that had temporarily accepted a political agreement with the colonizer .
Gandhi returns to lead the party in 1936 with the chairmanship of Nehru. Although he wants a total focus on the achievement of independence, rather than speculating on the future of India, it does not prevent the Congress to adopt socialism as its goal.
Gandhi had a clash with Subhas Bose, who was elected president in 1938. The problems arose with Gandhi Bose were his lack of involvement in democracy and his lack of faith in nonviolence.
Bose wins a second term despite Gandhi's opposition Congress but left when the leaders resign en masse in protest against his abandonment of the reforms introduced by Gandhi .
The Second World War and the Quit India resolution
When WWII broke out in 1939, Gandhi supports the offer of a "non-violent moral support" to the British war effort, but other Congress leaders were offended by the unilateral involvement in India war, without consulting the people's representatives. All members of Congress resign en masse .
After lengthy deliberations, Gandhi declared that India can not participate in a war aimed at the democratic freedom, while freedom is denied to India itself.
As the war progressed, Gandhi increased his demands for independence, writing a resolution calling on the British to leave India: Quit India. It was for Gandhi and the Congress party's most radical rebellion aimed at rejecting the British out of Indian lands .
Gandhi was criticized by some members of Congress and other political groups both for and against the British. Some believe that opposing the United Kingdom at the time of this war is immoral, others find that Gandhi does not go far enough. Quit India movement becomes the strongest in the history of the struggle for independence, with arrests and violence on a scale never seen before .
Thousands of separatists are killed or injured by police, hundreds of thousands more were arrested. Gandhi and his followers say clearly that they will not participate in the war effort unless India becomes independent immediately. Gandhi even specifies that the movement will not stop even if individual acts of violence were committed, saying that " anarchy ordered "around him was" worse than real anarchy. " He called on all Congressmen and Indians to maintain discipline of ahimsa , and Karo Ya Maro (do or die) for the cause of ultimate freedom. Gandhi and the entire committee leader of the Congress were arrested in Bombay by the British on 9 August 1942.
Gandhi was held two years in the palace of the Aga Khan in Pune. There he underwent the two most terrible blows in his personal life. First counselor 42 years Mahadev Desai died of a heart attack six days after his detention. Then his wife Kasturba , who had always been supportive and committed to him, died after 18 months of imprisonment for a heart attack following a pneumonia.
Gandhi was released on 6 May 1944 because he must undergo surgery because of his declining health. The British do not want him to die in prison and thus raises the whole of India. Although the violent crackdown by British forces has brought relative calm to India in late 1943, Quit India succeeded all its objectives. At the end of the war, the United Kingdom gives clear guidance announcing that the power will be transferred to Indian hands. Gandhi then asked to stop the fight for the leadership of Congress and about 100,000 political prisoners are released.
Liberation and the partition of India (1945-1947)
Appointed March 24, 1947 Viceroy and Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten has the onerous task of preparing for independence. Gandhi advised the Congress to reject proposals offered by the British Cabinet Mission in 1946 because he distrusts the grouping proposed for Muslim-majority states it regards as an early score. However this is one of the few times the Congress rejected his advice (but not his authority) as Nehru and Patel know that if Congress does not approve the plan, would increase government control in the hands of the Muslim League.
Between 1946 and 1947, more than 5,000 people are killed in sectarian violence. Millions of people are forcibly displaced in order to homogenize the location of populations according to their beliefs. Gandhi is viscerally opposed to plans that would separate India into two countries. Many Muslims in India were living together with Hindus or Sikhs and favored a united India. But Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the Muslim League leader, is very popular in the states of Punjab , Sindh , NWFP and Bengal East.
The partition was approved by the leadership of Congress as the only way to avoid a civil war on a large scale between Muslims and Hindus. They know that Gandhi categorically reject this partition, and it is impossible for Congress to move forward without its approval because the popularity of Gandhi in the party and throughout India is immense. The closest colleagues of Gandhi accepted partition as the best solution and Sardar Patel began to convince him. It is a devastated Gandhi who gave his agreement to prevent civil war.
On Independence Day, August 15, 1947, Gandhi did not participate in the festivities with the rest of India but still only Calcutta , mourning the partition and working to stop the violence. After independence, Gandhi focused on the unity between Hindus and Muslims. He builds a dialogue with leaders of both communities, working to ease tensions in northern India and Bengal.
Despite the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 , he was troubled when the Government decided to deny Pakistan's 550 million rupees in negotiations under the partition. Leaders like Sardar Patel feared that Pakistan uses the money to finance the war against India.
Gandhi was also shocked when requests are made to deport all Muslims in Pakistan, and when the leaders of each community to express their frustration and inability to agree among themselves. He launched his last fast in Delhi on 13 January 1948 at age 78, asking that all communal violence ceases, that Pakistan and India guarantee equality in the security and rights for practitioners of all religions , and that payment 550 million rupees is made in Pakistan. Gandhi feared that instability and insecurity in Pakistan increases their anger against India, that violence crosses the border and that civil war broke out in India because of new tensions.
- "Death is a glorious issue for me rather than being watched helplessly as the destruction of India, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam . "
After much heated debate with his closest colleagues, Gandhi refused to surrender, and the government must do an about face and pay the sum in Pakistan. The leaders of each community, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha assure him that they renounce all violence and for peace. Gandhi then broke his fast by drinking orange juice .
Assassination (1948)
On 30 January 1948 , on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was shot dead near Birla House, New Delhi , by Nathuram Godse , a Hindu nationalist who has links with the fascist group Hindu Mahasabha. Godse Gandhi was responsible for the partition of India and thereby weakening .
Jawaharlal Nehru addressed in these terms to the nation on radio:
"Friends and comrades, the light has left our lives, the darkness is everywhere, and I do not know what to say and how you tell. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called the father of the nation, is no more. Maybe I am wrong to say that, nevertheless, we shall see as we have seen all these years, we can not ask for advice or consolation, and it is a terrible blow, not only for me but for millions and millions in this country. "
According to his will, most of his ashes were scattered in several major world rivers such as the Nile , the Volga and Thames. Two million Indians attended his funeral .
The memorial of Gandhi (or Samadhi) at Raj Ghat in New Delhi , bears the epitaph ( Devanagari : ! or, Hey Ram ), which can be translated as "Oh God." It is widely accepted that these were the last words of Gandhi, although some dispute this .
Godse and his accomplice Narayan Apte were tried and sentenced to death and executed November 15, 1949.
In March 2009, objects that belonged to Gandhi are sold in one lot for sale at a price of 1.8 million, in a controversial sale and awarded to an Indian billionaire, Vijay Mallya. The seller, James Otis, said he would use the profit from this sale to promote non-violence and pacifism .
The thought of Gandhi
Faith
Gandhi was born Hindu and practiced the Hindu all his life, which inspired many of its principles. Like any traditional Hindu, he saw all religions as many paths possible to reach the Truth , and refused to convert to another faith.
He was an avid theologian and read a lot about all major religions. He said about religion:
"The Hinduism as I know completely satisfy my soul, fills my whole being ... When doubt assails me, when I look across discouragement when I do not see any glimmer of hope on the horizon, I turn to the Bhagavad Gita , and find a verse to comfort me, and I begin immediately to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. My life has been full of tragedies and if they have not left indelible effect on me, I owe to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. "
Gandhi wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujaratis .
Gandhi believed that the heart of every religion was truth and love (compassion, nonviolence and ethics of reciprocity ). He criticized the hypocrisy, malpractices and dogma in all religions and was a tireless social reformer. His comments on the various religions were:
"So if I could not accept Christianity or as perfect as most religions, I could not consider Hinduism as such. The defects of Hinduism are clearly visible to me. If untouchability could be a part of Hinduism, it would be a rotten part or an excrescence. I could not understand the "rationale" of a multitude of sects and castes. What is the meaning of saying that the Vedas are sacred texts inspired by God? If they were inspired by God, why not the Bible or the Koran as well? My Christian friends have been so enterprising to convert me that my Muslim friends. Abdullah Sheth continually encouraged me to study the Islam , and of course always had something to say about her beauty . "
"Once we lose the moral basis, we cease to be religious. There is no such thing as erasing religion morality. The man, therefore, can not be a liar, cruel or depraved and claim he has God on his side. "
"The words of Muhammad are a treasure of wisdom, not only for Muslims but for all humanity. "
Later in his life, when asked if he was Hindu, he replied:
"Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew. "
Despite their deep mutual respect, Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore were involved in extensive discussions on several occasions. These debates illustrate the philosophical differences between the two most famous Indians of that time. Gandhi devoted himself to improving the living conditions of the untouchables, calling them Harijans, people of Krishna. On 15 January 1934, an earthquake touched Bihar and caused many casualties and damage. Gandhi maintained that this was due to sin committed by upper caste Hindus do not allow the untouchables to enter their temples. Tagore diametrically opposed views of Gandhi, claiming that an earthquake could only be created by natural forces, not moral reasons, as repulsive as might be the practice of untouchability.
Truth
Gandhi dedicated his life to discovering the truth , or Satya. He tried to reach it by learning from his own mistakes and by doing experiments on himself. This is particularly the theme of his book Story of My Experiments with Truth.
Gandhi established that the most important battle to win was overcoming his own demons, fears and insecurities. He summarized his beliefs first when he says "God is truth." He then changed the statement to "Truth is God." And Satya (Truth) in Gandhi's philosophy is "God."
Simplicity
Gandhi truly believed that a person involved in social service should lead a simple life that would lead to Brahmacharya. His practice of asceticism inspired by the thought of the American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau . This simplicity began by renouncing the western lifestyle he was leading in South Africa. He called it "reducing himself to zero", "live simply so that all may simply live" as was his values, his lifestyle, which meant abandoning any unnecessary expense, leading a simple life and do his own clothes . On one occasion he sent gifts from the natives for his help in the community .
Gandhi spent one day each week in silence. He believed that abstaining from speaking brought him the inner peace. This came from the Hindu principles of mauna (in Sanskrit , - silence) and shanti (peace). These days he communicated with others by writing on paper.
For 3 years, the age of 37, Gandhi refused to read newspapers, claiming that the tumultuous new world caused him more confusion than his own inner turmoil.
Returning to India after his stay in South Africa, he gave up wearing Western clothes, he associated with wealth and success. He dressed to be accepted by the poorest in India, and he promoted the use of woven garments at home (khadi). Gandhi and his followers were making so the clothes they wore, they encouraged others to do likewise in order to restore some economic autonomy in rural India, self-rolled by the dominance of British Industry, which then held the industrial mills. The spinning wheel was soon incorporated into the flag of the Congress party of India.
Gandhi wore the dhoti (male equivalent of the sari) while the rest of his life, not only as a sign of simplicity but also because this dress, spun with his hands, was for him a guarantee not to condone the exploitation of workers British and Indian spinners in industry.
Vegetarianism
The idea of vegetarianism is deeply rooted in the traditions of Hindu and Jain , and in his native land of Gujarat, most Hindus were vegetarian and his family. Before leaving for London to study, Gandhi had promised his mother that he would not eat meat. He kept his promise and his vegetarianism became an integral part of his philosophy of nonviolence. He wrote the book the moral basis of vegetarianism and several articles on the subject, some were published by the London Vegetarian Society , and he came to declare that "we recognize the greatness of a nation as it treats its animals " . In addition to ethical vegetarianism is considered the economic dimension, since the meat was (and still is) more expensive than grains, vegetables and fruits, and thus helped the Indians who had low incomes. Finally, the production of meat requires a much greater availability of land and water for the fattening of animals, creates a monoculture that encourages the food industry and large landowners rather than local production and variety of Indian farmers with small plots of land.
He wrote in his autobiography that vegetarianism was the beginning of his deep commitment to Brahmacharya ; no control over its food he could not succeed brahmacharya.
Gandhi was also a clear tendency to veganism , compassion for the cows, saying about his abandonment of any dairy product (making him a vegan, since "Indian vegetarian" eggs excluded): "The religious considerations were the stronger, when he had acted to abjure milk. The image of the barbaric methods of Calcutta Goval employed to milk their cows and buffaloes to the last drop of milk, then haunted me. I also had the feeling that, just as the meat was not human food, milk could not be ... "and, in doing so:" I refuse to take milk products in which between milk and no meat. If this refusal was signing my death warrant, my feeling is that I should do anything to change . "
Brahmacharya
The Brahmacharya (purity and spiritual practice) is largely associated with celibacy and asceticism. Brahmacharya, which is one of four periods of human life as theorized Hinduism is closer to a form of discipline of the body under whose spiritual or religious, is the sense of detachment (which impede the liberation ( moksha ) of the soul). Gandhi brahmacharya conceived as a way to get closer to God and as the foundation stone of his personal achievement. For Gandhi, Brahmacharya meant "control of the senses in thought, words and actions" . This control involves tearing at the root of the passions that we want to destroy: therefore, firstly by the very thought; Gandhi considered - in a straight line from the Hindu wisdom - that was a true practitioner of brahmacharya not even conceive passions, not only in his mind awake, but in his dreams - those thoughts that are formulated in sleep and is believed to uncontrollable : the conscious self-control thus passes first by a master of his unconscious, something that is made explicit in the classical Hindu philosophy Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
In his autobiography, he recounts his struggle against his sexual needs and fits of jealousy toward his wife Kasturba. He felt a personal obligation to remain abstinent, on the one hand, they can learn to love rather than to seek pleasure, and secondly, to confine the body - and the wider world of matter - the service aspirations and will of the spirit. This struggle, according to what he describes in his autobiography, was relentless, because at the end of his life, became a widower, he regularly shared layer favorite niece, Manu, in order to test the robustness of his vow past (this was indeed a scandal at the time). Moreover, Gandhi had consistently throughout his life to expand and deepen the areas under its control research directions. Besides the control of sexual desire, it also sought to break away from the gustatory pleasure: forming regular "wishes", Gandhi gradually suppressed as a condiment, such as food, or further reducing the number of food he could swallow.
Non-violence (Ahimsa)
"Whereas a good deed should call for approval, and a bad stigma, the instigator of the deed, whether good or bad, always deserves respect or pity, as appropriate. "Hate the sin not the sinner" - this is a precept that is rarely used, it is easy to understand, is why the poison of hatred spreads so quickly in the world. Ahimsa is the foundation for the pursuit of truth. There is no day where I do not seeing me, in fact, that this quest is futile, if not based on ahimsa. Oppose the system, the attack is good, but oppose its author, and attack, this amounts to oppose oneself, to become his own assailant. For the same brush we painted, we have for the father and the same Creator, and therefore the divine powers within us that we reclons are endless. Miss a single human being is to miss these divine faculties, and thus do harm not only to this being, but with it, the whole world. "
- Mahatma Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth .
The concept of nonviolence ( ahimsa ) and non-violent resistance has a long history in Indian religious thought and has had numerous occurrences in contexts Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Judeo-Christian. The concept of non-violence is itself a translation, forged by Gandhi, the Sanskrit word ahimsa (a: Private and himsa: nuisance, violence), present in the religious traditions of India. Gandhi explains this philosophy and way of life in his autobiography .
"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, the wanton destruction that has been brought in the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? "
"There are many causes for which I am prepared to die but no cause for which I am prepared to kill. "
En appliquant ces principes, Gandhi n'hsita pas les emmener aux extrmes de sa logique. En 1940, quand l'invasion des les britanniques par l'Allemagne nazie semblait imminente, Gandhi donna l'avis suivant au peuple anglais .
J'aimerais que vous dposiez les armes que vous possdez comme tant inutiles pour vous sauver, vous ou l'humanit. Vous inviterez Herr Hitler et Signor Mussolini prendre ce qu'ils veulent des pays que vous appelez vos possessions Si ces gentlemen choisissent d'occuper vos foyers, vous les leur laisserez. S'ils ne vous laissent pas partir, vous vous laisserez massacrer, hommes, femmes et enfants, mais vous refuserez de leur prter allgeance. "
Nanmoins, Gandhi se rendait compte que ce niveau de non-violence requrait une foi et un courage incroyable que peu de monde possdait. Il conseillait donc qu'il n'tait pas ncessaire que tous restent non-violents, surtout si la non-violence tait utilise pour cacher la lchet :
Marcher sur le tranchant effil de l' n'est pas chose facile dans ce monde plein de . La richesse ne nous y aide pas ; la colre est un ennemi de l' / I>, and pride is a monster that devours it. In this sharp and firm adherence to the religion of ahimsa, one must recognize the often alleged hims as the truest form of ahimsa. . "
Gandhi believed that violence was ineffective and could than initiate a continuous chain of revenge. He said the law of retaliation :
"An eye for an eye and the world will eventually blind. "
Gandhi also related to non-violence feminism. He said in a speech during the salt march: "Calling women the weaker sex is a lie. This is an injustice of men against women. If nonviolence is the law of our beings, the future is with women . "
Gandhi drew some of its inspiration from the writings of Leo Tolstoy , who in 1880 had experienced a profound conversion in a personal form of Christian anarchism , which led him to design a Christianity detached from materialism and non-violent. Gandhi wrote an introduction to Letter to a Hindu Tolstoy, written in 1908 , drafted in response to the violence of Indian nationalists, and the two corresponded until Tolstoy's death in 1910. Some believe that without Tolstoy, Gandhi would have perhaps never been more determined to pursue a nonviolent action as that made his fame. Moreover Tolstoy himself much frequented some common Orientalist and regularly corresponded with Buddhist , Hindu and Bahai .
Euthanasia
Gandhi was considering the euthanasia as a form of non-violence, sacrifice, meaning that life can not be valid unless it is "livable"
"We do not commit sin hims "
"Many men in India have acquired an instinctive horror of killing living beings under any circumstances whatsoever. We even proposed to confine the mad dogs and let them die a slow death. The idea that I am doing makes me love this solution is absolutely unacceptable. I could not suffer a moment to see a dog, or indeed any other creature, left without relief to the torture of a long agony. If under the same circumstances I do not give death to a human being, because I have less desperate remedies. But if I kill a dog that is in the same case, because I have no cure for it. If my child was suffering from rabies and he n'existt no remedy to alleviate their suffering, I would consider it my duty to give him death. Fatalism has its limits. We must defer to fate only when we have exhausted all remedies. One way, which is final, to relieve a child in the throes of great pain is to give him death. "
Satyagraha
The satyagraha ("the force born of truth and love or non-violence" ) is the culmination of this truth against laws or unjust systems through a non-violent struggle. Gandhi even considers the satyagraha above civil disobedience or nonviolent resistance as the term implies to serve a just cause and thus became the weapon of the strong rather than the weapon of the weak .
For him this fight should not cause suffering to the opponent, if suffering is the defender of the truth of suffering:
"The search for truth must admit that violence is inflicted on an opponent, but he must overcome the error by patience and sympathy. Because what appears as truth to one may appear as error to another. And patience means self-suffering. So the doctrine is the claim of truth, not by inflicting suffering on the opponent but to yourself . "
Criticism of the Western development model and its economic
Gandhi could admire the technological advances and economic comfort that gave modern Western civilization, but also its shortcomings and pointing to new risks and needs that she brought to the individual. In his book, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule (Their civilization and our issue) where he made the critical development and the very notion of civilization as idealized by Great Britain and the West, Gandhi shows that progress of each On the one hand corresponds to a worsening of living conditions of the other, that Western civilization has left morality and religion, it creates new needs related to money and insatiable, she increases inequality and slavery committed to a large part of humanity. For him this kind of civilization is hopeless :
"This civilization is such that one has just to be patient and it will self-destruct. "
The mechanization and the globalization of trade for him is a disaster for India (the mills of Manchester had eliminated Indian crafts) . It takes as an example of how advances felt generally positive as the train doctors or lawyers, who may be just as bad as him. The train because he can carry the disease as quickly as passengers and can lead to speculation and famine . Lawyers because they prefer to find a legal solution to a moral solution to a conflict, argue for no reason at wages higher than the common workers, and strengthen British power in India . Physicians in providing care because they encourage carelessness and lack of individual prevention, breaking religious taboos and make huge profits with expensive drugs .
For Gandhi the Indian civilization has nothing to envy to the West with its race for economic development. Access to wealth for all is impossible for him and the individual himself must control his needs and had understood the ancient Indian sages:
"The mind is a restless bird, the more it gets and the more he wants and is never satisfied. Plus we satisfy our passions and unbridled they become. Our ancestors understood this and put a limit to our indulgences. They noticed that happiness was largely a mental condition. "
"The justification of voluntary poverty was impossible that all should be rich. All could have participated in the non-possession, the less you have, the less you want. I do not preach voluntary poverty to a people who suffer from involuntary poverty, but the serious national economic problems could be solved easily if all those who are rich were willing to submit to voluntary poverty. "
Gandhi understood economic processes as a force that must be resolved by laws based primarily on moral and above the general harmony between all beings, and not let it "self-regulate" itself as it wants in the market economy, capitalism, economy linked to supply and demand because, in itself, any economic success is immoral:
Strongly criticized the "logic" of the market economy, small economy unto itself and as a key pillar in international relations (commercial or otherwise), Gandhi saw the refusal to build a just society worldwide, refusal from the and West - because of the colonization inherited - the rest of the world as a headlong rush, which always brought the weakest and poorest in the pit , abyss symbolized by Gandhi by famine, the latter being related either to war or economic mechanism that still defective as always refusing to submit to the moral principles of universal well-being:
It is therefore understandable that Gandhi reveals a strong advocate of the four sacred caste Hindus , which to him represent the cosmic essence of every human society on the universal level (Brahmins / Scholars; Kshatriya / Defenders; Vaishya / Peasant Craftsmen; Shudra / Servers):
"Each of us has work on his own. These occupations are not castes "
His attack on abuses suffered by the poorest - scavengers in India, the Zulus of South Africa or elsewhere without rights - did not went against the Hindu tradition, nor against any metaphysical wisdom of a people but against a type of injustice assertive especially in a system where it is economic power that reigns supreme, then - as a good Hindu - he thinks it is the moral and spiritual power (embodied in India by the Brahmins Orthodox) who must always have the last word, at least in the organization of human society:
He thought that the development of cities do not allow independent living and non-violent Indian people: only the consolidation of economic and political autonomy of the villages was in his eyes, contribute to building a non- violent place that could be seen as inspired by Hindu mythology as the Goddess Ahimsa - nonviolence - is the wife of the God Dharma - Order sociocosmic . The West remained for him a vehicle for "evil" who abused the world, but he was nevertheless certain that sooner or later justice will prevail on Earth .
Draft of a non-violent society without centralized state
Although Gandhi is primarily dedicated, in fact, the fight for independence and unity of India, he never separated in his mind, shares control of constructive actions to prepare the organization sustainable of a non-violent. He even thought that positive actions were a prerequisite to the struggle for independence . His fear, in fact was that, once arrived in Independence, India is a country that continues to dominate and oppress its people. According to him,
Thus, the peaceful struggle of Gandhi attacked the very foundations of the caste system , considering that Hinduism , should it survive, should not become caste system . He refused to give the objective untouchable political status, thinking he had, in the words of Nehru about it, "blow up" the system by attacking its weakest link . In its fight against the caste, it stands as strongly Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , a Dalit leader and prime minister of Justice of independent India, which not only opposed the caste system, but the Hinduism as a religious philosophy and social .
Petri writings of Tolstoy , Gandhi was quickly incorporated into its analysis a radical critique of the state. The nature of the state, he said, is essentially violent and oppressive, the existence of a State is inconsistent with the principles of non-violent life :
"The State represents violence in an intensified form and organized. Everyone has a soul, but the State is a soulless machine can not be removed from the violence since it is that it owes its existence. "
That is why he developed the idea to develop, in parallel actions and civil disobedience struggle for independence, a "constructive program . It is through the pursuit of autonomy of each village, outside (and against) any centralized organization that India truly democratic and non-violence could persist after independence.
"True independence will not come to power by a few, but all have the power to oppose the abuse of authority. In other words, we should get to independence to the masses by instilling the belief that they have the ability to control the exercise of authority and to keep it in check. "
The level chosen to exercise such control is the village, which would exert a form of sovereignty within a federal framework .
"Independence must begin at the base. Thus every village will be a republic. "
Gandhi, who was aware of the difficulty of achieving such a society organization, approached this goal of an anarchist society :
"This is a state of anarchy lit. In this country, everyone would be his own master. He would go himself to never interfere with its neighbor. Therefore, the ideal state is where there is no political power because of the disappearance of the state. "
Because of his criticism of authority, forms of oppression and exploitation because of his criticism of the State; the fact that Gandhi himself frequently and explicitly linked his political philosophy to anarchism , some wondered if Gandhi could not be called an anarchist . When asked whether it was realistic to achieve a nonviolent democratic society formed Federated villages - a situation of anarchy that Gandhi described - he retorted, in 1940 :
"It SummaryFor Gandhi, each by its actions must be the change he wanted to see in the world, often cited as:
The truth, non-violence and the struggle for success were an indivisible whole and betray one aspect of this set was betraying his ideals as a whole.
Leading a simple life close to the Indian tradition, he applied himself to the ideal of life which for him was the most beneficial to mankind, far different from Western development criteria. Deeply religious Hindu, he respected all other religions were different paths for him to love and truth. Even if the path that led to this truth was long and filled with pitfalls, for Gandhi, justice must always prevail:
As he noted himself, not without humor, this ideal was maintained even for his friends "the work of a madman" .
Inheritance
Tributes
Worldwide
Gandhi's birthday, already a national holiday in India, became the International Day of Non-Violence by a unanimous vote of the UN General Assembly 15 June 2007 .
Time Magazine named Gandhi the Personality of the Year in 1930 and was 2nd behind Gandhi Albert Einstein as Person of the Century in 1999. The magazine has designated the Dalai Lama , Lech Wasa , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , Cesar Chavez , Aung San Suu Kyi , Benigno Aquino Jr. , Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as Children of Gandhi and spiritual heirs to non-violence .
On January 30 of each year, the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi, is practiced School Day of Nonviolence and Peace ( DENIP ), founded in Spain in 1964.
Gandhi was nominated in 1937 , 1938 , 1939 , 1947 and 1948 the Nobel Peace Prize , but never get it. Later, some committee members regret publicly that price it has ever been granted. The committee chairman will say, during the award ceremony at the Dalai Lama in 1989 , the award is given in part to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1937, Ole Colbjrnsen, member of the Norwegian parliament, proposed the name of Gandhi's candidacy. The motivation for this appointment is written by members of the Norwegian branch of "Friends of India". One reviewer of the committee, Professor Jacob Worm-Mller, issues a negative opinion: "There is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist. It is frequently a Christ, then, suddenly, an ordinary politician. Jacob Worm-Mller of the League of Nations stated: "You could say it is significant that his well-known struggle in South Africa was in favor of the Indians, not blacks, whose conditions of there were even worse. This observation may reveal a total ignorance of the action of Gandhi as an ambulance driver who took charge of the wounded Zulus during the Zulu Rebellion of 1906, Gandhi summed it up: "living in the midst of continual jibes - c She was a real test. But I emptied the cup of bitterness, consoling myself with the idea that the mission of my ambulance corps was limited to caring for the wounded Zulus. I could see perfectly well without us, nobody would have cared about the Zulus. Such a task so relieved my conscience. " "The Nobel committee took into account the criticisms of Worm-Mller and did not attribute the award to Gandhi this year. The next two years, Ole Colbjrnsen proposes new Gandhi, without success. In 1947, tensions due to the partition of India can not produce a majority of votes for Gandhi, and in 1948 the Committee considered the Nobel Prize award to Gandhi posthumously then finally decides not to grant awards this years here because "there was adequate candidates live" .
In India
Gandhi appears on all Indian banknotes since 1996.Gandhi is celebrated as Father of the Nation and October 2nd anniversary is commemorated as Gandhi Jayanti, and is a public holiday.
The Government of India awards every year the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize to individuals or citizens who have distinguished themselves. Nelson Mandela , was one of the famous non-Indians to receive it.
Since 1996, the government prints on every banknote the portrait of Gandhi, which is considered by some irony, given the negative views of Gandhi on the accumulation of wealth and the power of money.
In New Delhi, the Birla Bhavan (or Birla House), where Gandhi was assassinated is now open to the public since 1973 and is known as the Gandhi Smriti (Remembrance of Gandhi "). It preserves the room where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last four months of his life and a stone pillar symbolizing martyrdom mark the exact spot where he was shot.
Supporters and influence
Gandhi influenced important leaders and political movements.
The first course was Nehru himself who said: "It was clear that this little man made up for his poor physical by a core of steel or rock that refused to bow to brute force. Despite its unimpressive face, his loincloth, her nakedness, there was in him something which forced Royal to give him obedience ... "
United States, Martin Luther King referred specifically to Gandhi in his struggle for American civil rights movement , and the inspiration he has given to his own theories on non-violence . The militant anti- apartheid , former South African President, Nelson Mandela , also said he was inspired by Gandhi as was Steve Biko. Other figures such as Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Pakistan and Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar were reported methods heirs of Gandhi.
Many people and organizations have dedicated their lives to spread his ideas. Madeleine Slade, daughter of a British admiral, decided to leave everything to live in India with Gandhi. Romain Rolland was the first to know the life of Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi with his book. Lanza del Vasto went to India in 1936 in order to live with Gandhi. Upon his return to Europe, he decided to spread the philosophy of Gandhi. In 1948, he had called Gandhi Shantidas (Servant of Peace) was founded, in a decidedly Christian perspective, the Community of the Ark on the model of Gandhian ashrams. Libouban Jean-Baptiste , a member of the Communities of L'Arche is an initiator of the movement of voluntary Reapers , which included his struggles against GMOs in open fields in a non-violent. Bov was also a disciple of Lanza del Vasto. The creation in 1966 of the Centre for Non-Violent Communication (headquartered in Geneva) by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg has made reference to Pasteur Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
In India, a disciple of Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave , began to deepen and extend the non-violent process of emancipation of the Indian people: he devoted himself, not without some success in some areas to resolve the land question, then worked to promote the autonomy of the villages. In India today, Narayan Desai , son of Mahadev Desai , Gandhi's personal secretary, is perhaps the personality whose work and practice are closer to those of Gandhi.
The magazine for Racial Equality American Crisis The Gandhi even compared to Jesus in 1922 . In Europe also voices rose to claim this dual heritage, especially that of Dr. Albert Schweitzer :
- "When people ask me what modern thinkers have influenced my life and my philosophy, my answer is invariably, these two names: the great German author Goethe and the humble holy Hindu Mohandas Gandhi. (...) Similarly, Gandhi, who was the most Christian of Hindu century, acknowledged that he had the idea of Ahimsa and non-violence of Jesus' commands (...) At home two, the ethics of inner perfection is governed by the principle of love. "
Gandhi had many admirers, in addition to those who advocated non-violence include the photographer Margaret Bourke-White , General George Marshall. British musician, John Lennon , also referred to Gandhi when he spoke of non-violence. In 2007, former U.S. vice president and environmentalist Al Gore , revealed the influence that Gandhi had on him . Physicist Albert Einstein said about Gandhi:
- "Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a man existed in flesh and bones on this land."
Reviews
Dalits and particularly Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , criticized Gandhi's position as "paternalistic," including calling them Harijan, children of God. Gandhi Ambedkar criticized for not addressing the root problem, which he said was the caste system as a whole. While it is undeniable that Gandhi adopted an ambiguous position on this complex issue, he undertook fasts several times to defend the Untouchables , and also held positions on this issue clear: thus, in a letter to Charles Andrews ( dated December 29, 1921), he said in part: "I could not think of myself as if Hindu untouchability was still included in Hinduism."
Winston Churchill , despite having participated at the same time as Gandhi's side of the British Empire at the Battle of Spion Kop , said in 1931 that he considered "alarming to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious lawyer, posing a fakir of a type well known in the East, rising to half-naked the courthouse steps of the Viceroy as he is still organizing and conducting a campaign of civil disobedience , talking as equals with the representative of the emperor-king " .
Several members of the international peace movement accused him of pretending to ignore their opinion that his movement of non-violence would necessarily lead to violent acts and terrorism, such as during the episode where the crowd of Chauri Chaura killed several British police and set fire to police station.
The controversial author Koenraad Elst summarized in a book some criticism that he made today against Gandhi by a party of Indian opinion.
- Gandhi using non-violent agitation against the people with whom he shared certain moral principles, that is to say the Hindus and the British Liberals. Against Muslims, he did not carry through nonviolent action but concessions and withdrawals, never negotiate fair compensation. Thus he deceived the expectations of his constituents and Hindus could no elsewhere to make Muslims more arrogant. Unable to learn from feedback effects and the political reality, he persevered in these concessions when they do not obviously caused a reconciliation between Hindus and Muslims.
- Des facteurs, internes et externes, autres que l'action non-violente de Gandhi ont contribu la libration de l'Inde, tel que les pressions anticoloniales exerces par les tats-Unis et l'Union Sovitique sur la Grande-Bretagne .
Concernant la lettre de Gandhi Hitler, dans laquelle il le conjure de ne pas dclencher la guerre et d'atteindre ses objectifs par la non-violence, Koenraad Elst considre que le gandhisme ne signifie pas forcment efficacit. Les mthodes de Gandhi russirent mener l'indpendance, mais pas empcher de diviser l'Inde avec la cration du Pakistan. La philosophie de Gandhi justifiait cette lettre, et donc soit les deux sont une alternative thique aux politiques conventionnelles, soit les deux sont inefficaces et ridicules . L'argument de la partition des Indes est tempre par le prtre jsuite spcialiste de l'Inde Guy Deleury qui reconnat qu'elle est le fruit conjugu de la prcipitation inconsquente et partisane du britannique Lord Mountbatten et de l'opportunisme politique de la Ligue Musulmane d' Ali Jinnah .
Le professeur Domenico Losurdo crit que durant la Premire Guerre mondiale, Gandhi, hraut de la non-violence, se propose de recruter 500 000 hommes pour l'arme britannique. Il crit ainsi au secrtaire personnel du vice-roi : J'ai l'impression que si je devenais votre recruteur en chef, je pourrais vous submerger d'hommes . Writings
Gandhi crivant Birla House, Mumbai, aot 1942.Gandhi a t un auteur prolifique. Pendant des dcennies, il a t le rdacteur principal de plusieurs journaux, des hebdomadaires ou mensuels, dont en gujarati , en hindi et en anglais ; , un hebdomadaire en anglais, lorsqu'il tait en Afrique du Sud, et , un hebdomadaire en anglais, et , un mensuel en gujarati, aprs son retour en Inde. fut aussi publi plus tard en hindi / Sup>. He also wrote daily letters to many individuals and newspapers to defend his cause.
Gandhi also wrote several books including his autobiography, An Autobiography of My Experiments with Truth, Satyagraha in South Africa , a political pamphlet, and a paraphrase in Gujarati of the book of John Ruskin's Unto This Last. This test can be regarded as his economic program. He also wrote extensively on vegetarianism, diet and health, religion, social reforms, etc.. Gandhi wrote in Gujarati usually, but he himself was revising the translation of his books in Hindi and English. Only a small portion of his writings have been translated into French.
Gandhi's complete works were published by the Government of India as The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1960s. His writings are about 50,000 pages published in a total of 100 volumes. In 2000, a revised edition of his complete works sparked a controversy, supporters of Gandhi accusing the government of changes for political reasons .
Works
Journals Gandhi
: Source used for this article
- Story of My Experiments with Truth (1929), Presses Universitaires de France, 2003. ( ISBN 2-130536387 ), available at Wikisource in English.
- The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1994.
- The Guide to Health, trans. preface and Henri Delmas Figuire Publishing, undated (1932?).
- Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, Navijan Publishing House, Ahmedabad, 1909, Book online in English.
- The Young India (1919-1922), translated from English by Helen Hart. Introduction by Romain Rolland. Stock, 1924, repr. 1948.
- Letters to the ashram, Albin Michel, 1948. ( ISBN 2-226037039 )
- Meditations, Editions du Rocher, 2002. ( ISBN 2-268043274 )
- Nonviolent resistance, Buchet Chastel, 1994. ( ISBN 2-702014763 )
- Satyagraha in South Africa , 1928.
- All men are brothers, Gallimard, 1990. ( ISBN 2-070325709 )
- Gandhi. The path of non-violence, Gallimard, 2006. Excerpts from All men are brothers. ( ISBN 2-07-0305535 -X)
- M. K Gandhi's life, written by himself, edition prepared by Charlie Andrews, trans. Georgette Camille. Pref. R. Rolland, Rieder, 1931, repr. 1934.
- MK Gandhi at work. Following his life written by himself, edition prepared by Charlie Andrews, trans. A. Bernard, Rieder, 1934.
- Zionism and Antisemitism. The Gandhi Reader: A Sourcebook of His Life and Writings. Homer Jack (ed.) Grove Press, New York: 1956.
Gandhi in popular culture
Gandhi monument in QuebecFilms
- Gandhi's life was the subject of a film adaptation by the British director Richard Attenborough in 1982, winner of eight Oscars and three Golden Globe Awards.
- In Lage Raho Munna Bhai , Indian comedy of 2006 its ghost helps a young Indian who adopted his philosophy in modern life.
- Gandhi also appears in the film Water , the 2005 drama by Canadian director, originally from India, Deepa Mehta , nominated for an Oscar film 2007 in the category "Best Foreign Language Film." The "action of this film takes place in 1938 and deals with the status of women widowed, sometimes very young, the tradition of the time does not remarry, except with the younger brother of the deceased, and who can not than live the rest of their lives secluded and idle in monasteries to pray and serve only to satisfy the sexual desires of affluent Hindus living in the countryside. Gandhi and the Congress Party wanted, at the same time, reform of these practices another age and allow widows to remarry and therefore his character appears at the end of this film for a speech on a train platform.
- The adversarial relationship that Harilal , his eldest son, was with Gandhi, is portrayed in the film Gandhi, my father in 2007.
Novels
- The Great Indian Novel Shashi Tharoor , a work that mixes the Mahabharata and the history of India since the beginning of the century, and a description and critique of Gandhi zany as the Ganga Datta.
- A reference to Gandhi is made in the novel dystopian 1984 of George Orwell (1948). He mentions in The Book of Goldstein as "return to the agricultural past as some thinkers dreamed of the early twentieth century was not a possible solution." According to the Book, progress and wealth shared by all mean the end of a hierarchical society.
Music
- Satyagraha , opera by Philip Glass , 1980.
- In the land of Gandhi by MC Solaar album, Mach 6 , 2003.
- Gandhi by Patti Smith album, Trampin ' , 2004.
- Men of peace Danakil , album Micro Climate , 2006.
Video Games
- In the series of Civilization Gandhi is the leader of the Indian civilization.
Notes
Indira Gandhi and Rajiv
The name of Gandhi found to lead India in the next decades is due to chance: the first prime minister after independence, Nehru , had a daughter Indira Gandhi, who married, without relationship to Mahatma. She succeeded her father in the same position. Later, the son of Indira, Rajiv , succeeded him and, following his assassination, was replaced as head of the Congress party by his wife Sonia.
Biographies and Sources
Several biographers have undertaken the task of describing Gandhi's life. Among them, two most comprehensive works: DG Tendulkar with his Mahatma. Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 8 volumes, and Pyarelal and Sushila Nayar with their Mahatma Gandhi in 10 volumes.
In French
- Bovy, Marie-Pierre (eds. Of). Gandhi's legacy, Siloam, 2001. ( ISBN 2-84231-171-X )
- Fisher, Louis. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, Belfond, 1983.
- Frches Jose. Gandhi. I am a soldier of peace, XO Editions, 2007. ( ISBN 978-2-84563-342-1 )
- Jordis, Christine. Gandhi, Gallimard, Folio Biographies, 2006, 372 pages. ( ISBN 2-07-030673-9 )
- Lassier, Suzanne. Gandhi and nonviolence, Seuil, 1975.
- Markovits, Claude, Gandhi, Presses de Sciences Po, Paris, 2000, 279 p.
- Muller, Jean-Marie. Gandhi the insurgent, Albin Michel, 1997. ( ISBN 2-226-09408-3 )
- Payne, Robert. Gandhi political biography, Seuil, 1972.
- Rolland, Romain. Gandhi, 1924.
- Jacques Attali. Gandhi or the awakening of the downtrodden - Editions Fayard, 2007. ( ISBN 2213631980 )
English
- Bhana, Surendra and Goolam Vahed. The Making of a Political Reformer: Gandhi in South Africa, 1893-1914. New Delhi: Manohar, 2005.
- (In) Joan V. Bondurant, Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict, Princeton UP, 1988 ( ISBN 0-691-02281-X )
- Chadha, Yogesh. Gandhi: A Life. ( ISBN 0-471-35062-1 )
- Chernus, Ira. American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea, chapter 7. ( ISBN 1-57075-547-7 )
- (In) Dutta, Krishna and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology, Picador / Macmillan, London ( ISBN 0-330-34962-7 )
- Easwaran, Eknath. Gandhi The Man. ( ISBN 0-915132-96-6 )
- (In) Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life, Navajivan Publishing House, 1990 ( ISBN 81-7229-138-8 )
- Hunt, James D. Gandhi in London, New Delhi, Promilla & Co., 1978.
- Mann, Bernhard. "The Pedagogical and Political Concepts of Mahatma Gandhi and Paulo Freire." In: Claussen, B. (Ed.) International Studies in Political Socialization and Education, Bd 8, Hamburg, 1996. ( ISBN 3-926952-97-0 )
- Rhe, Peter. Gandhi: A Photo biography., 2002. ( ISBN 0-7148-9279-3 )
- Sharp, Gene. Gandhi as a Political Strategist, With Essays on Ethics and Politics, Boston, Extending Horizon Books, 1979.
- Sofri, Gianni. Gandhi and India: A Century in Focus, 1995. ( ISBN 1-900624-12-5 )
Studies on Gandhi
- Catherine Clement, Gandhi, athlete of freedom, Discovery Gallimard, Gallimard, 1989. ( ISBN 2-07-053071-X )
- Alexander Kaplan, Gandhi and Tolstoy (The sources of spiritual descent), Imprimerie L. Stoquert, 1949.
- Milan T. Markovich, Tolstoy and Gandhi, former Library H. Champion, 1928.
- Mashrouwala Krishrll, Marx and Gandhi, Vinoba introduction, foreword by Lanza del Vasto, et al. Gandhian thought, Denol, 1957.
- Jean-Marie Muller, "Gandhi was he an anarchist? "Alternative non-violent, No. 117, Winter 2000/2001, pp. 48-53.
- Marc Semenoff, Tolstoy and Gandhi, et al. Gandhian thought, Denol, 1958.
References
- ''Autobiography, My Experiments with truth MK Gandhi.
- (en) "General Assembly one day texts Effect of decision of non-violence ..." in un.org, United Nations , 15 June 2007 Related articles
- Nonviolence | Assertiveness | Nonviolent Communication | Alternative Dispute Resolution | Mediation intercultural
- Humanistic Psychology | Social Psychology
External Links
- Biography and audiovisual materials of INA on Gandhi
- A Marxist critique of Gandhi's ideas in the journal Left!
- The letters of Mahatma Gandhi to Adolf Hitler
- Quotes from Gandhi
- March 12, 1930 Gandhi began the "salt march"
- Indians revived "road salt" Gandhi
- Compilation of quotes from Gandhi
- Site on the influence of Gandhi in the rupture of the British Empire and its colony India.
- English
- Book compiling the philosophy of Gandhi from his various works
- Gandhi portal
- Gandhi - 'Mahatma' or Flawed Genius?
- Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (the Gandhi memorial in New Delhi)
- MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence founded by Arun Gandhi, grand son of Mahatma
- Bibliographies
- (En) (fr) Works by Mohandas K. Gandhi
- Bibliography and documentation on "Gandhi (biography)" in the catalog of the Center for Nonviolent Action
Version of October 7, 2007 This article has been recognized as "quality item, that is to say that it meets quality standards for style, clarity, relevance, citation of sources and illustration.
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