Mahatma Gandhi
In the 1930s and 40s Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) was one of the most important leaders of the movement that was struggling to free India from British rule and make it an ____________ country, a goal that was finally achieved in August 1947. However, that isn’t enough to explain why so many people think of Gandhi as one of the greatest political figures of the 20th century. What really made him special was his belief in non-violent ____________ to British economic, political and military power: he believed the way forward for the Indian independence movement – and for all people suffering oppression – was simple ‘non-cooperation’ rather than violence. Non-cooperation included ____________, boycotts, the refusal to pay taxes, and the willingness to go to prison if necessary – tactics that were effective in putting pressure on the British authorities.
Gandhi’s ____________ certainly influenced the leaders of other 20th-century freedom struggles, such as Martin Luther King in the United States and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.
Gandhi was born in the northern Indian state of Gujarat, the son of an important local politician. His parents arranged for him to get married at the extremely young age of thirteen, and he became a father before he was twenty. His family wanted him to become a ____________ and sent him to study law at university in London, where his ____________ for English food was one of the things that made him become a vegetarian for the rest of his life.
In 1893 he went to work as a lawyer in South Africa, where his political beliefs began to develop as he saw the ____________ suffered by non-white people, including the country’s large Indian community. He also moved closer to Hindu religious ideas, particularly ahimsa or non-violence.
After returning to India he decided to live a life of ‘simplicity’, which meant giving up unnecessary spending and ____________ as few clothes as possible. In 1918 he ____________ poor farmers in Gujarat to resist a new tax introduced by the British. The authorities put him in prison, but thousands of people protested and soon he was released. The British ____________ with the poor farmers, and Gandhi became famous all over India.
Over the next 30 years he devoted himself to the ____________ of Indian independence. He lived long enough to see his dream become ____________, but he was sad to see the violence that surrounded the division of the subcontinent into two countries for Hindus and Muslims respectively – India and Pakistan – because he had always believed that the followers of the two religions should be able to live together peacefully.
Fill the twelve gaps in the text on Worksheet A with the correct words from the box below. There are four words that you will not be able to use.
barrister bombs encouraged reality ideas cause elections strikes resistance compromised independent poor owning dislike mistake discrimination
Below are five quotes by Gandhi. Can you guess what the missing words might be?
1. ‘There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to ___________ for.’
2. ‘Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with ___________.’
3. ‘What do I think of Western ____________? I think it would be a very good idea.’
4. ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s ____________.’
5. ‘You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my ____________.’
Some reflections on Peace:
