Gandhi

**Dominique,** **Milan****, Jardai, Morris, Karl and** **Bethany** **(Grade 5)**
 * by Amea, DeSean,** **Sheyenne** **(Grade 6)**

Gandhi influenced many people in the world to fight with nonviolence for peace, freedom and independence. He was undermined by beatings and jail-time, but he did not let anyone stop his non-violent protests. He was fighting for all Indians to unite, so Hindus and Muslims would have peace with each other. He demanded for India to have independence from Britain. He demonstrated sustainability for India’s people so they could own and control their resources. Gandhi fasted for equality so the Untouchables could be treated with the same respect as other people. He was a courageous man who left a legacy of justice through fighting with words, “truth force” and non-violent actions. Gandhi was born on October second, 1869, at Porbandar in the state of Gujarat, India. Gandhi’s real name was Mohandas Kramchand Gandhi.When Gandhi was little, he was afraid of the dark, snakes and ghosts. He was a vegetarian, and not allowed to eat meat. One day, Gandhi turned his back on his faith and tasted meat. When Gandhi was in elementary school he found it difficult to do multiplication. Gandhi later said: “I used to be shy and avoided all company...To be at the school at the stroke of the hour and to run back home as soon as school closed-that was my daily habit, because I could not bear to talk to anybody.” As a child, Gandhi was timid, fearful, had trouble with his academics, and struggled through life. He didn’t live up to the full expectations that he was destined to live up to. That proved that even Gandhi wasn’t perfect.

At the age of thirteen, Gandhi was married to a girl named Kasterbai, who was also thirteen. Gandhi’s father died when he was sixteen. When Gandhi was seventeen his wife had their first child, Harilal. After his baby was born, he traveled to England to attend Inner Temple College for law. His mother didn’t want him to go, but he believed it was the right path to follow. In England, Gandhi tried to change himself into an Englishman. He soon found out that it cost a lot of money to fit in with the English, so he changed his appearance and his ways back to Indian. When Gandhi studied it was very difficult for him, so he worked hard. He wanted to be well prepared to be a lawyer. On June 10th, 1891, Gandhi passed the test to be a lawyer. He had finished his law education and went back to his homeland as an educated man.

When Gandhi returned to India, he got devastating news. He found out that his mother had died. Gandhi got a job in India, but it was difficult, so when he heard that there was a job opening in South Africa, he grasped the opportunity immediately. In South Africa, Gandhi got a job in Pretoria as a legal advisor to an Indian owned company. While he was working there he heard stories about the mistreatment of Indians. Gandhi believed the stories because he had encountered this mistreatment himself on the train. He was thrown off a train for riding in the first class carriage even though he had a first class ticket. Later on he organized a group so Indians could have equality and human rights. When Gandhi finished his job, the people in Natal heard about him and begged him to stay. He set up an office and returned to India to bring his family to South Africa.

When Gandhi came back to South Africa he was attacked by a group of white Afrikaners. After that incident, Gandhi pushed himself to help the Indians inhabiting South Africa. Soon Gandhi was writing to the newspapers and speaking at meetings. Even though Gandhi knew South Africa’s government would not change, he still fought for Indian’s rights in the courts. In 1899 the Anglo-Boer War started. During the war Gandhi organized a large group of Indians to help the British who got injured during the war. This group was called the Ambulance Corps. Gandhi helped the British because he thought the British would do something for the Indians in return. But he discovered it didn’t work.

In 1906 the Asiatic Law became a law in Transvaal. This law stated that any Indian who was not registered by a certain date wouldn’t be allowed to go to Transvaal. Since the Indians were tired of this, they pleaded for Gandhi to help. Gandhi contacted the leader of the Chinese community. The leader promised Gandhi that he would urge the Chinese people to fight against what was called the Black Act. For somebody to take part in this movement against the Black Act they had to take a satyagraha oath.

For refusing to stop his protest the government threw Gandhi and his followers in prison in 1908. While Gandhi was in prison his guards took him to see the leader of the Transvaal government. His name was general Smuts. Smuts tried to make a deal with Gandhi saying that he would abolish the law if a group of Indians registered. When Gandhi stopped the protest and the Indians started to register, Smuts tricked him and did not abolish the law. When Indians found out the government had tricked them, they immediately burned their certificates and went back to protesting. There were strikes, and Indians started to disobey the Black Act. When the government gave up in 1914, Gandhi returned home to India.

Gandhi brought the beliefs that he learned in South Africa back to India. He believed in “ahimsa” and “satyagraha”. Ahimsa means to be non-violent and peaceful. Satyagraha means truth force. Gandhi followed his belief in ahimsa and satyagraha by demonstrating non-violence in his fight for peace, freedom and independence. Instead of starting wars and fighting, he influenced people through protests, fasts and speeches. Gandhi was influenced by Tolstoy and Thoreau. Later on he influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin and many other people around the world.

Because of Gandhi’s beliefs, he influenced Indians to fight for themselves peacefully. Gandhi thought that Indians should have the right to sustain themselves by using the resources that were on their homeland. Gandhi spent a good amount of time spinning cotton into thread on a spinning wheel. This was an awkward activity but Gandhi did it for a reason. He wanted to show Indians how they could save money and make their own cloth instead of exporting the cotton to England and buying the cloth back from England. Gandhi influenced Indians so that they wouldn’t have to rely on the British to make their cloth. Between 1942 and 1947 a spinning wheel was shown on the Indian flag. The flag represented India’s resources, independence and sustainability.

For Indians to get independence they needed to show that they could be in control of their own resources. To show Indians that they could have sustainability, Gandhi organized the Salt March. The Salt March is also known as the Salt Satyagraha. The reason for the salt march was to protest the British laws. This would help gain India’s independence. Britain controlled how salt was sold. It was illegal to have salt unless it was sold by the government. The protesters marched to Dandi. It is a town near the seashore. When they got there they prayed and took salt from the beach. When they took the salt, they started taking control of their own resources. People all over the world were paying attention to the salt march because it made an impact by showing that India could have sustainability.

Gandhi always thought that everyone should have equal rights. He wanted equal rights between all classes of Indians and the Untouchables. The Untouchables were lower class poor people who got the worst jobs. They were like homeless people who were treated like dirt. Gandhi wanted all Indians to join together and be one. So he invited some Untouchables to his house. He wanted to prove that no matter who you are and what you do, you are still an Indian. Gandhi started to fast in September, 1930, so the Untouchables wouldn’t be mistreated and so they could have equality. Gandhi would not give up hope for his people.

Gandhi also wanted India’s independence from Britain. His non-violent protest for India to get independence was called “Quit India”. Quit India was launched in1942 for India to reach for her Independence. Gandhi had a saying: “Do or die”. It was to make people understand that they could fight to be free or die trying. Gandhi didn’t want to fight against Britain, but against their colonialism. The day after Quit India was formed Gandhi, Nehru and others were arrested by the British government. Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison. Indians wanted Gandhi free, so they started a riot. They burned government buildings and attacked the British. While Gandhi was in prison, his wife Kasterbai died in his arms. Gandhi later said “I cannot imagine life without Ba...her passing has left a vacuum which will never be filled.” A few months later, Gandhi got out of jail. He started work on doing anything he could to get the Hindus and Muslims to get along.

After World War II ended Britain elected a new government which gave India its independence. After India finally got independence on August 15, 1947, things got really hard for Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi was so heartbroken that Hindus and Muslims were fighting that he had a fast to stop the violence. But the violence carried on. When Gandhi tried to help Hindus and Muslims unite he only saw rioting and bloodshed. Gandhi traveled from country to country trying to negotiate peace but it didn’t work. The Muslims formed their own country called Pakistan.

While Gandhi was trying to help Hindus and Muslims unite, he got assassinated by someone from his own religion. Nathuran Godse was Hindu and thought that Gandhi was more sympathetic to the Muslims, so he shot him. When Gandhi died it was a devastating day for everyone. Gandhi had a traditional Hindu funeral. There were 1.5 million people at his funeral.

Gandhi was known for standing for peace and sustainability. Gandhi wanted the Untouchables to have respect and rights. He also wanted India to have independence. Because Gandhi sacrificed his life for these things, he changed our history. Gandhi left his legacy of peace. He left a legacy of power. He left a legacy of independence. media type="youtube" key="2Q3xIfoar8g" width="382" height="315" align="left"