REACTION PAPER

“Gandhi”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or more popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi,

is known as the Father of the Nation of India. He is also called Bapu, or Father. Gandhi
is known for his philosophy of non-violence, which caught the attention of the British
authorities.
His philosophy of non-violence resistance was called Satyagraha. It followed the
principles of non-violence, or ahimsa, truth, chastity, equal respect for all religions,
characterized by Gandhi’s line in the film “I am Muslim, I am Hindu. I am Christian, I am
Jew.”, and freedom from untouchability, seen in the part wherein Gandhi’s wife does the
work of the Untouchables, amongst others. No matter what the British authorities do to
him, he would not fight back. He does not obey the rules and laws that the British made
that would affect the people in India negatively, but he also didn’t fight back. He used this
to gain India’s independence from being a British colony.
However, India’s independence, which was given on the 15th of August, year
1947, was not easily rewarded to them. A long and sometimes brutal process was
undertaken by people who wanted India’s independence. Gandhi was repeatedly put
into prison during this long trek to independence. Sometimes his followers revolted, and
used violence. During times like this, Gandhi fasted and prayed until the situation was
cleared. Some of the very violent times were the Amritsar Massacre and the Salt March.
The Amritsar Massacre, in which Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer open-fired on
a group of unarmed men and women, civilians, and killed 1526 innocent civilians with
1600 bullets and didn’t treat the injured, was condoned by most of the British in India.
However, it became an important catalyst in the movement to free India.
The Salt March is also a major part in the Indian independence movement. The
salt harvesting and usage in India has always been controlled and benefited from by the
British authorities and citizens. Gandhi, in protest to this, marched from their ashram to
the village of Dandi, Gujarat and started making, under the British law, illegal salt. This
move prompted others to do the same, and mass disobedience of the law spread all
throughout India. Millions of people started making, buying and selling illegal salt.
Gandhi then led a march to the Salt Factory. He and his wife were arrested before they
made it to their location, but his followers continued. They were beaten, but they didn’t
respond with violence. This beating raised international attention. The Salt March didn’t
do much for the salt laws, but it raised the awareness of the British on their wrongdoings
and the cooperation of the Indians.
After long years of protest, rallies and violence, India finally got its freedom.
However, it soon gained a new problem. India was composed primarily of Hindu and
Muslim people, and when India was made free, they got into a fight over who should be
dominant. To stop this, the creation of a new country, Pakistan, was suggested. Gandhi
and the other leaders were faced with an entirely new problem to them: stay as one
India and face civil war, or create Pakistan for the Muslims. They chose the creation of
Pakistan; however, Muslims and Hindu people were still at war with each other. Gandhi,
seeing this, again fasted to keep the countries united and peaceful.
During these times, Gandhi was accompanied by people he trusted and
befriended. One of them was India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He is the son
of a wealthy Indian politician, and met Gandhi through Patel. He developed his political
and leadership skills under the mentorship of Mahatma Gandhi. He soon became known
as Gandhi’s political heir.
Another of Gandhi’s companions is Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He is generally known
as Pakistan’s founder, and was Gandhi’s original choice as Prime Minister of India. He
and Gandhi used to study together, and were very good friends. Jinnah, however,
criticized Gandhi’s Hindu rule and his philosophy, saying that it will just bring divisions to
the Hindu and the Muslims. Later on, he became Pakistan’s first Governor-General.
In today’s world, I do not think that non-violence can survive. People are now
tainted witht the illusion that money, fame and power are everything. Corruption is
rampant among societies, sometimes through very violent means. People do not take
you seriously if you use non-violent means. It will just be a waste of time and effort.
The movie made me really know Mahatma Gandhi. Before, I just thought he was
the weird man in the loincloth. However, seeing his struggles, his pains in the movie
made me see how great and at the same time human he is. How I wish we people today
have our own Gandhi.