Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t31: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t31
- Language
- English
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
v2.c14.s4.t31.1
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), commonly and respectfully known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu. Son of a senior government official, he was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, a small town on the western coast of India which was then one of the many princely states in Kathiawar, now known as Saurashtra, in Gujarat. He was the last child of his father's fourth wife, Putlibai. Mohandas comes from a middle-class family of Vaishya or the trading community. Initially, he attended the primary school in Porbandar and then at Rajkot, another small state in Kathiawar, where he completed his high school. All throughout his academic career, he was a very shy and soft-spoken, diffident and mediocre student. However, Gandhi’s mother was a very pious lady with a firm belief in God, from whom he learnt the virtue of morality and truth since childhood. Thus, having been brought up in a traditional family environment, he had developed a marked sense of loyalty to his parents, of devotion to duty, and an aversion to falsehood. At the age of 13, Gandhi was married to Kasturbai who was of the same age.
v2.c14.s4.t31.2
*Mahatma Gandhi*
v2.c14.s4.t31.3
In 1887, he entered Bhavanagar College and after about a year, i.e., in September 1888, he left college and proceeded to England with the prospect of studying Law and becoming a barrister. He stayed in England for nearly three years, and had a very stimulating and fruitful experience of meeting the members of the theosophical society and London Vegetarian society - a society consisting of an intellectual crowd who introduced Gandhi with different authors like Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. Here he availed the rare opportunity of reading Edwin Arnold’s rendering of “Bhagavad Gita”, and that of Buddha’s life - The Light of Asia, some Christian literature as well as a chapter on the Prophet of Islam in Carlyle’s “Heroes and Hero Worship” - all of which helped the young mind of Gandhi to grasp and realise the essential teachings of all different religions. This led him to reach the irrefutable conclusion that all these different faiths basically and intrinsically uphold the same fundamental principle and spirit of “humanitarianism”. Further, he came to believe that “asceticism and renunciation are the highest form of religion”, which greatly helped him in his moral and spiritual evolution. Gandhi’s basic approach to the study of world religion was that of showing equal respect and reverence to the best in all of them as their inner spirit was same, and that the difference in external form was of little consequence.
v2.c14.s4.t31.4
Gandhi qualified for the legal profession in London on June 10, 1891 and he returned to India the same month itself. Initially, he started the legal practice in his native town of Rajkot, and later on shifted to Bombay High Court with the hope of a better prospect. But, except for a formal qualification as a barrister of the Inner Temple, he had almost no knowledge of Indian law to help him in the hurly-burly of a competitive career as a lawyer. His moral earnestness was a liability rather than an asset. Having found the general atmosphere of the court as one of corruption and intrigue, he felt very disheartened and frustrated. He had to again return to Rajkot and remain content in drafting petitions and memorials. During this period of predicament,
v2.c14.s4.t31.5
*Mahatma Gandhi spinning khadi, advocating handmade textile and boycott of British goods*
v2.c14.s4.t31.6
he got an offer from a Muslim firm of Kathiawar to go to South Africa to instruct and assist their counsel in a big lawsuit, and Gandhi gladly accepted it as a godsend opportunity.
v2.c14.s4.t31.7
Gandhi, thus, at the age of 24, once again left his family and set off for South Africa in April 1893, arriving in British-governed Natal in May. It was in this foreign land under British control that Gandhi saw a different set of socio-cultural environment which he had neither seen in his homeland, as he was too young to notice such things, nor in England. He was distressed to see the severe indignities and humiliation heaped on the Indians as “coolies” based on nationality, racial segregation and colour complexion. The Indian community in South Africa suffered from all sorts of social discriminations while travelling in trains and trams; they were not allowed to visit European hotels and were looked down upon as belonging to an inferior race. Gandhi himself also had to taste the bitterness of such humiliation when he was not allowed to travel in the first class coach, despite having a ticket for the same class and was ultimately thrown out of the train forcibly by the policeman. Gandhi did not take all these lying low and was determined to fight back to enable all colonial subjects to get their rightful place in society if, according to him, they complied with all the demands of the colonial rulers. When such matters of social discrimination were brought before the Indian traders community in Natal by Gandhi, the latter confessed their illiteracy and were happy to tolerate all those humiliations simply for the sake of their commercial gains and benefits. However, they requested Gandhi to stay back to fight for them and assured financial support. To this Gandhi readily agreed, and as the first step to start the struggle, the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was established in May 1894 with a constitution of its own. This led to the consolidation of all the Indians in South Africa, irrespective of caste or creed. According to Gandhi’s own admission, the organisation set upon itself the dual task of reforming the community life of all Indians on one hand, and waging a struggle against the colonial masters to obtain their legitimate rights.
v2.c14.s4.t31.8
Thus, Gandhi was drawn into the public life – a field in which he had to experiment his moral ideas and principles that he had acquired and valued very much. These were then proven to be the most formative years of his life, during which period he developed a new philosophy of his own - a set of socio-political ethics and ideals and leadership ability - while innovating new techniques of Satyagraha (civil resistance through adherence to truth) to fight the evils of social discrimination and injustice. The experience that he gained here was of much significance in his later life to guide him in his future political struggles in Indian independence movement.
v2.c14.s4.t31.9
Gandhi spent about 21 years trying to better the lives of Indians in South Africa. However, Gandhi was not against the rule of the British authorities there, he simply wanted to awaken their conscience about minimum human dignities that the subjects deserve, and they must not hesitate to grant them those rights. This was for him, a humanitarian cause which he could not abandon. But, what were the weapons and resources at his disposal? Gandhi realised that it was impossible to fight against the British by resorting to any brutal force that every ordinary individual man possessed. He cultivated and developed certain virtues of fearlessness, truthfulness, non-violence, peaceful protest, universal love, service to the deprived and down-trodden, self-reliance, civil disobedience, non-cooperation with the authorities and passive resistance in the course of his long struggle against the injustice of the authorities to repel the vices of the latter.
v2.c14.s4.t31.10
The colonial authorities continued to strengthen the discriminatory practices in South Africa through enacting various such legislative measures being introduced in the Natal Legislative assembly. Yet, Gandhi never had any resentment or hateful attitude towards the British rulers or the people. Hence, when the Boer war and the Zullu rebellion occurred in 1899 and 1906 respectively, Gandhi organised volunteer corps consisting of Indians to help the injured solders fighting the war. This, he did to convince the British that the Indians were not cowards, but were capable of all adventures if the situation so demanded, and thus to elevate the social status of the Indians in the eyes of the Europeans.
v2.c14.s4.t31.11
Thus, after 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi decided to sail back to India in July 1914. On his arrival in Bombay on January 9, 1915, he was given a rousing reception. His struggle and triumph in South Africa had already been widely published in all the major newspapers, and by the time he reached home he had become a well-known figure as a nationalist and capable organiser. However, before joining the Congress-led anti-imperialistic struggle, Gandhi wanted to know the realities of his society and was, first of all, eager to establish grass-root contact with all sections of people. He was introduced in this field to the socio-political issues of the country and it’s people mainly by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who was known for his restraint and moderation. Gokhale’s liberal approach appealed to Gandhi whom he continued to regard as his guide and “guru” (mentor) in politics.
v2.c14.s4.t31.12
Gandhi took the leadership of the Congress in 1920, and he tried to bring about some radical changes in its characteristic features by turning it into a mass organisation of all sections and all classes of the people - the rich and the poor, industrialists, workers, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, students, teachers, those from upper castes as well as the untouchables, etc. Further, the goal that he set for the organisation was not simply to liberate the country from alien political masters, but also to liberate the people and society from their age-old superstitious and backward thinking. Thus, he sought to integrate political movements with socio-cultural movements that were aimed at transforming each and every individual of the state into a conscious social being, who would be worthy of being labelled as a ‘modern man’ in a true sense of the term.
v2.c14.s4.t31.13
Gandhi Smriti
v2.c14.s4.t31.14
In the political field, Gandhi's peaceful protest against injustice and non-cooperation as a technique proved to be successful both in the Champaran movement and Kheda agitations in 1918. Gandhi, thus acquainted himself with the local issues faced by the people and tried to secure popular base for his future political campaigns and programmes. The next two serious occurrences that attracted nation-wide protest against the British regime were the Khilafat movement and the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre of 1919. Gandhi supported the Muslims in the Khilafat movement, and won the hearts and minds of the Muslims as one of their prominent spokesman. Both these issues had their repercussions in the Congress session of 1920 in Calcutta, and the session adopted the policy of progressive non-violent non-cooperation movement and the establishment of Swaraj. The Congress also gave the call for boycott of foreign goods. The resolution met with an overwhelming response, with increasing excitement and participation from all strata of the Indian society. Thousands of students and teachers left schools and colleges; many lawyers gave up their practices and worked for the success of the new movement. While noting such enthusiastic support of the people for the boycott and non-cooperation movement, the government felt nervous and had to resort to a series of oppressive measures and a policy of extreme repression. However, the Chauri Chaura incident involving violence, in which several policemen were killed by the agitated crowd in February 1922, greatly saddened Gandhi and he was forced to suspend the movement fearing escalation of further violence. However, Gandhi was arrested on March 10, 1922, tried on charges of sedition and sentenced to six years of imprisonment. But, again, owing to his failing health and sudden illness, the government decided to release him in February 1924.
v2.c14.s4.t31.15
The government too imposed various taxes on the people to improve its financial position, and all this provided the Congress with many issues to take up for struggle. One of such taxes that served to be mostly irritant was the salt tax. Gandhi decided to oppose this draconian law and on March 12, 1930, he commenced his march towards the beach of Dandi, located at a distance of 385 km from Sabarmati Ashram, to defy the said rules and regulations. Gandhi picked up a small lump of natural salt and following him hundreds of thousands of people in different parts of the country similarly defied the laws. The campaign was marked with much success while upsetting the British calculation and the government responded by imprisoning over 60,000 people.
v2.c14.s4.t31.16
When World War II broke out, Gandhi and the Congress leadership favoured offering "non-violent
v2.c14.s4.t31.18
*Gandhi Samadhi*
v2.c14.s4.t31.19
moral support" to British war efforts, provided Britain recognised India's right of self-government without any reservation. But, the authorities, both in Britain and India were not in the mood to listen to the Congress' pleas and demands, and the Cripps Mission, as a result, inevitably failed to placate the Indian leadership. Gandhi felt completely dismayed and disappointed, and he sponsored the historic "Quit India" resolution in the All India Congress Committee on August 7, 1942. The Government panicked, and in the early hours of August 9, arrested all the leaders of the Congress and took them to different unknown destinations in a bid to crush the movement. But, when Gandhi's health further deteriorated from bad to worse and there occurred a nation-wide agitation demanding his release, the government was obliged to order his unconditional release on May 6, 1944.
v2.c14.s4.t31.20
Towards the last phase of the war, the British gave clear indications that they were ready to transfer power to the Indians. At this point, Gandhi called off the movement, and around 100,000 political prisoners were released. But, nothing less than full independence was going to pacify the Indian leadership and the people at this critical juncture, and the British government finally decided to leave India in August 1947. On August 15, Great Britain granted independence to India with the newly formed Muslim state of Pakistan.
v2.c14.s4.t31.21
But, the communal problem that had continued to plague the sub-continent for so many decades took a turn for the worse, with the demand of the Muslim League for a separate homeland of Pakistan exclusively for the Muslim population. Gandhi steadfastly rejected the idea. But, this only led to massive violence and unrest throughout the country, including mass slaughter and burning of many towns. Gandhi went on a fast, but he could not stop the violence and anarchy. Radical Hindu groups were outraged with the belief that Gandhi had unduly conceded to many unjust demands of the Muslim League. And on January 30, 1948, when Gandhi was walking to Birla House for his usual evening prayer meeting, a young Hindu assassin named Nathuram Godse, after kneeling before him, rushed forward and fired point-blank three shots at his chest. The Mahatma sank to the ground with the words in his lip ‘He Ram’. Thus, with the tragic death of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, an era of Indian politics came to an end.
v2.c14.s4.t31.22
A sculpture of Gandhi in New Delhi depicting his Dandi March
v2.c14.s4.t31.23
When Gandhi was in South Africa to fight for individual rights and dignities of Indians, he had, for the first time, come in contact with the Chinese people. In a letter to Jiang Jiehi written much earlier, he stated that during the period of his stay in Johannesburg from 1905 to 1913, many of the Chinese people were his clients and later on they had become comrades in their passive resistance movement. As he had mentioned, “Gradually I developed my interactions with the Chinese people and admired their frugality, diligence, wisdom and unity.” Gandhi always cherished cordial and friendly sentiments for the Chinese and was eager to see the success of the Chinese revolution led by Dr Sun Yet-sen. Meanwhile, the Chinese intellectuals had also come to know about Gandhi, and all his activities and deeds. According to statistics, about 27 books on Gandhi and his ideas had been published in China during the period 1920-1948, with an average of one book per year. Among them, there were four versions of Romen Rolland’s biography and four translations of his autobiography. Besides, many articles had been published in various magazines like the Guide, the New Construction, the Young China, the Vanguard and the Chinese Youth, etc., while introducing Gandhi’s life and deeds, with different views and opinions on Gandhism and the strategy of his struggle. One of such articles introduced him as the centre of the Indian self-rule movement and the pioneer of the non-cooperation movement. He was an ardent believer in religion, advocated patriotism and despised wealth, honour and happiness for himself. He wholeheartedly supported charity and defied brute force in any form. All the above publications in China about Gandhi clearly showed that all the revolutionaries and democratic leaders of China were very much concerned about Gandhi and his ideas, and also about the future of Indian independence struggle.
v2.c14.s4.t31.24
Talking about Japanese aggression and occupation of the three provinces of north-east China, Gandhi, in a letter to one of his friends written in 1932 had remarked, “our sympathies inevitably lie with the Chinese people in between the Japanese and the Chinese. Gandhi had further sent a congratulatory letter to Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion of the opening ceremony of Cheena Bhavan (中国学院), Visva-Bharati held on April 14, 1937 in which he stated that “he wished to see Cheena Bhavan as the symbol of unity between India-China.” Further, in a letter to Professor Tan Yunshan, the Founder-Director of Cheena Bhavan, Gandhi mentioned, “Yes, we in reality, need to promote the cultural contact between our two people of India and China. Your endeavours in this direction are indeed admirable.” In the same month, Gandhi, in a letter to a Chinese student Wei Fengjinag, studying in Cheena Bhavan, said, “How a big country China is! I love China, I love the Chinese people.” When the news of the outbreak of the anti-Japanese resistance war reached India, Gandhi said, “The whole country of China is now engaged in fighting against the Japanese aggressors. Victory essentially belongs to the Chinese people as the truth lies on your side!” Gandhi condemned many times the activities of the fascist Japanese aggressors in China on various occasions.
v2.c14.s4.t31.25
When the nationalist party leader Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi visited India in 1942, he met Gandhi in Kolkata on February 10, and the former briefed the latter on the non-violent strategy of the Indian independence movement. Jiang Jieshi expressed full support for the freedom struggle of the Indian people. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, many Chinese scholars worked on Gandhi and published many articles, especially a translated biography of Gandhi in the 1980s. Many even published some of their research works, while some like Professor Wang Zao of Ji Lin University have become famous while working on Gandhi.
v2.c14.s4.t31.26
A sketch of Mahatma Gandhi done by Xu Beihong in 1940
v2.c14.s4.t31.27
As Krishna Kripalini comments, "What Gandhi achieved may be wrecked or may go awry or may dissolve into no more than a memory. But Gandhi will live, for the man was greater than his achievements. In him was the universal man in an eternal quest of truth and moral perfection. As he himself put it, "I am more concerned in preventing the brutalisation of human nature than in the prevention of the suffering of my own people... if we are all sons of the same God and partake of the same divine essence, we must partake of the sin of every person, whether he belongs to us or to another race."
v2.c14.s4.t31.28
(*Arttatrana Nayak & Xue Keqiao*)
Cites (2)
- Bhagavadgītā — Vyāsa, Sanskrit
- Dandi