HIST 4323 Test One

Hind Swaraj

"Indian Home Rule", a text written by Gandhi in 1909 in which he critiques Western civilization.

Hermann Kallenbach

(1904) Kallenbach was a Jewish German architect who was introduced to Gandhi's ideas of nonviolent protest and class equality after meeting him for the first time in South Africa. He after becoming close friends with Gandhi, he donated a thousand acres to Gandhi and his cause and acted as manager for some of Gandhi's marches in South Africa.

Rowlatt Act

(1919) Government of India act that allowed the government to arrest and imprison anyone suspected of sedition for up to 2 years without trial. This led Gandhi to call for a day of prayer, which was actually a strike.

How old was Gandhi when he got married?

13

Gandhi's years in England

1881-1891

Gandhi's years in South Africa

1893-1914

Year of Gandhi's returning to live in India

1915

Year of Rowlatt Acts and the Amritsar Massacre

1919

Year of Gandhi's boycott movement

1920-1922

Year of the Salt Satyagraha

1930

Year of Gandhi's Attending the Roundtable Conference

1931

Year of Poona Pact

1932

Years of Quit India Movement

1942-1944

How many children did Gandhi have?

4 sons

Subhas Chandra Bose

A member of the Indian National Congress who disagreed with Gandhi's ideas of nonviolence and created the Indian National Army during WWII, fighting on the side of the Japanese in WWII.

Charkha

A spinning wheel, which became a symbol of the Indian independence movement.

Date of Indian Independence

August 15, 1947

What was Gandhi's first profession?

Barrister (a type of lawyer)

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (B. R.)

Born into an untouchable caste, he obtained an education up to the Ph.D. level and became a political leader of for the low castes. He fought against caste discrimination and came into conflict with Gandhi at the Round Table conference over the issue of separate electorates. Ambedkar was in charge of drafting the constitution of India.

What was Gandhi's most important contribution on behalf of Indian in South Africa and when did he accomplish it?

Following the Union of South Africa in 1910, a new act was passed that restricted Indian immigration and movement within South Africa, forced Indians to register, give fingerprints, and carry an ID card and ruled that Hindu and Muslim marriages were invalid was passed in 1913. Gandhi led a series of Acts of Civil Disobedience including taking people across borders and labor strikes. He was jailed for a month, and then released to negotiate with General Smuts, where the Act was reversed in 1914. This began Gandhi's reign as a leader.

What was the issue that brought the negotiations at the second Round Table Conference to a halt?

Gandhi and the leader of the untouchables disagreed on representation. Gandhi thought the untouchables should be grouped with Hindus rather than allowing them separate legislation.

What was the non-cooperation boycott of 1920-22? Include why Gandhi called for the boycott, what was boycotted, and why Gandhi ended the boycott.

Gandhi called for a complete boycott of the British following the Jallianwala Massacre, where a British general ordered soldiers to fire on a group of men woman and children having an illegal meeting. Hundreds were killed. Gandhi called for a boycott of cloth, alcohol, schools, and running for election/holding office. The movement ended following an incident where Gandhi's followers killed 23 policemen. Gandhi fasted for 5 days.

Why and by whom was Gandhi assassinated?

Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu man named Nathuram Godse. Godse was a Hindu nationalist and who believed that Gandhi was too pre-Muslim because he was coercing the Indian government to give Pakistan the money they were owed despite the fact that they were at war.

Explain what happened in London that made Gandhi begin to feel that there was something of value in Indian traditions and cultures.

Gandhi went to London when he was young and impressed with the British. He tried to fit in by wearing British clothes, talking dancing lessons, and taking music lessons. In London, he meets two groups: people from the Theosophists society, and a group of vegetarians. The people from the The Theosophists society wanted to learn about and support religions other than Christianity. They saw truth in all religions and wanted to form a new religion made up of the best parts of other religions. They advised Gandhi to read Hindu texts that he had never read, and opened his eyes to the beauty of his culture. He then reads A Plea for Vegetarianism, along with other British arguments in favor of vegetarianism. He soon joined the Vegetarian Society.

Swaraj

Gandhi's message to people of India about self-rule. Swaraj literally means "self rule"

Harijan

Gandhi's name for a member of the lowest castes or the "untouchables." The word meant "Children of God" (literally "Those born of Vishnu.")

Khadi

Handspun cotton cloth, which Gandhi promoted as a protest of British exploitation of India

What was Gandhi's religion?

Hinduism

Jallianwala Massacre

In 1919, General Dyer banned all meetings in the city of Amritsar for fear of an uprising, and after hearing of a illegal meeting, he ordered fifty riflemen to shoot at the crowd which included men, women, and children. Hundreds were killed.

Chauri Chaura

In Feb. 1922, during the boycott movement, the police harassed a man who was part of a Gandhian protest. The other followers of Gandhi at the protest ran to rescue their companion and chased the police back to the police station, and then in anger set the police station on fire and killed 23 policemen. In response, Gandhi called off the boycott movement and went on a 5 day fast in penance for the bloodshed. A total of 228 people were arrested for the crime; 19 were sentenced to death and 110 were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Gandhi's death date

January 30, 1948

Mohammed Ali Jinnah

Jinnah is known as the father of Pakistan. He was a Western-educated India and member of the Indian National Congress, who became the leader the All-India Muslim League and was primarily concerned about the protection of Muslim rights as Muslims were the largest minority group in India. When an agreement could not be reached with the Indian National Congress, Jinnah led the movement for the creation of Pakistan.

Who was Gandhi's wife?

Kasturba Gandhi

Louis Mountbatten

Last Viceroy of India, who was put in charge of organizing the independence of India.

What was Gandhi's caste?

Modh Bania, Vaishya (a middle caste)

What was Gandhi's full name?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Khan Abdul Ghaffar (Bacha) Khan

Muslim follower of Gandhi's ideas who believed that nonviolence corresponded with the message of the Quran. He founded a non-violent Muslim group in what is now Pakistan.

Who killed Gandhi and what was his religion?

Nathuram Godse, who was a fellow Hindu

Gandhi's birthday

October 2, 1869

Jawaharlal Nehru

One of the leaders of the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement and a close friend of Gandhi, but one whose views differed considerably from Gandhi, especially is his support of socialism. Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India.

What was the Quit India Movement of 1942-44? Include why the movement was such a threat to the British at the time and why Gandhi was criticized for it.

The Quit India movement was an attempt to get the British out of India. Indians began causing great destruction on government buildings, police stations, railway stations and tracks, post offices, and telegraph offices/lines. This was a huge threat to the British because the movement took place during WWII while the Japanese were ready to take over India at any moment. Gandhi was criticized for the lack of leadership in the movement and the "do anything you can" idea he instilled in followers of the movement. Many questioned his commitment to nonviolence as the movement became very violent and many were killed.

What did the Salt March accomplish?

The Salt March gained a lot of media attention. Many arrests were made, including the arrest pf Gandhi. The viceroy called Gandhi in to negotiate at the Round Table Conference. In 1935, the Government of India Act passed, allowing self government for India.

Asiatic Registration Act ("The Black Act")

The government act was passed in 1907 in the Transvaal and required Indian to register, give their fingerprints, and to carry an I.D. card at all times.

Satyagraha

The term means "truth force." Gandhi used the term for non-violent political activism

Ashram

Traditionally a secluded Hindu sect or religious community similar to a monastery. Gandhi created ashrams in which he and his close followers could live and in which his ideas could be practiced.

Did India achieve independence solely due to the non-violent non-cooperation strategies of Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, or were there others factors involved?

While the British were influenced by Gandhi's strategies to force the British to "quit India," this is not the only factor that led them to finally let go of India. England was in chaos because of WWII, where bombings were common, children had to be sent off, and there were problems with food. They realized they could not control or exploit Indians any further because of the state of their own country.

Brahmacharya

a Hindu religious practice in which a person makes an effort to become holy through eating pure foods, learns to control the senses and desires, as well as thoughts, words, and deeds, and does not engage in sexual activity.

Mahatma

means "great soul"