INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT 4 “REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTERS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOCIETY”

English Representative Characters And Their Contribution To The Society

I N T E G R A N T E S :

Karen Aguirre Anthony Gordon Camila Parra Isaac Rubio Davon Tipantuña

2nd "B"

INDEX 1. Mahatma Gandhi's biography 2. The field in which Mahatma Gandhi was developed 3. Relevant facts of Mahatma Gandhi 4. Mahatma Gandhi's contributions to society 5. Dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi

“An eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.” - Mahatma Gandhi

MAHATMA GANDHI

He field in which Mahatma Gandhi was developed

One

of

political

the

greatest

and

spiritual

leaders

of

twentieth

the

century.

He

openly belonged to the

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi; Porbandar, 1869 Delhi, 1948. Indian nationalist thinker and leader. He was an Indian lawyer, politician, and activist who founded the nonviolence movement.

The main character of the independence of his country through pacifist resistance, he was the most relevant figure of the Indian political and social

forefront

the

Indian

nationalist movement.

He

pioneered

and

practiced the principle of

Satyagraha:

resistance

to

through

non-violent

tyranny

mass

civil

disobedience.

He

was

driving

one forces

of

the

behind

the

nonviolence

movement

and

the

one

leaders

pushed

for

of

who India's

independence in 1947.

scene and one of the most

Gandhi

influential personalities of

India,

contemporary history.

of

is

where

considered of

the

an

the

nation",

symbol worldwide

of

icon

in

he

is

"father and

a

peace

RELEVANT FACTS His

humanitarian

varied;

he

hospitals, eliminate

initiatives

instituted

and, the

numerous

and

colonies

and

agricultural

especially

castes

were

and

since

then,

religions

he

that

tried

divided

to his

people.

In his relations and in his inevitable clashes with the South

African

inaugurated resistance, person

a

method

that

and

governmental of

struggle,

maintained

avoided

armed

authorities

respect revolt,

or for

he

rather the

already

of

human

in

South

Africa 1906-

He

("force the

of

recalled truth")

actions

that

the

as in

value

the

the

of

the

foundation

West

"satyagraha"

and

received

energy

the

name

of of

"passive resistance".

He founded several cooperatives for the defense of Indian rights.

He

campaigned

for

Indian

languages

and

against

the class prejudices of the caste system.

In

1930

he

urged

the

population

not

to

pay

taxes,

especially on salt, which was very high. From March 12 to April 6, he led a non-violent protest, known as the salt march.

Created several campaigns of civil disobedience.

Went on hunger strike in an attempt to get the Rajkot state leader to change his autocratic regime.

HOW DID MAHATMA GANDHI CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY? In South Africa, Gandhi experienced firsthand the strong rejection and hatred of Indians, which motivated him in 1894 to create an Indian political party to defend their rights. After 22 years of nonviolent protests in South Africa, Gandhi gained enough power and respect

to

negotiate

with

South

African

Smuts a solution to the Indian conflict

General

Jan

Christian

What were the struggles you were involved in?

I led nationwide campaigns to reduce poverty, expand women's rights, create religious and ethnic harmony, and eliminate the injustices of the caste system.

Why did you choose to fight for your rights with nonviolence?

"There are many causes for which I am willing to die, but none for which I am willing to kill" is what I wrote. When I lived for a while in South Africa, I suffered prejudice and discrimination because of my race. Thus I began my work in politics and peaceful activism.

But far from encouraging the masses to armed struggle, I promoted peaceful resistance and new modes of opposition.

Why were you in jail and how long did you spend there?

In fact, yes, it was. Although it was a little complicated to claim our rights in a nonviolent way because it was difficult to be heard. Despite this, I had to make a choice; either I would submit to a system that in my opinion had caused irreparable damage to my country or I risked the fury of my people being unleashed when they understood the truth that came from my lips.

Do you think the nonviolent method was effective?

In 1922 I was arrested and charged with sedition for riots that had broken out. On March 18, the court sentenced me to six years in prison, promising my release if I would stop the protests.

In the end, I spent 6 years and 10 months in prison. I first entered prison at the age of 39, in South Africa. And I got out of the last one, in India, at the age of 75.