Gandhi and Non – violence
(Suitable for Classes 10 – 12)
Objective
o Teaching History through a study of source
o Developing Historical Thinking
o Gaining a deep understanding of Gandhi’s non-violent movement that succeeded in resolving the conflict between Indians and the British Raj
Concept:
A generation of hagiographic biographies uncritically held up Gandhi as the “father of a nation” - one of the most revered public figures of the 20th century. Some people think of him as a spiritual figure who led through moral persuasion alone. Others picture him as a political figure, one of the greatest leaders who defied the might of the British Empire in India.
Recent historians have sought to provide more nuanced accounts of Gandhi’s contribution to Indian independence. This lesson plan tries to analyze Gandhi’s unique weapon of ahimsa through a study of sources – both primary and secondary.
Lesson Plan:
1. The class is shown a clip from Richard Attenborough’s film ‘Gandhi’ on the Dharasana Salt Satyagraha (approximately 4 minutes).
2. The teacher shares with the class the text of the American journalist Webb Miller’s eye witness account of what happened at Dharasana [See below]. Once the class has read the text, the teacher draws the attention of the students to the fact that in a study of History, what is depicted in cinema needs to be corroborated through a study of sources.
3. The teacher asks the students to express their views on the use of ahimsa in the face of brutal violence on the part of the British police (as described in Webb Miller’s account). They are also asked to analyze why, according to them, Gandhi may have used this technique. The teacher should put up the different view-points expressed by the class on the board.
4. The teacher then shares with the class some excerpts from Gandhi’s writings expressing his own views on ahimsa [See below]. She could point out that Gandhi was a prolific writer and hence we have a plethora of sources and also that a study of these writings shows the gradual evolution of his concept of ahimsa.
5. For the last part of the lesson, the teacher divides the class into groups. Each group is given a different source (opinions of different historians) to discuss [See attachment]. After about five minutes of discussion time, the teacher asks one member of each group to present the salient points of their discussion. Through this discussion, the teacher is able to demonstrate that Gandhi’s technique of ahimsa has been interpreted in many different ways.
Conclusion:
· The teacher will be able to establish that a study of History involves different interpretations – as long as they are argued logically and on the basis of evidence.
· The students will be introduced to the historiography of this period.
· Students will be able to develop a critical appreciation of the role of Gandhi in India’s freedom struggle.
American journalist Webb Miller’s eye witness account
American journalist Webb Miller was on the scene, and he later described what followed.
“Suddenly, at a word of command, scores of native police rushed upon the advancing marchers and rained blows on their heads with their steel-shod lathis [batons]. Not one of the marchers even raised an arm to fend off the blows. They went down like ten-pins. From where I stood I heard the sickening whacks of the clubs on unprotected skulls. The waiting crowd of watchers groaned and sucked in their breaths in sympathetic pain at every blow. Those struck down fell sprawling, unconscious or writhing in pain with fractured skulls or broken shoulders. In two or three minutes the ground was quilted with bodies. Great patches of blood widened on their white clothes.
The survivors without breaking ranks silently and doggedly marched on until struck down. When every one of the first column had been knocked down stretcher bearers rushed up unmolested by the police and carried off the injured to a thatched hut which had been arranged as a temporary hospital. Then another column formed while the leaders pleaded with them to retain their self-control. They marched slowly towards the police. Although everyone knew that within a few minutes he would be beaten down, perhaps killed, I could detect no signs of wavering or fear. They marched steadily with heads up, without any possibility that they might escape serious injury or death.”
Gandhi - On Ahimsa
October 1916
In its positive form, ahimsa means the largest love, the greatest charity. If I am a follower of ahimsa, I must love my enemy. I must apply the same rule to the wrong doer who is my enemy or a stranger to me, as I would to my wrong doing father or son. This active ahimsa necessarily includes truth and fearlessness… The practice of ahimsa calls forth the greatest courage. It is the most soldierly of a soldier’s virtues.
August 1920
I am not a visionary. I claim to be a practical idealist. The religion of non-violence is not meant merely for the rishis and saints. It is meant for the common people as well. Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute… The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law – to the strength of the spirit…
Non-violence … does not mean meek submission to the will of the evil doer, but it means putting of one’s whole soul against the will of the tyrant. Working under this law of our being, it is possible for a single individual to defy the whole might of an unjust empire…
And so I am not pleading for India to practice non-violence because it is weak. I want her to practice non-violence being conscious of her strength and power.
August 1925
Non-violence implies love, compassion, forgiveness. The Shastras describe these as virtues of the brave. This courage is not physical but mental.
July 1930
Without ahimsa it is not possible to seek and find Truth. Ahimsa and Truth are so intertwined that it is practically impossible to disentangle and separate them… Ahimsa is the means and Truth is the end… ahimsa becomes our supreme duty and Truth becomes God for us. If we take care of the means, we are bound to reach the end sooner or later.
Comments