Histoire des arts

Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, in India, on October 2, 1869. Kasturba was his wife between 1883 and 1944. He married her at the age of 13 and she died in 1944 . He began studying law in London in 1888. He worked as a legal advisor in South Africa and discovered the deplorable living conditions of blacks and Indians in this country. So he started a non-violent fight against the South African authorities which lasted 20 years. He wrote in 1909 a book called Hind Swaraj in which he gives his ideas on non-violent fight, it’s the Satyagraha. Having obtained significant advances in 1914 from the South African government, Gandhi returned to India, which he travelled to know better the country . Then, he joined the Indian army to fight with the English. After the First World War, Gandhi and millions of Indians protested against British authorities, courts and schools. He became famous throughout India, he was nicknamed the "Mahatma". He wanted to gain economic independence of India but he failed and he was arrested and he was sent in prison in 1922 but he was released in 1924. In 1930, he had a considerable influence, Gandhi thus made a new campaign of civil disobedience aiming at the abolition of taxes, in particular on the salt. He was sent in prison again, then released in 1931. At the head of the Congress Party, with Nehru, he worked for the total independence of India. India's partial independence in 1935 was not enough for him. During the Second World War, Gandhi refused to support England. He went back to prison in 1942 and then released for health reasons. In 1944, the British agreed to grant independence to India on condition that the country be divided in two to avoid quarrels between Muslims and members of the congress party. Gandhi opposed it but in 1947 two countries are created: India and Pakistan and India became independent. He was killed on January 30, 1948.

Gandhi's nonviolent fighting for human rights had a major influence on liberation and civil rights movements around the world, especially for blacks in North America

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