This essay exhaustively analyses biographical literatures on Mahatma Gandhi from his childhood upbringing through the start of his activism campaign against social oppression to his death as India’s prime minister.
To What Extent Was Mahatma Gandhi Responsible For Indian Independence
Introduction
India and the world at large celebrate Mahatma Gandhi as the “father of India”, the
world’s second most populous country. In particular, Indians and the larger global society cites
Gandhi’s role in invention and promotion of nonviolent strategies for political reforms as
alternative solution to political turmoil that has eternally bedeviled humanity occasionally to
apocalyptic levels. The Indians particularly celebrate Gandhi for his successful leadership of
Indians struggle against British colonialists through peaceful, non-violent social movements.
Accordingly, like the Indian nation, most historians literally venerate Mahatma Gandhi as “the
great-souled one”, and “father of the nation” by crediting him with his sole and life-time
leadership of Indians’ triumphant struggle against British colonialism. Nevertheless, exhaustive
analysis of Gandhi’s biography casts doubt on his venerated image as the sole “father of the
nation”, or his exclusive and unfaltering life-time dedication to India’s independence struggle
against British colonialists. As revealed by volumes of biographical literatures on Mahatma
Gandhi, the fight against British imperialism or colonialism was part and somewhat secondary to
Gandhi’s lifetime commitment to liberate humanity from all forms of oppressions. Noticeably,
rather than demonize the British colonialists as unwelcome foreigners, Gandhi instead castigated
imperialism for its perpetuation of human suffering alongside other oppressive systems including
superstitions, religious hatred, casteism, and economic oppression. Likewise, Gandhi’s campaign
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against human suffering and oppression went beyond India’s national boundaries to other
countries around the globe plagued by social oppression instigated suffering such as South
Africa (Power 441).
This essay exhaustively analyzes biographical literatures on Mahatma Gandhi from his
childhood upbringing through the start of his activism campaign against social oppression to his
death as India’s prime minister. As revealed by exhaustive analysis of biographical literatures,
this essay dismisses the literal image of Gandhi held by Indian nationalists and historians that
narrowly and literally focus on his credentials as “the father of the nation”, and “the great souled
one”. Instead, as revealed by Gandhi’s pioneer activism in South Africa, thousands of miles from
his India’s home country, Gandhi’s leadership of India’s independent struggle was somewhat
accidental or secondary to his lifetime commitment to alleviate human suffering and oppression
beyond the territorial boundaries of his India home country (Power 441). The essay particularly
points Gandhi’s pioneer activism in South Africa as well as his resignation from Congress Party
in 1934 to answer the question “to what extent was Mahatma Gandhi responsible for Indian
independence?”
Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi discovered his lifetime philosophical quest for truth and love as early as
during his childhood. As revealed by Rudolph and Rudolph (1983) biographical literature on
“Gandhi: The Traditional Roots of Charisma”, Gandhi’s pursuit of truth and love as the supreme
ideals of society heavily borrowed from his childhood rendition inspired by the Indian folklore of
Shravana and king Harishchandra. Furthermore, his upbringing in devotee, Hindu family steeped
in the worship of Vishnu, the Hindu god blend with Jainanism tradition shaped Gandhi’s
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philosophy of nonviolence struggle. In particular, Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent or passive
struggle borrows from Jainism rigorous moral tenets of nonviolence coupled with its beliefs and
practices that included vegetarianism, mutual tolerance between devotee of different sects and
creeds, ahimsa or noninjury to every living being, and self-purification through fasting.
Therefore, although Gandhi’s exploited nonviolence tactics such as fasting and chastity in his
non-violent campaign against British imperialists, the nonviolence tactics were philosophically
grounded in his Vaishnavism and Jainism religious background rather than political philosophy
(Sharma 1).
Gandhi’s struggle to uphold his Vaishnava religious identity continued throughout his
overseas studies in London. Accordingly, Gandhi focused on personal and moral ambitions to
preserve his Vaishnava religious beliefs. Noticeably, during his three years study in London,
Gandhi socialized with religious devotee including Christians, vegetarian faddists, and fellow
Hinduism devotee. Among them included socialists and humanitarians vegetarians including
George Bernard Shaw, and Edward Carpenter as well as Theosophists led by Annie Besant.
Gandhi also rubbed shoulder with Christians who introduced him to the Bible as well as fellow
Hindu devotee who gave him an opportunity to read the English version of Bhagavadgita
translated by Sir Edwin Arnold. Although a few of Gandhi’s religious devotees were engaged in
rebellious challenge of imperialism socioeconomic and political systems such as capitalism and
industrial society, majority of his fellow religious adherent were preoccupied with religious
ideals especially on the supremacy of morality over materialism (Sharma 1). Nevertheless, such
religious ideals informed Gandhi’s choice of nonviolence strategy in the fight for Indian
independence from Britain.
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