British Imperialism in India

Beginning on Monday we began looking at the life of Gandhi. We analyzed a document called the "Gandhian Philosophy" and discussed the morals and values that we have as individuals. Gandhi certainly is one of those historical figures whose legacy is unparalleled. Many know Gandhi from his quotes, "Be the change you wish to see in the world", "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind", are just two examples. I provided you with a document with many of Gandhi's quotes and asked you to identify the ones that resonated with you.

In today's class, we looked at the history of British imperialism in India and discussed Gandhi's goals of "satyagraha" or "passive resistance" or "non-violence". We used the Salt March as an example of this philosophy. Gandhi preached non-violence as a way to gain "self-determination" for the Indian people. We then looked at the religious composition of India and how religion played a major role in determining how India would look after independence. As we discussed, partition of India took place along religious lines, with Pakistan being created as the home for Muslims and Indian being left the home for Hindu's. This has left an ongoing legacy of conflict that is still taking place in India today.

Your "homework" was to talk to your parents about "self-determination". Don't forget my guarantee!