Beschrijving
Titel: An autobiography, or, The story of my experiments with truth Auteur: M.K. Gandhi ISBN: 9780140066265 Conditie: Used I have nothing new to teach the world. ‘Truth and non-violence are as old as hills’ Mahatma Gandhi's aim in writing this autobiography was to give an account of his spiritual progress towards truth. Absolute ‘Truth is his sovereign principle and non-violence the method of pursuing it, In politics it meant freedom from foreign domination, within Hindu society it was the breaking down of barriers raised by caste and custom, in society it was living close to nature. Written in 1925 under the title The Story of My Experiments with Truth, his work describes the practical application of his beliefs. T'he implementation of his doctrine, Gandhi believed, would result in a loose federation of village republics, freed forever from British control and influence. Gandhi succeeded in uniting India in a national movement and did as much in the first half of the twentieth century as any other single individual to change the course of history. ‘His early life described vividly and meticulously’ Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the great Indian political leader and soctal retormer, was born in 1869 at Porbandar in western India. In 1888 he went to London to study law, qualifying in 1891; there he is encountered with liberal and Christian ideas, and the teachings of Tolstoy. Returning to India, he practised law there until 1893 when he left to South Africa. His experience of racialism in South Africa led him to take up the rights of the Indian community and he soon emerged as their leader. He instituted a campaign of passive resistance in response to the Transvaal government’s discriminatory policy, coining the term Satvagraha — truth force — for this new revolutionary technique. This method of resistance was later used to great effect in India's struggle for independence. Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and in 1925 he became President of the Indian National Congress. His first major clash with the British government came in 1919 over the Rowlatt Acts, and he then introduced the hartal, a strike during which the people devoted themselves to prayer and fasting. However, when his olicies resulted í violence he abandoned the programme of mass civil disobedience. For a period Gandhì withdrew from politics and travelled throughout India preaching the cardinal tenets of Sis doctrine: Hindu-Moslem unity, the abolition of untouchability, and the promotion of hand-spinning. He adopted the peasant’s homespun cotton dhoti and shawl, a gesture which won the people’s hearts, and he became known as Mahatma — the great soul. During the struggle for independence he was imprisoned many times and this, together with his use ofthe hunger strike, adversely affected his health. In 1934 he resigned his leadership of the Congress, although he still remained a powerful influence; he resumed the leadership for a short tme in 1940/41 Gandhi continued to campaign against partition, which he saw as an unmitigated evil, until he realized its evitability. However, on Independence Day, 15 August 1947, he refused to celebrate and spent the day fasting and in prayer. He persevered in his work for unity and in 1948 in Delhi he undertook a fast to the death for peace between the two warring communities. But his pleadings for co-operation had aroused hostlity amongst the militant section of the Hindus and on 30 January 1948, one of them shot Gandhi dead. There are many divergent views about Gandhi’s personality and his methods. Perhaps his most
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