Life and Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi
Domain 1: Life and Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi
This domain tests chronology, turning points, and the philosophical core of Gandhi's life. Expect questions that link an event to a principle, not isolated dates.
Core chronology
- 1869: born at Porbandar, Kathiawar.
- 1888–91: law in London; 1893: South Africa, Pietermaritzburg railway incident.
- 1894: Natal Indian Congress; 1906: first satyagraha in South Africa; 1909: Hind Swaraj.
- 1915: returns to India; 1917: Champaran; 1918: Kheda and Ahmedabad mill strike; 1919: Rowlatt satyagraha.
- 1920–22: Non-cooperation; 1930: Dandi march; 1932: Poona Pact; 1942: Quit India; 1948: assassinated.
Philosophical core
Gandhi's philosophy is not a system but a practice. Satya (truth) is the ultimate end; ahimsa (non-violence) is the means; means and ends must be convertible. Self-purification, fearlessness, bread labour, and swadeshi make the philosophy social, not merely personal. Swaraj means self-rule at every level: political, economic, moral.
Worked example
Question: Why is Champaran (1917) treated as Gandhi's first Indian satyagraha? Reasoning: he did not start with a mass boycott. He went to verify peasants' grievances against indigo planters, used facts and legal negotiation, courted arrest when ordered to leave, and then built a follow-up programme. The method-fact-finding, dialogue, limited non-cooperation, willingness to suffer-became the template. Answer: it established the Gandhian sequence of inquiry, negotiation, satyagraha, and constructive follow-up.
Traps
- Calling satyagraha 'passive resistance'; Gandhi rejected the term because it suggested weakness.
- Saying Gandhi opposed all machines; he opposed exploitative industrialism and the craze for machinery.
- Confusing Hind Swaraj (1909) with an independence blueprint; it is a critique of modern civilisation.
- Treating the 1942 Quit India resolution as violent; its slogan was 'Do or Die', but the method remained non-violent.