Gandhi: The Peaceful Terrorist

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Gandhi The Peaceful Terrorist

• Presentation by
• Ashley Zimmerman

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Objectives of Presentation

• Short Biography
• Overview of Gandhis Philosophy
• Background of India Great Britain Relationship
• Terrorism in Practice The Salt March
• Terrorist Tactics
• Gandhis World Impact
• Connection to Terrorism in the World of 2005

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Definition of Terrorism

• An act of violence aimed at a certain group of
  people (i.e. a nation, a religious group, and
  ethnic group) with the intent of instilling fear
  in order to achieve a certain goal whether
  political or otherwise

• Terrorist anyone who uses non-violent means, or
  advocated non-violent means, to disagree with the
  government or attempt to alter government
  policies

BBC
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Chronological Biography

• Birth
• pursuit of law degree in England
• Legal advisor in South Africa
• Given the title of Mahatma, or great soul
• Imprisoned for sedition
• Return to a simple Indian life
• Salt March
• Fast to protest Hindu-Muslim violence in India
• Last call for independence from GB Empire
• Deemed the Father of the Nation of India
• Complete independence achieved
• Murdered during his prayer service by a radical

• October 2, 1869
• 1888
• 1892-1915
• 1919
• 1922-1925
• 1930s
• March 12, 1930
• 1932
• 1942
• 1945
• August 15, 1947
• January 30, 1948

College of Letters and Services
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Gandhis Philosophy
Christ gave the message, and Gandhi gave the
method. Martin Luther King Jr.

• No Secrecy
• Truth
• Trust
• Leadership
• Power of Change
• Martyrdom

• I have no weapon but non-violence.
• Truth is superior to mans wisdom.
• Trust begets trust.
• I do entertain the hope that there is yet work
  for me to do, that the darkness that seems to
  have enveloped me will disappear, and thatIndia
  will come to her own demonstrably through
  non-violent means.
• You must be the change you wish to see in the
  world.
• In this cause, I am prepared to die. But there
  is no cause in which I am prepared to kill.

Gandhian Philosophy in Short Mahatma Gandhi
Foundation
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India - Great Britain Relationship

• GB controls monetary wealth as well as economic
  power (i.e. Salt Laws)
• GB strained from WWII
• GB ideals did not match those they fought in WWII
  
• Extreme racism against all non-white

Beyond Books
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Degrees of Separation
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The Salt March

• March 12 April 5, 1930
• Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi
• Distance 241 Miles
• Participants
• 79 official volunteers
• 2 miles of Indian citizens

The Gandhi Reader
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Terrorism in Practice
With this salt, I am shaking the foundations of
the British Empire.

• Addressed the non-interference of the GB
  government
• Demanded that the GB government must be
  sensitive to world opinion which will not
  tolerate repression of extreme political
  agitation which civil disobedience undoubtedly
  is
• Gandhi was depicted as the general of the great
  Indian Army

The Decline of Empire The Gandhi Reader
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Terrorist Tactics

• Public gatherings
• Rallied the masses through his speeches
• Performed endless acts of sedition
• Openly encourage Indian citizens to defy the laws
  of the British government
• Made specific demands for change
• All done through non-violent resistance

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World Impact

• Indian independence achieved on August
  15, 1947
• Dozens of European nations liberated their
  colonies in Gandhis example
• The finest lesson we can learn from the
  philosophy of Gandhi is that, for the individual
  and the community, policies that make power the
  criterion of truth can only lead to disastrous
  consequences.

College of Letters and Services Beyond Books
Jahanbegloo
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Terrorism in 2005

• Gandhi would absolutely oppose al Qaeda and
  other terrorists, but he would also oppose some
  of the ways we are approaching the war on
  terrorism.
• There seem to be no limits now on the war on
  terrorism. You can crack down on dissent and deny
  civil liberties. Just label someone a terrorist,
  and anything goes.
• For Gandhi, violence was not just physical
  aggression. The nature of violence also could be
  economic, social, religious, and environmental.
  In fact, any type of suffering that humans cause
  or humans could prevent, was, to Gandhi, a form
  of violence.

The University of Maine Research
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Bibliography

• BBC News. Britain Declares Gandhi a Terrorist. 14
  Dec. 2001. 24 Jan. 2005. http//www.flashq.de/wwn1
  8.htm.
• Beyond Books. Gandhi and the Struggle for
  Independence. 6 Jan. 2005. 24 Jan. 2005.
  http//www.beyondbooks.com/wcu916j.asp.
• College of Letters and Services UCLA. History
  Politics Mahatma Gandhi. 20 Jan. 2005
  http//www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History.Gandh
  i/gandhi.html.
• The decline of Empire Gandhi, Salt, Freedom.
  The Economist. 25 Dec. 1999 65
• Gandhi. Dir. Richard Attenborough. Perf. Ben
  Kindsley. Columbia Tri-Star, 1982.
• The Gandhi Reader.
• Gandhian Philosophy in Short. 4 Jan. 2005. 18
  Jan. 2005.
• http//galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC?vrsn14
  9OPcontainslocIDmlin_c_cushing.
• www.google.com.
• Jahanbegloo, Ramin. Gandhi and the Struggle for
  Non-Violence. UNESCO Courier. June 1992 18
• Mahatma Gandhi Foundation. The Official Mahatma
  Gandhi eArchive Reference Library. 27 Dec.
  2004. 17 Jan. 2005. http//www.mahatma.org.in/inde
  x/jsp.
• The University of Maine Research. UMaine Today
  How would Gandhi see our world? 12 Oct. 2004. 24
  Jan. 2005. http//www.umaine.edu/research/UMTGandh
  i.htm.