India's Independence

India & Their Independence

​SS7H3ab

• I can describe how nationalism led to independence in India.

• I can describe the impact of Mohandas Gandhi's belief in non-violent protest in India's fight for independence.

​India as a British Colony

• Early 1600s - Great Britain's Parliament formed the British East India Company to build trade and increase British influence in Southern & Eastern Asia

• 1608 - Great Britain brought the British East India Company to India

  • items from India, like cotton & spices, became valuable goods that could be sold in Britain & the Company made a grat profit through trade between India & the British Empire

• 1700s - British Empire expanded its role and began to establish political & economic power throughout India

• 1757 - British rule began in India

• 1858 - Great Britain officially colonized India & their government imposed authroity over the entire nation

​India as a British Colony

• British rulers were NOT nice to the people in India!

  • Indian people faced inequality, unjust treatment & discrimination under British law

    • were denied any role in the British government of their nation

  • Indian people did not have many rights & were treated as second-class citizens

• Indian people were NOT happy about this situation and began to protest for changes in the government

  • over time, Britain offered some reforms or changes, but they were small & Indian people grew frustrated

  • this frustration led to a rise in Indian nationalism, as people wanted freedom from British rule

    • some leaders argued for using force to take over the British gvt

Multiple Choice

Which best describes British rule of India?

• fair and equal

• unjust and discriminatory

​Gandhi & Peaceful Protests

• Mohandas Gandhi was a political leader in India’s National Congress

  • in his youth, he studied law in England & established a law practice in South Africa

  • was angry at how Britsh rulers were treating Indian people

• Gandhi rose to become the leading spokesperson for Indian independence in the first half of the 1900s

  • He did not agree that using force was the right path; instead, he believed nonviolent protests would achieve lasting results

    • he encouraged Indian protestors to use civil disobedience to disobey unjust laws

    • he oragnized a campaign using passive resistence & peacefully led economic boycotts, demonstrations & marches to oppose the unfair treatment of Indian people

​Gandhi & Peaceful Protests

• The British authorities responded violently to Gandhi's peaceful protests

• Gandhi & his followers faced brutal beatings and prison sentences, but they refused to respond with violence of their own

• Today, may Indian people give the most credit for independence to the efforts of Gandhi

  • they call him Mahatma, or "great soul"

Multiple Choice

Why did Indian nationalism develop?

• inequality under British rule

• India's growing economic power

• Muslims and Hindus were struggling for power

Multiple Choice

How did Mohandas Gandhi instruct people to create change?

• by stopping resistance to British rule

• through civil disobedience & peaceful means

• turning to violence only when civil disobedience failed

• by starting an uprising to fight the British

​India Wins Independence

• Gandi's ideas moved many Indian people to use nonviolent resistence to create change & he helped to gain more support for nationalism and independence

• As the people of India were peacefully protesting and boycotting, it was getting more expensive for the British to try and maintain control

  • by the end of World War II, Great Britain no longer had the financial resources to control India

• 1947 - Britain agreed to restore full independence to India & the Republic of India was established

​Gandi's Impact on MLK

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply influenced by the nonviolent methods of Mohandas Gandhi.

• In 1959, King traveled to India to learn more about and honor Gandhi.

​Gandi's Impact on MLK

• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply influenced by the nonviolent methods of Mohandas Gandhi.

• In 1959, King traveled to India to learn more about and honor Gandhi.

• The All India Radio staff discovered a message Dr. King recorded nearly 50 years after his visit.

Multiple Choice

What does Dr. King mean when he uses the repeated phrase, "Now he belongs to the ages"?

• Gandhi will have a lasting effect and forever be remembered in history

• Gandhi's teachings have been practiced for many years

• Gandhi has grown old through the years

Multiple Choice

What does Dr. King say is needed for his age to survive?

• knowledge and kindness

• freedom and prosperity

• love and nonviolence

​Lasting Impact of British Rule

• Positive Impacts:

  • the British brought Western culture to India

  • the British developed India's infrastructure - built new roads & railways to improve transportation and trade

  • network on canals built by the British that made land farmable & strengthened India's agricultural system

• Negative Impacts:

  • the British treated the Indian people and culture as inferior

  • British culture became dominant, while Indian culture was considered lesser & experienced a temporary decline

  • Misused Hindu texts for British benefit

​Lasting Impact of British Rule

• The British used Hindu texts out of context in order to establish control

  • they enforced the Hindu caste system

    • before British rule, the caste system was used for centuries & allowed for people to change their status within it

    • under British rule, a person's status and identity could NOT change after they were categorized

  • the British wanted to unify India's diverse society into a single society easily governed by British law

    • however, prejudice and discrimination was the result

    • even though this system is outlawed today, effects of it are still felt in Indian society

Categorize

Options (5)

Indian culture was treated as inferior

Canals made areas better for farming

Roads & railways helped with transportation and trade

India's culture experienced a decline

The British used the caste system to keep Indian people under control

Organize these into whether they had a positive or negative impact on India

Positive Impact

Negative Impact

Open Ended

What is something you learned about Great Britain's control over India and/or how India gained their independence with the help of Gandhi?