Mahatma Gandhi (1955)

all [Music] on Friday the 13th of January 1948 the flag of the United Nations stood at half mask Mahatma Gandhi was dead assassinated and for the first time in its history the United Nations assembly set aside a day's session to honor a man not the head of a state a general a king but a lone man who without Army riches or political Alliance had been called the most powerful man of the 20th century who was this man that all the world should mourn over him 5' 5 in tall wearing a handspun cotton loin cloth like the poorest of India's Untouchables what then was the power of this man mandis kuram Chang Gandhi was born in porbandar in Western India on October 2nd 1869 his Indian forefathers had long ago discovered infinite sources of power unknown to the scientists of the Western countries this force is to be found not in chemistry or physics but in the spiritual nature of men the Indian people call this power the Atma a man of unusual spiritual force is called a Mahatma a great soul while young Gandhi was a law student in London England he began to probe more deeply for an understanding of the nature of Life of truth of Love of power he studied not only his law texts but two books which he believed to be the most important literature in existence one was the Bhagavad Gita the most ancient Sacred Book of India and the other the Bible in the Gita Gandhi learned about love the force that holds people together and causes them to rise above themselves there are good and evil in every man but when a person loves he strengthens the good in those about him truth combined with love is the greatest force in all the Earth Gandhi was to call its use nonviolence sat graa a greater power than that of the largest gun or bomb or Army in the Bible especially in Jesus Sermon on the Mount young Gandhi found profound answers to his profound questions the Gita and the Bible together offered to Gandhi's people the way of freedom and self-realization and to these beliefs he eventually gave his life graduating from law school at the age of 22 he returned to India in 1891 he was sent to South Africa to represent the law firm of dada abdulah and there Gandhi Rose to great success and personal wealth but the appalling social conditions All About Him weighed on his mind with increasing heaviness neglecting his law practice he began to teach and demonstrate the power of nonviolence which he had discovered in the Gita and the Bible in 1915 this amazing man Now 46 returned to his India multitudes of people gathered to hear his his message of Hope For Freedom and dignity he told them their weapon was nonviolent resistance against the political forces that had held them in crushing bondage on August 1st 1920 lamman tilock died the Indian leader of the congress party he had been a man of fiery militant Spirit but he had recognized Gandhi as his political Heir the mild slight Man Of The Gentle Spirit the congress party which had been organized in 1885 had become the central force in India's fight for freedom and with Gandhi as its leader the congress party established goals for a new India the people of The Intouchables cast must be given equality and dignity Indians both wealthy and poor must discipline themselves to a new morality no alcohol no opium India's 300 million Hindus and 100 million Muslims must cease their bitter and deadly rivalry there must be equality for women and the people must establish a productive economy in 1921 he began the new program simply with a spinning wheel India grew hundreds of tons of cotton annually and yet Indians were unemployed half the year instead of sending their raw cotton to English Mills why not make their own cloth thus began the cotton or Homespun movement and the women were being freed the veils were coming off their faces at The Madras Congress there were clear signs of India's new self-discipline and self-confidence Gandhi came his hands pressed together in the Hindu greeting which means my love and reverence to the god in you when the 1928 Kolkata Congress convened India was boycotting British goods and refusing to take jobs with the English government but under no provocation did an Indian harm an Englishman in 1930 Gandhi told the people about a letter of protest he had written to the British Viceroy Lord Irwin in the letter he had voiced the Indians bitter complaint about the type of British rule which reduced them to political serfdom great br Britain has even taken from the Indian the right to make his own salt from his own sea and yet Britain levies aack on that salt when the Indian then has to buy it let there be a conference to discuss these many wrongs he pleaded otherwise he must try to point out to the British the evil that they did he and some of his friends would do this by a nonviolent March to the Sea at dendi where Gandhi himself would break the salt laws the vice Roy answered through a secretary no conference on March 12th of 1930 at 6:30 a.m. a slight man 61 years old clothed in a Homespun loincloth moved against the British Empire with 79 disciples he started a 200 mile walk to the Sea others began to join him the vice Roy and other Statesmen watched with curiosity still greater crowds joined him from all over India they came journalists from other countries were flown in to report on this March this protest this feeble and farsal protest this far-reaching and fearsome protest each day he stopped for an hour to spin he spoke to the crowd saying if any violence is shown against the British then no matter what ends are gained the March will have failed on April 5th they reached the sea then Gandhi marched into the sea and from it he took a pan of water to be refined into salt all along the shores of the sea thousands moved in each with a container to take out the water distilling it Gathering the salt in great Mounds soldiers came and confiscated the salt but even yet more was distilled Gandhi was arrested people across the world even the American Amic and French governments spoke out questioning the British action in India millions of people demonstrated their impassion protests soldiers and police sought to quell the multitudes with Riot clubs still no hand was raised against the British on January 25th 1931 Lord Irwin announced an end of the salt laws as well as the release of Gandhi the Karachi Congress appointed him to represent them at the Round Table conference in London he sailed from Bombay on August 29th an infectuous happy [Music] man in England he attended the Roundtable Conference of 112 delegates most of them appointed by the Viceroy as the meeting progressed Gandhi realized that only division was being cultivated instead of a United India plans were being discussed for a separation between Muslim and Hindu and Sheik and Untouchable and parsey and Indian Christians meanwhile in India during Gandhi's absence the new viceo had made arrests without warrant had suspended Court trials had outlawed political organizations and meetings had seized property had jailed 100,000 Gandhi returned to India his wife and young ywah haral Neu and the numberless followers of Gandhi Now call him bapoo the father bapu began his work immediately his first consideration was for that part of the Great Indian family called The Untouchables for thousands of years they had been ostracized but Gandhi ignored the strange Mandate of the culture and he gave them a new name harijan children of God the British however perpetuated this ancient tradition of separating The Intouchables by insisting that they have a separate vote in governmental matters Gandhi now vigorously expressed his opposition to English treatment of the heran and on January 4th 1932 all India heard that he had been put in jail then they heard that Gandhi had gone in the fast in the face of seething unrest throughout the land the government took action the 3,000 years of the Untouchable segregation was brought to an end but Gandhi recognized that official legislation would not be enough released from prison in September he set out to changed the heart of tradition blinded India and its attitude toward the heran the Congress party's program to shape a new India was slowly proceeding the people were spinning their own cotton many of the oppressive British laws had been changed the women had been given equality The Untouchables had been free freed and the country and the people had a dignity they had never known Gandhi was dissatisfied he was still looking for the answer to the great enigmas that were embedded in the life of his countrymen so on October 24th 1934 he announced his resignation from Congress the essential life of India he believed lay in its 700,000 villages with his wife castra he moved to srad and began began Life as a simple villager the world refused to accept his resignation Congress leaders came to confer with a simple villager famous people of many nations and continents came to sit and talk in his one room Adobe Hut the floor was of swept Earth One rug a spinning wheel a soap box for a desk for a period of four years Gandhi labor to develop communal Life in The Villages then a new unrest began to Shadow India England was threatened with War what did that mean to India's Hope For Freedom in 1938 Gandhi was forced back into politics serious differences of opinion began to manifest themselves in the Congress Shandra BOS now the Congress leader was saying to the populace give me blood and I promise you Freedom Gandhi said nations are violently giving demonst rtion of Savage and feudal Warfare as a means of settling their differences now is the time to demonstrate nonviolence as the better means of seeking agreement and Truth in 1939 When The War exploded over Europe and Asia there were many who followed BS nonviolence was too idealistic too difficult too slow on March 22nd 1942 sir Stafford Crips met with the Congress leaders and proposed that a new Indian constitution be drawn up after the war Gandhi called this proposal a postdated check and left the meeting not to return He now had but two words to say to their English overlords quit India these words electrified India they set off an outburst of demonstrations throughout the land the jails were filled far beyond their capacity Gandhi and cabai were among the prisoners and while imprisoned Gandhi's beloved castai died her head in her husband's lap for 62 years they had been married Gandhi said of her she was more of me than I was of myself after a dangerously weakening fast the 75y old man was released from prison on May 6th 75 years what had been accomplished Muslim and Hindu were hatefully engaged in outbreaks against each other Britain still held India in a crushing grip the world's Waring temperament was creeping over Gandhi's people still he went on working searching praying then on historic August 12th 1946 ywa haral Neu Gandhi's friend was commissioned by Sir archal WL to for Indian government while the new premier reviewed the troops of the frontier Gandhi quietly and patiently traveled among the Muslims and Hindus who were at civil war with each other but he went to no aali a district 80% Muslim on a pilgrimage of personal Penance because gandi believed he shared the guilt for this internal strife he walked from Village to Village living with them learning from them trying to teach them to love despite their deep rooted enmity his father too went to work in The Villages Hindus Muslims herian Christians and at his meetings for prayer the Bible the Quran the talmud the Gita all were read with reverence the riots quieted and on August 15th 1947 the flag of Independence flew over emancipated India free India proud India jubilant India Pakistan was declared a separate Muslim State according to the demands of Jen and the Muslim League while the people celebrated the British withdrew their military forces although there were problems still to be worked out this was the consummation of Gandhi's dream India stood before all nations as a symbol that nonviolence can be an invincible force it can bring about the peaceful solution of international differences and so Independence came to India and at the center of all Gandhi father bapoo but bapoo was not at the festivities he had spent the day fasting and praying there was still much work to do he was growing old his days were drawing close on January 30th 1948 at half 5 Gandhi went from burah house to his prayer meeting a man who feared Gandhi's teaching and power stepped forward and bowed to him the man fired a gun and so Mahatma Gandhi a great Soul finished with his life at dawn they dressed him in the loin cloth which he had spun and which throughout the world had become a respected symbol there were garlands of flowers the flag of India was draped over him after the procession the body was [Music] burned and the ashes were sent to six continents and to all parts of India but the spirit of the man had long preceded the particles of Ash his Spirit was alive in the land releasing truth drawing people into relationships of understanding and Trust achieving dignified human stature demonstrating the Invincible Power of Love [Music]