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Gandhi and India's Independence

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Gandhi and India's Independence T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E • Suggest leadership characteristics that can help explain Gandhi’s power Suggested Internet Resources to revive Indian pride and to win global admiration. Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our web site at www.LibraryVideo.com Follow-up Activities • www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/British/BrIndia.html • The British pursued a “divide and conquer” strategy in India.Viceroy This UCLA site has a wealth of information about British India and pro- Lord Elgin was reminded by the secretary of state in London that “we vides links to specific topics, such as ancient India, the British East India have maintained our power in India by playing-off one part against the Company, the Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive and Mahatma Gandhi. other, and we must continue to do so. Do all you can, therefore, to • lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/bdtoc.html prevent all having a common feeling.”Ask students to analyze the advice The Library of Congress presents a complete guide to information about given to Lord Elgin and to discuss the motivation and effect of Great the nation of Bangladesh, made independent of East Pakistan in 1971. Britain’s “divide and conquer” strategy.As a follow-up, students may list • www.gandhi.ca/multimedia.php the steps Gandhi took to counteract Great Britain’s strategy. TM The Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace offers multi- • Ask groups of students to research famous names associated with the media resources such as movie and audio clips to help students learn British Empire, India and Pakistan and present biographical sketches to more about Gandhi’s beliefs and philosophies. the class. Military and political leaders such as Robert Clive, Queen GANDHI AND Victoria, Lord Mountbatten,Tipu Sultan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Suggested Print Resources Jawaharlal Nehru may be studied. INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE • For many years, colonies in the British Empire celebrated “Empire Day” • Attenborough, Richard. Ed. The Words of Gandhi. Newmarket Press, New primarily to educate young children on the merits and history of the York, NY; 2000. British Empire. Children were told to think of the British Empire as one • Butalia, Urvashi. Other Side of Silence:Voices from the Partition of India. Grades 9–12 big happy family.The New Zealand School Journal advised,“Britain is Duke University Press, Durham, NC; 2000. like a mother with many children who have gone from her into other • Lace,William W. British Empire:The End of Colonialism. Lucent Books, countries to earn their living. She still loves them; she sends them many San Diego, CA; 2000. his guide is a supplement designed for teachers TEACHER’S GUIDE kind messages, and helps them in every way she can.”Ask your students to use when presenting pro grams in the seri e s Rudolph Lea T to write journal entries from the perspectives of British schoolchildren World Revolutions for Students. and Indian nationalists regarding Empire Day celebrations. Historian B e f o r e Vi e w i n g : G i ve students an introduction to • Ever since independence, India and Pakistan have been feuding over Jeffrey W. Litzke, M.Ed. Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media the topic by re l aying aspects of the pro gra m boundaries, with Kashmir being the most prominent dispute. Have two ove r v i e w to them. Select pre - v i e wing discussion TITLES IN THIS SERIES groups of students role-play Indian and Pakistani negotiators and ask questions and vocabulary to provide a focus for stu- them to try to reach an agreement to bring peace to Kashmir. Students CASTRO AND THE CUBAN REVOLUTION dents when they view the program. may research background information on the debate at the following THE CHINESE REVOLUTION (1911–1989) After Vi e w i n g : R ev i e w the pro gram and vo c ab u - Human Rights Watch web site: THE FRENCH REVOLUTION l a r y, and use the fo l l ow-up activities to inspire con- www.hrw.org/reports/1999/kashmir/ GANDHI AND INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE REVOLUTIONARY MEXICO (1910–1940) t i nued discussion. E n c o u rage students to re s e a rch • To provide students with an understanding of India’s long history, THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION the topic further with the Internet and pri n t encourage your class to collect and share information about archaeolog- THE SOUTH AFRICAN ANTI-APARTHEID MOVEMENT resources provided. ical work being conducted in the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus River Valley. Great illustrations and links to a Teacher’s Guides Included 800-843-3620 wealth of other information about Harrapan Civilization may be found and Available Online at: at this web site: www.harappa.com/har/har0.html • Ask students to research the Hindu caste system to discover its origins, its role in the life of Hindus, Gandhi’s approach to the untouchables, or Dalits and the current status of Dalits in modern India. Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2005 by Schlessinger Media, a division of Library Video Company P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620 Executive Producer:Andrew Schlessinger Programs produced and directed by Issembert Productions, Inc. D6904 5 V6074 All rights reserved. Program Overview 1948 — Gandhi fasts to protest violence between Hindus and Muslims. untouchables — A group of people who exist outside of the Hindu caste system and are believed to contaminate anything or anyone with Throughout its long history, India was ruled by a series of empire builders.The 1948 — Gandhi is assassinated. whom they come in contact. Muslim Mughal Empire was the last of these befo re the 17t h - c e n t u r y arri val of th the British East India Trading Company, w h i c h gra d u a l ly established domi- Vocabulary World War II — The second major war of the 20 century, which nance over the country and laid the foundation for India to become part of involved the Allied Powers of England, France, the Soviet Union and the Mahatma — A name meaning “Great Soul” bestowed on Mohandas K. the British colonial empire. United States against the Axis Powers of Germany, Japan and Italy. Gandhi. Despite strong resistance to foreign rule, highlighted by the Great Mutiny, the viceroy — The appointed governor of a colony or province who receives Mughal Empire — The Muslim empire, and last of the great Indian B r itish gove rnment took control of India in 1857. B ri t a i n ’s colonial policies authority from, and rules on behalf of, the home country. empires, which ruled India from 1526 to 1857. we re based on a belief in its own cultural superi o r ity and a desire for eco- Radcliffe Line — The 1947 boundary line separating India and Pakistan. nomic gain. The British gove rnment maintained a policy of “divide and British East India Trading Company — One of the most powerful c o m- m e rcial enterprises in world history, w h i ch became a dominant fo rce in India. c o n q u e r,” p romoted the caste system and other discri m i n a t o r y pra c t i c e s , a n d Pre-viewing Discussion ex t racted va l u able raw materials while dismantling India’s pro s p e rous industri e s . Battle of Plassey — The British defeat of the Nawab of Bengal in 1757.The • Who was Mahatma Gandhi? What is his significance in world history? Nationalists in India reacted by founding the Indian National Congress in victory marked the beginning of British East India Company rule in India. 1 8 8 5 , and later the Muslim Leag u e , p re s aging the future partition of the sub- The Great Mutiny — An 1857–1858 Indian uprising against the British East • What does “empire”mean? Ask students to discuss why one country continent. Mahatma Gandhi became a strong nationalist leader and had a firm India Company’s control of the country. Following the mutiny, Great Britain would seek to control the affairs of another. For some background, ask c o n viction in the stra t e g y of nonviolent pro t e s t . E ve n t u a l l y, Gandhi wo u l d declared India part of the British Empire. students to reflect on their knowledge of the American Revolution. strive for an independent and united India, working hard to try to balance the The Raj — The Indian term for the rule of India by the British Government. • Ask students to discuss the method Martin Luther King, Jr. advocated to combat racism and oppression in the American South. Speculate about religious sensibilities of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Industrial Revolution — The mid-18th-century movement that replaced current applications of this method. The A m r itsar massacre of 1919 tra n s fo r med millions of Indians into revo l u- animal and water power with machines, which dramatically changed the t i o n a r ies and sparked the Non-Cooperation Move m e n t . L a t e r, Gandhi engi- way people lived and worked. n e e red a series of nonviolent pro t e s t s : the great Salt March , a boycott ag a i n s t caste system — A division of social class in India based on ancient Hindu Focus Questions British cloth, and the Quit India movement which led to massive protests and teachings.
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