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Author: Neil Bhatia

The Indian Rebellion of 1857

Published May 17, 2022 by Neil Bhatia

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 resulted from increasing Indian concern with Lord Dalhousie, a Governor General who expanded British authority throughout India. He established railways, the telegraph system, and postal operations, and his “Doctrine of Lapse” allowed the East India Company to seize the revenue of various deceased princes’ estates between 1848 and 1856, fanning the flames of rebellion.

Increasing missionary activity, frustrations over the Persian language being replaced with English, as well as a strained economy, climaxed with sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British army) choosing to mutiny against British authority. This uprising across northern and central India led to a force of 60,000 marching to Delhi and rallying behind Emperor Bahadur Shah of the Mughal Empire. In September 1857 the British recaptured Delhi, murdered civilians and exiled the Emperor to Burma. The rebellion, considered India’s first war in the Indian Independence Movement, had failed, and in 1858 Queen Victoria audaciously proclaimed herself as the “Empress of India” to assume the direct government of India.

FURTHER READING

Bilwakesh, Nikhil. “‘Their Faces Were like so Many of the Same Sort at Home’: American Responses to the Indian Rebellion of 1857.” American Periodicals 21, no. 1 (2011): 1–23. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23025203.

McDermott, Rachel Fell, Leonard A. Gordon, Ainslie T. Embree, Frances W. Pritchett, and Dennis Dalton, eds. “THE EARLY TO MID NINETEENTH CENTURY: Debates Over Reform and Challenge to Empire.” In Sources of Indian Traditions: Modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, 3rd ed., 57–119. Columbia University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/mcde13830.10.

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Indian Independence Movement

Published May 17, 2022 by Neil Bhatia

India’s Independence Movement (1857-1947) spanned nearly a century in length, beginning with the Rebellion of 1857, continuing with the rise of Indian nationalism and further resistance, and ending with the partition of India as well as its declared swaraj (independence) in 1947.

The “first war of independence” began in 1857, as Indians feared for their eroding traditions at the expense of British modernization and expansionist ambitions. The sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British army) fought back as economic due to British , igniting other mutinies and rebellions in India. While this rebellion was contained within a year, Indian nationalism continued to grow over the ensuing decades and finally gained tangible traction with the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi and Sarojini Naidu. In the face of oppression they used ideas of Satyagraha and Ahimsa to encourage boycotts and strikes to further pressure British authority. These non-violent protests made things more difficult for the British, who were becoming increasingly preoccupied with World War Two. After the British, against the wishes of Gandhi, negotiated for the Partition of India with Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League, they eventually granted independence to India in 1947.

FURTHER READING

Gandhi, and Dennis Dalton. 1996. Mahatma Gandhi : Selected Political Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub.

Jahanbegloo, Ramin. “Gandhi and the Global Satyagraha.” Social Change (New Delhi) 51, no. 1 (2021): 38–50.

Singh, Frances B. “A Passage to India, the National Movement, and Independence.” Twentieth century literature 31, no. 2/3 (1985): 265–278.

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Ahimsa

Published May 17, 2022 by Neil Bhatia

Ahimsa, meaning “nonviolence”, was used in conjunction with Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi to form the basis for his resistance to colonial powers during the Indian Independence Movement. This concept comes from various religions, as Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism all incorporate ahimsa to varying degrees. In Jainism, Ahimsa is one of its three main pillars as a fundamental tenet of harmlessness towards all life. Within Buddhism, ahimsa is tied to a principle of non-harming.

For Hinduism, ahimsa functions as one of its primary values with a respect for all life. Gandhi was exposed to ahimsa from an early age, as he was raised in Gujarat where Jainism ran strong. He ultimately interpreted it in a secular manner of non-killing, eschewing specific religious interpretations in favor of a more general meaning and practical use with regards to civic protest. Gandhi did acknowledge ahimsa’s application across various religions on higher levels or realms, but he chose to unify the idea between the faiths as he practiced it alongside Satyagraha.

FURTHER READING

Gandhi, and Dennis Dalton. 1996. Mahatma Gandhi : Selected Political Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub.

Jahanbegloo, Ramin. “Gandhi and the Global Satyagraha.” Social Change (New Delhi) 51, no. 1 (2021): 38–50.

Tähtinen Unto. 1964. Non-Violence As an Ethical Principle : With Special Reference to the Views of Mahatma Gandhi. Turun Yliopiston Julkaisuja : Sarja B, Humaniora, Osa 92. Turku: Turun Yliopisto.

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Satyagraha

Published May 16, 2022 by Neil Bhatia

Satyagraha, meaning “asserting for truth” or “holding onto truth”, is what Mahatma Gandhi used in conjunction with ahimsa as tools to engage in non-violent dissent. Gandhi coined this term from the roots of the words “Sat”, meaning truth, and “Agraha”, meaning firmness, and he used Satyagraha to organize political action in the face of untruth and injustice.

This concept’s reach extended beyond Gandhi’s work during the Indian Independence Movement due to its essence of non-violence being seen as morally acceptable action. Movements of other activists such as Martin Luther King Jr, Ghaffar Khan, and Nelson Mandela that incorporated Satyagraha show its potential to produce conflict resolution and civic protest as a contrasting force to the violent forces of tyranny across the world. Beyond political action, Satyagraha also cultivates a way of life rooted in the spiritual. Gandhi, through his interpretation of Satyagraha, developed a life of selflessness and simplicity, standing for these ideas through his body and actions and further contrasting himself in relation to his opposition.

Image courtesy of Satyagraha Foundation for Nonviolence Studies

FURTHER READING

Chakraborty, Chandrima. “Speaking through Bodies, Exhibiting the Limits: British Colonialism and Gandhian Nationalism.” Forum for world literature studies 6, no. 4 (2014): 675–691.

Gandhi, and Dennis Dalton. 1996. Mahatma Gandhi : Selected Political Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub.

Jahanbegloo, Ramin. “Gandhi and the Global Satyagraha.” Social Change (New Delhi) 51, no. 1 (2021): 38–50.

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Mahatma Gandhi

Published May 6, 2022 by Neil Bhatia

MAHATMA Gandhi (1869-1948), through the self-coined concept of Satyagraha (“asserting for truth”) as well as the idea of ahimsa (“nonviolence”), fought discrimination in South Africa in his early life and later resisted British occupation in India.

This resistance of British authority with the goal of Indian independence came through secular organization of ahimsa, as civil disobedience in response to violence and oppression was paramount to Gandhi. He led by example through what some call his nationalist-asceticism during the Indian Independence Movement, as he played the role of a political Gandhi as well as the role of Gandhi the spiritual hermit. His political nature shows within his nationalist “Quit India” speech and his attempts to prevent the partition of India, while his ascetic lifestyle is evident in how he used his body as a vehicle to embody self-discipline and simplicity during his hunger strikes and chosen attire of loin cloth. While Gandhi did not succeed in his negotiations with the Muslim League and Muhammad Ali Jinnah for a unified India, the British granted independence to India in the face of growing Indian nationalism and economic pressures.

FURTHER READING

Chakraborty, Chandrima. “Speaking through Bodies, Exhibiting the Limits: British Colonialism and Gandhian Nationalism.” Forum for world literature studies 6, no. 4 (2014): 675–691.

Jahanbegloo, Ramin. “Gandhi and the Global Satyagraha.” Social Change (New Delhi) 51, no. 1 (2021): 38–50.

Prem Anand Mishra. “POLITICAL THEORY OF ANARCHISM IN GANDHI’S WRITINGS.” Indian journal of political science 74, no. 3 (2013): 453–462.

Singh, Frances B. “A Passage to India, the National Movement, and Independence.” Twentieth Century Literature 31, no. 2/3 (1985): 265–78. https://doi.org/10.2307/441295.

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