Salt March Final Draft

Jake Barenholtz

Steph Brown

Eng 306

MW 3:00-4:15

Mohandas Gandhi Hunger Strike

Most Americans know of Mohandas Gandhi. Most would probably say he was a peaceful man, but then realize that this fact is all they really know about Gandhi. Americans don't really know of the man the people of India called "Mahatma"- meaning great soul (History.com Staff, Gandhi begins fast in protest of caste separation, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gandhi-begins-fast-in-protest-of-caste-separation) . Gandhi was a genuine man, in part because of his unprecedented way of seeking independence from Great Britain. In 1776, America declared independence from Great Britain through the Revolutionary war- we fought and lost lives on both sides of the battlefield. When Gandhi fought for independence, he was imprisoned multiple times, by multiple governments. In 1922, he was jailed for conspiracy to overthrow the British government (Years of Arrest and Imprisonment of Mahatma Gandhi, http://www.mkgandhi.org/arrestofmahatma.htm) . Gandhi’s method of his protest is valuable to analyze because of how unique and revolutionary he was. Gandhi practiced what is now known as civil disobedience, but he knew the term satyagraha. The English translation is tricky, but it translates roughly to "unflinching adherence to the truth". Gandhi would become the founding father of India, but not without conflict (Mahatma Gandhi and His Myths- By Mark Shepard). 

One of Gandhi's most famous protests was his "fast unto death". On September 16^th, Mahatma Gandhi, while still imprisoned, started his fast (A Fast Unto Death - Gandhi’s Legacy, Kathleen, https://rentschlerlibrary.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/a-fast-unto-death-remembering-gandhi/) . This is because it was the British who ruled India, and at this time had implemented a new Indian constitution that would separate the Indian electorate by caste. Gandhi realized this new constitution would give the lowest class of Indians, more commonly known at that time as the "untouchables" a separate political representation, and that this would lead to injustice among the untouchables, to which Gandhi referred to as "gods children". Trying to sway the British crown is never easy, but with Gandhi's constant preaching of peace, if he died the British would have to deal with many upset Indians. Gandhi would fast for six days until British rule agreed to his principal terms of a settlement between the untouchables and the Indians higher classes. Gandhi broke his fast by saying a prayer before drinking orange juice and exclaiming “satyagraha has triumphed” (http://www.history.co.uk/this-day-in-history/09-16/gandhi-begins-a-protest-fast).

The audience Mohandas Gandhi was trying to reach was British Parliament. More than one hundred and fifty years had passed since America declared independence. India had not been so fortunate. The process of Indian independence was achieved much differently. Gandhi wouldn’t succumb to violence, so he had to make his own path, a new way that he could appeal to the British government. The British had set up a trade deal in the late 1500s that would leave India in need of Britain for supplies. As time went on, this relationship was becoming more and more one-sided, leaving the British with no reason to free the Indian population (British rule in India, Chris Butler, http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/18/FC123).

 Gandhi's protests were never violent - Mahatma Gandhi never preached violence, even saying at multiple times that the only way to beat violence is with non-violence. When it came to hearing logic and the voice of reason through logos, it was not that Gandhi was above using logic, but the British crown simply wouldn't hear it.

One of Gandhi's biggest assets in the 1930's was being himself. He was famous for his time spent in South Africa.I feel this appeal was used greatly in Gandhi's fast unto death, but it was used differently than others use it. When Gandhi began his fast, it put the British on a sort of clock. Gandhi realized his influence was so great that his death would mean more death, riots, and possibly war. Mohandas Gandhi was a member of the vaisya or merchant caste. As a member of the merchant caste he was able to attend college and the knowledge he gained here made him the credible person he was. If a poor man who no one knew starved to death the British wouldn't care. However because of who he was the British were not willing to allow the man who lead a sixty thousand person peaceful march to have his supporters possibly protest and riot. Gandhi was aware that the British crown would not be able to deal with the public pressure. Gandhi embraced it, as he said this is a god-given opportunity that has come to me, "To offer my life as a final sacrifice to the downtrodden". The man was prepared to die and the British waited six days, but when push came to shove they were aware of what was at stake.

In an argument, regardless of the speakers and the audience, there will be an appeal to either logic or emotion, and while a good cause can appeal to both, there will be an appeal to at least one. Gandhi's appeals to logic were worthless- it didn't work because his people were being oppressed,and he knew it would take more than logic to convince the British crown they were wrong, especially since this meant losing a lot of money and support for the government. Gandhi found another way- the fact that Gandhi was a member of the higher vaiysa caste gave him a voice no untouchable had. This caste gave him a platform to appeal for his children of god. The lower caste system was in jeopardy of being suppressed for seventy more years, but Gandhi knew if this happened there would be no going back, that the greed of the upper castes would deny human needs to the lower castes. Although Gandhi never said it, I believe the fast was representing the starving people of the lower caste. The people who would continue to starve if this continual misrepresentation proceeded. 

The great soul was concerned with the needs of others more than himself. The constant acts of selflessness are nearly unparalleled - the man was ready to fast unto death in order to get reform for those less fortunate than him. He called the untouchables the children of god, a name that appeals to pathos. Gandhi fought for indolence through peace. He led more than than sixty thousand people on a march to the sea. Indeed, the man was known from Berlin to Bangkok because he accomplished through peace what others had previously thought necessitated force. Gandhi did not fear death for he knew he would be more powerful in death than he was in life. What he represented still stands today, both in India, and here at home as well, as he laid the foundation for Martin Luther King Jr's civil disobedience, or as I learned it to be called, satyagraha.

Work Cited

"Gandhi Begins Fast in Protest of Caste Separation." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

"Years of Arrests of Mahatma Gandhi." Years of Arrests of Mahatma Gandhi. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

"What Is Satyagraha? | FAQs - Myths about Mahatma Gandhi." What Is Satyagraha? | FAQs - Myths about Mahatma Gandhi. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

Shepard, Mark. "Mahatma Gandhi and His Myths (Gandhi, Civil Disobedience, Nonviolence, Non-Violence, Satyagraha)." Mark Shepard's Home Page *Gandhi, the Flute, More*. N.p., 2002. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

"A “Fast Unto Death”–Gandhi’s Legacy." Rentschler Library News. N.p., 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.

@HISTORYUK. "Gandhi Begins a Protest Fast." HISTORY. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.