Dedication:
I dedicate this book this book the Gandhi because he was an inspiration to many people and me.
Mahatma Gandhi, born 2 October 1869 in Porbandar India, was a very smart kid. He was also playful and loved books and school. “My books and my lessons are my sole companion,” he said. He grew up in a wealthy home with his mother, father and had 3 siblings.
As he got older a family friend of Gandhi suggested for him go to England to study law. He left his family in India. When he was in London he wanted to become an English gentleman to blend in. He bought a new suit, a top hat, and he took lessons on manners and even learned the violin and how to dance.
Gandhi had completed school and passed his law exams. Afterward, Gandhi went back to India and later Gandhi and his family left for Durban, South Africa.
I have to do something about this! He thought angrily.
When Gandhi arrived in Pretoria, he gathered the Indian community together for a meeting he spoke about the treatment of Indians in South Africa. He decided to stay in South Africa and help fixed this issue! He later formed the Natal Indian Congress.
Indians had very few rights like blacks. They had to pay extra taxes, they could not walk on white sidewalks, and they could not go out after 9 without a permit!
That made Gandhi very angry!
Twenty years had passed, Gandhi was now known as a hero in India. People named him “Mathma” which means great soul in respect for him. He went back to India and helped the untouchables he even helped poor businessmen by giving them money.
Gandhi supported his fellow Indians in making their own clothing with a spinning wheel. The British were against this because the British made a profit out of selling British clothing.
But Gandhi didn't care!
He later started wearing the clothing that was traditionally called “khadi”, which he wore with sandals and a shawl.
Gandhi was arrested for encouraging people to peacefully go against the British. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
Gandhi did not mind being in prison. In fact, he enjoyed the time alone, where he slept, read, and continued to spin the wheel every day. After 2 years in prison, the court officials decided his sentence was long enough. After he was released he went right back to work. His goal was to join together Hindus and Muslims who were fighting with each other.
Gandhi used his peaceful weapon, in September 1924, Gandhi started a 3 week fast. After a few weeks, religious leaders agreed to live peacefully.
On March 12, 1930, Gandhi decided to March 240 miles to the Mediterranean Sea to go against the salt acts. On the way, he picked up hundreds of followers. He told Hindus, Muslims, Christians and the untouchables to march together with him.
A few days had passed, When they reached, the crowd instantly got to work.
They reached their hands onto the cool waters of the Mediterranean sea. They then picked up the soft salt to go against the salt acts. They gathered as much salt as possible to make and sell the salt. Later, along with Gandhi hundreds of people were arrested.
The morning after his independence he walked into the crowd to greet about 500 people. A Hindu extremist, pushed through the crowd to get close to him. Took out his pistol and fired 3 shots at his chest.
After that day every year, Gandhi's death is remembered. Also, every year Gandhi's birthday is celebrated and is now a public and bank holiday in India. The spinning wheel later became the national symbol for India’s independence.
Author's Note:
This topic is important to me because I am Indian, and I was very interested in knowing how India became independent from the British.My advocate and I are Indian and I grew up practicing Hinduism just like Gandhi. When I first learned about Gandhi, I was very inspired by Gandhi's story and his journey and what he did to make his country independent. Something I learned from this book was that don’t let anyone judge from how you look and where you're from, just be YOU.
Achievements:
- Gandhi led a 200 mile Salt March so that the people of India could make and gather their own salt.
- Gandhi went on a 21 day fast to protest between the Muslims and the Hindus.
- He launched campaigns to improve the lives of untouchables, or lower caste people.
- He fought against racial discrimination in South Africa
- The greatest accomplishment of Gandhi was the independence of India
About The Author:
Dev Parmar was born in Mumbai, India and has lived in Dubai, Lagos, Nigeria, and Singapore. He lives with his mother, father, and his 3rd-grade brother. He enjoys to play soccer, and watch movies in his free time. Currently, he attends the Singapore American School and is on the school soccer team and plays the clarinet for the 6th-grade band.His favorite subjects are PE and Math.Dev’s favorite books include MockingBird and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Bibliography:
Book: Who Was Gandhi By: Dana Meachen Rau
http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898
http://castle.eiu.edu/wow/gndihero.html
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