The Fight For Indian Independence.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

The Fight For Indian Independence

When India were fighting for independence from the British they thought of many different ideas and methods to try and resolve the conflict in India. Of course the British wouldn’t give up that easy because they considered India as their Jewel in their crown (the greatest part of their empire) Also there were riots going also over India mainly because of different religions In different areas. Mainly it was between the Hindu’s and the Muslims. Thos also carried on after India had won independence. This is still going on today.

There were 3 different ways in which people from all sides tried to bring about change in India. They were:

Pacifism and Non-Violence

This is a method where you try to sort disputes without being violent and hurting people.

One individual person used this method to bring change about in India and he succeeded. This man was Mahatma Gandhi. This great man done a lot of great things but one of his best was the Salt March of 1931. At that time it was illegal to make salt without having a permit (a rule made by the British) so Gandhi and a lot of his followers marched many a mile to got to a river and make salt. The British ordered their soldiers to attack Gandhi and his followers. The press who were at the march made news reports saying that the British are cruel and shouldn’t rule India. This is what Gandhi had tried to achieve. This made the British look bad all over the world. Gandhi achieved a change in the laws about making salt and in a way he achieved independence.

After Independence there was still in parts of India a lot of rioting going on between the 2 dominant religions in India the Hindu’s and the Muslims. One of the main parts of rioting was in Calcutta where the majority of Hindu’s were beating up Muslims. Gandhi decided that this should be sorted out so he went to Calcutta. While he was there he saw how bad things were so he decided to fast for as long as the rioting lasted. He decided to stay in a Muslim house mainly to show he isn’t favouring any sides. Slowly the rioting ...

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Negotiation and Arbitration

This is used to sort troubles out by talking about it and coming to an agreement.

A national organisation used this to try and sort the disputes in India. The Partition Conference in 1947 was a conference in which Gandhi offered Mohammad Ali Jinnah a Muslim leader to become India’s first prime minister. Jinnah and another man called Jawaharlal Nehru (a Hindu leader) both said that this wouldn’t work because the Hindu’s wouldn’t like it and they would start a civil war. Jinnah came up with the idea of a partition between Muslims and Hindus. Although Gandhi didn’t like it he agreed that this was the only way to solve this.

When the partition happened a part of India called Kashmir which was mainly Muslim dominated should have been a part of Pakistan because it is near it but wasn’t for some reason. The Pakistanis wanted it but the Indians didn’t want to give it to them. So in 1948-1949 on the Kashmir border Pakistan started to invade Kashmir. A war started in Kashmir. The United Nations (a international organisation which is committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security) persuaded both sides to have a ceasefire. The U.N soldiers tried to keep the 2 sides apart. The U.N tried to arrange a plebiscite but failed. Even today both Pakistan and India are still arguing and trying to sort out this Kashmir dispute.

Force and Sanctions

This phrase means to try and sort things out by using action and demanding for things.

A group of people used this method to bring change about in India. Some Hindu’s living in Calcutta who didn’t like Muslims forced them to leave by rioting, burning their homes and attacking their neighbourhoods.

Also a group of people and a nation tried to bring about change in India using this method.

In Amritsar in 1919 when the British were in full power and control of India. A few thousand people had a meeting in Amritsar to talk about how Bad the British treated them and how they should get Independence. A general who was with the British called General Dyer thought that these Indians should be taught a lesson so he took an army to the place in the town square where these people were having this meeting. Without any warning or notice he told his soldiers to fire. Even women and children were shot at. Over 1000 people got injured and roughly 400 people died. All over the world this was sickening and even in Britain people thought that maybe Britain shouldn’t rule India. The Indians feared the British for a while but then felt angry and demanded independence. This proved costly for the British because eventually in 1947 India got their independence.

BY DHIRAJ AERY 10P