Mahatma Gandhi

Programme Outline

The programme traces Gandhi's life in India, Britain, South Africa, and India again. It places him against the background of the British Raj and the segregated world of South Africa. It shows how Gandhi inspired Indians to resist British rule peacefully, and then inspired several generations to programmes of civil disobedience. The programme includes interviews with members of Gandhi's family. It points out that after Gandhi's death the independent sub-continent was left divided and at enmity with itself, the opposite of what he would have wished.

Introduction

0.00 — 1.30

The programme opens with scenes of commemoration of Gandhi, and an explanation to many Indians that Gandhi is the father of the nation. He can also be seen as the inspiration for countless other non-violent protests in many other parts of the world, the most influential of which perhaps being the work of Martin Luther King and Civil Rights in the USA.

Early Years

1.15 — 7.40

The programme describes the young Gandhi’s happy and comparatively privileged upbringing in India and his subsequent time spent training to be a lawyer in England. His appointment to a post in South Africa is described, but the main focus of this section, however, is his involvement in campaigns against the blatant racial discrimination which was part and parcel of South Africa in the British Empire. The programme charts the development of his philosophy of non-violence and moral force.

India

7.40 — 14.30

This next section briefly covers the background to Gandhi’s leadership of the campaign for Indian Independence. The increasing desire for independence is set against the British reluctance to countenance the idea, as seen in its most extreme form in the Amritsar Massacre of 1919. The programme charts his use of moral force and calls for a massive campaign for civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s. The differing interpretations of Gandhi at that time are highlighted. To Indian nationalists he is a great leader. In England he is portrayed as a trouble-maker and little more. The programme dwells on his highly original forms of protest, such as the illegal collection of salt and the attempt to boycott foreign cotton and other textiles.

Independence

14.30 — end

This section charts the most troubled phase of Gandhi’s career and India’s history as part of the British Empire. The programme describes the underlying religious tensions in India between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi must have found this difficult to understand, and critics accused him of simply ducking the issue. The Second World War brought in a new Labour government in Britain sympathetic to the idea of independence for India. On the one hand, this brought about the long cherished separation of India from the Empire. On the other hand, it released a whirlwind of religious violence. The British decided that the partition of India was the only feasible solution. This went ahead, but in the midst of further violence and ethnic cleansing of both Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi himself fell victim to this violence in 1948. The programme concludes by looking at his legacy both as a political and a spiritual leader.