The Proudest Day: India’s Long Road to Independence by Anthony Read and David Fisher Excerpt: “Satyagraha….
was more than passive resistance. Indeed, Gandhi claimed it was not passive but active. He described it as either ‘soul force’ or ‘truth force’; ‘the method of securing rights by personal suffering; it is the reverse of resistance by arms’….. In 1906, Transvaal government introduced a bill designed to clear Indians out of the colony by stopping immigration and harassing those already there…The Indians objected strongly.Led by Gandhi, they embarked on a peaceful protest, closing their shops in a hartal, organizing petitions, pickets and representations.
” (148-149) Paraphrase: Satyagraha, the insistence on truth, is a philosophy and practice associated with a nonviolent resistance. Gandhi developed Satyagraha as the practical extension of ahimsa and love; it meant standing firmly behind one’s ideals, but without hatred. Satyagraha took the form of public disobedience and non-cooperation with evil.Ahimsa is the foundation of Satyagraha, the "complex minimum" to which Satyagraha adheres to. Ahimsa is the practice of nonviolence.
When the bill to clear Indians, was introduced, many Indians decided to follow Gandhi and his peaceful ways. Along with Gandhi, the Indians closed their shops and went on “hartals” or strikes and protested peacefully using the ahimsa tactic. Using the Ahimsa tactic was the expression of the deepest love for all humans, including one’s enemy.Gandhi organized a nation-wide Satyagraha which used non-cooperation techniques such as boycotting British products, refusing to work for British employers, pulling one’s children out of British schools, refusing to supply the British with services, and not paying taxes.
Historical Background: The Indian Independence Movement began in 1857, and lasted until 1947. Before the beginning of the movement, India had never known political freedom. Foreign rulers had occupied the country for its' entire history.By the time the British took over the area, the natives of India had grown restless with having no say in any political decisions. The natives also were subject to racism and the enforcement of Christianity by the British.
The first major step that the Indians took towards their freedom was forming the Indian National Congress. This, along with other things that embodied patriotism, showed the British that the Indians were serious about achieving their freedom. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British ruled India.Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Author’s Purpose: Anthony Read and David Fisher decided to write this non-fictional work to explain the struggle the Indians had to go through to receive the independence they deserved. As these authors wrote “The Proudest Day: India’s Long Road to Independence”, they hoped to get their readers’ attention on how deserving the Indians were to receiving their independence. Anthony Read and David Fisher tell the whole epic story in compelling detail form beginning to the end.
