ENG 515A Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Habib University, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Naqvi
Student Name: Umaima Fatima Hashmi
Student Id: uh01942
Instructor: Dr. Nauman Naqvi
Course: Pakistan and Modern South Asia (PAMSA)
Institution: Habib University
Assignment: Reflection Paper 2
Prompt: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s intervention in anti-
colonial politics was by far the most important in terms of
mobilising the Indian population as well as its global
impact. Discuss the most important elements of this politics as
well as the significance or meaning of each of these elements in
the colonial context.
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Politics of Mahatma Gandhi
“[Gandhi] is the man who has stirred three hundred million people to revolt, who has shaken the
foundations of the British Empire, and who has introduced into human politics the strongest
religious impetus of the last two hundred years1”
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had an influential personality and his way of doing politics
stunned both the Indian political leaders and the colonial rulers. Gandhi was a man of strict
morals, however, he did spend a fair amount of time experimenting on religious and moral
values. The best features of Gandhi included his practice of non-violence and his patience
towards his enemies. According to Hardiman (2003), “in its last issue of the twentieth century,
Time magazine selected Gandhi as joint runner-up (with Franklin Roosevelt) to Albert Einstein
as ‘person of the twentieth century’” (p. 1). Moreover, the morals that Gandhi preached were
universal and still hold a significant value to this day. He had the ability to reach out to the poor
and oppressed and according to a commentator, “Gandhi [was] that rare great man held in
universal esteem, a figure lifted from history to moral icon’” (Johanna McGeary, 1999 cited in
Hardiman, 2003, p. 1).
Gandhi was most active during the two phases; 1893-1914 in South Africa and 1914-1922 in
India. Gandhi learned a lot of new things during his time in South Africa, there he discovered the
power of non-violence and he used this strategy for the first time to help the Indian immigrants
who were facing difficulties at the hands of the Government. Gandhi took a bold step in testing
his limits and the power of non-violence, later on, when he returned to India and found that the
Indians were being ill-treated by the colonial administration, he decided to use the same strategy
he used in South Africa. Nonetheless, this led to the initiation of non-cooperation movement by
1 Quote taken from the book ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ by Romain Rolland, page no. 3.
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Document Summary
Prompt: mohandas karamchand gandhi"s intervention in anti- colonial politics was by far the most important in terms of mobilising its global impact. Discuss the most important elements of this politics as well as the significance or meaning of each of these elements in the colonial context. the indian population as well as. [gandhi] is the man who has stirred three hundred million people to revolt, who has shaken the foundations of the british empire, and who has introduced into human politics the strongest religious impetus of the last two hundred years1 . Mohandas karamchand gandhi had an influential personality and his way of doing politics stunned both the indian political leaders and the colonial rulers. Gandhi was a man of strict morals, however, he did spend a fair amount of time experimenting on religious and moral values. The best features of gandhi included his practice of non-violence and his patience towards his enemies.
