GANDHI'S FIRST CRUSADE

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→ Not only was Gandhi confronted to racism, but he managed to keep his self-control, and oppose a

non-violent passive resistance to violence. Strangely enough, however shocking or humiliating the whole incident may have been, GANDHI never lost his temper. His philosophy was non violence : in other words, he was opposed to violent means to gain objectives.

→ Essentially, GANDHI realized that he had a duty, a mission. He realized that he was morally bound to defend his human brethren, and improve their living conditions no matter the price he would have to pay. He knew that racial prejudice was deeply rooted in human nature. Racism or colour prejudice was a deep disease according to him, and GANDHI’s duty was to root out this cancer which was eroding away minds and feelings.

II) HIS FIGHT : A TURNING POINT :

A) His first act in his fight :

→ At First, GANDHI felt humiliated and was psychologically wounded by this incident. For the first time, he suffered the stinging pain of contempt and scorn, of injustice and racial prejudice, in his own flesh.

As a well-off lawyer, he had been relatively safe. Moreover, the second incident according to which « the man in charge » in the stagecoach « refused to permit GANDHI to sit inside the white passengers » (l.16), strengthened his will for justice and equality for all people in South Africa.

→ GANDHI began his fight telling the railroad officials his contestations : he « sent telegrams of protest to railroad officials and to his employer » (l.13) in order to complain.. We can imagine that his employer managed to convince the railroad officers to let GANDHI travel first-class. Moreover, it was certainly difficult for the officials to openly discriminate non-whites.

After he won his claim, he felt he could go further and fight for other Indians, which is the reason why he organized a meeting with them and became their leader : his will became stronger and stronger.

B) Struggling for a fair and noble cause :

→ As the title puts it, a crusader is someone involved in a dedicated action or movement in favour of a cause.

We can say that GANDHI was a committed man who longed for defending the rights of the oppressed people, of the people living under the white people’s yoke/undergoing the laws set/ ruled by the whites.

He strongly believed that discrimination based on skin colour was unfair and had found a cause to fight for.

→ He quickly organized a meeting with the local Indians who lived in Pretoria so as to « discuss their wretched condition » (l.19). It shows that he took their needs into consideration, wanted to speak with them and above all, he didn’t want to act without knowing their feelings about their everyday life conditions : he acted in a wise way and he also wanted to arouse in the Indian people’s minds a feeling of disobedience and the fact that the situation could no longer continue : he « made his first public speech that night. » (l.21).

→ The sentence : « indignation had finally freed his tongue. » (l.21) enables the reader to know more about GANDHI’s personality. This quotation shows that he must have been shy, as he usually held his tongue until that day. He protested silently, by refusing to move, by writing letters : it was a pacifistic way of acting through civil disobedience, non-violence.

→ But he also expected other people to respect him, and certainly felt what happened to him in the train was so unbearable that he had to take action. He was a great orator/ public speaker. He has succeeded in making the Indians react.

→ GANDHI wanted to defend the local Indians because he certainly felt his position allowed him to do so.

As a lawyer who was publicly humiliated only because of his skin colour, he could understand that other Indians, especially those in the working class, were denied many basic rights. He wanted to fight for his blood brothers.

→ Later on, GANDHI will derisively be known as a « coolie barrister » because, as a man of Indian extraction, he pleaded for Indian underclass citizens, his bloodbrothers and devoted his whole life to defending them.

III) CONCLUSION :

→ By telling the story this way, the author may have wanted to show that GANDHI was not a born leader, but that he finally became one, because he felt he could help his people, and he finally devoted/ dedicated himself to protecting the rights of South African Indians.

→ This text illustrates the revelation which made GANDHI become a great peace maker. It enables the reader to know more about the reasons of his fight. GANDHI became a non-violent nationalist leader.

He fought for the independence of India, in other words he had a role worldwide.

All his life, he fought for the rights of the Indians : he was the apostle of non-violence.

→ Above all, he devised a strategy to combat violence : passive resistance and non violence. He proved throughout this episode that violence was counter-productive and demeaning. He became fully aware that human beings were dehumanized by violence and that non violence was the only course of action a fully-fledged human being could take.

→ Soon, GANDHI’s philosophy of non-violence was to be known all over the world and GANDHI himself soon became a very popular figure, whose philosophy inspired whole generations of people. GANDHI’s most famous disciple is probably Martin LUTHER KING.

→ After reading this incident, one can’t help remembering the ROSA PARKS incident in the USA, which initiated the movement of Black protest in the nineteen fifties.

→ Thanks to GANDHI, India became an independent state in 1947. The caste system was abolished, and all Indians could enjoy equal rights. But we are bound to say that racial equality in India is still a long way ahead. Racism and ethnic violence are still rampant diseases all over the world. Many countries are still torn by racial and ethnic conflicts.

IV) PROLONGEMENTS :

- The suffragettes (most of them used non-violent methods).

- Lillie Mae Bradford (1951) and Rosa Parks (1955) refused to give up their seat to a white passenger.

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