World

Gandhi’s Life in Photos, 75 Years After His Assassination


Seventy-five years ago, Mohandas K. Gandhi was shot dead by an assassin while on his way to a regular evening prayer. Gandhi, then widely known as the mahatma, or “great soul,” had helped lead India to a future of independence less than a year earlier, with millions of nationalists. India is by his side. He died as one of the most famous men on earth.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, told the crying crowd over the radio on January 30, 1948, the day of the assassination: “The light has gone out of our lives. .

in him famous elegant, improvisation, Nehru promised that the light brought by Gandhi would “illuminate this country for many more years to come. And a thousand years from now, that light will be seen in this country and the world will see it and it will bring solace to countless hearts.”

Gandhi is still revered everywhere, his name a dictionary for a certain kind of virtue and action. Nearly every town in rural India has a main street named “MG Road” in his honor and some of the biggest government programs of the 21st century also bear his name. But India has changed in countless ways since 1948, when his life was killed by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu thinker, with a Beretta pistol.

Mr. Godse murdered Gandhi as a political enemy, accusing him of being a traitor to the Hindus. Mr. Godse is a Hindu nationalist who loathes what he sees as Gandhi’s respect for minorities and resent division of colonial India between a clearly Muslim Pakistan and a multi-religious, secular (although majority Hindu) republic of India. Narendra Modi, the popular and increasingly powerful prime minister of the past eight years, has his roots in the same Hindu nationalist movement. Members of his party were caught celebrating Mr. Godse – and was reprimanded for it – but was later allowed to remain in Congress.

Mr. Modi praises Gandhi on appropriate ceremonial occasions, but today Gandhi is less revered in public places in India.

India today is much more proud of its industrial and military achievements than Gandhi could have liked, and they desire more. Mr. Modi’s message is more in keeping with that mood. Nevertheless, Gandhi’s commitments to an independent and self-sufficient India, his intelligence and determination, and his ability to combine aspects of spiritual leadership with politics continue to earn respect. important.

As India grows and finds ever greater stature on the world stage, The New York Times pored over archival photographs to look back at the years of light that Gandhi brought to his compatriots and the world. This is an option.

In the first image, Gandhi, right, is taken with his brother Laxmidas Gandhi in 1886 in India. In the second photo, he is in the center, in South Africa, where he is practicing law.

Gandhi spoke at a farewell gathering in South Africa in 1914 before traveling to England and then to India in 1915. It was around that time that the word “mahatma” or “great soul” first came to be. applied to him.

Gandhi in 1924 with Indira, daughter of Nehru, who served as prime minister after India gained independence in 1947. She later also served as prime minister of the country, known by her husband’s name Indira Gandhi. (She is not related to Mohandas K. Gandhi and Assassinated1984.)

Gandhi in 1930 at the start of the so-called salt march. In a few weeks, he and his followers walked some 240 miles from his religious retreat on the Sabarmati River in Gujarat to the coast in the town of Dandi, appealing to the Indians to defy colonial laws that taxed them. salt and limit salt production. The march sparked a major campaign of civil disobedience, and focused international attention on Gandhi and his advocacy of satyagraha, or nonviolent protest.

Crowds gathered to hear Gandhi give a speech by the Sabarmati River in the early 1930s.

Workers during a strike in the 1930s as the movement to end British colonialism grew stronger. Tens of thousands of people were jailed during Salt March or related protests, including Gandhi himself.

Gandhi fasted after being released from prison. He fasted several times, including protesting against colonial rule and the British treatment of Indians against it.

Gandhi met with General Chiang Kai-shek of China in India. Fighting Japanese Invasion in the 1930s and 40, Chiang sought to enlist Gandhi’s support for his war effort.

Gandhi arrived in Marseille, France, in September 1931. During his trip to Europe, he also went to London to discuss the future of colonial India.

Crowds gathered on the streets of London when Gandhi visited the East End, where he called attention to the poor in the area by giving up a hotel and staying at a community home.

While in East London, Gandhi met Charlie Chaplin, to his right. Chaplin writes that it was his meeting with Gandhi that inspired him to make the film “Modern Times,” which depicts the dehumanizing effects of mass production.

Gandhi along with other nationalist movement leaders in 1931 launched his peace terms with Britain during the civil disobedience campaign started by Salt March. The agreement calls for the release of political prisoners.

Gandhi, center, and Nehru, left, in Bombay, now Mumbai, in December 1931. Nehru’s political skills complement Gandhi’s spiritual appeal to bring India’s struggle for freedom to a successful conclusion.

Gandhi left the prison holding political prisoners in Calcutta, now known as Kolkata, in 1938 as part of negotiations to secure their release.

Gandhi in a fast in 1939 that ended when the viceroy of India agreed to release political prisoners.

Gandhi left the home of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, left, leader of the Muslim League, in New Delhi in November 1939. Jinnah went on to become the founding father of Pakistan.

Gandhi, fourth from right, went for a daily walk in 1946, with aides and family members. Gandhi used to walk several miles a day.

Gandhi in 1946, next to a spinning wheel. Charkha has become a indian resistance symbol to British textile-based mercantilism and British rule in general.

Gandhi met Lord Mountbatten, the new viceroy of India, and his wife, Lady Edwina Mountbatten, in 1947. That was the fulcrum for colonial rule: India would be independent and the viceroys would be gone, within a year.

Growing unrest between Hindus and Muslims exploded into riots before India gained independence in 1947, along with its partition into India and Pakistan, prompting Jinnah and Gandhi to jointly call for peace.

Gandhi, center, visits a Muslim refugee camp at Purana Qila in New Delhi. Refugees prepare to leave India for Pakistan in September 1947, a month after both countries gained independence from Britain.

Gandhi at Birla House in New Delhi on January 29, 1948, the day before his assassination. He made the site, formerly the residence of one of India’s largest industrialists, into his base in the capital.

After the assassination, Gandhi’s niece placed flower petals on his head as his body was laid to rest at Birla House.

Gandhi was cremated on the banks of the Yamuna River.

Crowds lined the railway tracks to pay their respects as some of Gandhi’s ashes were transported by train to the Ganges to be scattered.

Where Gandhi fell.

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