See History Through Civilization - India (Part 2)

See history through Civilization - India

Series introduction

This series uses Civilization VI, a history-based game, to explain the historical background and stories behind each civilization. It is not chronological; it just supplements knowledge in a scattered way.

These are posts I wrote for my high school class account and republished on my personal blog.

Previously

Civilization VI is a historical turn-based strategy game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games. Players build an empire and stand the test of time. You guide your civilization from the Stone Age to the Information Age and try to become a world leader. Along the way, you wage wars, conduct diplomacy, promote culture, and face many historical leaders.

Last time we talked about India. Today we continue with the history of the leader Gandhi.

From now on, it will be split into national history and leader history.

Indian history will be in three parts:

• National history
• -> Leader Gandhi history <-
• Leader Chandragupta history

Gandhi

Gandhi: brief bio

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 - January 30, 1948), also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a leader of the Indian nationalist movement and the Indian National Congress. He was a politician, thinker, and social reformer, and is praised as the “Father of the Nation” and the “Father of Nonviolent Resistance.” He led the Indian independence movement and helped India break free from British colonial rule.

Gandhi was born into a Hindu family, and his father was a local chief minister. He went to Britain to study law at age 19. In 1893, he went to British-ruled South Africa to lead Indians in fighting for their rights.

In 1915, Gandhi returned to India and became a leader of the Indian National Congress.

He led many nonviolent non-cooperation movements, including boycotting British goods, refusing to pay taxes, and strikes.

On August 15, 1947, India gained independence. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.

We can learn a lot from the overview above.

Quote: Be kind to others, and you will find many true friends around you.

The word “Mahatma” means “great soul.” Worldwide, the title “Mahatma” came from a polite compliment returned by the Indian poet Tagore. It became almost a synonym for Gandhi, the leader of the nonviolent non-cooperation movement.

This leads us to the nonviolent non-cooperation movement:

The nonviolent non-cooperation movement was led by Gandhi and was a far-reaching movement against British colonial rule. Its characteristics were nonviolence and non-cooperation. During this movement, the Indian National Congress gradually became the leader and later held long-term rule after 1947.

Under Gandhi, the Indian people launched three large-scale nonviolent non-cooperation movements. They gave up British titles and positions, boycotted British courts and schools, boycotted British goods, and resisted tax laws. These were the main actions of the movement.

The victories of World War I and the October Revolution weakened imperialism and pushed forward the national democratic movements in Asia. Under Gandhi and the bourgeois party Congress, the Indian people launched multiple nonviolent non-cooperation movements. Gandhi advocated love, truth, and nonviolence to seek self-rule and independence, and emphasized mobilizing the masses and using nonviolent non-cooperation strategies to fight the British administration. These ideas gradually gained acceptance, and the movement largely followed Gandhi’s plan.

1920-1922 was the first stage. After the Amritsar massacre (shown above), Gandhi called on the Indian people to give up titles and honors granted by the British, boycott classes and jobs, boycott courts and the legislature, revive hand spinning and stop buying British cloth, and resist taxes. Gandhi personally spun yarn, and his white clothes and cap became a national outfit.

In 1920, the Congress adopted a new party constitution drafted by Gandhi. Article 1 stated that “the goal of the Indian National Congress is to achieve self-government for the Indian people by all legal and peaceful means.” Gandhi reinterpreted “self-government”: if possible, self-government within the British Empire; if necessary, independence by leaving the British Empire.

– Qi Shirong, editor in chief, Selected Materials of World History - Modern Section, Volume 3

1930-1934 was the second stage. Gandhi asked the British administration to reduce land tax, abolish the salt monopoly, remove the salt tax, implement tariff protection, and release political prisoners. After being rejected, Gandhi launched the Salt March and personally went to the coast to make salt from seawater. His actions sparked tax resistance across India and forced the authorities to accept some of his demands.

1940-1942 was the third stage. Gandhi launched the “Quit India” movement, demanding that Britain leave immediately. The British authorities arrested Gandhi and key Congress leaders, and the nonviolent non-cooperation movement fell into a low point.

Gandhi was a politician and social activist who sought Indian independence through nonviolent means. He was influenced by Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, and integrated religious beliefs into his political ideas and actions. He set an example for peace movements around the world.

His leader ability in the game reflects this as well:

Quote: Protect the people of India, and guard them with extraordinary war elephants.

This line has no historical basis. Gandhi was the father of the nation and led India to independence through a philosophy of nonviolence and non-cooperation. Indian war elephants were an important unit in ancient Indian armies, but the two are not directly related. Still, let us briefly introduce Indian war elephants.

Records say that as early as 4,000 years ago, people in the Indus River valley started training war elephants and exported them to Europe and the Middle East. According to Vedic texts, early Indian armies had four types of troops: elephants, cavalry, chariots, and infantry. The smallest unit was a squad with one elephant, one chariot, three horses, and five infantry. A standard battle formation was 45 elephants, 45 chariots, 220 horses, and 675 infantry.

Although not the most reliable mount in combat (they might panic and trample friendly troops), war elephants were a major part of Indian warfare for centuries before gunpowder. In pre-gunpowder battles, war elephants had two main uses. First, their smell often frightened horses, which reduced enemy cavalry effectiveness. Second, they could break through the strongest infantry lines, especially when fully armored, crushing spearmen, archers, and anything in their way (running speeds up to 25 km/h). It was also famously hard to kill a war elephant; some survived being shot with 60 arrows. Archers often rode in a howdah or platform on the elephant’s back, and the elephant would charge into battle. To prevent rampages and friendly trampling, handlers carried spikes and clubs and could drive a spike into the elephant’s skull to kill it if needed.

Quote: Your faith will guide you toward peace and harmony. Open your heart, and adapt to a changing world by changing yourself.

This means that if you believe in peace and harmony, you will move toward peace and harmony. Gandhi was a leader of the Indian independence movement. His core belief was “truth is firm,” and he emphasized nonviolence. His pacifism was always tied to morality and nonviolence, emphasizing peaceful ways to resolve conflict. The line “open your heart, and adapt to a changing world by changing yourself” means we should stay open-minded and keep learning and growing to adapt to a changing world.

Gandhi’s main belief was “satyagraha,” translated as “truth force” in English, meaning “spiritual force,” “the path of truth,” or “pursuit of truth.” His faith was rooted in Hinduism. He believed nonviolence and truth were the most important values. His philosophy of nonviolence was based on the Hindu principle of “ahimsa” (do not harm), which holds that all life is equal and should not be harmed.

Summary

For the people of India, Gandhi gave the country not only independence, freedom, and democracy, but also faith. It is fair to say Gandhi shaped modern Indian history. Next time we will talk about Chandragupta, the first monarch of the Maurya Empire.