Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of Gandhi. We learn how he led India to independence. But more than that the girls learn life lessons from his example.
150 years India was ruled by Britain. India was a country of many religions, and many languages. These differences helped Britain to be in charge. But many Indians wanted to rule themselves. The girls explore why it was important for the Indians to rule their own country and the problems with Britain being in charge.
We meet Gandhi. We learn about his personal value system. We discover how he was opposed to violence. We also learned how he believed that it wasn’t enough to achieve good things. He believed that the way in which you achieved things was also important. Gandhi didn’t hate Britain. But when he lived in South Africa he realized that the British Empire wasn’t always fair to people who were not white British.
When he returned to India he began campaigning for India to be free. He believed that it was wrong to fight. Instead he believed that Indian’s needed to stop doing what British people told them to do. He organized lots of peaceful demonstrations.
The girls tell the story of the terrible day at Amritsar when 400 Indians were shot dead on the streets on the orders of a British General.
Eventually the British agree to talk to Gandhi. But the talks do not go well. Instead the British encourage the Muslims to be worried about an India run by Hindus like Gandhi. The talks collapse. The British arrest many independence protestors.
Then World War Two starts. The British need India. Gandhi tells the Indians not to help the British. But millions ignore him and join the Army. In 1942 Gandhi tells the British to leave India immediately. The British won’t that because of the war. So they put Gandhi and his followers in prison.
But after the war the British have had enough and agree to leave. It agreed to split India in two. There will be a mostly Muslim area called Pakistan and a mostly Hindu area called India. The split is terrible. Muslims and Hindu kill hundreds of thousands of each other. Then a Hindu decides it’s all Gandhi’s fault. He shoots and kills Gandhi. People are horrified. They realise that Gandhi was right. India becomes a country for all religions and languages.
Over time the whole world realise that Gandhi was a great man. Even Britain makes a statue to him.
At the end the girls reflect on Gandhi’s message to the world and the power of his example.
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