C. Video transcript
Read the article about Mahatma Gandhi on pages 8-9 of
English Now
No 97. Then watch this video about Gandhi and try to understand the 12 things you should know about him. Finally, go to part C to read the video transcript.
12 things you should know about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2nd, 1869 to January 30th, 1948).
Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘Great Soul’, had simple aspirations in life. He became a barrister
1 in 1891, but was too kind a person
to fight court trials, so he started drafting legal documents instead.
He left for South Africa to work as a legal consultant for a big company. He had his first taste of racism there; he
got kicked out of the first-class coach in a train, just because he was brown.
Gandhi was shocked to see how badly the Indian plantation workers were treated in South Africa. He firmly decided
to change that, using the Thoreau principle of civil disobedience.
He returned to India after 21 years in South Africa. Indian independence became his next big goal. Ahimsa (nonviolence)
and Satya (truth), were his only tools.
Kasturba Gandhi was his biggest support throughout the national struggle. They were married when they were 13 years of age,
and had four children together.
Three out of his four children (Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas) rose to become staunch
2 freedom fighters.
On March 12th, 1930, Gandhi led his most phenomenal civil disobedience march, Salt Satyagraha voicing his protest against
the salt tax. He marched to Dandi, which was 240 miles away from Sabarmati.
He was named the
Time magazine ‘Man of the Year’ in 1930. Salt Satyagraha obviously made quite an
impression on a magazine that was 10,000 miles away.
Gandhi spun his own yarn
3 and wove his own khadi
4 ; he wanted to ban foreign textile and promote Swadeshi fabric.
That’s when he began wearing the dress of a simple Indian farmer: the dhoti
5 and a shawl.
Indian independence was a heartbreaking occasion for Gandhi; partition on the basis of religion saw so much bloodshed
6,
it tore his soul.
Everything about Gandhi is unique: his cane, spectacles
7, dhoti and shawl all add up to his special Gandhi style!
Gandhi led a simple life, but he did not say no to technology. He was one of the few people to own a telephone during his
time.
- 1a barrister: un avocat
- 2staunch : ardent, fervent
- 3to spin yarn: filer de la laine
- 4khadi: tissu à base de coton tissé à la main en Inde, au Bangladesh et au Pakistan
- 5dhoti: vêtement masculin traditionnel de la vallée du Gange, formé d’un grand morceau de tissu rectangulaire qui s’enroule autour de la taille et se noue entre les jambes pour former un pantalon large.
- 6bloodshed: effusion de sang
- 7spectacles: des lunettes
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