India’s Independence

1. India’s Independence

2. India • In the 1660’s India and Britain became trading partners through the East India Trading Company. • However, by 1760, Britain had gained political and economic power in India. • India didn’t like the fact that it was being ruled by a foreign country.

3. India • A nationalist movement began in India to fight for independence from Britain. • Supporters of the nationalist movement like Mohandas Gandhi resisted the rule of the British government. • Britain gradually offered India small forms of independence such as a National Congress ruled by Indian leaders and the 1935 Government of India Act that gave Indian towns more control over their own affairs. • However, after WWII Great Britain could no longer afford to keep India under its rule so India gained independence.

4. Gandhi • Mohandas Gandhi was born in 1869 and he studied law in England. • He graduated and became a lawyer in South Africa. • During this time, Gandhi was shocked by the way the Indians were segregated and oppressed by British rule. • He decided to stop practicing law and returned to India to devote his life to fighting for the equality of all Indians.

5. Gandhi • Gandhi encouraged his followers to practice nonviolent protests against the British in order to bring about social change. • He believed that acts of goodness produced positive reactions while violence only produced negative consequences. • He led his followers on boycotts, hunger strikes, and one of his most famous nonviolent protests was a 240 mile walk to the ocean to oppose the British salt tax.`