Mahatma Gandhi, hero of peace, Maganews

Mahatma Gandhi, hero of peace

Gandhi led a peaceful and successful movement against the English in Indiaand became the most famous pacifist of the 20th Century

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), better known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born into a middle class family in India and studied law in England. He married, had four children, and worked for some time as a lawyer. Gandhi worked for about twenty years in South Africa and it was there that he began to attract attention in his struggle for the rights of Indians living there. Gandhi returned to India in 1914 and at the beginning of the 1920s for the first time he faced up to the British government, when he organized a general strike. Gandhi became the main leader of the Indian independence movement. He managed to convince millions of Indians that the best way forward was peaceful protest. He defended peaceful protests such as strikes, marches, fasting, and the boycott of English-made products. Gandhi was arrested several times, but in 1947 finally India achieved its independence. However, Gandhi’s joy was not to last long. On January 30th 1948 he was assassinated by a radical Hindu.

The “Great Soul”

Throughout his life Gandhi fought racism and social injustice, and did everything he could to try to bring Hindus and Muslims in India together. In Sanskrit, Mahatma means “great soul”. Gandhi was a spiritual being. He turned his back on material comfort, fasted for long periods, practiced yoga and used to pray a lot. He used to say, “We can defeat the enemy with love, never with hate”. His philosophy of life inspired other famous pacifists, such as Dr. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. In 1982, Hollywood produced a film about Gandhi’s life, wining nine Oscars.

Matéria publicada na edição de número 47 da Revista Maganews (confira o vocabulário no final desta página)

Áudio – Dave Brien

Vocabulary

1 to lead – liderar (leader = líder)

2 law – Direito (lawyer = advogado)

3 struggle – luta

4 strike – greve

5 main – principal

6 the best way forward – o melhor caminho

7 march (to march = marchar) – aqui = passeata

8 fasting – jejum

9 to be arrested – ser preso

10 not to last long – não durou muito

11 to bring together – unir / reunir

12 Great soul – alma grande

13 to defeat - derrotar

14 enemy – inimigo

15 hate - ódio