Gandhi-The Movie

Gandhi-The Movie

Introduction

The motion picture Gandhi is considered as one of the most critically acclaimed movies to come out during the 1980s. The movie stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi in the lead role. The motion picture begins with a scene of Gandhi's assassination and then goes back in time to showcase his struggles throughout life. Gandhi was a man of peace and he actively participated in the effort to diffuse tensions and sensitive issues that were prevalent during his time. Some of the issues that the movie highlights have been subject of criticism on the basis of accuracy. To indicate the accuracy of events, the following issues are mentioned detailing the events;

Sectarian Violence Spreads

Across the subcontinent tens of thousands of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs lost their lives in sectarian riots and violence. Amidst this background of chaos and religious schism, the newly elected government took office. Predictably, progress on legislative matters was virtually impossible in this atmosphere. The finance ministry was now led by the Muslim League's Liaquat Ali Khan, giving the league effective control of the government. The league was determined to leverage this power to fight for its objectives. Liaquat introduced what was called a "poor man's budget," calculated to hamstring the Hindu business class.

In March 1947 Louis Mountbatten (1900-79), first earl Mountbatten of Burma, was named the new and last viceroy (r. 1947). He toured the subcontinent upon his arrival, meeting its leaders. Some of what he saw, such as massive demonstrations in the frontier, convinced him of the depth of Muslim nationalism. Moreover, Jinnah told Lord Mountbatten that an independent Pakistan now had the support of Muslims across India and that Jinnah could not abandon the goal. The Hindu political community also recognized the depth of Muslim determination. On March 8 the All India National Congress called for the division of Punjab. This was equivalent to sanctioning the partitioning of the subcontinent. Congress was unwilling to work with the Muslim League, but realized the league was powerful enough to thwart any of its aims. The lesser of two evils was to jettison the Muslims, while doing everything possible to block the development and success of their state.

Hindu Revivalism

Up to the 1890s Western-educated Indians had supported social and religious reforms. They founded movements such as the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal or the early Arya Samaj in north India and used such organizations to move contemporary caste practices and Hindu customs regarding women's education and social behavior closer to the norms of British colonial modernity. But at the turn of the century, even as such adaptations became well integrated into middle-class urban lifestyles, a renewed interest emerged in what contemporaries called "Hindu revivalism," that is, the maintenance of extant Hindu beliefs and practices and the defense of such practices from further erosion.

In Calcutta young English-educated men turned away from the "male" worship of the Brahmo Samaj churches to become fascinated with the mystic visions of Ramakrishna, a semi-illiterate priest in a north Calcutta ...