Events in India Freedom Struggle In 1858, Britain colonized India.

They gave the Indian people very few rights, and made India weak and poor. There were several major famines, and between eighteen fifty-four and nineteen hundred and one, twenty-eight million Indians had starved to death. When the Indian people tried to resist them in eighteen fifty-seven, the British killed hundred of thousands of Indian soldiers and citizens. There were however many other attempts by the Indian people to get their freedom back. Mohandas Gandhi (a nonviolent rights activist) was a big part of these revolts. Four important events in the Indian Freedom Struggle were the Ahmedabad Textile Laborers Strike, the Vykom Untouchables Human Rights Campaign, the Indians Independence Campaign, and the Indians Full Independence Campaign. The Ahmedabad textile laborers strike of nineteen-eighteen was an important event in the Indian Freedom Struggle. The workers believed they were not getting paid enough, and fought back against their employers. After the nineteen-seventeen monsoon in Ahmedabad, a bad plague broke out, killing tons of people. The textile workers received plague bonuses, which were sometimes as much as eighty percent of their normal wages. However, after the plague lessened, employers stopped giving out bonuses, while prices of necessities went up. Workers then demanded wage increases. When their employers refused, the workers went on strike, and were then fired. Frustrated, they went to a social worker named Anusuyya Sarabhai, who encouraged Mohandas Gandhi to join the cause. These workers used many tactics other than striking, like

negotiating (with their employers), getting outside help (from the social worker and Gandhi), and appealing to the public (handing out pamphlets). These tactics really helped them because they were not using violence, so they got public attention and sympathy, and all their work got employers to take them seriously. At first striking seemed to hurt the workers cause because they got fired, but in the end it really helped. The strike got the employers attention, and got the message out to the public that they were not getting paid enough. After twentyfive days of the disagreement between the workers and employers, they agreed on a thirty-five percent wage increase for the workers. This gave the laborers some power, the wage increase they wanted, and the knowledge that they could get the justice they deserved in the future if they fought hard enough. Thus, the Ahmedabad textile laborers strike of nineteen-eighteen was an important event in the Indian Freedom Struggle.

The Vykom Untouchables human rights Campaign of nineteen twenty-four through nineteen twenty-five was another crucial event in the Indian Freedom Struggle. The Untouchables had the least power in the caste system in Hinduism, which allowed them to be discriminated against. Untouchables were not allowed to use or touch anything the upper caste people used. They also could not use certain roads that lead to Hindu temples. Some Untouchables decided to break this rule of using the roads, and they made a peaceful march up one of them. Some upper caste people used violence against these peaceful protesters. When police barricaded the road so that the Untouchables could not march on it, they took turns standing at the barricade in protest. After a few

months of the protest, the police took down the barricade, and said that the Untouchables could use it. The Untouchables refused, saying that they would keep protesting until the upper caste people invited them to use the road. After sixteen months of protesting, the upper caste people changed their minds and finally invited the Untouchables to use the road. These protesters used civil disobedience and marching as their main tactics, which seemed to work for them because they needed to physically stand up for themselves and prove how intensely they felt about being mistreated. Breaking the law by illegally using the temple roads may not have seemed like a very smart way to try to get the law to be changed, but this was the only way to make a statement for their cause. That and standing at the barricade for so long proved that they would not give up, and they strongly believed that the rule was unjust. And in the end, that is what led to the Untouchables being invited to use the same Temple roads as the upper caste people. This also lead to more unity among the Indian people, which could only help in their fight against British rule. Thus, the Vykom Untouchables human rights campaign was a key event in the Indian Freedom Struggle.

The Indians independence campaign helped their movement because the Indian people made a statement for their cause and got the British government involved, effectively getting them to notice. The Indian people wanted to gain at least some independence from the British government. The British government had recently instated a salt taxation law, which caused a lot of outrage in the Indian community, because salt was such a big part of their culture. Some people used violent unorganized action to fight against the taxation, but Gandhi decide

to organize a two hundred-forty mile salt march, protesting the salt taxation law. Protesters also used civil disobedience as a tactic. After the salt march, people kept protesting, but the British did not change the salt laws. However, they did say that people could make salt for personal use. A lot of people in India were unhappy with this, and some kept protesting. Gandhi attended talks in nineteen thirty-one in Britain about Indian independence, but these talks failed. He then attempted to bring back the civil disobedience movement, but the British instated new laws and started arresting people to stop the demonstrations before they even started. Although the salt laws were not changed, these events were very important because they decreased British rule in India. This campaigns strategies of nonviolent protests (marches), negotiating, and civil disobedience seemed to work well for them in terms of making a statement and getting the British governments attention. The strategies were also nonviolent, and they showed the protesters intentions. The marches caused disruptions, and both those and civil disobedience were a great way of showing their disrespect of the British government without physically harming anyone. It may seem that because the violence did not really work for them at first, the protesters should have just kept using more violence. The violence seemed to just die down, and not really change anything for them. Then the protesters tried other tactics, which seemed to work a lot better for them. The nonviolent tactics also seemed to work because the protesters really got the British government involved, and got their attention, but still did not give them any reason to be called terrorists. Thus, the Indians independence campaign helped their movement because it made a statement for

their cause and got the British government involved, effectively getting them to notice the struggle of the Indian people.

The Indians full independence campaign helped the Indian people win back their freedom because increased opposition of British rule in India. This event happened from nineteen forty-two to nineteen forty-three. In nineteen fortytwo, the British offered Indians partial independence. In return they wanted Indias support in World War Two. The Indian National Congress (INC) refused. They wanted more independence, and to rule themselves. Gandhi wrote in newspapers encouraging Indian people to rise up against British rule. The INC made the Quit India Resolution of nineteen forty-two. Indian citizens began threatening civil disobedience if all of their demands were not met. When the protesters started this nonviolent civil disobedience, the police responded with violence. Gandhi and many others were then arrested and the All Indian Congress Committee (AICC) was called unlawful. When there were demonstrations and strikes, students left school to participate in them. Some other things demonstrators did were other types of nonviolent protests, and some went underground and created their own governments, and distributed pamphlets. They also created radio stations to spread the word about their cause, and to gain allies and support. These tactics all seemed to work for them because they were nonviolent, they shaped an image for their struggle against injustice, and they helped the protesters gain allies. It may seem like they did not really accomplish anything, because the Indian full independence campaign was not what actually abolished British rule in India in the end, and the Quit India

Resolution failed. The campaign was a crucial part of ending British rule, because when the event ended, it had dramatically increased opposition of British rule in India. Only four years later, the British fully withdrew from India, and it became fully independent in nineteen forty-seven. Thus, the Indians full independence campaign helped the Indian people win back their freedom by increasing the opposition of British rule in India.

In conclusion, four important events to ending British rule in India were the Ahmedabad Textile Laborers Strike, the Vykom Untouchables Human Rights Campaign, the Indians Independence Campaign, and the Indians Full Independence Campaign. Gaining allies was a big part of the Indian Freedom Struggle Movement. This could also be helpful to U.S. teens because if they were fighting against injustice, it would be key to get other people on their side, especially adults. For example, if teens were trying to get the name of their school changed because they found it offensive or something, having adult supporters would really help their cause, because they would be more likely taken seriously. Nonviolent protest also really worked for the Indian Freedom Movement. This could definitely also work for U.S. teens, like if they wanted healthier lunches at their school, they could boycott the lunches. They could get all the students to stop buying lunches from the school, and demand healthier meals. These tactics really work if applied correctly, as shown in the Ahmedabad Textile Laborers Strike, the Vykom Untouchables Human Rights Campaign, the Indians Independence Campaign, and the Indians Full Independence

Campaign. The protesters really applied all of their will to their tactics, and did not give up, which led to the end of British rule in India.

Bibliography: Author Unknown. Introduction to the Indian Freedom Struggle. Date of publication unknown. P2-8. 17 March, 2014. Author Unknown. Indian Freedom Struggle- Strategies, Events and Effects. Date of publication unknown. P1-7. 17 March, 2014. Author Unknown. Indian Freedom Struggle- Events, Participants, Strategies 2.5. Date of publication unknown. P1-4. 17 March 2014. More about the India Freedom Struggle: http://www.archive.india.gov.in/knowindia/culture_heritage.php?id=4