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Class vs. Caste : Alike : BOTH are systems of social hierarchy Different :

Class vs. Caste : Alike : BOTH are systems of social hierarchy Different : - Class is based on economics, caste is based on religion (but affects economics).

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Class vs. Caste : Alike : BOTH are systems of social hierarchy Different :

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  1. Class vs. Caste: • Alike: BOTH are systems of social hierarchy • Different: • - Class is based on economics, caste is based on religion (but affects economics). • - There is the possibility of upward movement with classes (class mobility), although this may take multiple generations to occur. • - There is NO social mobility in a caste system (except through the idea of reincarnation – rebirth in the “next life”, at a higher or lower status, based on faithful obedience and living a “righteous life”).

  2. Film Questions (Day 1 – South Africa): • Gandhi’s consternation in South Africa: • Discriminatory, racist treatment (institutionalized in law!) • vs. “we are members of the Empire” • 2) Gandhi’s first act of public defiance: • Symbolic burning of the I.D. cards. • 3) U.K. press coverage: • - Sympathetic to Gandhi (could have pressed charges) • - “The most significant act of defiance since the signing of the Declaration of Independence”… sensationalist?

  3. 4) Gandhi’s high regard for the press: • An “important profession” that “unites communities” • Gets his message to a larger audience! • Only option… no social media! • 5) Ashram: • “community”… can be a small village, though Gandhi is thinking in more worldly terms • Key idea: all members of the ashram share theworkload. • Gandhi is also disregarding the traditional Hindu caste system!

  4. Discriminatory South African laws: • - All non-Europeans to be finger-printed • - Only Christian marriages are considered legal • - Police may enter homes of non-Europeans without cause or warrant • Gandhi: after riling up emotions, must try to control the crowd; channel the anger into useful resistance • 7) Gandhi’s general strategy againt the British: • Civil disobedience; non-violent non-cooperation • 8) Gandhi’s specific tactics against the British: • Labor strikes; accept mass arrest • “You have given them a way to fight”

  5. 9) Gandhi’s effectiveness in achieving goals? • Won (after 7 years!). Laws were repealed, all prisoners were set free. Why? • 10) How do the British control their empire? • - force, coercion, fear • - restrictive, discriminatory laws • - imprisonment • - divide & conquer (emphasize religious differences to prevent unity)

  6. Film Questions (Day 2 – India): • 11) Gandhi’s early dismissiveness of Indian nationalism: • Most Indians are poor (their “politics” are “bread and salt”)… they won’t rally behind rich & powerful Indian leaders any more than they’ll respect rich and powerful British leaders. • Gandhi emphasizes that wealthy Indian nationalist leaders must live like Indian peasants in order to relate to them, and gain their trust & support. • 12) “National Day of Prayer & Fasting”: • = a general (nationwide) strike • (couched in religious observance)

  7. 13) Gandhi’s message to the British after the Amritsar Massacre – LEAVE! • British reaction: • - “Britain is not an alien power… India is part of the empire” • - the British are “necessary to secure the peace” between Hindus and Muslims, • - “you don’t expect us to just walk out, do you?” • Gandhi’s response: • - “Yes. In the end, you will simply walk out…” when 350 million Indians don’t cooperate with 100,000 Englishmen. (will occur… 28 years later) • - India’s religious problems will be India’s, not England’s

  8. 14) Gandhi’s message to all Indians: • 1. Hindu-Muslim unity • 2. Don’t treat other Indians like the British treat Indians… “remove untouchability from our hearts and from our lives“. Gandhi is promoting the abolition of the caste system (as he did on his ashram… which he now wants to extend to all of India). • 3. Defy the British • (policy of non-violent non-cooperation… break the law of the law is bad!) • 4. Burn British cloth (boycott textiles!)

  9. 15) Who has more power… Gandhi, or the British? Consider… • British – short-term rule; military power • Gandhi – long-term success (India – and Pakistan – gain independence in 1947); POPULAR power • 16) The difficulty of non-violent resistance: • - Goes against natural human response… • Normal response to a threat is “fight or flight”… Gandhi is asking Indians to do… • neither! • - Requires many followers • - Requires MEDIA ATTENTION for public sympathy • - Requires patience (takes a long time to work)

  10. 17) The effectiveness of non-violent resistance: • It turns the presumed logic on its head: • When non-violence is met with violence, the “criminals” become the brutalized victims, and law enforcement becomes the barbarians. • The result: most of the public will become disgusted by what they learn (or see), and sympathies shift from the law-makers to the law-beakers!

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