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Health & Fitness

Father of India

India was called The Jewel in the Crown, because it was Britain's largest & most productive colony.

Independence Day (in India) is today, August 15.

There are always two sides to the story, and that goes along with everything. It especially goes along with the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the Irish and the English conflicts; and the Indian-Pakistan relations; and how peoples’ perspective on the situation differs.

In India, a wise and holy person is called a mahatma (muh HAHT muh). The title means “great soul." The greatest mahatma of all was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.  He is known as the "Father of India."

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For thousands of years, India was ruled by different dynasties and kingdoms. Many wars were fought by warriors, known as Kshatriya. Other countries, such as Great Britain, France, and Portugal took advantage of all the fighting and built colonies in India.

By 1700s Great Britain had become India’s most powerful ruler, and Queen Victoria became the Empress of India. Some of the denizens were Hindu and some were Muslim. 

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Under British rule some improvements were made. They stopped local wars, and built railroads, highways, hospitals and a telegraph system. By developing industry, they created jobs. 

However, India had millions of people. The population grew so fast, the demand for jobs could not be filled. Most Indians lived close to starvation and paid high rents and taxes.

England had become the world’s largest imperial power. Yet, eventually the Indians began to revolt.   

As a leader, Gandhi was against violence. He believed that how a person behaves is more important than what one succeeds in doing.  He won many followers.

Gandhi worked many years for India’s freedom from Great Britain. The British passed laws in 1919 that forbade Indians to hold group meetings. 2,000 people gathered in a town square, led by Gandhi. He called for a nationwide nonviolent protest.  He urged Indians to refuse to obey the British. It was a passive resistance.

British soldiers killed almost 400 unarmed men, women and children and Gandhi was jailed for two years.   

Gandhi asked the Indian people again and again to be peaceful and not violent; he lived and preached "passive resistance."

No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves.

—Frederick William Robertson

You’ve heard before that the best things in life are the result of being wounded.  Wheat must be crushed before it becomes bread, and incense must be burned by fire before its fragrance is set free.  The earth must be broken with a plough before being ready to receive the seeds.

Are the sweetest joys of life the fruits of sorrow?  Human nature seems to need suffering to make it fit to be a blessing to the world.

The day Gandhi dreamed of, finally came.  After a long struggle for independence, it finally came on August 15, 1947, when the modern nations of India and Pakistan were formed and one of Gandhi’s followers became India’s first prime minister and India became the world’s largest democracy.

But it was also a sad day. Quarrels between Hindus and Muslims had caused many riots.

Gandhi, a Hindu, believed that people of all religions could live together in peace.  But this was not to be. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, who feared what the Mahatma believed and felt Gandhi was overly sympathetic to the Muslims.

Through a pounding of serious conflict, Gandhi remained faithful through trials and tests. His last words were reported to be, “Oh God.” 

More proof that the strongest and greatest character is grown through hardship.

After independence and partition, India would go to war with Pakistan 4 times and China once (’47 over Kashmir, ’65 Kashmir, ‘71 teaming up with Bangladesh against Pakistani oppression, and ’99 over Kashmir; while also going to war with China after the ’59 Tibetan uprising / border disputes from which the Dalai Lama sought refuge in India).

You can always hate the Brits as a born and bred Paddy, (Paddy being the nickname for all Irish citizens). On one hand, as my relative at home would say, “everywhere they went they messed it up” yet on the other hand, everywhere they went now has a democracy?

Not only that, but the Brits came in third in the Summer Olympic Medal Count; with that one other country they messed up coming in… well, first. Impressive, we've got to give those bleedin' Brits their fair due, all the same!

"In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth."                      

—Mahatma Gandhi

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