Mahatma Gandhi: Quit India Speech

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: Compare the independence movement that Gandhi led with similar independence movements as reflected in the entries on the Dutch Declaration of Independence, Simón Bolívar's Cartagena Manifesto, the Proclamation of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, or the Proclamation of the Algerian National Liberation Front. What similar goals did the independence movements have? How were their methods and outcomes similar, and how did they differ?
• 2.: Why do you think so much violence accompanied the partition of India and Pakistan, given that the achievement of independence from an imperial power should be a cause for celebration?
• 3.: In the twenty-first century, India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, have threatened to go to war with each other, in large part over disputes about who owns the Kashmir province. To what extent to you think this hostility can be traced to events that preceded the independence of the two nations from British rule?
• 4.: The name of Mahatma Gandhi survives as a virtual synonym for nonviolent resistance to oppressive rule. In this way his name has achieved iconic status. What other major historical figures who played a role in the creation of milestone documents enjoy similar iconic status in the twenty-first century? Why?