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Ashram
An Indian word for a religiously-oriented, communal farm -
Bhagavad-Gita
One of the sacred texts of Hinduism, this long poem helped shape Gandhi's personal philosophy. -
Boer
Descendants of the Dutch settlers of South Africa, they struggled with the British for dominance of the region. -
Bombay
The great port of western India -
Brahmacharya
The renunciation of sex by a male Hindu. Gandhi committed himself to Brahmacharya, after some struggle, in 1906. -
British Empire
The vast collection of British-ruled territories that included, at Gandhi's birth, all of India. -
Caste
A caste is a social level or class. In Hindu India, the caste system is especially intricate and influential; under this system, a person is born into a specific caste and may never leave it. The castes span a wide range, the highest being the Brahmin caste, the lowest being the untouchables. -
Delhi
The capital of India under the Raj -
East India Company
The British trading company that dominated India in the 18th century. -
Hartal
In Indian tradition, this is a day of fasting, prayer, and abstention from work. -
Hindu
The complex, polytheistic majority religion of India -
Indian National Congress
An organization of well-educated Indians, founded in 1885, that fell under Gandhi's leadership and pushed for Indian independence -
Jain
A reform movement in Hinduism that emphasized the sacredness of all life, and greatly influenced Gandhi. -
Mahatma
A word meaning "great soul" that was applied to Gandhi -
Muslim
A member of the monotheistic religion Islam. Muslims have long been the largest religious minority in India. -
Natal
A province of British-ruled South Africa -
Natal Indian Congress
Founded by Gandhi, this organization lobbied for Indian rights in South Africa. -
Phoenix Settlement
Gandhi's communal farm in South Africa -
Raj
The British term for their dominions in India -
Satyagraha
Literally, "soul-force." It was the term given to Gandhi's strategy of nonviolent resistance to oppression -
Satyagraha ashram
The name given to Gandhi's ashram in India. -
Transvaal
A Boer republic in South Africa, ruled by the British after the Boer War -
Unto This Last
Written by a British author named John Ruskin, this book convinced Gandhi of the virtues of physical labor. -
Untouchables
The shunned lowest caste, they were embraced by Gandhi. -
Viceroy of India
The British-appointed ruler of India -
Amritsar Massacre
The 1919 slaughter of Indian protesters by British troops that sparked outrage around the world -
Boer War
The struggle (1899-1901) between Britain and the Boer republics, ending in British control of South Africa. -
Government of India Act
Passed by the British Parliament in 1935, it paved the way for Indian independence. -
Rowlatt Act
Passed after World War I, it cracked down on civil liberties in India, and led Gandhi toward rebellion. -
The Salt March
Gandhi's march to the sea, in spring 1930, to protest the British government's salt monopoly.