Course code: HM471 Course Name : Gandhi Life and thoughts Name of the assignment : Life in prison ID : 200801191

Name : Jaley H Dholakiya

Life inPrision
Unlike other class of leaders where prison life is quite static, it had been quite dynamic for MK Gandhi and that is where we need to catch the point that the crown had actually failed to make an much impact by putting Gandhi behind bars.Gandhis life in prison is certainly not worth neglecting because he had spend about 7 years in his life out there in India. His prison life in South Africa, though small, had actually brought a change. For him prison was a catch up time, in sense he read many books, get to know the happenings of the world and got a lot of time to think about his next actions. His daily routine in Prison included activities that kept him both mentally and physically fit. This included prayers, spinning, answering to the letters that come to him. Thinking about the condition and also understanding the implication of it vary carefully. He also read various religious texts in order to comprehend his pursuit of truth. He also took out time to write books and in that way create a long lasting channel of correspondence with the people. Generally a prison is a place where people go with guilt and where visitor bar themselves from entering except for the family members and lawyers but for Gandhis case, it was different. People from different countries, followers came to the prison to meet Gandhi and the place seemed to them as quite sacred. Therefore imprisonment was not like a punishment for Gandhi. He stayed in Prision during( Volksrust Jail, SA )1913, 1918 for champaran, 1922 for swadeshi , 1930 after the khilafat movement, 1933 after the second round table conference and in 1942 after Quit India movement. From 1922-1924 he wrote book called Satyagraha in South Africa, not just that he also wrote parts of his own autobiography.In 1924 he had to go through operation of appendicitis where his health had took a stroke. Another major event that happens in the prison is the conversation between the leaders of congress and Gandhi in Yervada. He became a central protagonist in the electoral system as he opposed the idea of separate electorate by taking the vow of fast until death because he knew that then there is no hope left than to grieving for Indias pathetic situation. He fasted unto death against the communal award scheme. His health took a toss during his fast his health came to a tipping point that his nerves were almost to break down no doubt he thereafter recovered from it. His health was so deteriorated that leaders like RabindraNath Tagore had come to meet him. He twice fell ill very badly, once as I mentioned in Poone and the other when he got stuck by malaria in Aga Khan Palace. His fasts used to be unusually long than normal that is about 20-21 days. This way he had trained his body to prisons and fast not just inside the jail but also outside the jail.

In1932 he was again imprisoned in Yervada Jail after attending Round Table conference. On August 1933, he was again imprisoned for refusing to leave Yeravda village for Poona. While he was in Yervada Jail, he started fast because of the government refused to permit him to work for upliftment of untouchables and make them par with others and henceforth removing the very concept of untouchability . He again fasted at Aga Khan palace for the reason that he wanted to end the stand still situation while the negotiation between the Indian leaders and viceroy were taking place.The most unfortunate event was the death of wife Kasturba again in the prison and this was not an end to his miseries. He become patient of Malaria and got in a very bad health. He read books of fundamental importance in his quest for truth which included, Manu, Shrimad Bhagwad Gita and its various interpretations by various leaders. He was also quite influenced by books of Rudyard Kipling. One of his noteworthy work in Prison was related to his noteworthy work in field of Prison reforms. His way of living was an inspiration for not just the prisoners but also the jailers. His strict self routine was a living example of self Discipline. He always had constructive programmes in which intended to inprove the standard of living for the people in Jail. Even today we see that Jails are not just means of imprisonment, but they also earn. In Ahmedabad the Jail biscuits are very famous too, these constructive programmes which included initiatives to uplift the life of prisoner were strongly expressed by Gandhi.(Mahadev Desais Autobiography of Gandhi) In his book Speeches and Writings of M.K Gandhi which is edited by CF Andrews, he explains details about the food problems Gandhi and associates faced in SA. In prison, people got 12 ozes of Mealy pap,boiled beans and salt, 5 oz of rice wit 1 oz of ghee and got 4 oz of bread. Gandhiji got to understand that 4 oz of bread is not something that would satisfy the hunger and therefore Gandhiji advocated 4 oz of bread as pap and therefore the officials started giving them 8 ozes of it. Before he could make even more jail reforms in South Africa, he was released. He even taught the Indians staying there to adapt to the demographics of the place of stay. For example he told that mealy pap(corn item which needs less or negligible chewing) is what is offered as a part of food and should be humbly taken and consumed because that is how things work.No doubt he admits to the fact that Mealy pap is very even more tasteless than the wheat, but needs to be consumed as a way to respect the country and their food, customs and traditions. In this way he was able to make Indians out there in South Africa, comfortable and acclimatized.

He always acted like a good prisoner who follows the rules. In the task given to them, he worked without breaks to complete the task. In this way he was able to set the ideals of good prisoner in SA. He also observed the discrimination between the Indian convicts and the white convicts who got nice bed, good tooth brush etc facilities while the Indian prisioners didnt receive so. He said An Arabic book says that a person who has no self respect have no religion. One who has faith in God has it. And therefore his efforts were strongly in direction of instilling self respect in other prisoners. The book by Gandhi even mentions the slightest details such as the rule that every prisoner has to finish toilet by 6 o clock. Gandhi in India, somehow made out when he was going to be arrested. His opinion about the Jains in India were that the satyagrahis should see the jail as a pilgrimage and happily adhere to it. He even does something that is against those satyagrahis ignites passion in satyagrahis. He says that a moral Satyagrahi should not shout Vande Mataram and should non-cooperate because at that point he is not being moral towards the jail officers and the point that shouting loudly is even a breach of law. He says that the satyagrahis need be kind hearted and on other side make the officers realize the wrong they are doing . He didnt stop to this, he told that the real prisoners should also be given strength and support to make them realize that they will be very well accepted in society I would like to conclude the report from what I have read by telling that what I got to understand by observing the life of Gandhi in Prison through references is that

Gandhi always took up his life as penance and striving towards searching for the truth which is nothing but God and in prison also he follows the same. His normal life is not different from prison life and in that way he never faced any big problem by and large. His goodness and the strive to help others in order to create an environment of pure human emotions of love is strongly seen by his acts. He helped not just the satyagrahis outside the jail but also helped the real criminals in a way making a significant improvement in their life. He tried to work on things which are of less material importance but of great moral importance that is the self respect. For self respect, he advocated self volunteering and self discipline to the prisoners. He by these act proved that he had never ever kept stereotypes about people and always loved them irrespective of all sense of divisions created by people, and this can be understood by the way he helped all classes of society. His prison was one aspect which again magnifies our idea of looking at Gandhi as a figure loving the country like a father. That is the reason we call him the father of nation.