Gandhi: Seeing Both Sides

After taking a couple breaks for geography, we've finished up Gandhi.

For the blog post, I only want to discuss a little section today.  There's a scene where Gandhi is in Calcutta, staying at the home of a Muslim friend while the city is rioting.

Below him, chanting up to him, people are chanting "DEATH TO MUSLIMS!!  DEATH TO MUSLIMS!!"  They look up at him and yell at him, asking him how he can stay there.  Muslims have killed their families.

Gandhi can't bear to listen, and turns away.

Throughout his life, Gandhi has been an advocate for nonviolence.  For toleration.  Even now, in the midst of the Hindu/Muslim rioting in Calcutta, Gandhi wanted to prove that people could get along.  We can see his intentions.  We know what he was doing.

But the Hindus in the city don't have the benefit of seeing the big picture played out on a screen in front of them.  They only know that Muslims have killed their families - and now Gandhi is in the home of a Muslim.  They're not reading his message as, "Look we can all get along."  They're reading it as, "Look, I'm a traitor.  I'm staying with the people who have murdered your families."

Social studies is all about seeing as many sides of an issue as possible.  Here we can understand why Gandhi acted the way he did, and we can understand the reason the mob was mad at him.

To get extra credit in my class, read and discuss the blog with an adult.  Then, find a scrap piece of paper, and write 2 sentences from your discussion and have the adult sign the paper.

Turn it in tomorrow.