This research examines the political strategies of Mohandas K. Gandhi in the project of gaining India's independence, as well as the role that religion played in shaping Gandhi's approach to the British Empire. The research will set forth the historical and political context in which Gandhi's independence movement emerged, and then discuss ways in which he made use of attributes unique to Indian culture to persuade the Indians to pursue independence while also exploiting his familiarity with Christianity and Euro-Christian culture to manage both the tactics of the independence campaign and the structure of negotiations with the British.
Gandhi, who received the honorific title Mahatma ("great soul") during his lifetime, was assassinated at the age of 80 in 1948, following the achievement of India's absolute independence from British rule. A Hindu religious extremist conspiracy supporting the shooter, one Nathuram Godse, later executed for the murder, was behind the assassination. The persistence of feeling against Gandhi was expressed in 2000 by 80-year-old Gopal Godse, who served prison time for his own part in the conspiracy and who remained unapologetic about it: "Gandhi was a hypocrite. Even after the massacre of the Hindus by the Muslims, he was happy. The more the massacres of the Hindus, the taller he raised his flag of secularism" ("Gandhi's principle," 2000, p. 17; emphasis added). As of 2002, the religious basis of murderous violence persists within India and between India (mainly Hindu) and Pakistan (mainly Muslim).
Gandhi was a Hindu, and Lannoy, for one, argues that "Hindu culture patterns have influenced virtually every minority group, including the Christians, Muslims, and Parsis" (1974, p. xviii). Further, among Gandhi's relatively limited writing are commentaries on Hinduism. But Gandhi specifically rejected the project of creating a Hindu state out of Indian independence, commenting that "all religions are more ...