PENGUIN READERS

Teacher’s notes LEVEL 2 Teacher Support Programme

Gandhi
Jane Rollason Chapter 4: When England makes harsher rules for
India, Gandhi calls for a “no-work” day. People agree and
everything stops: shops, trains, schools. However, there is
some violence in the Punjab region after the murder of a
British soldier, over 300 people are shot in a square. His
next non-violent protest of not wearing British clothes
stops because of new violence. Gandhi is sent to prison
for two years.
Chapter 5: Over the next few years Gandhi travels all over
the country and speaks to thousands of people. He wants
Indian Muslims and Hindus to unite against British rule.
After some periods of imprisonment and fasting, Gandhi’s
nonviolent protests begin to move the country forward to
Summary independence.
Mahatma Gandhi is one of the most important and Chapter 6: At last, the Muslim leader, Jinnah, and the
popular leaders in the history of the modern world. He Hindu leader, Nehru, agree to talk and work together.
fought for equality in South Africa and India. But he It is only the British who are still unwilling to talk. Salt
lived a quiet, simple life, and was totally opposed to is taxed by the British government in India. But Gandhi
violence. His work led to independence for India, and his organizes a march to the ocean to take salt without paying.
nonviolent methods have been used by many great leaders Thousands of Indians follow his example. Britain at last
since. understands the scale and importance of Indian resistance
Chapter 1: In 1869, Gandhi is born into a Hindu family to British rule and agrees to talk. Gandhi goes to London
in Porbandar. They are not poor so he goes to school and to talk to the country’s leaders, but independence is not
has an ordinary childhood and makes the usual mistakes won
children make. India is part of the British Empire. They Chapter 7: Gandhi is also fighting for equal rights for
establish the East India Company, which grows powerful the “Untouchables” at this time and for several years
and takes control of India for the British. There are afterwards. It is not until World War II (1939–1945) that
occasional fights and a major rebellion in 1857, which the question of Indian independence re-emerges. After the
leads to the first British ruler on Indian land. war, the British work with Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah,
Chapter 2: Gandhi marries Kasturbai, a Hindu girl and in 1947 India wins its independence. But Gandhi has
chosen by his parents, as is the custom. Both are thirteen. not won his fight because his country is now split in two:
Soon Gandhi leaves for London to study law. He tries Muslim Pakistan in the east and west, and Hindu India
to adopt English ways but later decides against it. He in the middle. Violence between the two groups becomes
returns to India as a lawyer and is offered a job in South worse and worse.
Africa. His wife and child join him there but they are Chapter 8: Gandhi’s message of peace and understanding
discriminated by the white rulers. Gandhi begins his between the two religions becomes less and less popular.
non-violent protests and is sent to prison twice but finally This feeling leads to Gandhi’s assassination in 1948 by
some unjust laws are changed. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu.
Chapter 3: Gandhi and his family move back to India in
Background and themes
1915. He travels around India. He visits famous writer
Tagore at his school. He gives him the title “Mahatma”. Historical background
He tells the leaders to help the people in India. He starts Gandhi’s life cannot be separated from its historical
an ashram to make life fair for the lowest classes in India’s background. Although he was a quiet man, he was always
clearly marked social system. at the center of politics and was a catalyst for social and
political change during his lifetime. The most significant

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Gandhi
historical feature of his life in South Africa, England man that took on the British Empire and won. Gandhi
and India was the power and supremacy of the British serves both as entertainment and an important historical
Empire. India was the most important country in the record. Ben Kingsley played Gandhi. He was perfect for
British Empire, but British colonies also stretched across the role. He resembled the real Gandhi. He was young
Asia, Australasia, Africa, the Caribbean and Canada. By enough to portray Gandhi as a young man. He is a British
1905 more than 345 million people across the world were actor that adopted perfectly the British influenced Indian
ruled by Britain. It was the British Navy, the strongest accent. He became Gandhi.
in the world, which gave Britain this position of power.
But it was industry and commerce that held the Empire Discussion activities
together. Britain used its colonies to get cheap labor, cheap
Before reading
resources, and as a market for British goods. Although the 1 Write and discuss: Read the blurb on the back of
British claimed that they were exporting positive values the book. These five simple sentences summarize the
(including Christianity) the truth was more dreadful: They life of one of the world’s most famous leaders. Ask
killed thousands of innocent indigenous people around students to choose a famous person and write a book
blurb for that person but not to mention the person’s
the world in order to gain power in these lands. This
name in their book blurb. Then students can take it
history helps us to understand why India’s people were in turns to read their blurbs to the class, and the class
eager to support Gandhi in his fight for independence. must guess who the famous person is.
As well as discrimination against indigenous people 2 Discuss: Write GANDHI on the board. Ask the
by the British, Gandhi’s story also reflects racial hatred students: What do you know about this person?
between other groups. In South Africa there were tensions Chapters 1–2
between “coloreds” and black South Africans. And in While reading
India it was the mistrust between Hindus and Muslims, 3 Discuss: (p. 2) As a class discussion, talk about
which became the most difficult problem during the fight Gandhi’s years in London. He lived there for three
years (from 1887) but he had some problems there.
for independence. Gandhi was opposed to inequality of
Encourage students to imagine problems that do not
all sorts. He fought for equality of all men and women appear in the book, as well as the ones that do.
regardless of color, nationality, class, religion, or sex. 4 Write: (p. 3) Ask students to write a page from
Gandhi’s diary in 1887. The diary entry should
Gandhi’s philosophy: Gandhi’s philosophy of “nonviolent
include a couple of Gandhi’s plans for his future in
protest” runs throughout the book. He never stopped England as well as his present difficulties.
promoting nonviolent means to change history and
policy. His ideas were formulated by reading texts of all After reading
5 Pair work: Ask students to talk about what they
religions and such philosophical writers as Plato, Tolstoy know about Gandhi: What did Gandhi like and hate
and Ruskin. In turn, great leaders of the twentieth century when he was a young boy? How many times did Gandhi
have been influenced by Gandhi’s life and his books. The go to prison in South Africa? Why did he have to go?
most famous examples are Martin Luther King, Nelson
Chapters 3–4
Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Gandhi’s story is one of the
Before reading
most important of the twentieth century. His inspirational 6 Discuss: Ask students to read the title on page 7.
story will be talked about and written about for many Ask them what it means. Gandhi knows where India is,
years to come. so why does it say “find ?”
Gandhi: The film: It opened in 1982 and is Richard While reading (after Chapter 3)
Attenborough’s tribute to Gandhi. It won eight Academy 7 Check: Get the students to close the book and ask:
Awards, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best What five things did Gandhi want for India? How
many can you remember? Ask them to open their
Picture. It was filmed in India and the Indian music was books and check.
by the great Ravi Shankar.
After reading
Mahatma Gandhi’s message of nonviolent resistance is 8 Pair work: Ask students to think about Gandhi’s style
delivered in an interesting body of art. This film has made as a leader. Why was he different? In groups, students
and will make millions of people aware of the little brown write a list of ways in which Gandhi was different
from other world leaders. Then ask them to compare
lists and have a class discussion.
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 PENGUIN READERS
Teacher’s notes LEVEL 2 Teacher Support Programme

Gandhi
Chapters 5–6 16 Debate: The British are for charging for the salt the
Before reading Hindus use and the Hindus are against this law. Ask
9 Discuss: Get students to discuss the following: students to get into two groups, one representing the
The British in India and in London were unhappy and British viewpoint and the other the Hindu. Have
thought Gandhi would use violence in his protests in the them debate the topic.
future. Do you think he will use violence? If so, what Chapters 7–8
kind of violence? If not, what kind of protest do you
think he will use? While reading (After the first section on p. 18)
17 Role play: Put students in pairs to act out the
While reading (After the first section on p. 12) conversation between Gandhi and Nehru.
10 Pair work: Give students five minutes to write the Student A: You are Gandhi. You want to fast for the
differences between living in the country and living in rights of the Untouchables. Explain what right you
India’s cities. Check the differences by having each of want them to have
the pairs read them out. Write the differences on the Student B: You are Nehru. You don’t think fasting
board. will help. Try to convince Gandhi he must fight
11 Write: (p. 13) In 1926, Gandhi writes to a friend of for the independence and not for the rights of the
his. He tells his friend why he stays on the Sabarmati Untouchables.
ashram. 18 Write and ask: (p. 18) Write Why did Gandhi leave
12 Discuss: (p. 14) Ask students to answer these the fight for independence for a time? on the board.
questions in groups of three or four. Elicit answers (Because he wanted to fight for other
(a) What did Gandhi do at the ashram every day? things, etc.). Ask students to write another question.
(5 things) (b) What did he never do at the ashram? Have students walk around, asking and answering
(3 things) Check the answers by having each of the each others’ questions.
groups provide one thing Gandhi always did and one 19 Discuss: (p. 20) India became an independent
he never did. country, but Gandhi lost the “most important fight”
13 Discuss: Look at the picture and newspaper article on of his life. Get the students to explain why.
page 17. Do you think it is in an English newspaper or
an Indian newspaper? Why? After reading
20 Write: Put students in pairs to write a list of all the
After reading things Gandhi did for which people loved him and
14 Write and guess: Write I cannot get away from people for which people hated him. Check the answers with
when I am taking my bath! on the board. Ask students the whole class and have a vote about whether he is
to guess who says or thinks this and why. Now, have mostly good or bad.
students choose a person from Chapters 5–6 and
write a sentence to say what they are thinking at a Extra activities
particular moment. Students read out the sentences 21 Discuss: Get students to discuss the following in
and the others guess who it is. pairs: Who followed Gandhi’s ideas after his death?
15 Role play: Put students into groups of four. In each Do you know people other than the ones in the book?
group, each person takes one of these roles: Gandhi, Vocabulary activities
Nehru, Jinnah, or a television presenter. Give time For the Word List and vocabulary activities, go to
to each group to prepare a television news program www.penguinreaders.com.
using these characters. The television presenter asks
questions about Indian independence to each of the
others, and they must respond. Finally, each group
presents their program to the rest of the class.

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