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    Gandhi: Young Nation Builder
    Gandhi: Young Nation Builder
    Gandhi: Young Nation Builder
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    Gandhi: Young Nation Builder

    By Kathleen Kudlinski

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    About this ebook

    A childhood biography of the great political and social leader.

    Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) studied law in England, then spent 20 years defending the rights of immigrants in South Africa. In 1914 he returned to India and became the leader of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi urged non-violence and civil disobedience as a means to independence from Great Britain, with public acts of defiance that landed him in jail several times. In 1947 he participated in the postwar negotiations that led to Indian independence. He was shot to death by a Hindu fanatic in 1948.
         This childhood biography highlights the events that informed Gandhi's indomitable spirit.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAladdin
    Release dateMar 13, 2012
    ISBN9781442460843
    Gandhi: Young Nation Builder
    Author

    Kathleen Kudlinski

    Kathleen Kudlinski was born in Pennsylvania. When she grew up, she studied art and biology at the University of Maine. She became a science teacher, but when she stopped teaching, she tried writing. She is the author of books about Rosa Parks, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Dr. Seuss, and many more.

    Read more from Kathleen Kudlinski

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      Book preview

      Gandhi - Kathleen Kudlinski

      The man we remember simply as Gandhi was born Mohandas Gandhi in India in 1869. From an early age he was made keenly aware of the rigid Hindu caste system of his country and was heavily influenced by his mother’s ability to fast as a way to control her urges. Mohandas was married at the age of thirteen and continued his education, though he struggled as a student. He also struggled to find himself and to keep his moral center intact. At college in London, and then later at work in South Africa and India, Gandhi was appalled at the abject poverty he discovered and by the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights he encountered. He ultimately dedicated his life to the struggle for fundamental human rights for all Indians.

      Read all about the fascinating early years and eventual accomplishments of this inspiring leader.

      ALSO AVAILABLE IN THIS SERIES:

      Julius Caesar Christopher Columbus Anne Frank Diana, Princess of Wales Mother Teresa Leonardo da Vinci Pope John Paul II

      ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

      Simon & Schuster, New York

      Cover designed by Lisa Vega

      Cover illustration copyright © 2006

          by Todd Leonardo

      Ages 8–12

      kids.simonandschuster.com

      Dear Reader:

      The Childhood of World Figures books, a companion series to our acclaimed Childhood of Famous Americans series, chronicle the early years of famous men and women from around the world in an accessible manner. Each book is faithful in spirit to the values and experiences that influenced the persons development. History is fleshed out with fictionalized details, and conversations have been added to make the stories come alive for today’ds reader, but every reasonable effort has been made to make the stories consistent with the events, ethics, and character of their subjects.

      These books reaffirm the importance of world history and the contributions that have been made by people from across the globe. We hope you enjoy reading about the heroes and heroines who helped shape our world.

      Happy Reading!

      The Editors

      This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

      An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

      1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

      www.SimonandSchuster.com

      Text copyright © 2006 by Kathleen Kudlinski

      Cover illustrations copyright © 2006 by Todd Leonardo

      All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

      ALADDIN PAPERBACKS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

      CHILDHOOD OF WORLD FIGURES is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

      Designed by Lisa Vega

      First Aladdin Paperbacks edition October 2006

      Library of Congress Control Number 2006927850

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1283-5

      ISBN-10: 1-4169-1283-5

      eISBN-13:978-1-4424-6084-3

      CONTENTS

      Chapter 1: Sacred Cows, Sacred Snakes

      Chapter 2: Power

      Chapter 3: The Surprise

      Chapter 4: Playing Husband

      Chapter 5: Temptation

      Chapter 6: The Englishman

      Chapter 7: Prejudice

      Chapter 8: The Fight Begins

      Chapter 9: Taking the Fight Home

      Chapter 10: The Salt March

      Chapter 11: Quit India!

      Gandhi’s Famous Sayings

      Glossary of Indian Words

      Time Line of Gandhi’s Life

      For More Information

      CHAPTER 1

      SACRED COWS, SACRED SNAKES

      Ba, Mohandas Gandhi asked his mother, may I come to the market with you?

      Don’t you want to play with your big brothers instead? Putlibai Gandhi asked.

      Mohan pictured the neighborhood bullies. Big ears! they teased him in the streets. Midget! Baby! He shuddered. Mohan knew that his ears stood out. He knew he was small compared with other-six-year-olds. And he was the youngest child in the family. But his father was the dewan, the prime minister of Porbandar, India! That should count for something, Mohan thought. He stood taller.

      Very well. Putlibai pulled a length of her sari over her smoothly combed hair. Quiet as you are, you’ll be no trouble. The driver is waiting.

      Mohan and Ba stepped into the blinding sunshine in the courtyard. The barefoot driver bowed to Putlibai and then to Mohan and stepped between the rickshaw’s two long handles. The Gandhis squeezed in together on the rickshaw seat. Then they leaned back as the driver picked up his handles. As he pulled them through the high gate of the family compound, the noise and confusion of the town filled Mohan’s senses.

      He sat tall, breathing in the tropical scent blowing off the Arabian Sea nearby and the rich smells of spicy cooking and rotting garbage from the street. Men and women thronged the dusty road, their great shirts and flowing saris a shifting rainbow of color; their chatter a mix of Bengali and Hindi languages. Other rich people in rickshaws whisked past, weaving between the people. Soon the Gandhi family driver was sprinting too. Mohan twisted in his seat to stare as a rickshaw passed carrying an English man. He sat stiff in his strange jacket and top hat.

      Suddenly the rickshaw stopped. Mohan tumbled out of his seat onto the road. He stared up at the old cow that had tottered in front of them. She froze in place while traffic swerved around her. Sorry, so sorry! the driver was saying to the cow, and, Sorry, Mrs. Gandhi.

      Take your time, dear old one, Putlibai called to the cow. The Lord Vishnu is with you. The animal turned bleary eyes in Mrs. Gandhi’s direction.

      Mohan rubbed a scraped elbow. Ba, you care more about the cow than you do about me!

      Patina’s lips pressed together. I revere all living things. She pointed to the cow. You help her, she said, for dear Vishnu. Mohan looked at his mother for a moment, then at the cow. Her bony shoulder stood higher than his head, and flies swarmed around her eyes. Help her off the road. Mrs. Gandhi prompted.

      Mohan took a breath and waved the flies from the old cow’s face. Big as she was, the cow flinched. Easy, old girl, Mohan said. He did not know how to move a cow. He picked up a twig to swat her.

      "Think ahisma, Mohan, Ba scolded. The ancient Hindu teaching. Ahisma: Nonviolence in all things."

      A holy man wrapped in a yellow-gold cloak picked his way across the street and stood on the other side of the cow. Put your hands on her, he suggested. He rested one hand on the cow’s hip and another on her head. Feel what it is like to be this cow.

      Mohan tentatively patted the cow’s shoulder. It was hot and firm, the fur smooth. The cow’s sweet breath felt warm against his skin, and her eyelashes fluttered nervously. Come, cow, he said, rubbing her shoulder. She took a step, and the holy man smiled at Mohan across her back. Mohan touched the cow’s broad cheek to guide her toward the edge of the road.

      Finally the cow shuffled out of their way. As Mohan settled back into his seat, Ba patted his knee and smiled. The driver picked up the handles again and it seemed only moments before they had reached the market. Cloth and coriander spice, Mrs. Gandhi said, stepping out. Help me remember, Mohan, potatoes and chickpeas and perhaps a new bangle bracelet, too.

      He stared at stalls where they actually sold meat. Chickens clucked from small cages, dead ducks hung upside down, and the turbaned butcher hacked a bloody chunk off the skinned leg of a sheep. Come, Mohan, Ba scolded. That is not for us.

      Who can eat that? Mohan asked, his stomach churning.

      Muslims. They do not believe in the holiness of every animal, as we do. She turned to a woman who had bought meat. Good morning, Putlibai said to the Muslim woman. Mohan watched them chat together about the weather.

      Mohan imagined the woman putting a piece of animal in her mouth. She would chew it. Then she would swallow. He shuddered. Mohan! Putlibai’s sharp voice broke through his thoughts. Where are your manners?

      Mohan bowed and touched his head to the Muslim woman’s feet. I am honored to meet you, he said.

      And here is Mrs. Smythe, Putlibai said. Again, Mohan bowed his respect to an adult—but to an English woman whose feet were covered in shoes made from cow skin. He glanced at his mother to see if she knew about the leather shoes. She was smiling at him proudly. Mohan stood tall. He was proud that his mother had such varied and important friends.

      Will the rains be early again this year, do you think? Putlibai was saying as the trio of women moved down the dusty

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