DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

SUBMITTED BY- NANDINI SRIVASTAVA

SUBMITTED TO- DR. ALKA SINGH

SEMESTER- 2nd SECTION- B

ENROLMENT ID- 200101092

 Acknowledgement
The project has been given shape and success by the effort of a lot of people. I express
my humble thanks to Mrs. Alka Singh (Assistant Professor, English), my subject teacher of
English under whose supervision and guidance the whole project has been made and without
whose guidance and insights this project could not have been fructified.

The role of the online library is also noteworthy. I want to thank my subject teacher again
for entertaining several doubts and resolving them with patience and care. I also want to thank
my seniors for guiding me.
INTRODUCTION

Indian freedom struggle mainly has three major phases, the first phase could be truly
categorized as the moderate phase which ranged for first 20 years of congress (1885-1905).
Having faith in the honesty and sincerity of the British government they linked the progress of
India with their prosperity was the main idea behind this phase1.

The second phase of congress could be marked with a rise of extremism or militant
nationalism within the National Congress extending from 1906 to 1919. This phase could be
defined as the extremist phase of the national struggle.

The third phase or the gandhian phase is also called the era of mass nationalism. It is
during the third phase only, that anti imperialist nationalism was at its peak not only in india, but
across all the colonies of Asia and Africa. The first world war, where Indians had contributed to
the finances as well as workforce also came as a huge wakeup call. This war also served as a
medium to erode the myth of cultural superiority of the british.

Some define Gandhi as a personality of contradictory beliefs, but while looking at the
events and his contribution to the indian freedom struggle, a consideration should be made to the
changing circumstances of that period when changes were taking place at the homeland and the
world at a very fast pace.

Gandhi’s experience in south Africa, and the type of resistance from colonial authorities
against the struggle he leveled up with the help of small number of Indians had already created a
heroic image in the minds of the general population as well as the leaders who were currently at
the top positions of Indian national congress.

Now the general question which arises is what was the reason that Gandhi supported
methods of passive resistance and non-violence even when he commanded such a large
population population at his beck and call. The research paper would focus on how gandhi’ s
contribution to the indian freedom struggle from the perspective of different fronts which were
present at the time of indian freedom struggle and after that.

1
https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/history-of-freedom-struggle-in-india/3188
Gandhi was just not the face of a freedom struggle, but a moral reformist. Gandhi had a vision of
religious pluralism for the country, which was home to multiple faiths and sporadic instances of
religious conflicts.

GANDHI’S EXPERIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Gandhi’s undisputed leadership for the nationalist movement came as a result of his
experience and endeavors he undertook in south Africa. The South African experience can also
be called a mini battleground where Gandhi tested his skills and new experiments were
conducted. It was in south Africa that Gandhi perfected the mode of Passive Resistance, which
he later called “satyagraha”, to defend the interests of the indian community in south Africa.2

It was in south Africa, Gandhi witnessed the ugliest face of white colonialism. The humiliation and
contempt faced by the Indians in south Africa, was the awakening call which lead to his future
involvement in the indian nationalist movement. While he was travelling by train to Pretoria,
Gandhi, despite carrying first class ticket, was thrown out of the train by the
authorities because a white man complained of an Indian sharing the space with
him.
Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 as a response to the systematic discrimination
faced by indians. This organisation led non-violent protests against the oppressive treatment of
the white people towards the native Africans and Indians.3

2
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mahatma-gandhi-150th-birth-anniversary-the-evolution-of-gandhis-
thought/article29567005.ece.
3
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/bapu-in-africa-344314-2016-10-01.
 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project work entitled “Book Review: A bride, a murder and a
trail of blood” submitted to the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow is
a record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Dr. Alka Singh, assistant
Professor, English, RMLNLU and this project work is submitted in the partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of B.A. LLB. (Honours). 

The results embodied in this thesis have not been submitted to any other University or
Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.