Evening star., 1942-09-13

It is far cry from Bombay, India, to
the quiet little Massachusetts town of
Concord Yet Ripley of believe it or
not" notoriety might find it interesting
to record that the civil disobedience
campaign now centering in the teeming
Indian city stems, in part, from the ideas
of pencilmaker's son who grew up in
the peaceful surroundings of that old
New England town a century ago.
For Concord was the birthplace Of
Henry David Thoreau, the eccentric
naturalist philosopher, who left to pos
terity not only his charming tales of
woodland life but also a lesser known
treatise entitled Civil Disobedience."
Years later a young Indian nationalist
named M K. Gandhi chanced to read
it and made Thoreaus ideas the basis
of his own doctrine of ahimsa, or nom
violence-the major weapon with which,
for the last two decades, he has led
India's battle for independence.
Today one of the worlds great popular
leaders, Gandhi is perhaps the most
colorful, amazing and enigmatic per-
sonality of modern times. Over two
hundred million Hindus revere him as
saint, yet he is also an astute politician.
He Is mystic given to silent commun-
ion with the Ultimate but he can also
be hard-boiled realiSt. He breaches
of showmanship than the Ringing
Brothers. He is physical weakling but
has made life career of boarding the
British lion.
Over the three-ood million members
OF the Congress party and the many
more millions of Hindus who support
it but cannot afford to pay its men,
bership dues, Gandhi wields the power
of dictator. But he is dictator with
out Gestapo or an OGPU. When his
followers disobey him, he disciplines
them by Furnishing himself Nor does he
shout command and defiance like a
Hitler or Mussolini. Instead he quietly
counsels his followers to obey their con-
sciences rather than him, but no rival
has ever successfully challenged his
leadership of the Congress party.
Was Married at l3.
Though his countrymen now hail hin
as the greatest Indian since Buddha
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi sprane
from quite unextraordinary beginnings.
He was born 70 years ago in Porbander,
one of the smaller Indian states, where
his father was fairly well-to-do ano
respected official At 13 he did the usua
thing by marrying. His bride was ar
uneducated girl of 10 who two years
later gave birth to her first child, which
did not live.
After graduating from the University
of Ahmedabad young Gandhi at 10 went
to England and studied law at the
University of London. He was far from
sanity in those days. Emulating the
English gentleman, he took lessons in
music, dancing and elocution. The
result, as he himself confessed, was a
"ludicrous failure"
Returning home, he practiced law in
Bombay for short while and then, in
1893 went to South Africa on business.
While there he was deeply moved by the
maltreatment of Hindu immigrants and,
instead of going back when his business
was finished he stayed on to champion
the cause of his unhappy compatriots
In both the Boer and Zulu Wars he was
decorated by the British for 'front.' line
service with the Volunteer Indian Medi-
cal Corps which he helped to organize
Soon after the outbreak of World
| War I, Gandhi returned to Bombay to
resume his law practice, but in 1915 he
again went to London, this time to Or
| ganize an Indian volunteer ambulance
corps for service in France. He was
| still far from anti British, and London
| was promising India dominion status
| after the war Disillusionment and con-
| version, however, were not long in
| coming.
Launches First Campaign.
Versailles came and went without full
| fillment of Britain's promise, and the
| consequent political ferment in India
| led the London Parliament, in March,
| 1919, to confer on the British authorities
| there discretionary power to invoke mar
! tial law in order to suppress disturbances
| Gandhi was embittered and resentful
! He launched his first campaign of non-