Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi addressing the Indian National Congress

Suffering from an attack of nostalgia, I went searching for old movies that meant a lot to me. And it came to mind that one of the most moving movies that I have seen was Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" with Ben Kingsley playing the role of Gandhi. The other was Robert Mulligan's 1962 movie, "To Kill A Mocking Bird" with Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, the white lawyer who dared to defend a black man in an era when racist sentiments against black people were prevalent. However, the movie file for Mocking Bird is too big to be included here. Instead I have posted the one on "Gandhi" which shows one of those defining moments in the movie.

Transcript

Gandhi: Since I returned from South Africa, I have traveled over much of India. And I know that I could travel for many more years and still only see a small part of her. And yet, I already know that what we say here means nothing to the masses of our country. Here, we make speeches for each other, and those English liberal magazines that may grant us a few lines.

But the people of India are untouched. Their politics are confined to bread and salt. Illiterate they may be, but they're not blind. They see no reason to give their loyalty to rich and powerful men who simply want to take over the role of the British in the name of "freedom."

This Congress tells the world it represents India. My brothers, India is 700,000 villages, not a few hundred lawyers in Delhi and Bombay.

Until we stand in the fields with the millions that toil each day under the hot sun, we will not represent India -- nor will we ever be able to challenge the British as one nation.