To Every Englishman in India - M.K. Gandhi

Tone is of sly civility - civil but if you read between the lines, THREAT!!

 I've noted "Tolstoy Farm, Emerson - self reliance, "Torn" - civil disobedience"

• cooperation in spite of circumstances because he thought it was for the greater good of India
• risked life during Boer war
• treachery of Mr Lloyd George and the fact that it was appreciated by the British
• exploitation of resources - basically saying "we know what you're up to"
• Punjab atrocities condoned
• sick burn: "But though my faith in your good intentions is gone,I recognise your bravery, and I know what you will not yield to justice and reason,you will gladly yield to bravery."-Englishmen do not respond well to reasoning-brawn over brains,which they lack.
• disregard of India's poverty
• disarmament and emasculation 
• degrading treatment
• "ensured our incapacity to fight in open and honourable battle"
• bravery of the soul still and option - strong spirit
• cooperation would only lead to greater enslavement  
• not responding to personality-voice of a nation groaning under your iron heels-common cause 
• remedy to suppress...national feeling--> remove causes (repent ,compel,grant swaraj)
• Repression will fail.
• "I invite you respectfully to choose the better way and make common cause with the people of India whose salt you're eating. To seek to thwart their aspirations is disloyalty to the country.

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SIGNIFICANCE

According to Mahatma Gandhi, the open letter excerpted in the primary source was written with the purpose of apprising the common Englishman about the unjust policies and initiatives of the British Empire in India. In his letter, Gandhi mentions that the only way for India to seek independence from British rule is through non-cooperation.

The widely reproduced letter attracted favorable responses from many Englishmen. One of the replies—reprinted in 2003 as part of an E-book titled Freedom's Battle, by Mahatma Gandhi stated, "May we say at once that in so far as the British Empire stands for the domination and exploitation of other races for Britain's benefit, for degrading treatment of any, for traffic in intoxicating liquors, for repressive legislation, for administration such as that which to the Amritsar incidents, we desire the end of it as much as you do? We quite understand that in the excitement of the present crisis, owing to certain acts of the British Administration, which we join with you in condemning …" Similarly, there were others who exhibited resonance and camaraderie with the Indian people on this issue.

Gandhi's letter marked the beginning of the non-cooperation movement. This movement attains great significance because it shattered the economic might of the British Empire in India. During the non-cooperation movement, the Indian society did not cooperate in any economic or social activity associated with the British Empire.

There was no movement of goods, telegraph lines did not work, and foreign produce such as clothes manufactured in English mills were boycotted. Many Indians gave up their titles and posts across national and local bodies. Eventually, many daily services that were dependent on Indians for smooth operation were disrupted.

Ensuing an episode of violence, the non-cooperation movement came to a premature end on February 12, 1922. A group of policemen assaulted a few nationalist demonstrators in the town of Chauri Chaura in the north east state of Uttar Pradesh. Enraged by such actions, the demonstrators killed more than twenty policemen. Disturbed by these acts of violence, Mahatma Gandhi suspended the non-cooperation movement.

Though the movement did not last long, it is considered by many to be instrumental in the Indian independence struggle. The non-cooperative movement laid the foundation for several other initiatives such as the Salt March of Dandi, and the Quit India movement. The British rule could not withstand an opponent that did not indulge in violence or break any laws. Eventually, India attained independence on August 15, 1947.

Other British colonies are also known to have followed Gandhi's philosophies. Besides, eminent personalities, such as Martin Luther King,—who successfully campaigned for Black rights in North America in the 1960s, and Nelson Mandela, who waged a relentless struggle against apartheid in South Africa, were deeply inspired by his principles of non-cooperation and non-violence.

Gandhian principles of non-cooperation and non-violence have seen resurgence with political developments in the twenty-first century, especially among human rights advocates.