Gandhi and it's Historical Accuracy
...his fellow Indians to cease their riots, he was arrested for sedition anyway. The film also depicts the Salt March to the Indian Ocean, and his subsequent arrest for violating the Salt Laws, found on page 972 of Civilizations. The film is also accurate in its depiction of the 1947 border fights between Pakistani Muslims and Indian Hindus. To counter the bloodshed, Gandhi fasted for 21 days, refusing to eat until rioting stopped. Mahatma was assassinated at the age of 78, outside his home. The inaccuracies of the film are not severe, and rarely detract from the historical value of the film. The most obvious of the movie’s historical inaccuracies is that there is no proof that Gandhi’s friend and confidant, the Christian priest Charles Andrew, ever existed. Rather, the character was used as a prop for the creator to help the viewers better understand Gandhi’s early beliefs, and further the story’s plot. Another obvious inaccuracy is the respect with which women are treated. While Gandhi did advocate the improvement of women’s rights, he and his wife converse as equals, laughing and joking as friends, atypical in the Hindu belief. For example, Mrs. Gandhi is free to talk back to Mahatma when she does not want to clean and rake the latrines, and later, the two joke about his “eleven thumbs” when it comes to weaving. Moreover, although probably made purposely inaccurate to make the film more enjoyable and easier to follow, Caucasians in South Africa do not speak Afrikaans, the common dialect among whites. While the Massacre of Amritsar, depicted just before the film’s intermission, was an unfortunate event that actually took place, according to an Illinois-based Muslim publication, the death totals were extremely exaggerated in the film. Because one of the major purposes of the movie was to show Gandhi as a revolutionary necessary for not only Indian but the independence of many other colonized nations, as well as his affects on future peaceful rebellions, Bapu is depicted as a martyr-like figure. Bias is first shown when Gandhi is sitting in the home of a friend, where he almost instantly vows to dedicate his life to the independence and equality of the suppressed, showing his extreme desire to change the world. Furthermore, during his first rally to change South African law, the police show extreme brutality, repeatedly hitting Gandhi as he lays on the ground, screaming racial epithets. This helps to accentuate Gandhi’s cause, exaggerating the actions of the intolerant South African government. General Smut is the personification of the South African military, as the creator depicts him as a mean-spirited racist who talks badly about Gandhi inside his palace paid for by the lower class...