FREEDOM
AND DEATH
The United Kingdom granted(承认)India freedom on August15, 1947. But Gandhi did not
take part in the Independence celebrations. The partition(分割)of India into two nations India and Pakistan grieved(使悲痛)Gandhi. The violent rioting
(骚乱)between Hindus and Muslims that
accompanied the partition saddened him. He had worked for a united country and urged
that Hindus and Muslims should live together in peace.
On January 13th, 1948, at the age of 78, Gandhi began his last fast. His purpose was to
end the bloodshed(流血) among Hindu, Muslim, and other groups. On January 18th, their leaders pledged(保证)to stop fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days later, in New
Delhi, while on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was assassinated. A Hindu
fanatic(狂热者), who opposed(反对)Gandhi's programme of tolerance(宽容)to all creeds(信条)and religions, shot him
three times. A shocked India and a world mourned(哀悼)Gandhi's death. Gandhi was loved and admired by millions throughout the world because he lived his ideals in an age of
cynicism. He insisted on honorable means instead of the principle of the end
justifying(合理的,正当的)the means, lived a simple life in a world of mounting(增长)
complexity(复杂性), and practised
nonviolence in a world of escalating(逐步升级) violence.
