a short biography of mahatma gandhi

October 17, 2024

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Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 to a Hindu Modh Baniya family in Porbandar (also known as Sudamapuri ), a coastal town on the Kathiawar Peninsula and then part of the small princely state of Porbandar in the Kathiawar Agency of the Indian Empire. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India. One of Gandhi’s major strategies, first in South Africa and then in India, was uniting Muslims and Hindus to work together in opposition to British imperialism. In 1919–22 he won strong Muslim support for his leadership in the Khilafat Movement to support the historic Ottoman Caliphate. By 1924, that Muslim support had largely evaporated.

Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. Gandhi was also the runner-up to Albert Einstein as “Person of the Century” at the end of 1999. The Government of India awarded the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to distinguished social workers, world leaders and citizens. Nelson Mandela, the leader of South Africa’s struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and segregation, was a prominent non-Indian recipient. In 2011, Time magazine named Gandhi as one of the top 25 political icons of all time. Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, although he was nominated five times between 1937 and 1948, including the first-ever nomination by the American Friends Service Committee, though he made the short list only twice, in 1937 and 1947.

Indians widely describe Gandhi as the father of the nation. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared Gandhi’s birthday 2 October as “the International Day of Nonviolence.

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Mahatma Gandhi

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2019 | Original: July 30, 2010

Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the great-souled one.” He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices. After Partition in 1947, he continued to work toward peace between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar; his deeply religious mother was a devoted practitioner of Vaishnavism (worship of the Hindu god Vishnu), influenced by Jainism, an ascetic religion governed by tenets of self-discipline and nonviolence. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Upon returning to India in mid-1891, he set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm that sent him to its office in South Africa. Along with his wife, Kasturbai, and their children, Gandhi remained in South Africa for nearly 20 years.

Did you know? In the famous Salt March of April-May 1930, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself.

Gandhi was appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian immigrant in South Africa. When a European magistrate in Durban asked him to take off his turban, he refused and left the courtroom. On a train voyage to Pretoria, he was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment and beaten up by a white stagecoach driver after refusing to give up his seat for a European passenger. That train journey served as a turning point for Gandhi, and he soon began developing and teaching the concept of satyagraha (“truth and firmness”), or passive resistance, as a way of non-cooperation with authorities.

The Birth of Passive Resistance

In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed an ordinance regarding the registration of its Indian population, Gandhi led a campaign of civil disobedience that would last for the next eight years. During its final phase in 1913, hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including women, went to jail, and thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. Finally, under pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts, which included important concessions such as the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of the existing poll tax for Indians.

In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa to return to India. He supported the British war effort in World War I but remained critical of colonial authorities for measures he felt were unjust. In 1919, Gandhi launched an organized campaign of passive resistance in response to Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Acts, which gave colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress subversive activities. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by British-led soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence.

6 Things You Might Not Know About Gandhi

The iconic Indian activist, known for his principle of nonviolent resistance, had humble beginnings and left an outsized legacy.

When Gandhi’s Salt March Rattled British Colonial Rule

In March 1930, Mahatma Gandhi and his followers set off on a brisk 241‑mile march to the Arabian Sea town of Dandi to lay Indian claim to the nation's own salt.

Assassination of Gandhi

Passive Resistance For some 50 years, Gandhi, born on October 2, 1869, and called “Mahatma” (“great‑souled” in Sanskrit), fought for India’s independence from Britain, practicing civil disobedience and peaceful protests that included fasting, boycotts and marches. He was an adherent of satyagraha (“truth‑force”), a passive political resistance he defined as “a weapon of the strongest […]

Leader of a Movement

As part of his nonviolent non-cooperation campaign for home rule, Gandhi stressed the importance of economic independence for India. He particularly advocated the manufacture of khaddar, or homespun cloth, in order to replace imported textiles from Britain. Gandhi’s eloquence and embrace of an ascetic lifestyle based on prayer, fasting and meditation earned him the reverence of his followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the great-souled one”). Invested with all the authority of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Gandhi turned the independence movement into a massive organization, leading boycotts of British manufacturers and institutions representing British influence in India, including legislatures and schools.

After sporadic violence broke out, Gandhi announced the end of the resistance movement, to the dismay of his followers. British authorities arrested Gandhi in March 1922 and tried him for sedition; he was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in 1924 after undergoing an operation for appendicitis. He refrained from active participation in politics for the next several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government’s tax on salt, which greatly affected Indian’s poorest citizens.

A Divided Movement

In 1931, after British authorities made some concessions, Gandhi again called off the resistance movement and agreed to represent the Congress Party at the Round Table Conference in London. Meanwhile, some of his party colleagues–particularly Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a leading voice for India’s Muslim minority–grew frustrated with Gandhi’s methods, and what they saw as a lack of concrete gains. Arrested upon his return by a newly aggressive colonial government, Gandhi began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment of India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God.” The fasting caused an uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindu community and the government.

In 1934, Gandhi announced his retirement from politics in, as well as his resignation from the Congress Party, in order to concentrate his efforts on working within rural communities. Drawn back into the political fray by the outbreak of World War II , Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in return for Indian cooperation with the war effort. Instead, British forces imprisoned the entire Congress leadership, bringing Anglo-Indian relations to a new low point.

Partition and Death of Gandhi

After the Labor Party took power in Britain in 1947, negotiations over Indian home rule began between the British, the Congress Party and the Muslim League (now led by Jinnah). Later that year, Britain granted India its independence but split the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid the massive riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together, and undertook a hunger strike until riots in Calcutta ceased.

In January 1948, Gandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi. On January 30, 12 days after that fast ended, Gandhi was on his way to an evening prayer meeting in Delhi when he was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic enraged by Mahatma’s efforts to negotiate with Jinnah and other Muslims. The next day, roughly 1 million people followed the procession as Gandhi’s body was carried in state through the streets of the city and cremated on the banks of the holy Jumna River.

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Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world. He was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse.

(1869-1948)

Who Was Mahatma Gandhi?

Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. Born in Porbandar, India, Gandhi studied law and organized boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil disobedience. He was killed by a fanatic in 1948.

Early Life and Education

Indian nationalist leader Gandhi (born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India, which was then part of the British Empire.

Gandhi’s father, Karamchand Gandhi, served as a chief minister in Porbandar and other states in western India. His mother, Putlibai, was a deeply religious woman who fasted regularly.

Young Gandhi was a shy, unremarkable student who was so timid that he slept with the lights on even as a teenager. In the ensuing years, the teenager rebelled by smoking, eating meat and stealing change from household servants.

Although Gandhi was interested in becoming a doctor, his father hoped he would also become a government minister and steered him to enter the legal profession. In 1888, 18-year-old Gandhi sailed for London, England, to study law. The young Indian struggled with the transition to Western culture.

Upon returning to India in 1891, Gandhi learned that his mother had died just weeks earlier. He struggled to gain his footing as a lawyer. In his first courtroom case, a nervous Gandhi blanked when the time came to cross-examine a witness. He immediately fled the courtroom after reimbursing his client for his legal fees.

Gandhi’s Religion and Beliefs

Gandhi grew up worshiping the Hindu god Vishnu and following Jainism, a morally rigorous ancient Indian religion that espoused non-violence, fasting, meditation and vegetarianism.

During Gandhi’s first stay in London, from 1888 to 1891, he became more committed to a meatless diet, joining the executive committee of the London Vegetarian Society, and started to read a variety of sacred texts to learn more about world religions.

Living in South Africa, Gandhi continued to study world religions. “The religious spirit within me became a living force,” he wrote of his time there. He immersed himself in sacred Hindu spiritual texts and adopted a life of simplicity, austerity, fasting and celibacy that was free of material goods.

Gandhi in South Africa

After struggling to find work as a lawyer in India, Gandhi obtained a one-year contract to perform legal services in South Africa. In April 1893, he sailed for Durban in the South African state of Natal.

When Gandhi arrived in South Africa, he was quickly appalled by the discrimination and racial segregation faced by Indian immigrants at the hands of white British and Boer authorities. Upon his first appearance in a Durban courtroom, Gandhi was asked to remove his turban. He refused and left the court instead. The Natal Advertiser mocked him in print as “an unwelcome visitor.”

Nonviolent Civil Disobedience

A seminal moment occurred on June 7, 1893, during a train trip to Pretoria, South Africa, when a white man objected to Gandhi’s presence in the first-class railway compartment, although he had a ticket. Refusing to move to the back of the train, Gandhi was forcibly removed and thrown off the train at a station in Pietermaritzburg.

Gandhi’s act of civil disobedience awoke in him a determination to devote himself to fighting the “deep disease of color prejudice.” He vowed that night to “try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process.”

From that night forward, the small, unassuming man would grow into a giant force for civil rights. Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 to fight discrimination.

Gandhi prepared to return to India at the end of his year-long contract until he learned, at his farewell party, of a bill before the Natal Legislative Assembly that would deprive Indians of the right to vote. Fellow immigrants convinced Gandhi to stay and lead the fight against the legislation. Although Gandhi could not prevent the law’s passage, he drew international attention to the injustice.

After a brief trip to India in late 1896 and early 1897, Gandhi returned to South Africa with his wife and children. Gandhi ran a thriving legal practice, and at the outbreak of the Boer War, he raised an all-Indian ambulance corps of 1,100 volunteers to support the British cause, arguing that if Indians expected to have full rights of citizenship in the British Empire, they also needed to shoulder their responsibilities.

In 1906, Gandhi organized his first mass civil-disobedience campaign, which he called “Satyagraha” (“truth and firmness”), in reaction to the South African Transvaal government’s new restrictions on the rights of Indians, including the refusal to recognize Hindu marriages.

After years of protests, the government imprisoned hundreds of Indians in 1913, including Gandhi. Under pressure, the South African government accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts that included recognition of Hindu marriages and the abolition of a poll tax for Indians.

Return to India

When Gandhi sailed from South Africa in 1914 to return home, Smuts wrote, “The saint has left our shores, I sincerely hope forever.” At the outbreak of World War I , Gandhi spent several months in London.

In 1915 Gandhi founded an ashram in Ahmedabad, India, that was open to all castes. Wearing a simple loincloth and shawl, Gandhi lived an austere life devoted to prayer, fasting and meditation. He became known as “Mahatma,” which means “great soul.”

Opposition to British Rule in India

In 1919, with India still under the firm control of the British, Gandhi had a political reawakening when the newly enacted Rowlatt Act authorized British authorities to imprison people suspected of sedition without trial. In response, Gandhi called for a Satyagraha campaign of peaceful protests and strikes.

Violence broke out instead, which culminated on April 13, 1919, in the Massacre of Amritsar. Troops led by British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators and killed nearly 400 people.

No longer able to pledge allegiance to the British government, Gandhi returned the medals he earned for his military service in South Africa and opposed Britain’s mandatory military draft of Indians to serve in World War I.

Gandhi became a leading figure in the Indian home-rule movement. Calling for mass boycotts, he urged government officials to stop working for the Crown, students to stop attending government schools, soldiers to leave their posts and citizens to stop paying taxes and purchasing British goods.

Rather than buy British-manufactured clothes, he began to use a portable spinning wheel to produce his own cloth. The spinning wheel soon became a symbol of Indian independence and self-reliance.

Gandhi assumed the leadership of the Indian National Congress and advocated a policy of non-violence and non-cooperation to achieve home rule.

After British authorities arrested Gandhi in 1922, he pleaded guilty to three counts of sedition. Although sentenced to a six-year imprisonment, Gandhi was released in February 1924 after appendicitis surgery.

He discovered upon his release that relations between India’s Hindus and Muslims devolved during his time in jail. When violence between the two religious groups flared again, Gandhi began a three-week fast in the autumn of 1924 to urge unity. He remained away from active politics during much of the latter 1920s.

Gandhi and the Salt March

Gandhi returned to active politics in 1930 to protest Britain’s Salt Acts, which not only prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt—a dietary staple—but imposed a heavy tax that hit the country’s poorest particularly hard. Gandhi planned a new Satyagraha campaign, The Salt March , that entailed a 390-kilometer/240-mile march to the Arabian Sea, where he would collect salt in symbolic defiance of the government monopoly.

“My ambition is no less than to convert the British people through non-violence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India,” he wrote days before the march to the British viceroy, Lord Irwin.

Wearing a homespun white shawl and sandals and carrying a walking stick, Gandhi set out from his religious retreat in Sabarmati on March 12, 1930, with a few dozen followers. By the time he arrived 24 days later in the coastal town of Dandi, the ranks of the marchers swelled, and Gandhi broke the law by making salt from evaporated seawater.

The Salt March sparked similar protests, and mass civil disobedience swept across India. Approximately 60,000 Indians were jailed for breaking the Salt Acts, including Gandhi, who was imprisoned in May 1930.

Still, the protests against the Salt Acts elevated Gandhi into a transcendent figure around the world. He was named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” for 1930.

Gandhi was released from prison in January 1931, and two months later he made an agreement with Lord Irwin to end the Salt Satyagraha in exchange for concessions that included the release of thousands of political prisoners. The agreement, however, largely kept the Salt Acts intact. But it did give those who lived on the coasts the right to harvest salt from the sea.

Hoping that the agreement would be a stepping-stone to home rule, Gandhi attended the London Round Table Conference on Indian constitutional reform in August 1931 as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. The conference, however, proved fruitless.

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Protesting "Untouchables" Segregation

Gandhi returned to India to find himself imprisoned once again in January 1932 during a crackdown by India’s new viceroy, Lord Willingdon. He embarked on a six-day fast to protest the British decision to segregate the “untouchables,” those on the lowest rung of India’s caste system, by allotting them separate electorates. The public outcry forced the British to amend the proposal.

After his eventual release, Gandhi left the Indian National Congress in 1934, and leadership passed to his protégé Jawaharlal Nehru . He again stepped away from politics to focus on education, poverty and the problems afflicting India’s rural areas.

India’s Independence from Great Britain

As Great Britain found itself engulfed in World War II in 1942, Gandhi launched the “Quit India” movement that called for the immediate British withdrawal from the country. In August 1942, the British arrested Gandhi, his wife and other leaders of the Indian National Congress and detained them in the Aga Khan Palace in present-day Pune.

“I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside at the liquidation of the British Empire,” Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament in support of the crackdown.

With his health failing, Gandhi was released after a 19-month detainment in 1944.

After the Labour Party defeated Churchill’s Conservatives in the British general election of 1945, it began negotiations for Indian independence with the Indian National Congress and Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League. Gandhi played an active role in the negotiations, but he could not prevail in his hope for a unified India. Instead, the final plan called for the partition of the subcontinent along religious lines into two independent states—predominantly Hindu India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

Violence between Hindus and Muslims flared even before independence took effect on August 15, 1947. Afterwards, the killings multiplied. Gandhi toured riot-torn areas in an appeal for peace and fasted in an attempt to end the bloodshed. Some Hindus, however, increasingly viewed Gandhi as a traitor for expressing sympathy toward Muslims.

Gandhi’s Wife and Kids

At the age of 13, Gandhi wed Kasturba Makanji, a merchant’s daughter, in an arranged marriage. She died in Gandhi’s arms in February 1944 at the age of 74.

In 1885, Gandhi endured the passing of his father and shortly after that the death of his young baby.

In 1888, Gandhi’s wife gave birth to the first of four surviving sons. A second son was born in India 1893. Kasturba gave birth to two more sons while living in South Africa, one in 1897 and one in 1900.

Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

On January 30, 1948, 78-year-old Gandhi was shot and killed by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse, who was upset at Gandhi’s tolerance of Muslims.

Weakened from repeated hunger strikes, Gandhi clung to his two grandnieces as they led him from his living quarters in New Delhi’s Birla House to a late-afternoon prayer meeting. Godse knelt before the Mahatma before pulling out a semiautomatic pistol and shooting him three times at point-blank range. The violent act took the life of a pacifist who spent his life preaching nonviolence.

Godse and a co-conspirator were executed by hanging in November 1949. Additional conspirators were sentenced to life in prison.

Even after Gandhi’s assassination, his commitment to nonviolence and his belief in simple living — making his own clothes, eating a vegetarian diet and using fasts for self-purification as well as a means of protest — have been a beacon of hope for oppressed and marginalized people throughout the world.

Satyagraha remains one of the most potent philosophies in freedom struggles throughout the world today. Gandhi’s actions inspired future human rights movements around the globe, including those of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States and Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

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QUICK FACTS

• Name: Mahatma Gandhi
• Birth Year: 1869
• Birth date: October 2, 1869
• Birth City: Porbandar, Kathiawar
• Birth Country: India
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world. Until Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, his life and teachings inspired activists including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
• Civil Rights
• Astrological Sign: Libra
• University College London
• Samaldas College at Bhavnagar, Gujarat
• Nacionalities
• Interesting Facts
• As a young man, Mahatma Gandhi was a poor student and was terrified of public speaking.
• Gandhi formed the Natal Indian Congress in 1894 to fight discrimination.
• Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse, who was upset at Gandhi’s tolerance of Muslims.
• Gandhi's non-violent civil disobedience inspired future world leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
• Death Year: 1948
• Death date: January 30, 1948
• Death City: New Delhi
• Death Country: India

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Mahatma Gandhi Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/mahatma-gandhi
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: September 4, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
• Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.
• Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal? In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.
• The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
• To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman.
• Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time.
• A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
• There are many things to do. Let each one of us choose our task and stick to it through thick and thin. Let us not think of the vastness. But let us pick up that portion which we can handle best.
• An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.
• For one man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.
• If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children.

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Biography Online

Mahatma Gandhi Biography

Mahatma Gandhi was a prominent Indian political leader who was a leading figure in the campaign for Indian independence. He employed non-violent principles and peaceful disobedience as a means to achieve his goal. He was assassinated in 1948, shortly after achieving his life goal of Indian independence. In India, he is known as ‘Father of the Nation’.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it–always.”

Short Biography of Mahatma Gandhi

Around this time, he also studied the Bible and was struck by the teachings of Jesus Christ  – especially the emphasis on humility and forgiveness. He remained committed to the Bible and Bhagavad Gita throughout his life, though he was critical of aspects of both religions.

Gandhi in South Africa

On completing his degree in Law, Gandhi returned to India, where he was soon sent to South Africa to practise law. In South Africa, Gandhi was struck by the level of racial discrimination and injustice often experienced by Indians. In 1893, he was thrown off a train at the railway station in Pietermaritzburg after a white man complained about Gandhi travelling in first class. This experience was a pivotal moment for Gandhi and he began to represent other Indias who experienced discrimination. As a lawyer he was in high demand and soon he became the unofficial leader for Indians in South Africa. It was in South Africa that Gandhi first experimented with campaigns of civil disobedience and protest; he called his non-violent protests satyagraha . Despite being imprisoned for short periods of time, he also supported the British under certain conditions. During the Boer war, he served as a medic and stretcher-bearer. He felt that by doing his patriotic duty it would make the government more amenable to demands for fair treatment. Gandhi was at the Battle of Spion serving as a medic. An interesting historical anecdote, is that at this battle was also Winston Churchill and Louis Botha (future head of South Africa) He was decorated by the British for his efforts during the Boer War and Zulu rebellion.

Gandhi and Indian Independence

After 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He became the leader of the Indian nationalist movement campaigning for home rule or Swaraj .

Gandhi also encouraged his followers to practise inner discipline to get ready for independence. Gandhi said the Indians had to prove they were deserving of independence. This is in contrast to independence leaders such as Aurobindo Ghose , who argued that Indian independence was not about whether India would offer better or worse government, but that it was the right for India to have self-government.

Gandhi also clashed with others in the Indian independence movement such as Subhas Chandra Bose who advocated direct action to overthrow the British.

Gandhi frequently called off strikes and non-violent protest if he heard people were rioting or violence was involved.

In 1930, Gandhi led a famous march to the sea in protest at the new Salt Acts. In the sea, they made their own salt, in violation of British regulations. Many hundreds were arrested and Indian jails were full of Indian independence followers.

“With this I’m shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”

– Gandhi – after holding up a cup of salt at the end of the salt march.

However, whilst the campaign was at its peak some Indian protesters killed some British civilians, and as a result, Gandhi called off the independence movement saying that India was not ready. This broke the heart of many Indians committed to independence. It led to radicals like Bhagat Singh carrying on the campaign for independence, which was particularly strong in Bengal.

In 1931, Gandhi was invited to London to begin talks with the British government on greater self-government for India, but remaining a British colony. During his three month stay, he declined the government’s offer of a free hotel room, preferring to stay with the poor in the East End of London. During the talks, Gandhi opposed the British suggestions of dividing India along communal lines as he felt this would divide a nation which was ethnically mixed. However, at the summit, the British also invited other leaders of India, such as BR Ambedkar and representatives of the Sikhs and Muslims. Although the dominant personality of Indian independence, he could not always speak for the entire nation.

Gandhi’s humour and wit

During this trip, he visited King George in Buckingham Palace, one apocryphal story which illustrates Gandhi’s wit was the question by the king – what do you think of Western civilisation? To which Gandhi replied

“It would be a good idea.”

Gandhi wore a traditional Indian dress, even whilst visiting the king. It led Winston Churchill to make the disparaging remark about the half naked fakir. When Gandhi was asked if was sufficiently dressed to meet the king, Gandhi replied

“The king was wearing clothes enough for both of us.”

Gandhi once said he if did not have a sense of humour he would have committed suicide along time ago.

Gandhi and the Partition of India

After the war, Britain indicated that they would give India independence. However, with the support of the Muslims led by Jinnah, the British planned to partition India into two: India and Pakistan. Ideologically Gandhi was opposed to partition. He worked vigorously to show that Muslims and Hindus could live together peacefully. At his prayer meetings, Muslim prayers were read out alongside Hindu and Christian prayers. However, Gandhi agreed to the partition and spent the day of Independence in prayer mourning the partition. Even Gandhi’s fasts and appeals were insufficient to prevent the wave of sectarian violence and killing that followed the partition.

Away from the politics of Indian independence, Gandhi was harshly critical of the Hindu Caste system. In particular, he inveighed against the ‘untouchable’ caste, who were treated abysmally by society. He launched many campaigns to change the status of untouchables. Although his campaigns were met with much resistance, they did go a long way to changing century-old prejudices.

At the age of 78, Gandhi undertook another fast to try and prevent the sectarian killing. After 5 days, the leaders agreed to stop killing. But ten days later Gandhi was shot dead by a Hindu Brahmin opposed to Gandhi’s support for Muslims and the untouchables.

Gandhi and Religion

Gandhi was a seeker of the truth.

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”

Gandhi said his great aim in life was to have a vision of God. He sought to worship God and promote religious understanding. He sought inspiration from many different religions: Jainism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and incorporated them into his own philosophy.

On several occasions, he used religious practices and fasting as part of his political approach. Gandhi felt that personal example could influence public opinion.

“When every hope is gone, ‘when helpers fail and comforts flee,’ I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where. Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal.”

– Gandhi Autobiography – The Story of My Experiments with Truth

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Biography of Mahatma Gandhi” , Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net 12th Jan 2011. Last updated 1 Feb 2020.

The Essential Gandhi

The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas at Amazon

Gandhi: An Autobiography – The Story of My Experiments With Truth at Amazon

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Indian men and women involved in the Independence Movement.

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He stood out in his time in history. Non violence as he practised it was part of his spiritual learning usedvas a political tool. How can one say he wasn’t a good lawyer or he wasn’t a good leader when he had such a following and he was part of the negotiations thar brought about Indian Independance? I just dipped into this ti find out about the salt march.:)

• February 09, 2019 9:31 AM
• By Lakmali Gunawardena

mahatma gandhi was a good person but he wasn’t all good because when he freed the indian empire the partition grew between the muslims and they fought .this didn’t happen much when the british empire was in control because muslims and hindus had a common enemy to unite against.

I am not saying the british empire was a good thing.

• January 01, 2019 3:24 PM
• By marcus carpenter

Dear very nice information Gandhi ji always inspired us thanks a lot.

• October 01, 2018 1:40 PM

FATHER OF NATION

• June 03, 2018 8:34 AM

Gandhi was a lawyer who did not make a good impression as a lawyer. His success and influence was mediocre in law religion and politics. He rose to prominence by chance. He was neither a good lawyer or a leader circumstances conspired at a time in history for him to stand out as an astute leader both in South Africa and in India. The British were unable to control the tidal wave of independence in all the countries they ruled at that time. Gandhi was astute enough to seize the opportunity and used non violence as a tool which had no teeth but caused sufficient concern for the British to negotiate and hand over territories which they had milked dry.

• February 09, 2018 2:30 PM
• By A S Cassim

By being “astute enough to seize the opportunity” and not being pushed down/ defeated by an Empire, would you agree this is actually the reason why Gandhi made a good impression as a leader? Also, despite his mediocre success and influence as you mentioned, would you agree the outcome of his accomplishments are clearly a demonstration he actually was relevant to law, religion and politics?

• November 23, 2018 12:45 AM

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Biography of Mohandas Gandhi, Indian Independence Leader

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Mohandas Gandhi (October 2, 1869–January 30, 1948) was the father of the Indian independence movement. While fighting discrimination in South Africa, Gandhi developed satyagrah a, a nonviolent way of protesting injustice. Returning to his birthplace of India, Gandhi spent his remaining years working to end British rule of his country and to better the lives of India's poorest classes.

Fast Facts: Mohandas Gandhi

• Known For : Leader of India's independence movement
• Also Known As : Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma ("Great Soul"), Father of the Nation, Bapu ("Father"), Gandhiji
• Born : October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India
• Parents : Karamchand and Putlibai Gandhi
• Died : January 30, 1948 in New Delhi, India
• Education : Law degree, Inner Temple, London, England
• Published Works : Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth , Freedom's Battle
• Spouse : Kasturba Kapadia
• Children : Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi, Devdas Gandhi
• Notable Quote : "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members."

Mohandas Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, the last child of his father Karamchand Gandhi and his fourth wife Putlibai. Young Gandhi was a shy, mediocre student. At age 13, he married Kasturba Kapadia as part of an arranged marriage. She bore four sons and supported Gandhi's endeavors until her 1944 death.

In September 1888 at age 18, Gandhi left India alone to study law in London. He attempted to become an English gentleman, buying suits, fine-tuning his English accent, learning French, and taking music lessons. Deciding that was a waste of time and money, he spent the rest of his three-year stay as a serious student living a simple lifestyle.

Gandhi also adopted vegetarianism and joined the London Vegetarian Society, whose intellectual crowd introduced Gandhi to authors Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy . He also studied the "Bhagavad Gita," an epic poem sacred to Hindus. These books' concepts set the foundation for his later beliefs.

Gandhi passed the bar on June 10, 1891, and returned to India. For two years, he attempted to practice law but lacked the knowledge of Indian law and the self-confidence necessary to be a trial lawyer. Instead, he took on a year-long case in South Africa.

At 23, Gandhi again left his family and set off for the British-governed Natal province in South Africa in May 1893. After a week, Gandhi was asked to go to the Dutch-governed Transvaal province. When Gandhi boarded the train, railroad officials ordered him to move to the third-class car. Gandhi, holding first-class tickets, refused. A policeman threw him off the train.

As Gandhi talked to Indians in South Africa, he learned that such experiences were common. Sitting in the cold depot that first night of his trip, Gandhi debated returning to India or fighting the discrimination. He decided that he couldn't ignore these injustices.

Gandhi spent 20 years bettering Indians' rights in South Africa, becoming a resilient, potent leader against discrimination. He learned about Indian grievances, studied the law, wrote letters to officials, and organized petitions. On May 22, 1894, Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). Although it began as an organization for wealthy Indians, Gandhi expanded it to all classes and castes. He became a leader of South Africa's Indian community, his activism covered by newspapers in England and India.

In 1896 after three years in South Africa, Gandhi sailed to India to bring his wife and two sons back with him, returning in November. Gandhi's ship was quarantined at the harbor for 23 days, but the real reason for the delay was an angry mob of whites at the dock who believed Gandhi was returning with Indians who would overrun South Africa.

Gandhi sent his family to safety, but he was assaulted with bricks, rotten eggs, and fists. Police escorted him away. Gandhi refuted the claims against him but refused to prosecute those involved. The violence stopped, strengthening Gandhi's prestige.

Influenced by the "Gita," Gandhi wanted to purify his life by following the concepts of aparigraha  (nonpossession) and  samabhava  (equitability). A friend gave him "Unto This Last" by  John Ruskin , which inspired Gandhi to establish Phoenix Settlement, a community outside Durban, in June 1904. The settlement focused on eliminating needless possessions and living in full equality. Gandhi moved his family and his newspaper, the  Indian Opinion , to the settlement.

In 1906, believing that family life was detracting from his potential as a public advocate, Gandhi took the vow of  brahmacharya  (abstinence from sex). He simplified his vegetarianism to unspiced, usually uncooked foods—mostly fruits and nuts, which he believed would help quiet his urges.

Gandhi believed that his vow of  brahmacharya  allowed him the focus to devise the concept of  satyagraha  in late 1906. In the simplest sense,  satyagraha  is passive resistance, but Gandhi described it as "truth force," or natural right. He believed exploitation was possible only if the exploited and the exploiter accepted it, so seeing beyond the current situation provided power to change it.

In practice,  satyagraha  is nonviolent resistance to injustice. A person using satyagraha could resist injustice by refusing to follow an unjust law or putting up with physical assaults and/or confiscation of his property without anger. There would be no winners or losers; all would understand the "truth" and agree to rescind the unjust law.

Gandhi first organized satyagraha  against the Asiatic Registration Law, or Black Act, which passed in March 1907. It required all Indians to be fingerprinted and carry registration documents at all times. Indians refused fingerprinting and picketed documentation offices. Protests were organized, miners went on strike, and Indians illegally traveled from Natal to the Transvaal in opposition to the act. Many protesters, including Gandhi, were beaten and arrested. After seven years of protest, the Black Act was repealed. The nonviolent protest had succeeded.

After 20 years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India. By the time he arrived, press reports of his South African triumphs had made him a national hero. He traveled the country for a year before beginning reforms. Gandhi found that his fame conflicted with observing conditions of the poor, so he wore a loincloth ( dhoti ) and sandals, the garb of the masses, during this journey. In cold weather, he added a shawl. This became his lifetime wardrobe.

Gandhi founded another communal settlement in Ahmadabad called Sabarmati Ashram. For the next 16 years, Gandhi lived there with his family.

He was also given the honorary title of Mahatma, or "Great Soul." Many credit Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature, for awarding Gandhi this name. Peasants viewed Gandhi as a holy man, but he disliked the title because it implied he was special. He viewed himself as ordinary.

After the year ended, Gandhi still felt stifled because of World War I. As part of  satyagraha , Gandhi had vowed never to take advantage of an opponent's troubles. With the British in a major conflict, Gandhi couldn't fight them for Indian freedom. Instead, he used satyagraha  to erase inequities among Indians. Gandhi persuaded landlords to stop forcing tenant farmers to pay increased rent by appealing to their morals and fasted to convince mill owners to settle a strike. Because of Gandhi's prestige, people didn't want to be responsible for his death from fasting.

When the war ended, Gandhi focused on the fight for Indian self-rule ( swaraj ). In 1919, the British handed Gandhi a cause: the Rowlatt Act, which gave the British nearly free rein to detain "revolutionary" elements without trial. Gandhi organized a hartal (strike), which began on March 30, 1919. Unfortunately, the protest turned violent.

Gandhi ended the  hartal  once he heard about the violence, but more than 300 Indians had died and more than 1,100 were injured from British reprisals in the city of Amritsar.  Satyagraha  hadn't been achieved, but the Amritsar Massacre  fueled Indian opinions against the British. The violence showed Gandhi that the Indian people didn't fully believe in satyagraha . He spent much of the 1920s advocating for it and struggling to keep protests peaceful.

Gandhi also began advocating self-reliance as a path to freedom. Since the British established India as a colony, Indians had supplied Britain with raw fiber and then imported the resulting cloth from England. Gandhi advocated that Indians spin their own cloth, popularizing the idea by traveling with a spinning wheel, often spinning yarn while giving a speech. The image of the spinning wheel ( charkha ) became a symbol for independence.

In March 1922, Gandhi was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for sedition. After two years, he was released following surgery to find his country embroiled in violence between Muslims and Hindus. When Gandhi began a 21-day fast still ill from surgery, many thought he would die, but he rallied. The fast created a temporary peace.

In December 1928, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress (INC) announced a challenge to the British government. If India wasn't granted Commonwealth status by December 31, 1929, they would organize a nationwide protest against British taxes. The deadline passed without change.

Gandhi chose to protest the British salt tax because salt was used in everyday cooking, even by the poorest. The Salt March began a nationwide boycott starting March 12, 1930, when Gandhi and 78 followers walked 200 miles from the Sabarmati Ashram to the sea. The group grew along the way, reaching 2,000 to 3,000. When they reached the coastal town of Dandi on April 5, they prayed all night. In the morning, Gandhi made a presentation of picking up a piece of sea salt from the beach. Technically, he had broken the law.

Thus began an endeavor for Indians to make salt. Some picked up loose salt on the beaches, while others evaporated saltwater. Indian-made salt soon was sold nationwide. Peaceful picketing and marches were conducted. The British responded with mass arrests.

Protesters Beaten

When Gandhi announced a march on the government-owned Dharasana Saltworks, the British imprisoned him without trial. Although they hoped Gandhi's arrest would stop the march, they underestimated his followers. The poet  Sarojini Naidu  led 2,500 marchers. As they reached the waiting police, the marchers were beaten with clubs. News of the brutal beating of peaceful protesters shocked the world.

British viceroy Lord Irwin met with Gandhi and they agreed on the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, which granted limited salt production and freedom for the protesters if Gandhi called off the protests. While many Indians believed that Gandhi hadn't gotten enough from the negotiations, he viewed it as a step toward independence.

Independence

After the success of the Salt March, Gandhi conducted another fast that enhanced his image as a holy man or prophet. Dismayed at the adulation, Gandhi retired from politics in 1934 at age 64. He came out of retirement five years later when the British viceroy announced, without consulting Indian leaders, that India would side with England during  World War II . This revitalized the Indian independence movement.

Many British parliamentarians realized they were facing mass protests and began discussing an independent India. Although Prime Minister  Winston Churchill  opposed losing India as a colony, the British announced in March 1941 that it would free India after World War II. Gandhi wanted independence sooner and organized a "Quit India" campaign in 1942. The British again jailed Gandhi.

Hindu-Muslim Conflict

When Gandhi was released in 1944, independence seemed near. Huge disagreements, however, arose between Hindus and Muslims. Because the majority of Indians were Hindu, Muslims feared losing political power if India became independent. The Muslims wanted six provinces in northwest India, where Muslims predominated, to become an independent country. Gandhi opposed partitioning India and tried to bring the sides together, but that proved too difficult even for the Mahatma.

Violence erupted; entire towns were burned. Gandhi toured India, hoping his presence could curb the violence. Although violence stopped where Gandhi visited, he couldn't be everywhere.

The British, seeing India headed for civil war, decided to leave in August 1947. Before leaving, they got the Hindus, against Gandhi's wishes, to agree to a  partition plan . On August 15, 1947, Britain granted independence to India and to the newly formed Muslim country of Pakistan.

Millions of Muslims marched from India to Pakistan, and millions of Hindus in Pakistan walked to India. Many refugees died from illness, exposure, and dehydration. As 15 million Indians became uprooted from their homes, Hindus and Muslims attacked each other.

Gandhi once again went on a fast. He would only eat again, he stated, once he saw clear plans to stop the violence. The fast began on January 13, 1948. Realizing that the frail, aged Gandhi couldn't withstand a long fast, the sides collaborated. On January 18, more than 100 representatives approached Gandhi with a promise for peace, ending his fast.

Not everyone approved of the plan. Some radical Hindu groups believed that India shouldn't have been partitioned, blaming Gandhi. On January 30, 1948, the 78-year-old Gandhi spent his day discussing issues. Just past 5 p.m., Gandhi began the walk, supported by two grandnieces, to the Birla House, where he was staying in New Delhi, for a prayer meeting. A crowd surrounded him. A young Hindu named Nathuram Godse stopped before him and bowed. Gandhi bowed back. Godse shot Gandhi three times. Although Gandhi had survived five other assassination attempts, he fell to the ground, dead.

Gandhi's concept of nonviolent protest attracted the organizers of numerous demonstrations and movements. Civil rights leaders, especially Martin Luther King Jr. , adopted Gandhi's model for their own struggles.

Research in the second half of the 20th century established Gandhi as a great mediator and reconciler, resolving conflicts between older moderate politicians and young radicals, political terrorists and parliamentarians, urban intelligentsia and rural masses, Hindus and Muslims, as well as Indians and British. He was the catalyst, if not the initiator, of three major revolutions of the 20th century: movements against colonialism, racism, and violence.

His deepest strivings were spiritual, but unlike many fellow Indians with such aspirations, he didn't retire to a Himalayan cave to meditate. Rather, he took his cave with him everywhere he went. And, he left his thoughts to posterity: His collected writings had reached 100 volumes by the early 21st century.

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Mahatma Gandhi

Date of Birth: October 2, 1869

Place of Birth: Porbandar, British India (now Gujarat)

Date of Death: January 30, 1948

Place of Death: Delhi, India

Cause of Death: Assassination

Professions: Lawyer, politician, activist, writer

Spouse : Kasturba Gandhi

Children: Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi and Devdas Gandhi

Father: Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi

Mother: Putlibai Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an eminent freedom activist and an influential political leader who played a dominant role in India's struggle for independence. Gandhi is known by different names, such as Mahatma (a great soul), Bapuji (endearment for father in Gujarati) and Father of the Nation. Every year, his birthday is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday in India, and also observed as the International Day of Nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi, as he is most commonly referred to, was instrumental in liberating India from the clutches of the British. With his unusual yet powerful political tools of Satyagraha and non-violence, he inspired several other political leaders all over the world including the likes of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Aung San Suu Kyi. Gandhi, apart from helping India triumph in its fight for independence against the English, also led a simple and righteous life, for which he is often revered. Gandhi's early life was pretty much ordinary, and he became a great man during the course of his life. This is one of the main reasons why Gandhi is followed by millions, for he proved that one can become a great soul during the course of one’s life, should they possess the will to do so. 

M. K. Gandhi was born in the princely state of Porbandar, which is located in modern-day Gujarat. He was born into a Hindu merchant caste family to Karamchand Gandhi, diwan of Porbandar and his fourth wife, Putlibai. Gandhi’s mother belonged to an affluent Pranami Vaishnava family. As a child, Gandhi was a very naughty and mischievous kid. In fact, his sister Raliat had once revealed that hurting dogs by twisting their ears was among Maohandas’ favorite pastime. During the course of his childhood, Gandhi befriended Sheikh Mehtab, who was introduced to him by his older brother. Gandhi, who was raised by a vegetarian family, started eating meat. It is also said that a young Gandhi accompanied Sheikh to a brothel, but left the place after finding it uncomfortable. Gandhi, along with one of his relatives, also cultivated the habit of smoking after watching his uncle smoke. After smoking the leftover cigarettes, thrown away by his uncle, Gandhi started stealing copper coins from his servants in order to buy Indian cigarettes. When he could no longer steal, he even decided to commit suicide such was Gandhi’s addiction to cigarettes. At the age of fifteen, after stealing a bit of gold from his friend Sheikh’s armlet, Gandhi felt remorseful and confessed to his father about his stealing habit and vowed to him that he would never commit such mistakes again.

In his early years, Gandhi was deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana and Harishchandra that reflected the importance of truth. Through these stories and from his personal experiences, he realized that truth and love are among the supreme values. Mohandas married Kasturba Makhanji at the age of 13. Gandhi later went on to reveal that the marriage didn’t mean anything to him at that age and that he was happy and excited only about wearing new set of clothes. But then as days passed by, his feelings for her turned lustful, which he later confessed with regret in his autobiography. Gandhi had also confessed that he could no more concentrate in school because of his mind wavering towards his new and young wife.

After his family moved to Rajkot, a nine year old Gandhi was enrolled at a local school, where he studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography and languages. When he was 11 years old, he attended a high school in Rajkot. He lost an academic year in between because of his wedding but later rejoined the school and eventually completed his schooling. He then dropped out of Samaldas College in Bhavnagar State after joining it in the year 1888. Later Gandhi was advised by a family friend Mavji Dave Joshiji to pursue law in London. Excited by the idea, Gandhi managed to convince his mother and wife by vowing before them that he would abstain from eating meat and from having sex in London. Supported by his brother, Gandhi left to London and attended the Inner Temple and practiced law. During his stay in London, Gandhi joined a Vegetarian Society and was soon introduced to Bhagavad Gita by some of his vegetarian friends. The contents of Bhagavad Gita would later have a massive influence on his life. He came back to India after being called to the bar by Inner Temple.

Gandhi in South Africa

After returning to India, Gandhi struggled to find work as a lawyer. In 1893, Dada Abdullah, a merchant who owned a shipping business in South Africa asked if he would be interested to serve as his cousin’s lawyer in South Africa. Gandhi gladly accepted the offer and left to South Africa, which would serve as a turning point in his political career. 

In South Africa, he faced racial discrimination directed towards blacks and Indians. He faced humiliation on many occasions but made up his mind to fight for his rights. This turned him into an activist and he took upon him many cases that would benefit the Indians and other minorities living in South Africa. Indians were not allowed to vote or walk on footpaths as those privileges were limited strictly to the Europeans. Gandhi questioned this unfair treatment and eventually managed to establish an organization named ‘Natal Indian Congress’ in 1894. After he came across an ancient Indian literature known as ‘Tirukkural’, which was originally written in Tamil and later translated into many languages, Gandhi was influenced by the idea of Satyagraha (devotion to the truth) and implemented non-violent protests around 1906. After spending 21 years in South Africa, where he fought for civil rights, he had transformed into a new person and he returned to India in 1915. 

Gandhi and the Indian National Congress

After his long stay in South Africa and his activism against the racist policy of the British, Gandhi had earned the reputation as a nationalist, theorist and organiser. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, invited Gandhi to join India’s struggle for independence against the British Rule. Gokhale thoroughly guided Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi about the prevailing political situation in India and also the social issues of the time. He then joined the Indian National Congress and before taking over the leadership in 1920, headed many agitations which he named Satyagraha.

Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17029304817074165/

Champaran Satyagraha

The Champaran agitation in 1917 was the first major success of Gandhi after his arrival in India. The peasants of the area were forced by the British landlords to grow Indigo, which was a cash crop, but its demand had been declining. To make the matters worse, they were forced to sell their crops to the planters at a fixed price. The farmers turned to Gandhiji for help. Pursuing a strategy of nonviolent agitation, Gandhi took the administration by surprise and was successful in getting concessions from the authorities. This campaign marked Gandhi’s arrival in India!

Kheda Satyagraha

Farmers asked the British to relax the payment of taxes as Kheda was hit by floods in 1918. When the British failed to pay heed to the requests, Gandhi took the case of the farmers and led the protests. He instructed them to refrain from paying revenues no matter what. Later, the British gave in and accepted to relax the revenue collection and gave its word to Vallabhbhai Patel, who had represented the farmers.  

Image source: YouTube.com

Khilafat Movement Post World War I

Gandhi had agreed to support the British during their fight in World War I. But the British failed to grant independence post the war, as promised earlier, and as a result of this Khilafat Movement was launched. Gandhi realized that Hindus and Muslims must unite to fight the British and urged both the communities to show solidarity and unity. But his move was questioned by many Hindu leaders. Despite the opposition from many leaders, Gandhi managed to amass the support of Muslims. But as the Khilafat Movement ended abruptly, all his efforts evaporated into thin air.

Non-cooperation Movement and Gandhi

Non-cooperation Movement was one of Gandhi’s most important movements against the British. Gandhi’s urged his fellow countrymen to stop co-operation with the British. He believed that the British succeeded in India only because of the co-operation of the Indians. He had cautioned the British not to pass the Rowlatt Act, but they did not pay any attention to his words and passed the Act. As announced, Gandhiji asked everyone to start civil disobedience against the British. The British began suppressing the civil disobedience movement by force and opened fire on a peaceful crowd in Delhi. The British asked Gandhiji to not enter Delhi which he defied as a result of which he was arrested and this further enraged people and they rioted. He urged people to show unity, non-violence and respect for human life. But the British responded aggressively to this and arrested many protesters. 

On 13 April 1919, a British officer, Dyer, ordered his forces to open fire on a peaceful gathering, including women and children, in Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh. As a result of this, hundreds of innocent Hindu and Sikh civilians were killed. The incident is known as ‘Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’. But Gandhi criticized the protesters instead of blaming the English and asked Indians to use love while dealing with the hatred of British. He urged the Indians to refrain from all kinds of non-violence and went on fast-to-death to pressure Indians to stop their rioting.  

Image source: Wikimedia.org

The concept of non-cooperation became very popular and started spreading through the length and breadth of India. Gandhi extended this movement and focused on Swaraj. He urged people to stop using British goods. He also asked people to resign from government employment, quit studying in British institutions and stop practicing in law courts. However, the violent clash in Chauri Chaura town of Uttar Pradesh, in February 1922, forced Gandhiji to call-off the movement all of a sudden. Gandhi was arrested on 10th March 1922 and was tried for sedition. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment, but served only two years in prison. 

Simon Commission & Salt Satyagraha (Dandi March)

During the period of 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi concentrated on resolving the wedge between the Swaraj Party and the Indian National Congress. In 1927, British had appointed Sir John Simon as the head of a new constitutional reform commission, popularly known as ‘Simon Commission’. There was not even a single Indian in the commission. Agitated by this, Gandhi passed a resolution at the Calcutta Congress in December 1928, calling on the British government to grant India dominion status. In case of non-compliance with this demand, the British were to face a new campaign of non-violence, having its goal as complete independence for the country. The resolution was rejected by the British. The flag of India was unfurled by the Indian national Congress on 31st December 1929 at its Lahore session. January 26, 1930 was celebrated as the Independence Day of India. 

But the British failed to recognize it and soon they levied a tax on salt and Salt Satyagraha was launched in March 1930, as an opposition to this move. Gandhi started the Dandi March with his followers in March, going from Ahmedabad to Dandi on foot. The protest was successful and resulted in the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in March 1931.

Negotiations over Round Table Conferences

Post the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Gandhi was invited to round table conferences by the British. While Gandhi pressed for the Indian independence, British questioned Gandhi’s motives and asked him not to speak for the entire nation. They invited many religious leaders and B. R. Ambedkar to represent the untouchables. The British promised many rights to various religious groups as well as the untouchables. Fearing this move would divide India further, Gandhi protested against this by fasting. After learning about the true intentions of the British during the second conference, he came up with another Satyagraha, for which he was once again arrested.

Quit India Movement

As the World War II progressed, Mahatma Gandhi intensified his protests for the complete independence of India. He drafted a resolution calling for the British to Quit India. The 'Quit India Movement' or the 'Bharat Chhodo Andolan' was the most aggressive movement launched by the Indian national Congrees under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was arrested on 9th August 1942 and was held for two years in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where he lost his secretary, Mahadev Desai and his wife, Kasturba. The Quit India Movement came to an end by the end of 1943, when the British gave hints that complete power would be transferred to the people of India. Gandhi called off the movement which resulted in the release of 100,000 political prisoners. 

Freedom and Partition of India

The independence cum partition proposal offered by the British Cabinet Mission in 1946 was accepted by the Congress, despite being advised otherwise by Mahatma Gandhi. Sardar Patel convinced Gandhi that it was the only way to avoid civil war and he reluctantly gave his consent. After India's independence, Gandhi focused on peace and unity of Hindus and Muslims. He launched his last fast-unto-death in Delhi, and asked people to stop communal violence and emphasized that the payment of Rs. 55 crores, as per the Partition Council agreement, be made to Pakistan. Ultimately, all political leaders conceded to his wishes and he broke his fast. 

Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

The inspiring life of Mahatma Gandhi came to an end on 30th January 1948, when he was shot by a fanatic, Nathuram Godse, at point-blank range. Nathuram was a Hindu radical, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by ensuring the partition payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, were later tried and convicted. They were executed on 15th November 1949. 

Mahatma Gandhi’s Legacy

Mahatma Gandhi proposed the acceptance and practice of truth, peace, non-violence, vegetarianism, Brahmacharya (celibacy), simplicity and faith in God. Though he would be remembered forever for his great contribution to the Indian freedom movement, his greatest legacies are the tools of peace and non-iolence that he preached and used in India's struggle for freedom against the British. He was for peace and non-violence all over the world, as he truly believed that only these virtues can save the mankind. Mahatma Gandhi once wrote a letter to Hitler , before the World War II, pleading him to avoid war. These methods inspired several other world leaders in their struggle against injustice. His statues are installed all over the world and he is considered the most prominent personality in Indian history.

Gandhi in Popular Culture

The word Mahatma is often mistaken in the West as Gandhi’s first name. His extraordinary life inspired innumerable works of art in the field of literature, art and showbiz. Many movies and documentaries have been made on the life of the Mahatma. Post the Independence, Gandhi’s image became the mainstay of Indian paper currency. 

Source: Mahatma Gandhi Quotes @ FamousQuotes123

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Gandhi was a vegetarian, like most of his family.

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(1869–1948). Throughout history most national heroes have been warriors, but Gandhi ended British rule over his native India without striking a single blow. A frail man, he devoted his life to peace and brotherhood in order to achieve social and political progress. Yet less than six months after his nonviolent resistance to British rule won independence for India, he was assassinated by a religious fanatic.

Gandhi was one of the gentlest of men, a devout and almost mystical Hindu, but he had an iron core of determination. Nothing could change his convictions. This combination of traits made him the leader of India’s nationalist movement. Some observers called him a master politician. Others believed him a saint. To millions of Hindus he was their beloved Mahatma , meaning “great soul.”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869, in Porbandar, near Bombay. His family belonged to the Hindu merchant caste Vaisya. His father had been prime minister of several small native states. Gandhi was married when he was only 13 years old.

When he was 19 he defied custom by going abroad to study. He studied law at University College in London. Fellow students snubbed him because he was an Indian. In his lonely hours he studied philosophy. In his reading he discovered the principle of nonviolence as enunciated in Henry David Thoreau ’s “Civil Disobedience,” and he was persuaded by John Ruskin ’s plea to give up industrialism for farm life and traditional handicrafts—ideals similar to many Hindu religious ideas.

In 1891 Gandhi returned to India. Unsuccessful in Bombay, he went to South Africa in 1893. At Natal he was the first so-called “colored” lawyer admitted to the supreme court. He then built a large practice.

His interest soon turned to the problem of fellow Indians who had come to South Africa as laborers. He had seen how they were treated as inferiors in India, in England, and then in South Africa. In 1894 he founded the Natal Indian Congress to agitate for Indian rights. Yet he remained loyal to the British Empire . In 1899, during the South African War , he raised an ambulance corps and served the South African government. In 1906 he gave aid against the Zulu revolt.

Later in 1906, however, Gandhi began his peaceful revolution. He declared he would go to jail or even die before obeying an anti-Asian law. Thousands of Indians joined him in this civil disobedience campaign. He was imprisoned twice. Yet in World War I he again organized an ambulance corps for the British before returning home to India in 1914.

Gandhi’s writings and devout life won him a mass of Indian followers. They followed him almost blindly in his campaign for swaraj , or “home rule.” He worked to reconcile all classes and religious sects, especially Hindus and Muslims. In 1919 he became a leader in the newly formed Indian National Congress political party. In 1920 he launched a noncooperation campaign against Britain, urging Indians to spin their own cotton and to boycott British goods, courts, and government. This led to his imprisonment from 1922 to 1924. In 1930, in protest of a salt tax, Gandhi led thousands of Indians on a 200-mile (320-kilometer) march to the sea to collect their own salt. Again he was jailed.

In 1934 he retired as head of the party but remained its actual leader. Gradually he became convinced that India would receive no real freedom as long as it remained in the British Empire. Early in World War II he demanded immediate independence as India’s price for aiding Britain in the war. He was imprisoned for the third time, from 1942 to 1944.

Gandhi’s victory came in 1947 when India won independence. The subcontinent split into two countries (India and Pakistan) and brought Hindu-Muslim riots. Again Gandhi turned to nonviolence, fasting until Delhi rioters pledged peace to him. On Jan. 30, 1948, while on his way to prayer in Delhi, Gandhi was killed by a Hindu who had been maddened by the Mahatma’s efforts to reconcile Hindus and Muslims. An epic motion picture based on his life won several Academy awards in 1983.

In January 1997, nearly 50 years after his assassination, the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were spread in the Ganges River during a ceremony honoring his memory in Allahabad, India. Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma’s great-grandson, performed the act of dispersing the remains as thousands of onlookers chanted slogans in remembrance of the man who had succeeded, however briefly, in unifying a nation historically divided along religious and ethnic lines.

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Who was Mahatma Gandhi? (Short biography)

1. biography.

Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, politician, and thinker of the nineteenth and twentieth century. He was known mainly for claiming sovereignty and leading the independence of India through nonviolent methods . He was born on October 2, 1869 and died on January 30, 1948.

1.1. Childhood

Gandhi was born in Porbandar, a small coastal city in western India, son of Karamchand Gandhi (the city’s prime minister) and Putlibai Gandhi. His mother was one of his most important influences in his life. From her, Gandhi learned respect for living beings, the virtues of vegetarianism, and tolerance towards different ways of thinking, even towards other creeds and religions.

At eighteen Gandhi moved to London to study law at University College London. When he finished his studies he returned to Bombay to try to practice as a lawyer, but the over-saturation of the profession at that time coupled with the lack of real experience in the courts made it impossible for him to succeed. Luckily, during that same year (1893) he was presented with the opportunity to work in South Africa which he accepted the job on the spot. He was motivated by the resistance struggle and non-violent civil disobedience that his compatriots were carrying out in the face of pressure and discrimination from the country towards the Hindu people.

1.3. Years in South Africa

In South Africa, Gandhi saw first hand the strong rejection and hatred towards the Hindus, which motivated him to create an Indian political party to defend their rights in 1894. After 22 years of nonviolent protests in South Africa, Gandhi gained enough power and respect to negotiate with South African General Jan Christian Smuts in order to find a solution to the Indian conflict.

1.4. Return to India

In 1915 Gandhi returned to India, where he continued to promulgate his religious, philosophical and political values. During these years in India, two great social protests stood out: The March of the Salt (1930) and The Vindication of the Independence of the India of the British empire in the time frame of the Second World War (1939-1945). The latter, involuntarily involving India in the war as a British dependency, together with all the years of nonviolent struggle, finally led to the official independence of India on August 15, 1947.

A few months later, on January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, an ultra-right Hindu fanatic. Godse was an extremist who wanted to establish Hinduism as the one and only acceptable religion. On the other hand, Gandhi, although a supporter of Hinduism, was accepting of other religions and beliefs. Godse saw Gandhi as an obstacle to his own political agenda and thus to defend this ideology of an egalitarian society, Gandhi was murdered at the age of 78.

2. GANDHI DOCUMENTARY

3. REFERENCES

• Saberespractico.com (2018). ¿Quién fue Gandhi? ¿Qué hizo? (Resumen) . Text in Spanish. Avaliable [ HERE ].
• Krishna – Youtube.com (2014). Mahatma Gandhi Documentary. Avaliable [ HERE ].
• Unknown – Wikimedia Commons (1930). Gandhi portrait . Original image avaliable [ HERE ].

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Mahatma Gandhi Biography: Family, Education, History, Movements, and Facts

Mahatma gandhi's life and methods of struggle impact people now also. the greatness of a man is realized when his life influences people to change for the better, and so was mahatma gandhi's life. after decades of his death, after reading about him, people drastically changed their lives for the better. let's have a look at mahatma gandhi's life, movements, famous quotations written by him, etc. find out about him this martyr's day.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or  Mahatma Gandhi was a renowned freedom activist and an authoritative or powerful political leader who played an essential role in India's struggle for Independence against British rule of India. He was also considered the father of the country. No doubt, he also improved the lives of India's poor people. His birthday is celebrated every year as Gandhi Jayanti. His ideology of truth and non-violence influenced many and was also adopted by Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela for their struggle movement.

Mahatma Gandhi Biography

In South Africa for about 20 years, Mahatma Gandhi protested against injustices and racial discrimination using the non-violent method of protests. His simplistic lifestyle won him, admirers, both in India and the outside world. He was popularly known as Bapu (Father).

Mahatma Gandhi: Early Life and Family Background

He was born on 2 October, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. His father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi and his mother’s name was Putlibai. At the age of 13, Mahatma Gandhi was married to Kasturba which is an arranged marriage. They had four sons namely Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas. She supported all the endeavors of her husband until her death in 1944.

His father was Dewan or Chief Minister of Porbandar, the capital of a small principality in Western British India (Now Gujarat State). Mahatma Gandhi was the son of his father's fourth wife Putlibai, who belonged to an affluent Vaishnava family. Let us tell you that in his earlier days, he was deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana and Harishchandra as they reflected the importance of truth.

Mahatma Gandhi: Education 

When Gandhi was 9 years old he went to a local school at Rajkot and studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography, and languages. At the age of 11, he went to a high school in Rajkot. Because of his wedding, at least about one year, his studies were disturbed and later he joined and completed his schooling. He joined Samaldas college in Bhavnagar in 1888 at Gujarat. Later, one of his family friends Mavji Dave Joshi pursued further studies i.e. law in London. Gandhiji was not satisfied with his studies at Samaldas College and so he became excited by the London proposal and managed to convince his mother and wife that he will not touch non-veg, wine, or women.

Off to London

In the year 1888, Mahatma Gandhi left for London to study law. Thereafter 10 days after arrival, he joined the Inner Temple, one of the four London law colleges, and studied and practiced law. In London, he also joined a Vegetarian Society and was introduced to Bhagavad Gita by some of his vegetarian friends. Later, Bhagavad Gita set an impression and influenced his life.

Top 55 Mahatma Gandhi Quotes for Inspiration and Motivation

Mahatma Gandhi: In South Africa

In May 1893 he went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. There he had a first-hand experience of racial discrimination when he was thrown out of the first-class apartment of the train despite holding the first-class ticket because it was reserved for white people only and no Indian or black was allowed to travel in the first class. This incident had a serious effect on him and he decided to protest against racial discrimination. He further observed that this type of incident was quite common against his fellow Indians who were derogatorily referred to as coolies.

READ|  When and Why British first landed on Indian Territory

On  22 May 1894  Gandhi established the  Natal Indian Congress (NIC)  and worked hard to improve the rights of Indians in South Africa. In a short period, Gandhi became a leader of the Indian community in South Africa.  Tirukkural ancient Indian literature, originally written in Tamil and later translated into various languages. Gandhiji was also influenced by this ancient book. He was influenced by the idea of Satyagraha which is a devotion to truth and in 1906 implemented a non-violent protest. He returned to India in 1915, after spending 21 years of his life in South Africa, and no doubt, there he fought for civil rights and at this time he was transformed into a new person.

Mahatma Gandhi: Role in the Indian Independence Movement

In 1915 , Gandhiji returned to India permanently and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.

Gandhi's first major achievement was in 1918 when he led the Champaran and Kheda agitations of Bihar and Gujarat. He also led Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, Swaraj, and Quit-India movement against the British government.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

Mahatma Gandhi: Satyagraha

Gandhi identified his overall method of non-violent action as Satyagraha. Gandhiji's Satyagraha influenced eminent personalities such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther in their struggle for freedom, equality, and social justice. Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha was based on true principles and non-violence.

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Mahatma Gandhi

READ|  Champaran Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi: Death

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was assassinated on  30 January 1948 by Nathuram Godse. Godse was a Hindu nationalist and a member of the Hindu Mahasabha. He accused Gandhi of favoring Pakistan and was opposed to the doctrine of non-violence.

Mahatma Gandhi: Literary works

Gandhi was a prolific writer. Some of his literary works are as follows:

• Hind Swaraj, published in Gujarati in 1909. 

• He edited several newspapers which included Harijan in Gujarati, in Hindi and the English language; Indian Opinion, Young India, in English, and Navajivan, a Gujarati monthly. 

• Gandhi also wrote his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth.

• His other autobiographies included: Satyagraha in South Africa, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule.

Gandhi Jayanti Quiz: GK Questions and Answers About Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi: Awards

• In  1930 , Gandhi was named the Man of the Year by Time Magazine.

• In  2011 , Time magazine named Gandhi as one of the top 25 political icons of all time.

• He did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize despite being nominated five times between 1937 and 1948.

• The Government of India institutionalized the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to distinguished social workers, world leaders, and citizens. Nelson Mandela, the leader of South Africa's struggle against apartheid was a recipient of the award.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." - Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi: Film

Ben Kingsley portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in the  1982  film Gandhi, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Therefore, Mahatma Gandhi will be remembered forever as he spread the message of non-violence, truth, and faith in God, and also he fought for India's Independence. His methods inspired various leaders, and youth not only in India but also outside of India. In Indian history, he is considered the most prominent personality and as the simplest person who wears a dhoti. He spread the message of swaraj and taught Indians how to become independent.

• According to Britannica, "The United Nations declared Gandhi's birthday, October 2nd, as the International Day of Non-violence in 2007."
• While the world knows him as Mahatma Gandhi, a beacon of nonviolent resistance and Indian independence, his journey began with a more humble name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Born in 1869, Mohandas' life took a pivotal turn when he encountered the title that would forever shape his legacy: Mahatma.
• In 1883, at the tender age of 13, Mohandas Gandhi's life took a significant turn when he was arranged to marry Kasturba Makhanji, who was also 13 at the time.
• In 1930, the world watched with bated breath as India's independence movement gained momentum under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. His unwavering commitment to nonviolent resistance, his charisma, and his ability to mobilise millions made him the Person of the Year by the Time Magazine. 
• A lifelong vegetarian, Mr. Gandhi's meals centered on fresh vegetables, curd, fruits, seeds, and nuts.

READ| Journey of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India

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• What did Gandhi try to accomplish with his activism?
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Mahatma Gandhi: Facts & Related Content

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Did You Know?

• As a young child Gandhi was very shy and would run home as soon as school ended to avoid talking to anyone.
• The United Nations declared Gandhi's birthday, October 2nd, as the International Day of Non-violence in 2007.
• Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times but never received the award.
• Time Magazine named Mahatma Gandhi Person of the Year in 1930.
• Before taking a vow of celibacy, Mahatma Gandhi had four sons.

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• Subhas Chandra Bose: A falling-out with Gandhi

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Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation

Last updated on July 9, 2024 by ClearIAS Team

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi was a lawyer, nationalist, and anti-colonial activist. He led a non-violent mass movement against the British rule of India which ultimately resulted in Indian independence .

Mahatma Gandhi is revered in India as the Father of the Nation.

Table of Contents

The early life of Mahatma Gandhi: Birth and Family

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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 nd October 1869, in Porbandar in the princely state of Kathiawar in Gujarat.

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His father was Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi who served as a dewan of Porbandar state. His mother was Putlibai who came from Junagadh. Mohandas was the youngest of four children. He had two brothers and a sister.

At age of 13, Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kastubai Makhanji Kapadia as was the custom at that time.

His father passed away in 1885, and the same year he and his wife lost their first child. The Gandhi couple later had four sons over the years.

Education of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Ji received his primary education in Rajkot where his father had relocated as dewan to the ruler Thakur Sahib. He went to Alfred high school in Rajkot at the age of 11.

In 1887, at the age of 18, Gandhi Ji graduated from a high school in Ahmedabad. He later enrolled at a college in Bhavnagar but dropped out later. He had also joined and eventually dropped out of a college in Bombay.

He then went to London in 1888 to pursue law at the university college. After completing his studies, he was invited to be enrolled at Inner temple to become a barrister.

He returned to India in 1891 at the age of 22 after his mother passed away.

He failed to establish a successful law career both in Rajkot and Bombay.

In 1893, he moved to Durban, South Africa, on a one-year contract to sort out the legal problems of Abdullah, a Gujarati merchant.

South Africa during the 1800s

The British had colonized and settled in the Natal and Cape provinces of South Africa during the 1840s and 50s. Transvaal and Orange Free State were independent Boer (British and Dutch settlers) ruled states. Boer means farmer settler in Dutch and Afrikaans. The governance of colonial regions (Natal and Cape) was controlled by the minority white population which enforced segregation between government-defined races in all spheres.

This created three societies- whites (British and Dutch or Boer ancestry), Blacks and Coloureds (mixed race) which included ethnic Asians (Indians, Malayans, Filipinos, and Chinese).

Indian immigration to South Africa began in the 1860s, when whites recruited indentured Indian labour (Girmityas), especially from south India, to work on sugar plantations. Later many Indian merchants, mostly meman Muslims also migrated. By the 1890s, the children of the ex-indentured labourers had settled down in South Africa making up the third group.

Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

1893 : Mohandas Gandhi witnessed extreme apartheid or racial discrimination against Asians in South Africa. His journey from Durban to Pretoria witnessed the famous incident when he was thrown out of a first-class compartment by a white man at Pietermaritzburg station. Upon arriving at Johanessburg, he was refused rooms in the hotels.

These experiences motivated him to stay in South Africa for a longer period to organize the Indian workers to enable them to fight for their rights. He started teaching English to the Asian population there and tried to organize them to protest against the oppression.

1894: After the culmination of his Abdullah case in 1894, he stayed on there and planned to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. He founded the Natal Indian Congress and moulded the Indian community into a unified political force.

1899-1902: The Boer War

The Boer War extended Britain’s control from Natal and Cape Province to include Transvaal and Orange Free State.

During this time, Gandhi volunteered to form a group of stretcher-bearers as the Natal Indian ambulance corps. It consisted of indentured labourers and was funded by the Indian community and helped treatment and evacuation of wounded British soldiers.

Gandhi Ji thought that helping the British war efforts would win over the British imperial government and earn sympathy for the plight of Indians there. He was also awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal for serving the British empire.

Till 1906, it was the moderate phase of the struggle for the Indians in South Africa. During this time, Gandhi concentrated on petitioning and sending memorials to the legislatures, the colonial secretary in London, and the British parliament.

1906: The Civil Disobedience in South Africa

The failure of moderate methods led to the second phase of the struggle, civil disobedience or the Satyagraha.

He started two settlements- the Phoenix settlement in Durban and the Tolstoy farm in Johanessburg for helping the needy and initiate a communal living tradition.

His first notable resistance was against the law passed by the government, making it compulsory for Indians to take out certifications of registrations that held their fingerprints and was compulsory to carry it on the person at all times. Gandhi formed a Passive Resistance Association against this.

Gandhi and his followers were jailed. Later the government agreed to withdraw the law if Indians voluntarily registered. They were tricked into the registrations and they protested again by publicly burning their certificates.

1908: The existing campaign expanded to protest against the new law to restrict migrations of Indians between provinces. Gandhi and others were jailed and sentenced to hard physical labour.

1910: Gandhi Ji set up the Tolstoy farm in Johannesburg to ready the satyagrahis to the harsh conditions of the prison hence helping to keep the resistance moving forward.

1911: Gopal Krishna Gokhale visited South Africa as a state guest on the occasion of the coronation of King George V. Gokhale and Gandhi met at Durban and established a good relationship.

1913: The satyagraha continued against varied oppressive laws brought by the government. The movement against the law invalidating marriages not conducted according to Christian rites brought out many Indian women onto the movement.

Gandhi launched a final mass movement of over 2000 men, women, and children. They were jailed and forced into miserable conditions and hard labour. This caused the whole Indian community in South Africa to rise on strike.

In India, Gokhale worked to make the public aware of the situation in South Africa which led the then Viceroy Hardinge to call for an inquiry into the atrocities.

A series of negotiations took place between Gandhiji, Viceroy Hardinge, CR Andrews (Christian missionary and Indian Independence activist), and General Smuts of South Africa. This led to the government conceding to most of the Indians’ demands.

Gandhiji’s return to India: 1915

1915: On the request of Gokhale, conveyed by CF Andrews (Deenbandhu), Gandhi Ji returned to India to help with the Indian struggle for independence .

The last phase of the Indian National movement is known as the Gandhian era.

Mahatma Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the National Movement. His principles of nonviolence and Satyagraha were employed against the British government. Gandhi made the nationalist movement a mass movement.

On returning to India in 1915, Gandhi toured the country for one year on Gokhale’s insistence. He then established an ashram in Ahmedabad to settle his phoenix family.

He first took up the cause of indentured labour in India thus continuing his fight in South Africa to abolish it.

Gandhiji joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues and politics and Gokhale became his political Guru.

1917: At this point, World war I was going on, and Britain and France were in a difficult position. Germany had inflicted a crushing defeat on both the British and French troops in France.

Russia’s war effort had broken down and the revolution was threatening its government.

America had entered the war but no American troops had yet reached the war front.

The British army required reinforcements urgently and they looked to India for participation. Viceroy Chelmsford had invited various Indian leaders to attend a war conference. Gandhi was also invited and he went to Delhi to attend the conference.

After attending the viceroy’s war conference Gandhiji agreed to support the recruitment of Indians in the British war effort. He undertook a recruitment campaign in Kaira district, Gujarat.

He again believed that support from Indians will make the British government look at their plight sympathetically after the war.

Early movements by Gandhiji

Champaran Satyagraha, Kheda Satyagraha, and Ahmedabad Mill Strike were the early movements of Gandhi before he was elevated into the role of a national mass leader.

1917: Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first civil disobedience movement organized by Gandhiji. Rajkumar Shukla asked Gandhi to look into the problems of the Indigo planters.

The European planters had been forcing passengers to grow Indigo on a 3/20 of the total land called the tinkatiya system.

Gandhi organized passive resistance or civil disobedience against the tinkatiya system. Finally, the authorities relented and permitted Gandhi to make inquiries among the peasants. The government appointed a committee to look into the matter and nominated Gandhi as a member.

Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, and other eminent lawyers became inspired by Gandhi and volunteered to fight for the Indigo farmers in court for free.

Gandhi was able to convince the authorities to abolish the system and the peasants were compensated for the illegal dues extracted from them.

1918: Kheda satyagraha

The Kheda Satyagraha was the first noncooperation movement organized by Gandhi.

Because of the drought in 1918 crops failed in the Kheda district of Gujarat. According to the revenue code if the yield was less than one-fourth of the normal produced the farmers for entitled to remission. Gujarat sabha sent a petition requesting revenue assessment for the year 1919 but the authorities refused to grant permission.

Gandhi supported the peasants’ cause and asked them to withhold revenue. During the Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik became Gandhi’s followers.

Sardar Patel led a group of eminent people who went around villages and gave them political advisors and instructions.

The government finally agreed to form an agreement with the farmers and hence the taxes were suspended for the years 1919 and 1920 and all confiscated properties were returned.

1918: Ahmedabad mill strike

This was Gandhi’s first hunger strike. He intervened in a dispute between Mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers over the issue of discontinuation of the plague bonus.

The workers were demanding a rise of 50% in their wages while the employees were willing to concede only a 20% bonus.

The striking workers turned to Anusuiya Sarabai in quest of justice and she contacted Gandhi for help. He asked the workers to go on a strike and to remain non-violent and undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the workers’ resolve.

The mill owners finally agreed to submit the issue to a tribunal and the strike was withdrawn in the end the workers receive a 35% increase in their wages.

Gandhiji’s active involvement in the Indian National Movement

Gandhi’s active involvement in the Indian Freedom Struggle was marked by many mass movements like the Khilafat Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, and Quit India Movement.

1919: Khilafat movement

During World War I Gandhi sought cooperation from the Muslims in his fight against the British by supporting the Ottoman Empire that had been defeated in the world war.

The British passed the Rowlatt act to block the movement. Gandhi called for a nationwide Satyagraha against the act.

It was Rowlatt Satyagraha that elevated Gandhi into a national leader. Rowlatt Satyagraha was against the unjust Rowlatt Act passed by the British.

On April 13th, 1919 the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. Seeing the violence spread Mahatma Gandhi called off the civil disobedience movement on the 18th of April.

1920: Non-Cooperation Movement

Gandhi convinced the congress leaders to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as Swaraj. At the congress session of Nagpur in 1920, the non-cooperation program was adopted.

1922 : Chauri chaura incident took place, which caused Gandhi to withdraw from the non-cooperation movement.

After the non-cooperation movement ended, Gandhi withdrew from the political platform and focused on his social reform work.

1930:  The Salt March and The Civil Disobedience Movement

Gandhi declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law as the law gave the state the Monopoly on the manufacturer and the sale of salt.

Gandhi along with his followers marched from his ashram in Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi in Gujarat where they broke the government law by gathering natural salt and boiling seawater to produce salt.

This also marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement.

1931 : The Gandhi Irwin pact

Gandhi accepted the truce offered by Irwin and called off the civil disobedience movement and agreed to attend the second round table conference in London as the representative of the Indian National Congress.

But when he returned from London he relaunched the civil disobedience movement but by 1934 it had lost its momentum.

1932 : Poona pact

This was a pact reached between B.R Ambedkar and Gandhi concerning the communal awards but in the end, strived to achieve a common goal for the upliftment of the marginalized communities of the Indian society.

1934 : Gandhi resigned from the Congress party membership as he did not agree with the party’s position on varied issues.

Gandhi returned to active politics in 1936 with the Lucknow session of Congress where Jawaharlal Nehru was the president.

1938 : Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose’s principles clashed during the Tripuri session which led to the Tripuri crisis in the Indian National Congress.

1942: Quit India movement

The outbreak of World war II and the last and crucial phase of national struggle in India came together.

The failure of the Cripps mission in 1942 gave rise to the Quit India movement.

Gandhi was arrested and held at Aga Khan Palace in Pune. During this time his wife Kasturba died after 18 months of imprisonment and in 1944 Gandhi suffered a severe malaria attack.

He was released before the end of the war on 6th May 1944. World war II was nearing an end and the British gave clear indications that power would be transferred to Indians hence Gandhi called off the struggle and all the political prisoners were released including the leaders of Congress.

Partition and independence

Gandhiji opposed the partition of India along religious lines.

While he and Congress demanded the British quit India the Muslim league demanded to divide and quit India.

All of Gandhi’s efforts to help Congress and the Muslim league reach an agreement to corporate and attain independence failed.

Gandhiji did not celebrate the independence and end of British rule but appealed for peace among his countrymen. He was never in agreement for the country to be partitioned.

His demeanour played a key role in pacifying the people and avoiding a Hindu-Muslim riot during the partition of the rest of India.

Death of Mahatma Gandhi

30th January 1948

Gandhiji was on his way to address a prayer meeting in the Birla House in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse fired three bullets into his chest from close range killing him instantly.

Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy

Throughout his life, in his principles practices, and beliefs, he always held on to non-violence and simple living. He influenced many great leaders and the nation respectfully addresses him as the father of the nation or Bapu.

He worked for the upliftment of untouchables and called them Harijan meaning the children of God.

Rabindranath Tagore is said to have accorded the title of Mahatma to Gandhi.

It was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who first addressed him as the Father of the Nation.

Gandhian Philosophy inspired millions of people across the world.

Many great world leaders like Nelson Mandela followed Gandhiji’s teachings and way of life. Hence, his impact on the global stage is still very profound.

Literary works of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhiji was a prolific writer and he has written many articles throughout his life. He edited several newspapers including Harijan in Gujarati, Indian opinion in South Africa, and Young India in English.

He also wrote several books including his autobiography “The Story Of My Experiments with Truth”.

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Reader Interactions

January 31, 2022 at 6:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter? It is an irony that Gandhi was a British stooge, he partitioned India and was responsible for death of millions of Hindus and Sikhs during partition. How he and Nehru got Bose eliminated is another story. He slept with many women by his own confession. He never went to kala Pani and enjoyed luxury of British even in jails in India.

January 31, 2022 at 7:14 pm

How is he ‘Father of nation’ ?? He is not even close to be a father of post-1947 India(It would be Bose anyday).And he is the one who did all kinds of absurd fantasies(mentioned in his own autobiography).His role in independence was MINIMAL ! His non-violence theory was hypocritic and foolish(teaching oppressed instead of oppressor!) And as AMBEDKAR rightly said ‘sometimes good cometh out of evil'(on jan 30th 1948)

March 26, 2024 at 11:47 am

So true …

Bro I literally agree with all of this…

May 20, 2022 at 1:37 pm

It is Bose who first gave the title of “Father of the Nation” to Gandhi.

Please try to look at things with an open mind.

May 26, 2022 at 11:15 am

Ck is wrong I think Mahatma Gandhi Is a TRUE LEADER.

November 26, 2023 at 8:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter

October 2, 2024 at 8:57 pm

I am not agree with these comments You let Bose as father of nation<but Bose himself accepted Mahatma Gandhi as father of nation

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Mohandas Gandhi

• Occupation: Civil Rights Leader
• Born: October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India
• Died: January 30, 1948 in New Delhi, India
• Best known for: Organizing non-violent civil rights protests
• The 1982 movie Gandhi won the Academy Award for best motion picture.
• His birthday is a national holiday in India . It is also the International Day of Non-Violence.
• He was the 1930 Time Magazine Man of the Year.
• Gandhi wrote a lot. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi have 50,000 pages!
• He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times.
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

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• Mahatma Gandhi Biography in English

Mahatma Gandhi Biography and Political Career

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , more popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi. His birthplace was in the small city of Porbandar in Gujarat (October 2, 1869 - January 30, 1948). Mahatma Gandhi's father's name was Karamchand Gandhi, and his mother's name was Putlibai Gandhi. He was a politician, social activist, Indian lawyer, and writer who became the prominent Leader of the nationwide surge movement against the British rule of India. He came to be known as the Father of The Nation. October 2, 2024, marks Gandhi Ji’s 155th birth anniversary , celebrated worldwide as International Day of Non-Violence, and Gandhi Jayanti in India.

Know About: The Famous Speeches of Mahatma Gandhi

Life History of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Ji was a living embodiment of non-violent protests (Satyagraha) to achieve independence from the British Empire's clutches and thereby achieve political and social progress. Gandhi Ji is considered ‘The Great Soul’ or ‘ The Mahatma ’ in the eyes of millions of his followers worldwide. His fame spread throughout the world during his lifetime and only increased after his demise. Mahatma Gandhi , thus, is the most renowned person on earth.

Mahatma Gandhi Family

Mahatma Gandhi's family played a significant role in his life and activism:

Father: Karamchand Gandhi was a respected government official in the Porbandar state. He was known for his integrity and dedication to his duties.

Mother: Putlibai Gandhi was a deeply religious woman who greatly influenced Gandhi's early life and values. Her spirituality and devotion had a profound impact on his principles.

Wife: Kasturba Gandhi, whom he married in 1883, was a steadfast partner in his activism. Despite initial challenges, Kasturba supported Gandhi's efforts and was actively involved in the struggle for independence.

Children: Gandhi and Kasturba had four children: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas. Each child played a different roles in supporting Gandhi's work, though their lives were also marked by personal struggles and challenges.

Gandhi's family, particularly his wife and children, were integral to his work and shared in both his triumphs and hardships.

Education of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi's education was a major factor in his development into one of the finest persons in history. Although he attended a primary school in Porbandar and received awards and scholarships there, his approach to his education was ordinary. Gandhi joined Samaldas College in Bhavnagar after passing his matriculation exams at the University of Bombay in 1887.

Gandhiji's father insisted he become a lawyer even though he intended to be a doctor.  During those days, England was the centre of knowledge, and he had to leave Smaladas College to pursue his father's desire. He was adamant about travelling to England despite his mother's objections and his limited financial resources.

Finally, he left for England in September 1888, where he joined Inner Temple, one of the four London Law Schools. In 1890, he also took the matriculation exam at the University of London.

When he was in London, he took his studies seriously and joined a public speaking practice group. This helped him get over his nervousness so he could practise law. Gandhi had always been passionate about assisting impoverished and marginalised people.

Mahatma Gandhi During His Youth

Gandhi was the youngest child of his father's fourth wife. Mohandas Karamchand  Gandhi was the dewan Chief Minister of Porbandar, the then capital of a small municipality in western India (now Gujarat state) under the British constituency.

Gandhi's mother, Putlibai, was a pious religious woman. Mohandas grew up in Vaishnavism, a practice followed by the worship of the Hindu god Vishnu, along with a strong presence of Jainism, which has a strong sense of non-violence. Therefore, he took up the practice of Ahimsa (non-violence towards all living beings), fasting for self-purification, vegetarianism, and mutual tolerance between the sanctions of various castes and colours.

His adolescence was probably no stormier than most children of his age and class. Not until the age of 18 had Gandhi read a single newspaper. Neither as a budding barrister in India nor as a student in England nor had he shown much interest in politics. Indeed, he was overwhelmed by terrifying stage fright each time he stood up to read a speech at a social gathering or to defend a client in court.

In London, Gandhiji's vegetarianism missionary was a noteworthy occurrence. He became a member of the executive committee in joined the London Vegetarian Society. He also participated in several conferences and published papers in its journal. Gandhi met prominent Socialists, Fabians, and Theosophists like Edward Carpenter, George Bernard Shaw, and Annie Besant while dining at vegetarian restaurants in England.

Also Read:- Mahatma Gandhi Story

Political Career of Mahatma Gandhi

When we talk about Mahatma Gandhi’s political career, in July 1894, when he was barely 25, he blossomed overnight into a proficient campaigner. He drafted several petitions to the British government and the Natal Legislature signed by hundreds of his compatriots. He could not prevent the passage of the bill but succeeded in drawing the attention of the public and the press in Natal, India, and England to the Natal Indian's problems.

He still was persuaded to settle down in Durban to practice law and thus organised the Indian community. The Natal Indian Congress was founded in 1894, and he became the unwearying secretary. He infused a solidarity spirit in the heterogeneous Indian community through that standard political organisation. He gave ample statements to the Government, Legislature, and media regarding Indian Grievances.

Finally, he was exposed to discrimination based on his colour and race, which was pre-dominant against the Indian subjects of Queen Victoria in one of her colonies, South Africa.

Mahatma Gandhi spent almost 21 years in South Africa. But during that time, there was a lot of discrimination because of skin colour. Even on the train, he could not sit with white European people. But he refused to do so, got beaten up, and had to sit on the floor. So he decided to fight against these injustices and finally succeeded after a lot of struggle.

It was proof of his success as a publicist that such vital newspapers as The Statesman, Englishman of Calcutta (now Kolkata) and The Times of London editorially commented on the Natal Indians' grievances.

In 1896, Gandhi returned to India to fetch his wife, Kasturba (or Kasturbai), their two oldest children, and amass support for the Indians overseas. He met the prominent leaders and persuaded them to address the public meetings in the centre of the country's principal cities.

Unfortunately for him, some of his activities reached Natal and provoked its European population. Joseph Chamberlain, the colonial secretary in the British Cabinet, urged Natal's government to bring the guilty men to proper jurisdiction, but Gandhi refused to prosecute his assailants. He said he believed the court of law would not be used to satisfy someone's vendetta.

Political Teacher of Mahatma Gandhi

Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the prominent political teachers and mentors of Mahatma Gandhi. Gokhale, a renowned Indian nationalist leader, played a significant role in shaping Gandhi's political ideology and approach to leadership. He emphasized the importance of nonviolence, constitutional methods, and constructive work in achieving social and political change. Gandhi referred to Gokhale as his political guru and credited him with influencing many of his principles and strategies in the Indian freedom struggle. Gokhale's teachings and guidance had a profound impact on Gandhi's development as a leader and advocate for India's independence.

Mahatma Gandhi Death Date and Place

Mahatma Gandhi's death was a tragic event and brought clouds of sorrow to millions of people. On the 29th of January, a man named Nathuram Godse came to Delhi with an automatic pistol. About 5 pm in the afternoon of the next day, he went to the Gardens of Birla house, and suddenly, a man from the crowd came out and bowed before him.

Then Godse fired three bullets at his chest and stomach, who was Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was in such a posture that he to the ground. During his death, he uttered: “Ram! Ram!” Although someone could have called the doctor in this critical situation during that time, no one thought of that, and Gandhiji died within half an hour.

Mahatma Gandhi Accomplishments

Mahatma Gandhi achieved several significant accomplishments throughout his life:

Nonviolent Resistance (Satyagraha) : Gandhi pioneered the principle of nonviolent resistance, which became a powerful tool in the struggle for civil rights and freedom. His approach influenced numerous global movements for social justice.

Indian Independence Movement : Gandhi's leadership in the Indian National Congress was crucial in mobilising mass support for India's independence from British rule. Major campaigns under his leadership included the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), the Salt March (1930), and the Quit India Movement (1942).

Social Reforms : Gandhi worked to address social issues within India, such as the caste system and untouchability. His efforts aimed to improve the status and rights of marginalised communities, including the "Harijans" or untouchables.

Promoting Unity and Harmony : Gandhi advocated for Hindu-Muslim unity and sought to bridge communal divides, particularly during the tumultuous period leading up to and following India's independence.

Influence on Global Movements : Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence and civil disobedience inspired leaders and movements worldwide, including Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and various other figures in the global struggle for human rights and social justice.

Gandhi's legacy continues to influence contemporary social and political movements, demonstrating the enduring power of his principles.

Read About:- Speech on Mahatma Gandhi in English

How Shaheed Day is Celebrated at Gandhiji’s Samadhi (Raj Ghat)?

As Gandhiji died on January 30, the government of India declared this day as ‘Shaheed Diwas’.

On this day, the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, and the Defence Minister every year gather at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial in Delhi to pay tribute to Indian martyrs and Mahatma Gandhi, followed by a two-minute silence.

On this day, many schools host events where students perform plays and sing patriotic songs. Martyrs' Day is also observed on March 23 to honour the lives and sacrifices of Sukhdev Thapar, Shivaram Rajguru, and Bhagat Singh.

Gandhi believed it was his duty to defend India's rights. Mahatma Gandhi had a significant role in attaining India's independence from the British. He had an impact on many individuals and locations outside India. Gandhi also influenced Martin Luther King, and as a result, African Americans now have equal rights. Peacefully winning India's independence, he altered the course of history worldwide.

FAQs on Mahatma Gandhi Biography in English

1. What was people's reaction after Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi?

When Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi, people shouted to kill Nathuram. After killing Mahatma Gandhi, Nathuram Godse tried to kill himself but could not do so since the police seized his weapons and took him to jail. After that, Gandhiji's body was laid in the garden with a white cloth covering his face. All the lights were turned off in honour of him. Then on the radio, honourable Prime Minister Pandit Nehru Ji declared sadly that the Nation's Father was no more.

2. How did vegetarianism impact Mahatma Gandhi’s time in London?

During the three years he spent in England, he was in a great dilemma with personal and moral issues rather than academic ambitions.

The sudden transition from Porbandar's half-rural atmosphere to London's cosmopolitan life was not an easy task for him. And he struggled powerfully and painfully to adapt himself to Western food, dress, and etiquette, and he felt awkward.

His vegetarianism became a continual source of embarrassment and was like a curse to him; his friends warned him that it would disrupt his studies, health, and well-being. Fortunately, he came across a vegetarian restaurant and a book providing a well-defined defence of vegetarianism.

His missionary zeal for vegetarianism helped draw the pitifully shy youth out of his shell and gave him a new and robust personality. He also became a member of the London Vegetarian Society executive committee, contributing articles to its journal and attending conferences.

3. Who was the first person to write a biography of Mahatma Gandhi (Father of The Nation)?

Christian missionary Joseph Doke had written the first biography of Bapu. The best part is that Gandhiji had still not acquired the status of Mahatma when this biography was written.

4. Who was Gandhiji’s favourite writer?

Gandhiji’s favourite writer was Leo Tolstoy.

5. What is Mahatma Gandhi’s date of birth?

Mahatma Gandhi's date of birth is October 2, 1869. We celebrate every year on October 2nd as Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

6. Which are the famous Mahatma Gandhi books?

Mahatma Gandhi authored several influential books and writings that have left a lasting impact on the world. Some of his famous books include:

Autobiography

Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule

Satyagraha in South Africa

Young India

The Essential Gandhi

These books reflect Gandhi's deep commitment to nonviolence, truth, and social justice, making them essential reads for those interested in his life and principles.

7. How did Mahatma Gandhi history influence his approach to the Indian independence movement?

Mahatma Gandhi history, including his experiences with racial discrimination in South Africa and his deeply religious upbringing, profoundly shaped his approach to the Indian independence movement. His time in South Africa led him to develop the philosophy of Satyagraha, emphasising nonviolent resistance. This principle became central to his strategies in India, where he used peaceful protests and civil disobedience to mobilize mass support and challenge British rule. Gandhi’s personal experiences and values thus played a crucial role in defining his methods and goals for India’s liberation.

8. When is Mahatma Gandhi Birthday?

Mahatma Gandhi birthday is on October 2nd. This date is celebrated annually as Gandhi Jayanti in India and is observed as the International Day of Non-Violence worldwide.

9. What role did Mahatma Gandhi family play in his activism and personal life?

Mahatma Gandhi's family played a crucial role in both his activism and personal life. His wife, Kasturba Gandhi, was a steadfast supporter of his efforts and actively participated in his campaigns for social change. His mother, Putlibai, deeply influenced his spiritual values and commitment to his principles. Additionally, his children, despite their personal challenges, supported his work and contributed to the broader independence movement, embodying the values he promoted.

10. What was the first Mahatma Gandhi Biography In English?

The first biography of Mahatma Gandhi was written by his close associate, Mahatma Gandhi himself. Published in 1927, the book is titled "The Story of My Experiments with Truth." It provides a detailed account of Gandhi's life, his philosophy, and his experiences, reflecting his journey and the development of his principles.