Mahatma Gandhi

  Mahatma Gandhi
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Who is Mahatma Gandhi? Childhood, School

Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer who became the primary leader of India’s independence movement. Gandhi not only led India to Independence from British rule, but also inspired movements for civil rights and freedom all across the world.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 02, October, 1869 in Porbandar, India to Karamchand Uttanchand Gandhi and Putlibai.

His father was the Diwan (a treasury official) of Porbandar. His mother was a religious lady who had a significant influence on Gandhi.

He was an average student in school. But he still won prizes and scholarship. In 1887, Gandhi attended Samaldas College.

The following year, he went to study law at the inner Temple in London. After Gandhi completed his degree, he came back to India in 1891.

South Africa, British Empire

He took up a job in an Indian law firm called Dada Abdulla & Co. For his job, he had to shift to South Africa, which was a part of the British Empire in 1893. The time Gandhi spent in South Africa helped him began his work in civil rights.

He had very revealing spiritual and political experiences in South Africa, which shaped the latter part of his life. Gandhi realized that people of color were subjected to immense discrimination. He witnessed such prejudice once when he was asked to move from the first-class compartment of a train only because of his skin color, even though he had a valid ticket.

Joined Indian National Congress

Events like these inspired him to fight for social justice in 1915, he came back to India. In next year few years, he joined the Indian National Congress and became one of the most powerful figures in the Indian political scene.

He was against violence and believed that civil disobedience could stop the British rule. Many if these campaigns were directed by Gandhi. Thus, a large portion of the Indian population refused to work, sat on the streets and went on strikes.

It had an enormous impact on the British Empire. Gandhi united all of the Indian, irrespective of religion, caste and beliefs, in the country’s fight for independence. He promoted non – cooperation with British rule and avoid all British goods in favor of Indian –made products. He also boycotted British educational systems and advised Indians to resign from government jobs.

 Controversy of “Salt Tax”, Dandi Yatra Protest, Muslim league Demanded Islamic State, and Separation

In 1930, Gandhi started a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government. The British government had introduced the ‘Salt tax’ which prohibited Indians from collecting and selling salt from their own lands. This significantly affected India’s poorest citizens. Gandhi started a march from Ahmadabad to Dandi in protest of this law. Thousands of Indians joined him on this march. Next was II in 1942. He demanded British withdrawal from India.

The Quit India Movement in the history of the Indian independence struggle. Gandhi fought till the Britishers quit India. But, the Muslim League demanded an independent Islamic state. Gandhi opposed the idea of separation.

Religion Riots during partition in 1946, and Independence   

He was very bothered by the thought of partition and tried his best to unite Indians of different religious and communities. In 1946. The Muslim League called for a Direct Action Day. It caused a riot between the Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta.

 Gandhi personally tried to stop the riot. The Direct Action Day was the worst public riot that British India had ever seen. On August 15, 1947, India got independence however; it was divided into two nations: India and Pakistan.

Books By Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi was a great writer and wrote many books such as, the story of my experiments with Truth, satyagaraha in South Africa and Hindi Swaraj or Indian Home Rule. In Gandhi’s honor, Rabindaranth Tagore, a great Indian polymath, gave him the title “Mahatma” which means ‘great soul’. Gandhi was often called the ‘Father of the Nation’ in India and also fondly referred to as ‘Bapu.

Love life and assassinated

Gandhi married Kasturba Makhanji Kapadia in 1883, when he was only thirteen years old. The couple had five children, but one died in infancy.

Gandhi’s wife also became a social activist later in life. Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by the Militant Hindu Nationalist Nathuram Godse at Birla House in New Delhi.