Full Name: Mr. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Date of Birth: October 2, 1869
Place of Birth: Porbandar, Gujarat, India
Died: January 30, 1948
Place of Death: Delhi, India
Classification: Heroes & Icons
Educated as a lawyer and becoming the leader of millions in a nationalist movement against the British, Mohandas Gandhi had a deep longing for peace brought about through nonviolent protest. His enemies knew they could wreck the body of his politics, but what worried them most was his unyielding soul that carried the nation to victory.
Gandhi grew up in a regular familial caste in India. His mother was staunchly religious and his father searched for different governmental posts that would keep his family fed and clothed. Gandhi’s mother taught him the ways of Vaisnavism; a Hindu sect that worshipped Vishnu and believed no harm should come to living beings.
Mohandas was able to travel to England in order to study, as his family wanted him to become a barrister under Britain’s rule. After raising the necessary funds through family contributors, Gandhi sailed to England and enrolled in a London law school. He hadn’t studied English as much and found lectures difficult to grasp. But, he studied hard and took classes that helped him to perfect his fluency. After years of study, he earned his law degree and returned to India where he thought he might be able to practice law. Finding no work, he applied and was accepted for a one-year contract to travel to South Africa. His trip there would break his shy shell and would expose him to British racism of Indians in South Africa.
After being thrown out of a train car for not giving up his place to a European traveler, Gandhi new he would have to make a statement for the betterment of his fellow Indians. His studies and friends in England had introduced him to other philosophical and religious teachings. He remembered that he had to not worry about possessions, react the same to pain and pleasure, and work hard without worrying about success or failure.
Even though he began earning lucrative wages, he used most of it to help others and to fight his political battles. He started two farms where men would work to make a living, supporting only themselves and their communities.
In 1930, Gandhi and tens of thousands of other Indians boycotted a tax on salt imposed by the British. The tax affected the poorest of the country, who could afford the high taxation. With the formation of the Indian National Conference, Mohandas Gandhi was recognized as their representative at a roundtable meeting in London. When the political roundtable discussion did not solve much of the problems, Gandhi returned to India and was imprisoned. It was there that he declared a fast against British oppression and this sparked national outcry. For his political and social work, and nonviolent protests against British rule, he became known as the father of India and earned the name “Mahatma”, or “Great-Souled
