Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(2 October 1869 ? 30 January 1948) was a leader of
nationalism
in
British-ruled India
. He is more commonly called
Mahatma Gandhi
;
mahatma
is an
honorific
meaning "great-soul" or "venerable" in
Sanskrit
. He was first called this in 1914 in South Africa. He is also called Bapu in India (
Gujarati
endearment for "father", papa").
He was the Martyr of the Nation since 1948.
Rabindranath Tagore
gave him the title of 'Mahatma'.
Gandhi was one of the most important people involved in the movement for the independence of India. He was a
non-violent
activist
, who led the independence movement through a
non-violent
protest
.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in
Porbander
, India.
[1]
Several members of his family worked for the government of the state. When Gandhi was 18 years old, he went to study law in
England
.
[2]
After he became a
lawyer
, he went to the British colony of
South Africa
where he experienced laws that said people with dark
skin
had fewer rights than people with light skin. In 1897, Gandhi was attacked by a group of people in
Durban
Harbor, South Africa when he was going to work. He went to South Africa because he could not find work in India.
[3]
When traveling through South Africa, Gandhi was also kicked out of a first class train because of his skin color. Then Gandhi started protesting against segregation.
[4]
He decided then to become a political activist, so he could help change these unfair laws. He created a powerful, non-violent movement. During Gandhi's life, India was a
colony
of the
British Empire
, but wanted
independence
. He was a huge leader during that era and his thoughts helped catalyze the
Indian independence movement.
Gandhi was a
vegetarian
almost all his life, because he believed in non-violence (
ahimsa
).
[5]
On 9 January 1915 when Gandhi returned to India, he decided to again lead a march against a law called the Rowlatt Act. But then the protest turned violent and people started to kill the protesters.
[4]
On 12 March 1930 Gandhi led the
Salt March
.
When he returned to India, he helped cause India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial people to work for their independence, break up the
British Empire
, and replace it with the
Commonwealth
.
People of many different
religions
and
ethnic groups
lived in British India. Many people thought the country should break into separate countries so different groups could have their own countries. In particular, many people thought that
Hindus
and
Muslims
should have separate countries. Gandhi was a Hindu, but he liked ideas from many religions including
Islam
,
Judaism
, and
Christianity
, and he thought that people of all religions should have the same rights, and could live together peacefully in the same country.
In 1938, Gandhi resigned from Congress. He said he could no longer work through Congress to unite the divisions in caste and religion. He also felt that he had little to offer to the political process.
[6]
On 15 August 1947, the
British Indian Empire
split into India and
Pakistan
. Gandhi wanted independence but did not want the former Raj to split into two different countries. Instead of celebrating independence day, he was crying over the end of British India.
Gandhi's principle of
satyagraha
, often translated as "way of truth" or "pursuit of truth", has inspired other democratic and anti-racist activists like
Martin Luther King, Jr.
and
Nelson Mandela
. Gandhi often said that his values were simple, based upon traditional Hindu beliefs: truth (
Satya
), and non-violence (
ahimsa
).
On 30 January 1948, he was shot to death by a Brahman activist
Nathuram Godse
, because Godse thought that Gandhi was too respectful to the Muslims. Godse was tried and executed by Indian officials.
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Ancient
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Medieval
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Early modern
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18th?19th-century
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20th?21st-century
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Social theories
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