Mahatma Gandhi also known as the Father of the nation was one of the greatest leaders in the history of India and the whole world. He played a major role in the struggle of India’s independence from Britishers . He was against the violence and his ideas of non-violence and truth inspired thousands and lacks of people, across the whole world.
Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in a small town in Gujarat, India named Porbandar. His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and when he was known by many people around the world then he got his name Mahatma gandhi. His father Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi was a government official, and his mother Putlibai was a deeply religious woman. when he was at a very young age, Gandhi learned many moral values, honesty, discipline, and non-violence.
When he was 19, he went to England for studying law. After all his education, he became a lawyer and went to South Africa to work.
In South Africa, Gandhi deal with an issue of discrimination because of his dark skin color and his nationality. He saw that Indian people were treated badly. The incident that changed the life of Gandhi was that he was thrown out of a train for not leaving a first-class seat, even though he was having a valid ticket.
The event made him realize that it is important to fight for people’s rights and justice. There he started a movement against racism and started a peaceful and non-violent protests against the racism. And his success in South Africa made him a popular leader, and than he returned to India in 1915 to help his country in the fight for freedom and independence.
After coming back to India, Mahatma Gandhi joined a political party “Indian National Congress” and started taking part in the struggle of India’s independence. He motivated people to fight against Britishers by non-violent methods. He launched many movements Such as:
- Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922) – Indians were asked not to use British goods, resign their government jobs, and leave British schools and courts.
- Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) – He lead people in the famous Dandi March, where they walked 240 miles to spoil the salt law of British . This movement gained a worldwide attention.
- Quit India Movement (1942) – At the time of World War II, Mahatma Gandhi demanded the British to leave India immediately.
Mahatma Gandhi strongly believed in:
Non-violence (Ahimsa), Truth (Satya), Simplicity, Self-reliance
India finally got independence on August 15, 1947, but Gandhi was not happy by the partition of India and Pakistan. And on January 30, 1948, he was shot down by Nathuram Godse. His death was a great loss to the world.