Mahatma
Gandhi (real name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was born on 2nd October, 1869 in
Porbandar, Gujarat. He was the eminent leader in the freedom struggle of India
whose actions such as non-violence and peace forced Britishers to leave India.
His civil disobedience and non-cooperation movements are still talked about.
During early 1910s, he was actively involved in the struggle for Civil Rights
in South Africa.
Famously
known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu (the father figure), he was a spiritual and
political leader. He was an anti-war activist. He wanted to alleviate poverty,
liberate women and do for the good of the farmers so that they get rid of the
heavy taxes levied on them. He struggled to put an end to discrimination of all
kinds.
Childhood
Mahatma
Gandhi was born in a Hindu merchant caste family, to proud parents Karamchand
Gandhi and Putlibai. He had two brothers and one sister. He was the youngest of
all. The Indian classic stories of Shravana and Harishchandra had a great
impact or rather indelible imprint on Gandhi in childhood. In a tender of
thirteen, he got married to Kasturbai Makhanji (commonly named as Kasturba). He
even became father of four children in a tender age.
Education
At
his middle school and even in high school he was an average student. He passed
his matriculation from Samaldas College in Gujarat with some difficulty. After
that he went to London to study law and became an advocate.
Career
After
pursuing law, Mahatma Gandhi had some failed attempts to practice law in India.
Later, he went to South Africa to practice law and spent almost twenty years
there opposing legislations against Indians. He faced discrimination on the
basis of race and color. Him being thrown out of a train in Pietermaritzburg
after refusing to move from the first-class, made him firm against the British
Raj. In 1910, Gandhi formed a community
‘Tolstoy Farm’ near Johannesburg, where he propagated his ideology of peaceful
resistance and succeeded in giving blacks the right to vote in South Africa. He
returned to India in 1914 and supported the Home Rule Movement. In 1918, Gandhi
started his successful Satyagrahas of Champaran (in Bihar) and Kheda (in
Gujarat). Later, he actively launched non- cooperative and non-violent
movements to achieve independence. In 1921, he promoted the Swadeshi Policy,
where he appealed Indians to use Indian made products only. As a result he was
sentenced to jail for almost two years. He also advocated self – dependence and
boycotting Britishers. Dandi March was also one of his campaigns. Due to his
efforts only we got independence.
At
the end
Gandhiji
was assassinated on 30th January 1948, at Gandhi Smriti (earlier known as Birla
House). But even after his death people preached his lessons of non-violence,
peace and simple living.
