Biography of Mahatma Gandhi

All Historical Facts of Gandhiji

The Father of The Nation - M.K. Gandhi:

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi

Who is Gandhi? 

Mahatma Gandhi, by name of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India - died January 30, 1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India.

As such, he came to be considered the father of his country. Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress. In the eyes of millions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi was the Mahatma (Great Soul).

Parents and wife:

He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, served as a chief minister in Porbandar and Putlibai Gandhi. He married Kasturibai in 1883.

Education of Mahatma Gandhi:

When Gandhi was 9 years old he went to a local school at Rajkot and studied the basics of arithmetic, history, geography, and languages. At the age of 11, he went to a high school in Rajkot. Because of his wedding, at least about one year, his studies were disturbed and later he joined and completed his schooling. He joined Samaldas college in Bhavnagar in 1888 at Gujarat. Later, one of his family friends Mavji Dave Joshi to pursue further studies i.e. law in London. Gandhiji was not satisfied with his studies at Samaldas College and so he became excited by the London proposal and managed to convince his mother and wife that he will not touch non-veg, wine, or women.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight with you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi.

"No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive." - Mahatma Gandhi.

"Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into."  - Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi's life in England:

Although Gandhi was interested in becoming a doctor, his father hoped he would also become a government minister and steered him to enter the legal profession. In 1888, 18-year-old Gandhi sailed for London, England, to study law. The young Indian struggled with the transition to Western culture.

Gandhi's life in South Africa:

After two uncertain years in India, where he was unable to start a successful law practice, he moved to Natal, South Africa in 1893 to represent an Indian merchant in a lawsuit.

On June 7, 1893, a seminal moment occurred during a train trip to Pretoria, South Africa, when a white man objected to Gandhi’s presence in the first-class railway compartment, although he had a ticket. Refusing to move to the back of the train, Gandhi was forcibly removed and thrown off the train at a station in Pietermaritzburg.

He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. In South Africa, Gandhi raised a family and first employed nonviolent resistance in a campaign for civil rights.

There he founded a political organisation known as 'National Indian Congress' and also started a newspaper called 'Indian Opinion. He formed Phoenix Farm near Durban in 1904.

In 1906, Gandhi organized his first mass civil disobedience campaign, which he called “Satyagraha” (“truth and firmness”), in reaction to the South African Transvaal government’s new restrictions on the rights of Indians, including the refusal to recognize Hindu marriages.

After years of protests, the government imprisoned hundreds of Indians in 1913, including Gandhi. Under pressure, the South African government accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts that included recognition of Hindu marriages and the abolition of a poll tax for Indians. 

Returned to India from South Africa: 

When Gandhi sailed from South Africa in 1914 and returned to India on January 9, 1915. Smuts wrote, “The saint has left our shores, I sincerely hope forever.” At the outbreak of World War I, Gandhi spent several months in London. 

In 1915 Gandhi founded an ashram in Ahmedabad, India, that was open to all castes. Wearing a simple loincloth and shawl, Gandhi lived an austere life devoted to prayer, fasting and meditation. He became known as “Mahatma,” which means “great soul.”

Death :

At 5:17 pm on 30 January 1948, Gandhi was with his grandnieces in the garden of Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti), on his way to address a prayer meeting, when Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist, fired three bullets into his chest from a pistol at close range. According to some accounts, Gandhi died instantly. In other accounts, such as one prepared by an eyewitness journalist, Gandhi was carried into the Birla House, into a bedroom. There he died about 30 minutes later as one of Gandhi's family members read verses from Hindu scriptures.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru addressed his countrymen over the All-India Radio saying:   "Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless, we will not see him again, as we have seen him for these many years, we will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country".

Other names of Gandhiji :

• Mahatma was given by Rabindranath Tagore.
• The Father of the nation (Rashtra Pita) was given by Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Half naked saint was given by Winston Churchill.

Mahatma Gandhi: Role in Indian Independence Movement :

• Champaran Satyagraha- Outward trappings meant little to Gandhi. At Banaras, he blamed the Princes for their love of finery. At Allahabad, he declared material progress of little worth without morality. Gandhi's first satyagraha test in India came in Champaran, Bihar, in 1917 and it led to an inquiry into the evil Indigo system and help to end it.
• Sabarmati Ashram- When in 1917 plague broke out at Kochrab, Gandhi moved his Ashram to Sabarmati. Hriday Kunj became his abode; Kasturba lived in a separate Kuti, bound by her husband's vow of brahmacharya. Close at hand were the grounds where Gandhi gathered Ashram inmates, morning and evening, for prayer.
• Kheda Satyagraha- Lokmanya Tilak dominated Indian politics at this time. But, in 1918, Gandhi emerged into National Leadership through satyagraha - for the remission of land revenue in famine-stricken Kheda district; also the Ahmedabad Mills-hands' strike, during which he fasted, lest strikers weaken. At prayer meetings under a tree, he called for discipline and concern for duties, not merely rights.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre- People massed in thousands, to protest against Govt. repressive policy, at Jallianwala Bagh. Determined to "Make an example of them", the Government ordered troops to fire on the unarmed crowd. Hundreds died. Martial law and a reign of terror followed. Deeply shocked Gandhi returned his war decorations, decided to non-cooperate with a government that was evil.
• Non-cooperation is Born- The Indian National Congress at Calcutta approved of non-cooperation: boycott of law-courts, government educational institutions and foreign goods. Gandhi saw it as the only alternative to violence for redress of the Khilafats and the Punjab wrongs. The founding of Gujarat Vidyapith in November 1920 was a symbol of the national re-awakening.
• Chauri Chaura incident- 1922 saw an eclipse: following violence at Chauri Chaura, Gandhi suspended non-cooperation. Arrested for seditious writings for Young India and tried March 18, he was sentenced to six years, but an operation of appendicitis brought early release from Yerawada Prison. 1924 was to see him once again at the helm at a Belgaum congress.
• 'Unity' Fast- In September 1924, Gandhi imposed on himself 21 days fast to end Hindu-Muslim tension, an act of religion that taught him to love all equally. It restored peace in the riot-ridden country, brought all leaders together, led to some cleansing of hearts. It resulted in a communal truce.
• Wheel of Time- And so the Wheel of time turned on. Gandhi's use of the bicycle- a rare performance in order to be punctual at a meeting indicated the lengths he was ready to go. And his constant companion, the spinning wheel, remained with him wherever he went, an instrument which spun the destiny of the country and symbolised his identification with the poor.
• Salt Satyagraha- 1929-30: "The Year of Grace". Gandhi was gathering his forces for onslaught on the citadel of authority. The "Salt Satyagraha" was not merely a protest against taxing the poor man's diet, or a disobedience of the salt laws. In Gandhi's eyes, it was a "battle of right against might". While the world wondered, the "Dandi March" became the "first shot" in this unique fight.
• Dandi March- Small though the chosen band, its 200 miles march to the sea recalled the other "Great March" of 1913 Gandhi had led in South Africa. He had sent viceroy Irwin an "Ultimatum" before embarking on civil disobedience. On "bended knees" he had asked, "for bread and received a stone instead". On the night of May 5, 1930, they stole up to him like thieves in the night and arrested him.

Round Table Conference :

During the discussions between Gandhi and the British government over 1931–32 at the Round Table Conferences, Gandhi, now aged about 62, sought constitutional reforms as a preparation for the end of colonial British rule, and begin the self-rule by Indians. The British side sought reforms that would keep Indian subcontinent as a colony. The British negotiators proposed constitutional reforms on a British Dominion model that established separate electorates based on religious and social divisions. The British questioned the Congress party and Gandhi's authority to speak for all of India. They invited Indian religious leaders, such as Muslims and Sikhs, to press their demands along religious lines, as well as B. R. Ambedkar as the representative leader of the untouchables. Gandhi vehemently opposed a constitution that enshrined rights or representations based on communal divisions, because he feared that it would not bring people together but divide them, perpetuate their status and divert the attention from India's struggle to end the colonial rule.
The Second Round Table conference was the only time he left India between 1914 and his death in 1948. He declined the government's offer of accommodation in an expensive West End hotel, preferring to stay in the East End, to live among working-class people, as he did in India. He based himself in a small cell-bedroom at Kingsley Hall for the three-month duration of his stay and was enthusiastically received by East Enders. During this time he renewed his links with the British vegetarian movement.
An admiring East End crowd gathers to witness the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi, 1931
After Gandhi returned from the Second Round Table conference, he started a new satyagraha. He was arrested and imprisoned at the Yerwada Jail, Pune. While he was in prison, the British government enacted a new law that granted untouchables a separate electorate. It came to be known as the Communal Award. In protest, Gandhi started a fast-unto-death, while he was held in prison. The resulting public outcry forced the government, in consultations with Ambedkar, to replace the Communal Award with a compromise Poona Pact.

LITERARY WORKS :

Gandhi was a prolific writer. One of Gandhi's earliest publications, Swaraj, published in Gujarati in 1909, became "the intellectual blueprint" for India's independence movement. For decades he edited several newspapers including Harijan in Gujarati, in Hindi, and in the English language; Indian Opinion while in South Africa and, Young India, in English, and Navajivan a Gujarati monthly, on his return to India. Later, Navajivan was also published in Hindi. In addition, he wrote letters almost every day to individuals and newspapers. Gandhi also wrote several books including his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. His other autobiographies included: Satyagraha in South Africa about his struggle there, Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, a political pamphlet, and a paraphrase in Gujarati of John Ruskin's Unto This Last. Gandhi's complete works were published by the Indian government under the name "The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi" in the 1960s.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS :

Time magazine named Gandhi the Man of the Year in 1930. The University of Nagpur awarded him an LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) in 1937. Gandhi was also the runner-up to Albert Einstein as "Person of the Century" at the end of 1999. The Government of India awarded the annual Gandhi Peace Prize to distinguished social workers, world leaders and citizens. Nelson Mandela, the leader of South Africa's struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and segregation, was a prominent non-Indian recipient. In 2011, Time magazine named Gandhi as one of the top 25 political icons of all time. Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, although he was nominated five times between 1937 and 1948, including the first-ever nomination by the American Friends Service Committee, though he made the shortlist only twice, in 1937 and 1948.

 Decades later, the Nobel Committee publicly declared its regret for the omission and admitted to deeply divided nationalistic opinion denying the award. Geir Lundestad, Secretary of Norwegian Nobel Committee in 2006 said, "The greatest omission in our 106-year history is undoubtedly that Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize. Gandhi could do without the Nobel Peace prize, whether Nobel committee can do without Gandhi is the question". When the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi". In the summer of 1995, the North American Vegetarian Society inducted him posthumously into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame.

GLOBAL DAYS THAT CELEBRATE GANDHI :

In 2007, the United Nations General Aşsembly 1 declared Gandhi's birthday on 2 October las "the International Day of Nonviolence." First proposed by UNESCO in 1948, as the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace (DENIP in Spanish), 30 January is observed as the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace in schools of many countries. In countries with a Southern Hemisphere school calendar, it is observed on 30 March.

FOLLOWERS AND INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE :

Gandhi influenced important leaders and political movements. Leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States, including Martin Luther King Jr., James Lawson, and James Bevel, drew from the writings of Gandhi in the development of their own theories about nonviolence. King said, "Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics." King sometimes referred to Gandhi as "the little brown saint." Anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was inspired by Gandhi. Others include Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Steve Biko, and Aung San Suu Kyi. In Europe, Romain Rolland was the first to discuss Gandhi in his 1924 book Mahatma Gandhi, and Brazilian anarchist and feminist Maria Lacerda de Moura wrote about Gandhi in her work on pacifism. In 1931, notable European physicist Albert Einstein exchanged written letters with Gandhi and called him "a role model for the generations to come" in a letter-writing about him.

9 GREAT GANDHI MEMORIALS :

The Gandhi Memorial in Kanyakumari Tamukkam or Summer Palace in Madurai now houses the Mahatma Gandhi Museum. Kirti Mandir, Porbandar, Gujarat. Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Mani Bhavan, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Magan Sangrahalaya, Wardha, Maharashtra. Aga Khan Palace, Pune, Maharashtra. Rajghat, New Delhi. Gandhi Smriti Sangrahalaya, Barrackpore, West Bengal. There are three temples in India dedicated to Gandhi. One is located at Sambalpur in Orissa and the second at Nidaghatta village near Kadur in Chikmagalur district of Karnataka and the third Chityal in the district of Nalgonda, Telangana.

Summary of the biography of Mahatma Gandhi :

Full Name: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Born: 2 October, 1869

Place of Birth: Porbandar, Gujarat

Professions: Lawyer, Politician, Activist, Writer

Father: Karamchand Gandhi

Mother: Putlibai Gandhi

Nationality: Indian

Spouse: Kasturba Gandhi

Children: Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi and Devdas Gandhi

Death: 30 January, 1948

Place of Death: Delhi, India

Cause of Death: Shot by Gun or assassination

Magazine related to Mahatma Gandhi :

During his lifetime, Gandhiji ran four publications — Indian Opinion, Young India, Navajivan and Harijan.

Family Tree of Gandhiji :

Family Tree of Gandhiji

[ Sources - Wikipedia, Internets, mkgandhi.org, Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram ]

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