Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in October 2, 1869 in a middle class
merchant(Bania/Vaishya) family at Porbandar in Kathiawar, Gujarat. His father
was Karamchand Gandhi, a Dewan or Prime Minister of Porbandar. His mother,
Putlibai, was a woman of a very pious nature. It was his mother whose peronality
and life influenced Gandhiji. She taught Gandhiji to speak the truth in every
sphere of life.
After finishing high school, Gandhiji joined the
Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. When his father died in 1885, he was only 18. It
was then that someone advised Ganhiji that he should go to England and come back
with a law degree if he was to improve his chance of getting his father's
position in the state service in Porbandar. In 1891, he came back to India armed
with the degree he set out to achieve in England. After an unsuccesful attempt
to set up his own legal practice, Gandhiji received an offer from Dada Abdulla
& Co. and set sail for South Africa on behalf of the company for a legal
matter. It was in south Africa that Gandhiji became what he was destined
to be. Deeply disturbed by the appalling treatment meted out to Indians by the
Britishers, Gandhiji decided to fight the discrimination against Indians. He
started to practice the ideals of Ahimsa (non-violence), Brahmacharya
(continence) and Satyagraha (fasting for a truthful cause). In 1914, his
struggle was rewarded when the South African Government entered into an
agreement with him and the main demands of the Indians were granted. This
success inspired Gandhiji to do something for his own nation. He came back to
India and founded a a place of religious retreat called Satyagraha Ashram in
Ahmedabad. His first movement in India was in Champaran, Bihar, where he voiced
the grievances of the many exploited poor peasants of that area. This compelled
the British Government in India to set up a inquiry to gauge the state of the
farmers and work for their betterment. The success in this campaign greatly
increased Gandhiji's stature in the eyes of millions of exploited. neglected and
impoverished Indians. soon Gandhiji began to be known as the "Mahatma" for his
great ideals and his adherence to them as well as for his untiring campaign
against the British. In 1921, Gandhji called his countrymen to take part in his
famous Non-cooperation movement against the British. The movement met with a
massive support from the Indian populace but a mob violence during this
camapaign in Chauri Chaura shocked Gandhiji to the extent that he called it off.
In 1930, he organised the famous "Dandi March" to oppose the British law that
deprived Indians to make their own salt. It led to the historic "Civil
Disobedience Movement" that saw thousands of Indian men and women defying the
British Goverment and being put to jail. In 1942, Gandhiji gave the call for the
historic "Quit India Movement" to indicate that the time of the Britishers was
up and they should leave India and the Indians for good. The great leader was
repeatedly thrown into prison for his protests but it could not break his will.
He also worked untiringly to unite Hindud and Muslims, abolish several
superstitions and better the hygiene of the poor people in different regions of
the country.
The drained resources of the British following the Second
World War and the rising discontent of Indians prompted the Britisg Government
to give India back to her own sons. On 15th August, 1947, India was declared to
be an independent nation but not before it was split up into two nations, India
and Pakistan. Some Hindu fundamentalists felt that the Mahatma shirked his
responsibility in stopping this division. One of them, Nathuram Godse, shot him
dead when Gandhiji was going for his evening prayers. The last words on his lips
were "Hey Ram".
merchant(Bania/Vaishya) family at Porbandar in Kathiawar, Gujarat. His father
was Karamchand Gandhi, a Dewan or Prime Minister of Porbandar. His mother,
Putlibai, was a woman of a very pious nature. It was his mother whose peronality
and life influenced Gandhiji. She taught Gandhiji to speak the truth in every
sphere of life.
After finishing high school, Gandhiji joined the
Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. When his father died in 1885, he was only 18. It
was then that someone advised Ganhiji that he should go to England and come back
with a law degree if he was to improve his chance of getting his father's
position in the state service in Porbandar. In 1891, he came back to India armed
with the degree he set out to achieve in England. After an unsuccesful attempt
to set up his own legal practice, Gandhiji received an offer from Dada Abdulla
& Co. and set sail for South Africa on behalf of the company for a legal
matter. It was in south Africa that Gandhiji became what he was destined
to be. Deeply disturbed by the appalling treatment meted out to Indians by the
Britishers, Gandhiji decided to fight the discrimination against Indians. He
started to practice the ideals of Ahimsa (non-violence), Brahmacharya
(continence) and Satyagraha (fasting for a truthful cause). In 1914, his
struggle was rewarded when the South African Government entered into an
agreement with him and the main demands of the Indians were granted. This
success inspired Gandhiji to do something for his own nation. He came back to
India and founded a a place of religious retreat called Satyagraha Ashram in
Ahmedabad. His first movement in India was in Champaran, Bihar, where he voiced
the grievances of the many exploited poor peasants of that area. This compelled
the British Government in India to set up a inquiry to gauge the state of the
farmers and work for their betterment. The success in this campaign greatly
increased Gandhiji's stature in the eyes of millions of exploited. neglected and
impoverished Indians. soon Gandhiji began to be known as the "Mahatma" for his
great ideals and his adherence to them as well as for his untiring campaign
against the British. In 1921, Gandhji called his countrymen to take part in his
famous Non-cooperation movement against the British. The movement met with a
massive support from the Indian populace but a mob violence during this
camapaign in Chauri Chaura shocked Gandhiji to the extent that he called it off.
In 1930, he organised the famous "Dandi March" to oppose the British law that
deprived Indians to make their own salt. It led to the historic "Civil
Disobedience Movement" that saw thousands of Indian men and women defying the
British Goverment and being put to jail. In 1942, Gandhiji gave the call for the
historic "Quit India Movement" to indicate that the time of the Britishers was
up and they should leave India and the Indians for good. The great leader was
repeatedly thrown into prison for his protests but it could not break his will.
He also worked untiringly to unite Hindud and Muslims, abolish several
superstitions and better the hygiene of the poor people in different regions of
the country.
The drained resources of the British following the Second
World War and the rising discontent of Indians prompted the Britisg Government
to give India back to her own sons. On 15th August, 1947, India was declared to
be an independent nation but not before it was split up into two nations, India
and Pakistan. Some Hindu fundamentalists felt that the Mahatma shirked his
responsibility in stopping this division. One of them, Nathuram Godse, shot him
dead when Gandhiji was going for his evening prayers. The last words on his lips
were "Hey Ram".
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