Mahatma Gandhi

Childhood :

Mahatma Gandhi’s full name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat. His father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi. His father was the Diwan or Chief Minister of Porbandar, the capital of a small principality in western British India (now Gujarat State). Mahatma Gandhi was the son of his father’s fourth wife Putlibai. Gandhi’s mother Putlibai was a very religious woman. He grew up in the teachings of Jainism, which believes in non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi was married to Kasturba Makhanji at the age of 13 in May 1883. Kasturba was 14 years old at that time. This marriage was arranged by her parents as a child marriage which was prevalent in those days. In 1887, Gandhi joined Samaldas College in Bhavnagar after passing his matriculation examination at Bombay University. Later he graduated. On 4 September 1888, Gandhiji went to England to study law in London and became a barrister. He left England and returned to India in 1891.

In South Africa :

His plan to set up a law practice in Mumbai did not succeed as he was too shy to speak in court. So they came back to Rajkot. In 1893, he signed a one-year contract for a position with an Indian firm called Dada Abdullah and Company in South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi went to South Africa in 1893 at the age of 24. In South Africa, Gandhiji had to face severe racial apartheid. He experienced the humiliating treatment given to Indian people there. One day when Mahatma Gandhi was traveling by train, even though he had a first class ticket, he was alighted by a railway official at ‘Peter Maritzburg’ railway station and asked to sit in a third class coach. In South Africa, Gandhiji had to face severe racial apartheid. He experienced the humiliating treatment given to Indian people there. One day when Mahatma Gandhi was traveling by train, even though he had a first class ticket, he was alighted by a railway official at ‘Peter Maritzburg’ railway station and asked to sit in a third class coach. Gandhi raised the issue of citizenship of Indian people to the British government of South Africa. It was at this time that he made his first attempt at non-violence satyagraha. He spent 21 years of his life in South Africa. On January 9, 1915, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on the advice of “Gopalkrishna Gokhale”, a liberal leader of the Congress.

Gandhiji return India :

Gandhiji was saddened to see the misery and poverty of the common people of the country. Mahatma Gandhi lived in an ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati River near Ahmedabad. He adopted the innovative technique of non-violent satyagraha to bring justice to the common citizens of India. As Mahatma Gandhi was a priest of non-violence, he used the three scriptures of non-cooperation, non-violence and peaceful opposition against the British. Mahatma Gandhi led many movements against the British government like Chaparanya Satyagraha (1917), Kheda Satyagraha (1918), Non-cooperation Movement (1920), Dandi Yatra (1930), Leave India Movement (1942).

Death of Mahatma Gandhi :‘

On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was walking with his colleagues in Birla Bagh in Delhi when he was shot by ‘Nathuram Godse’. Mahatma Gandhi collapsed on the ground as soon as he was shot. People are of the opinion that Mahatma Gandhi uttered ‘Hey Ram’ from his mouth before his death. In 1949 Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin and his accomplices were caught and tried, Nathuram Godse and his accomplices were sentenced to death. People of India called him ‘A father of nation’.

Short detail about Mahatma Gandhi :