Interesting people
Interesting thinkers
Mohandas K. Gandhi
Born in 1869 to Hindu parents in Porbandar in the state of Gujarat, Western India. Had an arranged marriage with Kasturbai Makanji when both were 13 years old. His family sent him to London to study law, in 1891 he was admitted to the Inner Temple & called to the bar. In South Africa (May 1893 – Dec 1914) he worked to improve the rights of the immigrant Indians. It was here that he developed his creed of passive resistance, satyagraha, (truth force) & was frequently jailed as a result of the protests he led. Before returning to India with his wife and children in 1915, he had radically changed the lives of Indians living in South Africa.
In India, it was not long before he was taking the lead in the long struggle for independence from Britain. He never wavered in his unshakable belief in non-violent protest & religious tolerance. When Muslim and Hindu compatriots committed acts of violence, whether against the British rulers of India, or against each other, he fasted until fighting ceased. Independence came in 1947, not a military victory, but a triumph of human will. To Gandhi’s despair, the country was partitioned into Hindu India & Muslim Pakistan. The last 2 months of his life were spent trying to end the appalling violence which ensued, leading him to fast to the brink of death, an act which finally quelled the riots. In January 1948, aged 79, he was killed by an assassin as he walked through a crowded garden in New Delhi to take evening prayers. Note that “Mahatma” (“great soul”) is an honorific title, not actually part of his birth name. Check out a fascinating web site: www.gandhiserve.org