Biography Of Mahatma Gandhi

Early Life

Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2 October
1869 in Porbandar in Gujarat into the middle class Vaishya family. He was the son of
Karamchand and Putlibai. He studied at the elementary school in Porbandar till the age of seven
and later at Rajkot. He was married to Kasturba at the age of thirteen while still in high school.
He matriculated from Samladas College in Bhavnager, Gujarat and went to England in 1888 to
study law. Though his mother opposed this trip, but the opposition was overcome by Gandhi's
strict vow of not touching women, wine and meat in the foreign land. He passed his examination
in 1891 and on 12 June 1891 sailed back to India.

Life as a Student

Primary education:
Gandhi was born in Porbandar in 1869 and received primary education in the city. He was not a
bright student and used to learn by writing with his finger in the dust. He was neither considered
to be very gifted in the classroom nor in the playing field.

High school:
He moved to Rajkot at the age of 9 when his father took on the role of a counsellor to the ruler
and later the diwan. Gandhi joined Alfred High School in the city at the age of 11 and even lost a
year when he got married at the age of 13 and struggled through school due to his father’s ill
health. He was noted to be good at English, fair in arithmetic, weak in geography, good in
conduct and bad in handwriting.
Initiation Of movement in South Africa

He remained in India for almost two years and in 1893 he went to South Africa to fight a
lawsuit on behalf of Dada Abdullah & Company. It was the place, which changed the course
of Gandhi's life and the history of India. While traveling in a first class rail compartment,
Gandhi was thrown out by railway officials just because a white man objected to his
presence in the first class compartment. This and some other such incidents made Gandhi
feel that being quiet will not do any good. He stood up for the cause of all the Indians
residing there who were suffering humiliation.

Gandhiji initially began with the Moderate phase of struggle, but he realized soon that these
methods were leading him and his comrades nowhere. He then launched his idea of passive
resistance, the Satyagraha.

Under the leadership of Gandhiji, the Indians refused to get themselves registered or give
their thumb impressions, as was prescribed by a legislation. The result was that thousands of
Indians, along with Gandhjii, were put in jails. The fear of being imprisoned had disappeared
from the hearts of Gandhiji and the workers. They openly burned their registration
certificates.

Meanwhile, funds were running out to support the Satyagrahis. Gandhiji, with the assistance
of a German and funds flowing from India, set up a Tolstoy Farm to provide shelter to the
Satyagrahis. It was followed by the famous Transvaal march which led to the imprisonment
of thousands of Indians. The Indians, including Gandhiji, were given very harsh treatment in
the jails including whipping, starvation and being forced into labor.

The brutal treatment to an unarmed group of people was greatly criticized, even by the
British, and finally, the poll-tax levied on Indians was repealed, Indian marriages were legally
recognized and the immigrants were treated in a better manner.

This helped Gandhiji form his own technique of resistance to oppression. He gained the
invaluable experience of leading the poor Indians of all faith against a common enemy.

He used this method in India against imperialism, and the rest, as they say, is ironically,
history.

Return to India and Active Movements

Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He brought an international reputation as a leading Indian
nationalist, theorist and community organizer.
Gandhi joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues, politics
and the Indian people
Gandhi took leadership of the Congress in 1920 and began escalating demands until on 26
January 1930 the Indian National Congress declared the independence of India. The British
did not recognise the declaration but negotiations ensued,

He led various movements that became turning stones to the path of independence from
the british rule

1. Non-Cooperation Movement

Gandhi declared that British rule was established in India with the co-operation of Indians
and had survived only because of this co-operation. If Indians refused to co-operate, British rule
would collapse and swaraj would come The movement was non-violent and saw people not
buying British goods, supporting local artisans and handicrafts, and picketing alcohol shops.
He went around the countr explaing the tenets of the movement to the masses. The
movement came to an end in 1922, when a protest at Chauri Chaura police station turned
violent.

2. Salt Satyagraha(Salt March)

After his early release from prison for political crimes in 1924, over the second half
of the 1920s Gandhi continued to pursue swaraj. In an act of civil disobedience,
Gandhiji took a crowd from the Sabarmati Asharam to Dandi beach, in a non-violent
manner, to protest against the repressive salt tax imposed by the British
government.

3. Quit India Movement of 1942

The All-India Congress Committee started this movement in their Bombay session
on August 8, 1942. There was only one mission - to end British Rule in India. In addition,
Gandhiji made a call to Do or Die in his Quit India speech that he delivered in ...

4. Other movements

He also led many other movements including Champaran agitation, Khilafat

movement, Kheda Satyagrah and so on.
Weapons During Freedom Struggle

a) Satyagraha
The overall process of non-violent actions was known as Satyagraha by Mahatma Gandhi.
For him, Satyagraha was an outgrowth of nonviolence. He used this term for the first time during his
struggles in South Africa. He used it as a major tool in his struggle against British to gain
Independence for India. The first Satyagraha campaign was launched in Champaran in 1917 for the
cause of the peasants. This first campaign was followed by this economic boycotts and fasts as the
tools of Satyagraha.

b) Non-Violence
Non-violence is the principle of Gandhi's spirituality and his political philosophy. He used
non violence as a tool against the British rule during his struggle for Independence. He believed that
violence is a weapon which could not resolve problems but on the other hand increase the problem
itself. Non-violence was preached in different religions; Jains, Budhhists and Christanity. Gandhi
believed in truth, humanity and world peace and practicing non-violence was his biggest ideologies.
He not only followed the path of non-violence, but also managed to gain Independence for the
country.

Ultimate ‘Achievement’

Ultimately, we got independence from the british domination and India became came as an
independent nation. But even after achieving this long-desired wish, he gandhiji didn’t become
a part of any celebrations, as he was busy in disputing off the violence that had emerged in
Calcutta and various other parts of the nation

Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January 1948 in the compound of Birla House
(now Gandhi Smriti), a large mansion in central New Delhi. As Gandhi began to walk toward
the dais, Godse stepped out from the crowd flanking Gandhi's path, and fired three bullets
into Gandhi's chest and abdomen at point-blank range.
Gandhi fell to the ground. He was carried back to his room in Birla House from which a
representative emerged sometime later to announce his death.

But the death was merely restricted to his body, as the spirit and ideals that existed in his
soul, remains in our hearts