Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Who is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, widely known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in Porbandar, Gujarat. Trained as a barrister in London, he spent over two decades in South Africa, where he first developed his method of nonviolent resistance, which he called satyagraha, while fighting racial discrimination. Returning to India in 1915, he became the central figure of the Indian independence movement, leading mass campaigns such as the Non-Cooperation Movement, the 1930 Salt March to Dandi, and the Quit India Movement of 1942. He championed self-reliance through hand-spinning (khadi), rural upliftment, communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims, and the dignity of those he called Harijans. His philosophy of ahimsa and civil disobedience influenced later leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. India gained independence in 1947. Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi on 30 January 1948 by Nathuram Godse.

Sources: M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, 1927 · Louis Fischer, The Life of Mahatma Gandhi, 1950 · Judith M. Brown, Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope, 1989