Every year, India commemorates the birthdayof its great leader. For his great services to the country, he has been giventhe title of "Father of the Nation."
He was significant in gaining independence from the British. It is an excellent occasion for compatriots to pay tribute to this great leader who gave his life for the country's betterment.
Born and Early life
Gandhi (born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) was an Indian nationalist leader who was born on 2 October, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, Gujarat India, which was then part of the British Empire.Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, was a chief minister in Porbandar and other western Indian states. His mother Putlibai was a very pious woman who fasted on a daily basis.
Education and Personal life
Mohandas left home at the age of 19 to study law at the Inner Temple, one of London's four law colleges.The young Indian found it difficult to adjust to Western culture. When Gandhi returned to India in 1891, he discovered that his mother had died only a few weeks before. He struggled to establish himself as a lawyer. When it came time to cross-examine a witness in his first legal case, an anxious Gandhi blanked. After reimbursing his client's legal bills, he swiftly exited the courtroom. He quickly took a position with an Indian firm, which dispatched him to its South African branch. Gandhi stayed in South Africa for 20 years with his wife Kasturbai and their children.
Gandhi grew up worshiping the Hindu god Vishnu and practicing Jainism, an ancient Indian religion based on nonviolence, fasting, meditation, and vegetarianism.
Political acknowledgement and His Major Role in Independence
Gandhi established an ashram in Ahmedabad, India, in 1915 that was available to people of all castes. Gandhi lived a simple life devoted to god, fasting and meditation, wearing a modest loincloth and shawl. He was called"Mahatma," which means "great soul."
In 1920, Gandhi emphasized the significance of economic independence for India as part of his nonviolent non-cooperation campaign for home rule. He pushed for the production of khaddar, or homespun cloth, to replace imported textiles from the United Kingdom.He led the struggle for Indian independence from Britain based on Satyagraha principles. The British detained Gandhi several times for his actions in South Africa and India.Gandhi turned the independence movement into a large organisation, spearheading boycotts of British manufacturers and institutions symbolizing British influence in India, such as legislatures and schools, with the full support of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party).
Gandhi declared his retirement from politics and resignation from the Congress Party in 1934, stating that he wanted to focus his attention on working with rural populations. When World War II broke out, Gandhi re-entered politics and resumed command of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in exchange for Indian cooperation with the war effort.
Later in 1947, Britain awarded India independence, but divided the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi was an outspoken opponent of Partition, but he agreed to it in the hopes of achieving internal harmony between Hindus and Muslims after independence. During the riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to coexist peacefully and went on a hunger strike until the violence in different areas came to peace.
Assassination of Gandhi
Gandhi was shot to death on his way to a Delhi evening prayer by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic angry by Mahatma's attempts to talk with Jinnah and other Muslims.