Mahatma Gandhi

Who was Mahatma Gandhi?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi or Bapu, was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India. Employing non-violent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for non-violence, civil rights, and freedom across the world.

The son of a senior government official, Gandhi was born and raised in a Bania community in coastal Gujarat, and trained in law in London. Gandhi became famous by fighting for the civil rights of Muslim and Hindu Indians in South Africa, using new techniques of non-violent civil disobedience that he developed. Returning to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants to protest excessive land-taxes. A lifelong opponent of "communalism" he reached out widely to all religious groups. He became a leader of Muslims protesting the declining status of the Caliphate. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity, ending untouchability, increasing economic self-reliance, and above all for achieving Swaraj—the independence of India from British domination.

Famous Quotes:

• A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
• A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.
• A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, Nothing else.
• I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
• I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul.
• The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
• If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.
• Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock.
• An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
• Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.