Gandhi is one of the most fascinating people in all of recent history. An advocate of passive resistance, he not only helped free India from British oppression, but also inspired the 1960s Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Gandhi’s work is so well-known that his name has become synonymous with both peace and leadership. However, his personal life was marred by some controversies, suggesting that even great men can have terrible flaws. We cannot possibly tell you all about Gandhi in a few paragraphs; his life and his life’s work have been the subject of numerous books, and they are all worth examining. However, we can give you some important facts about him.
Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, which means Great Soul Gandhi. He was born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. He died on January 30, 1948. Gandhi was a lawyer, who became a political and social activist committed to ending the British rule of India. He was successful and is sometimes called the father of India because of that success.
Gandhi’s father was a local politician, who lacked formal education but still managed to be an effective advocate for the people in his region. Gandhi’s mother, his father’s fourth wife, was very religious and Gandhi was raised in a tradition that blended Vaishnavism and Jainism, which both emphasized noninjury and required things such as vegetarianism, nonviolence, and mutual tolerance of other beliefs. After adolescent rebellion, he decided to follow family tradition and pursue a career in law, with an eye on moving towards politics. He went to London to study, where he had his first opportunity to study the Bhagavadgita and explore some of the roots of his Hindu faith. This would help him flesh out his non-violent philosophy, which not only spurred the civil disobedience-based fight for freedom in India, but also spread around the world.