Mohandas Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi once said “When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.” (Manas). Gandhi was the most well-known spiritual and political leader during India’s independence movement. Born in India, Gandhi spent a large part of his life in South Africa. Taking part in civil-rights activities in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India where he took a major role in the opposition to British rule. Gandhi is universally known as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma means great soul, an appreciative name given to him by Rabindranath Tagore, the leader of the Brahmo Samaj, which was a new religious sect (Nicholson). By meeting with politicians, fasting, and launching campaigns, Mahatma Gandhi was able to successfully regain ownership of Indian self-government, and fulfill his goal of enforcing ideas of nonviolence, passive resistance, and civil disobedience.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 into a Hindu family in Porbandar, Gujarat. In those days, the British ruled India. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, was the Minister of Porbandar. His mother, Putlibai, was an extremely religious Hindu. She was Gandhi’s greatest influence as a child. Putlibai was Karamchand’s fourth wife. By the age of thirteen, Gandhi was married to Kasturba Makharji. Ironically, this marriage lasted for sixty two years. Together they had four sons, Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, and Devdas (Mohandas). Gandhi was raised in a strict vegetarian household. One day Gandhi was persuaded by a Muslim boy to eat goat meat, telling him he would grow tall and strong enough to kick the British...

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...an opponent. Gandhi made strict rules as to how people using satyagraha should behave, and trained his people during the South African resistance campaign (Nicholson).

Works Cited

"Manas: History and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi." Web. 02 May 2010. .

Mayberry, Jodine. Mohandas Ganghi. Leaders Who Changed the 20th Century. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn Company, 1994. 10-11. Print.

"Mohandas Gandhi - Definition." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - WordIQ Dictionary. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. .

Nicholson, Michael. Mahatma Gandhi. United Kingdom: Exley Publications, 1987. Print.

Tonnesson, Oyvind. "Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate." Nobelprize.org. Web. 01 May 2010. .