Mahatma Gandhi By Shreya Pawar 1st Hour

Early Life Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2nd 1869 in Porbandar, Gujrat. Mahatma Gandhi was named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi at birth. Later he bacame known as Mahatma Gandhi. “Mahatma” means great soul. His father was the Chief Minister of Porbandar. Mahatma Gandhi got married to Kasturba Makhanji at age 13. After graduating from Samaldas College he continued his education at the University of Bombay. When he was 18, (September 1888) he got the opportunity of doing further education at the University College in London.

Life in South Africa In 1893, he accepted a year’s contract to work for an Indian firm in Natal, South Africa. At this time apartheid was still taking place. He spent the next 21 years of his life living here. One day, he was traveling on a first class train carriage. Suddenly, he was thrown out because of his skin color even though he had paid the fare. He then founded a political movement in South Africa called the Natal Indian Congress. He tried really hard to fight segregation. He made many improvements to South Africa’s way of life.

Gandhi Returns to India While he was in South Africa, he introduced a new method of protesting/fighting for freedom. He started using non-violence. This method was also called “satyagraha” (truth force). When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India, he saw so many people living in poverty with not having much. When he saw these people, he felt bad because he used to wear a suit and tie everyday. It was then he decided to live a simple life. He stopped wearing a suit and started wearing a “dhoti” (a white cloth wore by men). Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in 1915. His achievements from South Africa had spread all over India. During the first few years of his return, he became a leading figure in the Indian National Congress.

Freedom Struggle The British were still ruling India at the time. In fact, they had been ruling since the past 100-200 years! Gandhi fought hard for freedom using non-violence. Gandhi would also go on hunger strikes, so that the British would give them freedom. Gandhi also led peaceful protests on the streets. Gandhi was put in jail for a total of 6 years because of his protests. While he was in jail, he read Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Finally, on August 15, 1947 India got its independence.

Famous Marches/Speeches Against the British The Salt March- When the British decided to tax salt in 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led a 250 mile march to the sea to collect his own salt. Mahatma Gandhi gave a “Quit India Movement” Speech to make the British leave India.

Awards & Accomplishments Mahatma Gandhi won the Time’s Person of the Year Award. Although he never won, Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize six times. Mahatma Gandhi wrote a couple books. They were “An Autobiography of My Experiments with Truth”, “Non-Violence Resistance (Satyagraha)” , and “Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule” Mahatma Gandhi became known as the Father of India Mahatma Gandhi has several statues of him in India.

Life After Freedom When the British left, India got divided into two parts which today is Pakistan. On January 30, 1948 Gandhi was shot and killed. After Mahatma Gandhi died, people in India mourned for 11-13 days.

Inspiration & Impact Mahatma Gandhi inspired many people around the world. He inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela to fight for freedom using non-violence. It is also said that Mahatma Gandhi inspired President Barack Obama. He also inspired Steve Biko (South Africa) and Aung San Suu Kyi (Myanmar) Mahatma Gandhi helped people in South Africa and India and many other countries as well.

Works Cited Works Cited Lal, Vinay. "Manas: History and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi." Manas: History and Politics, Mahatma Gandhi. N.p., 2001,2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/gandhi.html>. "Mahatma Gandhi." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898>. "Mahatma Gandhi." HISTORY. N.p., 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.history.co.uk/biographies/mahatma-gandhi>. Romero, Frances. "Top 10 Political Prisoners." Time. Time Inc., 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2024558_2024522_2024456,00.html>. Tønnesson, Øyvind. "Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate." Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate. Nobel Prize.org, 1998-2000. Web. 28 Jan. 2015. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/themes/peace/gandhi/>.

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