The British negotiators proposed constitutional reforms on a British Dominion model that established separate electorates based on religious and social divisions. Among them are D. G. Tendulkar with his Mahatma. At no time did they offer any resistance. [268] The concept of nonviolence (ahimsa) has a long history in Indian religious thought, with it being considered the highest dharma (ethical value virtue), a precept to be observed towards all living beings (sarvbhuta), at all times (sarvada), in all respects (sarvatha), in action, words and thought. [181], Gandhi spent the day of independence not celebrating the end of the British rule but appealing for peace among his countrymen by fasting and spinning in Calcutta on 15 August 1947. Women, to Gandhi, should be educated to be better in the domestic realm and educate the next generation. Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood. He brought an international reputation as a leading Indian nationalist, theorist and community organiser. Gandhi took Gokhale's liberal approach based on British Whiggish traditions and transformed it to make it look Indian. He was the architect of India’s freedom and one of the greatest men of this century. After a brief trip to India in late 1896 and early 1897, Gandhi returned to South Africa with his wife and children. He initially was not interested in politics. But by 1920, the World War was over. Jean-Luc Nancy said that the French philosopher Maurice Blanchot engaged critically with Gandhi from the point of view of "European spirituality". [337], Gandhi tried to test and prove to himself his brahmacharya. [65] He chose to protest and was allowed to board the train the next day. There he studied the rudiments of arithmetic, history, the Gujarati language and geography. [162] His countrymen retaliated the arrests by damaging or burning down hundreds of government owned railway stations, police stations, and cutting down telegraph wires. [261], While Gandhi's idea of satyagraha as a political means attracted a widespread following among Indians, the support was not universal. Sikh and Buddhist leaders disagreed with Gandhi, a disagreement Gandhi respected as a difference of opinion. He committed himself early to truthfulness, temperance, chastity, and vegetarianism. [294] Gandhi accepted this and began having Muslim prayers read in Hindu temples to play his part, but was unable to get Hindu prayers read in mosques. "Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand [Mahatma Gandhi] (1869–1948)". He believed that the Western style education violated and destroyed the indigenous cultures. ‘The Young India’ English weekly journal was published by Gandhi from 1919 to 1931. Violence between Hindus and Muslims flared even before independence took effect on August 15, 1947. Deadly religious riots re-appeared in numerous cities, with 91 in United Provinces of Agra and Oudh alone. ", India, with its rapid economic modernisation and urbanisation, has rejected Gandhi's economics[450] but accepted much of his politics and continues to revere his memory. "[130] British violence, Gandhi promised, was going to be defeated by Indian non-violence. [219], Additional theories of possible influences on Gandhi have been proposed. A social boycott of mamlatdars and talatdars (revenue officials within the district) accompanied the agitation. [241] According to Keith Robbins, the recruitment effort was in part motivated by the British promise to reciprocate the help with swaraj (self-government) to Indians after the end of World War I. According to Raymond Williams, Toothi may have overlooked the influence of the Jain community, and adds close parallels do exist in programs of social reform in the Swaminarayan tradition and those of Gandhi, based on "nonviolence, truth-telling, cleanliness, temperance and upliftment of the masses. Gandhi’s actions inspired future human rights movements around the globe, including those of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. [137][139], The government, represented by Lord Irwin, decided to negotiate with Gandhi. His childhood shyness and self-withdrawal had continued through his teens. [163], Gandhi was released before the end of the war on 6 May 1944 because of his failing health and necessary surgery; the Raj did not want him to die in prison and enrage the nation. But Kavi's influence was undoubtedly deeper if only because I had come in closest personal touch with him. He called … It was based on the biography by Louis Fischer. Gandhi's image also appears on paper currency of all denominations issued by Reserve Bank of India, except for the one rupee note. He went on to live in South Africa for 21 years. The peasantry was forced to grow Indigofera, a cash crop for Indigo dye whose demand had been declining over two decades, and were forced to sell their crops to the planters at a fixed price. [372], In an interview with C.F. With Gandhi isolated in prison, the Indian National Congress split into two factions, one led by Chitta Ranjan Das and Motilal Nehru favouring party participation in the legislatures, and the other led by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, opposing this move. Albert Einstein, said of Gandhi, "Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth." He attended Khanqah gatherings there at Riverside. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. [158], Gandhi opposition to the Indian participation in the World War II was motivated by his belief that India could not be party to a war ostensibly being fought for democratic freedom while that freedom was denied to India itself. [11] As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab and Bengal. [91], In April 1918, during the latter part of World War I, the Viceroy invited Gandhi to a War Conference in Delhi. Gandhi’s mother belonged to an affluent Pranami Vaishnava family. The Act allowed the British government to treat civil disobedience participants as criminals and gave it the legal basis to arrest anyone for "preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without judicial review or any need for a trial". Rather, it is a political creed, an economic doctrine, a religious outlook, a moral precept, and especially, a humanitarian world view. [429], Indians widely describe Gandhi as the father of the nation. [158] Over 2.5 million Indians ignored Gandhi, volunteered and joined on the British side. Occupation: Civil Rights Leader. He linked Gandhi's assassination to politics of hatred and ill-will. Gandhi expected to discuss India's independence, while the British side focused on the Indian princes and Indian minorities rather than on a transfer of power. [137], Gandhi also campaigned hard going from one rural corner of the Indian subcontinent to another. In Kheda, Vallabhbhai Patel represented the farmers in negotiations with the British, who suspended revenue collection and released all the prisoners.[100]. Gandhi attended University College, London, a constituent college of the University of London. [97] M. M. Sankhdher argues that Gandhism is not a systematic position in metaphysics or in political philosophy. Sikhism, to Gandhi, was an integral part of Hinduism, in the form of another reform movement. He immediately fled the courtroom after reimbursing his client for his legal fees. [129] On 31 December 1929, the flag of India was unfurled in Lahore. But foreign cloth meant civilisation to some Indian elites. However, the Hindu leaders including Rabindranath Tagore questioned Gandhi's leadership because they were largely against recognising or supporting the Sunni Islamic Caliph in Turkey. Even after Gandhi’s assassination, his commitment to nonviolence and his belief in simple living — making his own clothes, eating a vegetarian diet and using fasts for self-purification as well as a means of protest — have been a beacon of hope for oppressed and marginalized people throughout the world. This changed, however, after he was discriminated against and bullied, such as by being thrown out of a train coach because of his skin colour by a white train official. [254], The essence of Satyagraha is "soul force" as a political means, refusing to use brute force against the oppressor, seeking to eliminate antagonisms between the oppressor and the oppressed, aiming to transform or "purify" the oppressor. He was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar. [362] In a society of mostly non-violent individuals, those who are violent will sooner or later accept discipline or leave the community, stated Gandhi. [128]However Congressmen, who were votaries of non-violence, defended Bhagat Singh and other revolutionary nationalists being tried in Lahore. [388], Gandhi was a prolific writer. Despite health challenges, Gandhi was able to walk about 79000 kms in his lifetime which comes to an average of 18 kms per day and is equivalent to walking around the earth twice. [144] They invited Indian religious leaders, such as Muslims and Sikhs, to press their demands along religious lines, as well as B. R. Ambedkar as the representative leader of the untouchables. [160][166], Gandhi's arrest lasted two years, as he was held in the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. [38] In 1876, Karamchand became diwan of Rajkot and was succeeded as diwan of Porbandar by his brother Tulsidas. “My ambition is no less than to convert the British people through non-violence and thus make them see the wrong they have done to India,” he wrote days before the march to the British viceroy, Lord Irwin. Although Gandhi was interested in becoming a doctor, his father hoped he would also become a government minister and steered him to enter the legal profession. [431][432] However, in response to an RTI application in 2012, the Government of India stated that the Constitution of India did not permit any titles except ones acquired through education or military service. Gandhi called for political involvement; he was a nationalist and was prepared to use nonviolent force. "[285] Gandhi had a large Indian Muslim following, who he encouraged to join him in a mutual nonviolent jihad against the social oppression of their time. It initially led to a strong Muslim support for Gandhi. [288][289] He also believed there were material contradictions between Hinduism and Islam,[289] and he criticised Muslims along with communists that were quick to resort to violence. [357][358], Gandhi called his ideas Nai Talim (literally, 'new education'). [103], Gandhi felt that Hindu-Muslim co-operation was necessary for political progress against the British. After he returned to India, people flocked to him because he reflected their values. During this period, his long time secretary Mahadev Desai died of a heart attack, his wife Kasturba died after 18 months' imprisonment on 22 February 1944; and Gandhi suffered a severe malaria attack. He promoted Khadi to emphasize the dignity of labor, a life based on non-violence and the value of self-reliance. "[164][165] He urged Indians to Karo ya maro ("Do or die") in the cause of their rights and freedoms. [328], Gandhi strongly favoured the emancipation of women, and urged "the women to fight for their own self-development." ", Murthy, C. S. H. N., Oinam Bedajit Meitei, and Dapkupar Tariang. Jinnah was mainly interested in dealing with the British via constitutional negotiation, rather than attempting to agitate the masses. [102][241] He encouraged Indian people to fight on one side of the war in Europe and Africa at the cost of their lives. [252], Gandhi stated that the most important battle to fight was overcoming his own demons, fears, and insecurities. [281], Gandhi believed that Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism were traditions of Hinduism, with a shared history, rites and ideas. Upon returning to India in 1891, Gandhi learned that his mother had died just weeks earlier. [265][355] According to Ramachandra Guha, "ideologues have carried these old rivalries into the present, with the demonization of Gandhi now common among politicians who presume to speak in Ambedkar's name. He called Gandhi as the one who was "seditious in aim" whose evil genius and multiform menace was attacking the British empire. राम or, Hey Raam). Gandhi ran a thriving legal practice, and at the outbreak of the Boer War, he raised an all-Indian ambulance corps of 1,100 volunteers to support the British cause, arguing that if Indians expected to have full rights of citizenship in the British Empire, they also needed to shoulder their responsibilities. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (/ˈɡɑːndi, ˈɡændi/;[2] 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer,[3] anti-colonial nationalist,[4] and political ethicist,[5] who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule,[6] and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. After several such incidents with Whites in South Africa, Gandhi's thinking and focus changed, and he felt he must resist this and fight for rights. The medical team commanded by Gandhi operated for less than two months. Mahatma Gandhi was a prominent Indian political leader who was a leading figure in the campaign for Indian independence. Lanza del Vasto went to India in 1936 intending to live with Gandhi; he later returned to Europe to spread Gandhi's philosophy and founded the Community of the Ark in 1948 (modelled after Gandhi's ashrams). [163] While in jail, he agreed to an interview with Stuart Gelder, a British journalist. He believed that Christians should introspect on the "true meaning of religion" and get a desire to study and learn from Indian religions in the spirit of universal brotherhood. He was also a highly accomplished sportsman who later founded the football club West Ham United. [343], Gandhi spoke out against untouchability early in his life. [354], Gandhi and his associates continued to consult Ambedkar, keeping him influential. Mehta's residence in Bombay. He justified this support by invoking Islam, stating that "non-Muslims cannot acquire sovereign jurisdiction" in Jazirat al-Arab (the Arabian Peninsula). He freed India from British rule in 1947. Full Name is Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi He was the Martyr of the Nation since 1948. [150] According to Sankar Ghose, the announcement shook Gandhi, who reappraised his views and wrote many essays with his views on castes, intermarriage, and what Hinduism says on the subject. By contrast, Gandhi is "given full credit for India's political identity as a tolerant, secular democracy. When India was a colony of Great Britain, Gandhi used nonviolent methods to protest against British rule. [125] Furthermore, co-operation among Hindus and Muslims ended as Khilafat movement collapsed with the rise of Atatürk in Turkey. According to Gandhi, he felt that since he was demanding his rights as a British citizen, it was also his duty to serve the British forces in the defence of the British Empire. The 1989 Marathi play Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy and the 1997 Hindi play Gandhi Ambedkar criticised Gandhi and his principles. Wearing a homespun white shawl and sandals and carrying a walking stick, Gandhi set out from his religious retreat in Sabarmati on March 12, 1930, with a few dozen followers. [26][56], In 1893, a Muslim merchant in Kathiawar named Dada Abdullah contacted Gandhi. [241] Both the Dutch settlers called Boers and the imperial British at that time discriminated against the coloured races they considered as inferior, and Gandhi later wrote about his conflicted beliefs during the Boer war. Jinnah rejected this proposal and insisted instead for partitioning the subcontinent on religious lines to create a separate Muslim India (later Pakistan). Thus, satya (truth) in Gandhi's philosophy is "God". The book inspired Gandhi to establish a Gandhi himself once also summed up his whole philosophy as follows: "The only virtue I want to claim is truth and non-violence. [327] Recently ICMR made Gandhi's health records public in a book 'Gandhi and Health@150'. [364][365] Tewari states that Gandhi saw democracy as more than a system of government; it meant promoting both individuality and the self-discipline of the community. He embarked on a six-day fast to protest the British decision to segregate the “untouchables,” those on the lowest rung of India’s caste system, by allotting them separate electorates. Bringing anti-colonial nationalism to the common Indians, Gandhi led them in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. [65] Gandhi began to question his people's standing in the British Empire. He stated that it led to disdain for manual work, generally created an elite administrative bureaucracy. "[30] The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and king Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. In Gandhi's view, those who attempt to convert a Hindu, "they must harbour in their breasts the belief that Hinduism is an error" and that their own religion is "the only true religion". [233][236][237] Later, Gandhi translated the Gita into Gujarati in 1930. [86], In 1910, Gandhi established, with the help of his friend Hermann Kallenbach, an idealistic community they named Tolstoy Farm near Johannesburg. He attempted to find the most non-violent vegetarian meal that the poorest human could afford, taking meticulous notes on vegetables and fruits, and his observations with his own body and his ashram in Gujarat. [175], Jinnah rejected Gandhi's proposal and called for Direct Action Day, on 16 August 1946, to press Muslims to publicly gather in cities and support his proposal for the partition of the Indian subcontinent into a Muslim state and non-Muslim state. [249] According to Indira Carr, Gandhi's ideas on ahimsa and satyagraha were founded on the philosophical foundations of Advaita Vedanta. [173][174] Gandhi suggested an agreement which required the Congress and the Muslim League to co-operate and attain independence under a provisional government, thereafter, the question of partition could be resolved by a plebiscite in the districts with a Muslim majority. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless, we will not see him again, as we have seen him for these many years, we will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me, but for millions and millions in this country. Gandhi's father Karamchand was Hindu and his mother Putlibai was from a Pranami Vaishnava Hindu family. For other uses, see, Civil rights activist in South Africa (1893–1914), Struggle for Indian independence (1915–1947), On life, society and other application of his ideas, Brahmacharya: abstinence from sex and food. He also called as Bapuji, Gandhiji. His Father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi who worked as a dewan in Rajkot. Born: October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. Khadi and Gandhi caps brought unity among people during the freedom struggle. [248], Gandhi based Satyagraha on the Vedantic ideal of self-realization, ahimsa (nonviolence), vegetarianism, and universal love. Then, when a friend gave him the book, Unto This Last by John Ruskin, Gandhi became excited about the ideals proffered by Ruskin. In the ensuing years, the teenager rebelled by smoking, eating meat and stealing change from household servants. According to Bipan Chandra, Gandhiji wanted Indians to be utterly fearless. [217][218] Balkrishna Gokhale states that Gandhi was influenced by Hinduism and Jainism, and his studies of Sermon on the Mount of Christianity, Ruskin and Tolstoy. [377], To Gandhi, the economic philosophy that aims at "greatest good for the greatest number" was fundamentally flawed, and his alternative proposal sarvodaya set its aim at the "greatest good for all". He again stepped away from politics to focus on education, poverty and the problems afflicting India’s rural areas. Mohandas Gandhi Biography http://www.notablebiographies.com/Fi-Gi/Gandhi-Mohandas.html Born: October 2, 1869 Porbandar, India Died: January 30, 1948 Delhi, India Indian religious leader, reformer, and lawyer Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian revolutionary and religious leader who used his religious power for political and social reform. Those who went public said they felt as though they were sleeping with their aging mother. Gandhi and thirty-seven other Indians received the Queen's South Africa Medal. Gandhi's shyness was an obstacle to his defence of Allinson at the committee meeting. [154] Despite Gandhi's opposition, Bose won a second term as Congress President, against Gandhi's nominee, Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya; but left the Congress when the All-India leaders resigned en masse in protest of his abandonment of the principles introduced by Gandhi. [117][118], With his book Hind Swaraj (1909) Gandhi, aged 40, declared that British rule was established in India with the co-operation of Indians and had survived only because of this co-operation. Gandhi’s father, Karamchand Gandhi, served as a chief minister in Porbandar and other states in western India. 30 January 1948, New Delhi. With his health failing, Gandhi was released after a 19-month detainment in 1944. But the Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife. [116] Hindu-Muslim communal conflicts reignited. However, the state would limit the use of weapons by the police to the minimum, aiming for their use as a restraining force. [233] Gandhi grew fond of Hinduism, and referred to the Bhagavad Gita as his spiritual dictionary and greatest single influence on his life. He organized the Indian Ambulance corps of 300 Indian volunteers and hundreds of associates to serve wounded black South Africans. [85] Gandhi volunteering to help as a "staunch loyalist" during the Zulu and other wars made no difference in the British attitude, states Herman, and the African experience was a part of his great disillusionment with the West, transforming him into an "uncompromising non-cooperator". According to Arthur Herman, Gandhi believed that his campaign would strike a blow to imperialism. [64][65] He sat in the train station, shivering all night and pondering if he should return to India or protest for his rights. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. [247] The first formulation of the satyagraha as a political movement and principle occurred in 1920, which he tabled as "Resolution on Non-cooperation" in September that year before a session of the Indian Congress. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. In 1906 Gandhi, for the first time, organized a non-violent resistance against the Transvaal government's registration act. When Gandhi arrived in South Africa, he was quickly appalled by the discrimination and racial segregation faced by Indian immigrants at the hands of white British and Boer authorities. In January 1897, when Gandhi landed in Durban, a mob of white settlers attacked him[72] and he escaped only through the efforts of the wife of the police superintendent. It was the satyagraha formulation and step, states Dennis Dalton, that deeply resonated with beliefs and culture of his people, embedded him into the popular consciousness, transforming him quickly into Mahatma. Pursuing a strategy of nonviolent protest, Gandhi took the administration by surprise and won concessions from the authorities. [427] In the summer of 1995, the North American Vegetarian Society inducted him posthumously into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame. Gandhi had a friendly and productive relationship with Hills, but the two men took a different view on the continued LVS membership of fellow committee member Dr Thomas Allinson. [216], According to Indira Carr and others, Gandhi was influenced by Vaishnavism, Jainism and Advaita Vedanta. He would later change this statement to "Truth is God". [88], In the years after black South Africans gained the right to vote in South Africa (1994), Gandhi was proclaimed a national hero with numerous monuments.[89]. Tolstoy responded and the two continued a correspondence until Tolstoy's death in 1910 (Tolstoy's last letter was to Gandhi). Linked to this was his advocacy that khadi (homespun cloth) be worn by all Indians instead of British-made textiles. After British authorities arrested Gandhi in 1922, he pleaded guilty to three counts of sedition. This legacy connects him to Nelson Mandela...in a sense, Mandela completed what Gandhi started."[409]. Gandhi suffered persecution from the beginning in South Africa. Gandhi joined them in their prayers and debated Christian theology with them, but refused conversion stating he did not accept the theology therein or that Christ was the only son of God. He pushed through a resolution at the Calcutta Congress in December 1928 calling on the British government to grant India dominion status or face a new campaign of non-co-operation with complete independence for the country as its goal. Gandhi led Congress celebrated 26 January 1930 as India's Independence Day in Lahore. Satyagraha remains one of the most potent philosophies in freedom struggles throughout the world today. Before this initiative of Gandhi, communal disputes and religious riots between Hindus and Muslims were common in British India, such as the riots of 1917–18. Gandhi worked hard to win public support for the agitation across the country.