MAHATMA GANDHI
Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi is the Father of Our India. He was the leader of our Freedom Struggle. Our country India won freedom under his good leadership. Independent India will always remember his name. This name is really unforgettable.
Gandhiji was born on 2nd October, 1869 at Porbundar in Kathiawar, Gujarat. He was the son of Karamchand and Putalibai. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His mother was a pious lady and he learnt a lot of religious ideas from her in his childhood.
At the age of seven he was sent to school. He was very regular and punctual during his school days.
In 1883 Gandhiji married Kasturba. After five years he went to England to study law. During his stay in London he read the works of Leo Tolstoy and became an admirer of this great writer. He was immensely influenced by the works of Tolstoy.
Gandhiji returned to India in 1891 and was called to Bar. He began to practise law in Bombay and later shifted to Rajkot. He was not very successful as a lawyer as he refused to tell lies or take up false cases.
Accepting an offer from an Indian firm to become its lawyer, Gandhiji sailed for South Africa in 1893. There he found himself subjected to colour discrimination. Other Indians were also treated with contempt by the whites. Gandhiji decided to fight this injustice and he founded the Natal Indian Congress. He constantly fought for the rights of Indians upto 1914 and was arrested several times. It was during this fight that he used ‘Satyagraha’ as a method of struggle for demanding justice. After his return from South Africa, Gandhiji joined the freedom movement in India. He joined the Indian National Congress. He gave a new spirit and direction to the freedom movement.
Gandhiji adopted non-violent means in the freedom struggle. Non-cooperation, Satygraha and hunger strikes were the methods he adopted in this struggle for the freedom of our country. The British were appalled by these non-conventional methods and they did not know how to defend themselves. During the course of the freedom struggle Gandhiji was arrested several times and on each occasion his public support increased. In 1930 he conducted the historic Salt March from Sabarmati to Dandi to break the Salt Law. Gandhiji continued the struggle till India was Independent from the British. On 15th August, 1947 his efforts became fruitful and India became Independent.
Gandhiji was pained by the Hindu-Muslim tensions and partition of the country. He toured the affected areas to lessen the tensions. He was shot dead by a thoughtless man while holding a prayer meeting at Birla House in Delhi in 1948.
Gandhiji was not only a great leader but also a great man. He firmly believed in truth and non-violence. He adopted only non-violent means in the freedom struggle and never deviated from the path of truth. Despite being the leader of the masses he led an extremely simple life. He was against untouchability and was a true friend of the down-trodden.
Gandhiji was the chief architect of the Indian nation and is rightly called the Father of the Nation.
Career JK
