From Mohan

to Mahatma
It has been seventy years since Mahatma Gandhi departed from our midst. But his life and soul
continue to animate humanity transcending national and international boundaries. His
contribution to human development is far too great and varied to have been forgotten or to be
overlooked. The world today recognizes him as a far more compelling social innovator than
humanity ever realized.

The life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a story of heroic effort to establish

the values of Truth and Non-violence in human life. In pursuing this objective
Gandhiji became a Mahatma from a mere ‘Monya’. He became a messenger, for
the people of the world surrounded by fire of violence in the twentieth century. He
also became ‘The Father of The Nation’. He saved India and Britain from mutual
hate and revenge by resorting to the experiment of Truth and Non-violence in
India’s struggle for freedom. This created an atmosphere which made it possible
for other countries of Asia and Africa to free themselves without bloodshed from
the hold of the European countries which had subdued them in the nineteenth
century.

Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi was born on
2 October 1869 in Porbandar in Gujarat into the middle class Vaishya family. He
was the son of Karamchand and Putlibai. He studied at the elementary school in
Porbandar till the age of seven and later at Rajkot. He was married to Kasturba at
the age of thirteen while still in high school. He matriculated from Samladas
College in Bhavnager, Gujarat and went to England in 1888 to study law. Though
his mother opposed this trip, but the opposition was overcome by Gandhi's strict
vow of not touching women, wine, and meat in the foreign land. He passed his
examination in 1891 and on 12 June 1891 sailed back to India.

Being born in a middle class Vaishnava family and brought up in that atmosphere
till he joined school and received instruction according to the system then
prevailing, he lived, dressed, and dined in the way all children of that class did.
Later, he went to England for studies and changed his dress to suit the conditions
of that country. But in food and certain other matters, he remained true to the
lesson he had learnt early in life. On his return to India after being called to the
Bar, he passed through difficult times as all beginners in the profession of the law
have to do and it was as a lawyer that he went to South Africa to help a client. He
had, however, to spend many years there as the condition of Indians and the
treatment they received demanded that he should serve them rather than return
to India. His struggle with the authorities brought about a considerable change in
his life and by the time he returned to India, he had already become a Mahatma.
His dress in India on his return was different from what he used to wear when he
was practicing as a Barrister and conformed to the old Kathiawadi type.

If in South Africa it was the Railway Ticket Collector who paved the way for the
birth of a Satyagrahi, in India it was a poor peasant from Champaran, Rajkumar
Shukla, who provided him a platform to test the power of Satyagraha on the
Indian soil. His campaign in favour of the non-co-operation movement brought
about another change which identified his outward appearance with that of the
humblest and lowliest of the land and he stuck to the loin cloth till he departed
with the name of God on his lips.

Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned several times in his pursuit of non-cooperation

and undertook many ‘fasts’ to protest against the oppression of the down trodden
in India.

He invented the techniques of mass –civil disobedience in South Africa which

were later emulated in India and across the world.

On January 30th, 1948, the assassin’s bullet ended the physical existence of
Mahatma Gandhi and made him immortal who left an indelible legacy to the
mankind –‘My life is my Message’.
GANDHI’S CONTRIBUTION IN THE FREEDOM
STRUGGLE:
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar on October 2, 1869. A
barrister by profession, Mahatma Gandhi left his practice to help India achieve the
dream of attaining freedom from the British. His contribution to Indian freedom
movements and his championship of non-violence earned him the title of “Father
of the Nation” or “Bapu”.

During the Indian freedom struggle, Gandhi advocated many peaceful protests
and demonstrations. These protests were conducted with the principle of non-
violence (ahimsa). On his 150th birth anniversary, a summary of the important
movements that made Gandhi the Father of the Nation.

▪ Champaran Movement (1917):

Gandhi’s active participation in the Freedom Struggle started when he

led the Champaran rebellion in Bihar. The movement was an approach of civil
disobedience to make Britishers agree to the demand of farmers, who were
forcefully made to grow Indigo. He signed an agreement in which Britishers
granted control and compensations to the farmers, canceled the hikes in
revenue and collection. After the success of this movement, Gandhi earned
the status of Mahatma.

▪ Kheda Movement (1918):

In the next year after Champaran, 1918, Kheda, a village in Gujarat, was
badly hit by floods. The local farmers appealed to the rulers to waive off the taxes.
To help them, Gandhi started a signature campaign where peasants pledged non-
payment of taxes. He also arranged a social boycott of the revenue officials.

▪ Khilafat Movement (1919):

Gandhi has a major influence on the Muslim population of India. It helped in

uniting the country at the time of crisis, when Britishers tried their best to divide
the nation on religious grounds. After World War 1, Muslims feared for the safety
of their Caliph or religious leaders. Gandhi participated actively in the movement,
and became a prominent spokesperson for the All India Muslim Conference.

▪ Non-cooperation Movement (1920):

After all these years of his active participation, Gandhi realized that the British had
been able to be in India only because of the co-operation they received from the
Indians. To counter this, he started the non-cooperation movement. He convinced
people that non-cooperation was the key to Independence. He also set the goal of
Swaraj or self-governance.

▪ Salt (Dandi) March (1929):

The famous Dandi Movement, also known as the Salt March, began when Gandhi
started a Satyagraha campaign against the salt tax in March, 1930. He marched
388 kilometers from Ahmedabad to Dandi in Gujarat to make salt. He was joined
by thousands of people.

▪ Quit India Movement (1942):

The final nail in the coffin for British Raj in India was the Quit India Movement, led
by Gandhi in 1942. He firmly protested against the British rule and said that the
Indians cannot be involved in World War II.

Name Mahatma Gandhi

State Gujarat

Political Party Indian National Congress

Full Name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Father Name Karamchand Gandhi

Mother Name Putlibai

Date of Birth 2 Oct, 1869

Date of Death 30 Jan, 1948

Age (at the time of death) 78 yrs.

Place of Birth Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency

Religion Hindu
 Schooling Attended primary school in Rajkot.

University College London. Samaldas College

Education Qualifications
Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

Profession before joining politics Lawyer

Spouse Name Smt. Kasturba Gandhi

Children Four Sons: Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, Devdas

Political Career In 1915

Mahatma Gandhi:
A lesson for contemporary society
As the contemporary society delves on the meaning of life amidst the plethora of
complex problems it has to negotiate in their daily lives, the life and philosophy of
Mahatma Gandhi offer a powerful avenue to discern on what path to tread.
Developing understanding of the multi-dimensional thoughts and philosophy of
Mahatma Gandhi offers great opportunities to negotiate the challenges of modern
day society.

In the backdrop of the materialistic culture that dominates our world, Gandhi’s
idea of simple living and strong faith in the power of truth and nonviolence can be
the guiding light for a generation which more often seems to getting diverted
from the road of values and ethics.

Mahatma Gandhi’s five pillars of nonviolence: respect, understanding,

acceptance, appreciation, and compassion are basic to our existence. These are
simple habits and if we all start trying to nurture these, we could make a
difference in the world. By inculcating these habits, we can not only be happy
ourselves but also make others happy. The Mahatma’s faith in the power of
nonviolence can be reflected by this quote of his, “Nonviolence is the first article
of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed.”

For the contemporary society, following the ideals of truthfulness is another

important challenge. Here again the Mahatma’s prescriptions on the power of
truthfulness gives us the direction of what path to follow. On the essence of truth,
Gandhi had said, “An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied
propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. Truth stands,
even if there be no public support. It is self sustained.” This is an apt reminder for
all of us to stand by truth by all means.

One of the greatest lessons we learn from Mahatma Gandhi was his deep faith in
the goodness of every individual and his unflinching belief that humanity is
proceeding towards well-being. His strong belief on humanity is reflected as,
“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the
ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.”

As the world is grappling the challenges of nature and climate change, it is time to
revisit Gandhi’s cosmocentric approach to human beings. For Gandhi, we human
beings are interconnected to all facets of the universe and cannot live in isolation.
He stressed that all lives were sacred and gave immense importance to limit one’s
greed. He had rightly said, “The earth, the air, the land, and the water are not an
inheritance from our fore fathers but on loan from our children. So we have to
handover to them at least as it was handed over to us.” Deep understanding of
the Mahatma’s cosmocentric approach to human beings are needed more than
ever before to ensure contemporary society is able to find sustainable solutions to
the ever increasing problem of biodiversity conservation and greed.

Father of the Nation

Indians widely describe Gandhi as the father of the nation.[Origin of this title is
traced back to a radio address (on Singapore radio) on 6 July 1944 by Subhash
Chandra Bose where Bose addressed Gandhi as "The Father of the Nation". On 28
April 1947, Sarojini Naidu during a conference also referred Gandhi as "Father of
the Nation" 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.

Gandhism is a body of ideas that describes the inspiration, vision, and the life
work of Mohandas Gandhi. It is particularly associated with his contributions to
the idea of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. The two
pillars of Gandhism are truth and non-violence.

The Influence Of Gandhi:

“I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men of
our time. We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting
for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.”

-- ALBERT EINSTEIN

“Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics,”

--MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

“I have the greatest admiration for Mahatma Gandhi. He was a
great human being with a deep understanding of human nature.
His life has inspired me,”

--DALAI LAMA.

“Gandhi’s ideas have played a vital role in South Africa’s

transformation and with the help of Gandhi’s teaching, apartheid
has been overcome.”

--NELSON MANDELA

“If you could have dinner with anyone, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a
real hero of mine.”

--BARACK OBAMA