Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi's Biographical Background

Name: Monhandas Karamchand Gandhi
Birth: India, October 2 1869
Parents: Putlibai(mother) and Karamchand(father)
Death: assassinated, January 30 1948


Ghandi was born in Porbandar. He was the youngest of 3 sons of Putlibai and Karamchand Gandhi. Karamchand was a caring and understanding father, working as a Diwan. Putlibai always had faith in Gandhi and taught him a lot about religion. He was greatly influenced by his father's strict disciplne and his mother's faith in the Hindu religion since he was young. When Gandhi was 13(1883), he married Kasturbai. His father died in 1885 then in 1891 his mother died while he was still in England to study.

Gandhi's Attributes

Gandhi has many positive attributes

 + non-violent = Gandhi was a non-violent person. He never used violence in any of his protests. He belived that violence was not the way to achieve what you want.
+ honest = Gandhi always had faith in his opinion
+ brave = Gandhi was not afraid of jail. If he was, he wouldn't of been successful in his protests and goals. Many people got inspired in his courage.
+ humble = Gandhi never boasted about his achievements.
+ father of nation = Gandhi became the "Father of Nation" to India after all his achivements.
+ mahatma(great soul) = Gandhi is always remembered as the great soul in people's heart.

Gandhi's Key Events which shows his Leadership

The Salt March:
In 1930 there was a non-violence salt protest which Gandhi was incharge. The Indians weren't allowed to sell or produce salt therefore they had to pay taxes to get salt since salt is necessary in any diet. Gandhi didn't like this law so on March 12 1930 he and his 78 followers started the journey from Sabarmati to Dandi which took them 23days long. Gandhi talked to every village he passed and more and more men joined as the journey went on. On April 5, when they reached the coast, Gandhi gave prayers in the middle of the crowd then picked up a lump of salt which was breaking the law. He was arrested and got imprisoned a month later with other protesters too. But Gandhi did not lose hope, give up, or regret what he have done. This salt protest started other protests against the British and many British shops and mills closed down. Then another March, Dharshana March, resulted terrible violence because the non-violent protestors did not defend themselves and many died. But the world soon supported and embraced the protestors and eventually made India gain their freedom from Britain.

The Hunger Strike:
After Gandhi was in prison for 8 months, he went on a fast for the "untouchables". The untouchables were the lowest political representative treated differently and working hard for the higher people. Gandhi started the strike on September 16 1932 to help the untouchables to be treated equally as the others. After 6 days without food he finally forced the British Gouvernments to accept the settlement between the higher-caste and the lower-caste. Gandhi called the untouchables "Children of God".

Gandhi's Spinning Wheel:
Gandhi had a spinning wheel which he made his own clothes called "khadi". There were a huge amount of unimployment in India at his days. The khadies were inexpensive and most of all, Gandhi's action taught Indians to be self-reliant.

Gandhi's Influence to Others

Gandhi influenced many people while he was alive and after his death too.
1. He gained India its freedom from Britain and became independant
2. his messages of 'non-violence resistance' influenced people like Martin.Luther.King or Nelson Mandela to gain 'their' freedom
3. Gandhi's messages also inspire the England Kent Health Service project where parents learn how to respond to violence from their children instead of  boundary punishments .etc.
4. His qoutes and stories about his life influenced many other lives giving them faith and hope.

How Others Viewed Gandhi

People in India still call him "Mahatma Gandhi" which means "Great Soul Gandhi". They truly respected and honoured Gandhi and they still do. They also call him the "father of  nation", a great politician.
Others in the world also respect his bravery and courage. Many people get inspired, and get influenced by him.

But there were people who thought he was a hypocrite. Nathuram Godse, who was a Hindu extremist, believed that India got parted into two parts because of Gandhi. Gandhi told people that they should never be angry or violent to the Muslims but Godse opinion was different because the Hindus did not defend themselves from the Muslim's attack and many died. On January 30 1948, Gandhi was shot by Godse. Godse and his friend Narayan Apte got hanged soon after. His brother, Gopal Godse, also got sentenced to jail for 18years.

Conclusion

Gandhi was an honourable politician. Many people in the world get inspired and want to be like him. He is seen as a hero who gained India's liberation from Britain and unfair laws. Though some people like Nathuram Godse did not like him and assassinated him, the majority of people loved him as the 'father of nation' and the 'great soul'.
Gandhi was a man who was able to fast for his people's freedom and was not afraid to go to jail. He was always ready to sacrifice.