essay on teachings of mahatma gandhi

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Mahatma Gandhi

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2019 | Original: July 30, 2010

Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the great-souled one.” He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices. After Partition in 1947, he continued to work toward peace between Hindus and Muslims. Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state of Gujarat. His father was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar; his deeply religious mother was a devoted practitioner of Vaishnavism (worship of the Hindu god Vishnu), influenced by Jainism, an ascetic religion governed by tenets of self-discipline and nonviolence. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Upon returning to India in mid-1891, he set up a law practice in Bombay, but met with little success. He soon accepted a position with an Indian firm that sent him to its office in South Africa. Along with his wife, Kasturbai, and their children, Gandhi remained in South Africa for nearly 20 years.

Did you know? In the famous Salt March of April-May 1930, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself.

Gandhi was appalled by the discrimination he experienced as an Indian immigrant in South Africa. When a European magistrate in Durban asked him to take off his turban, he refused and left the courtroom. On a train voyage to Pretoria, he was thrown out of a first-class railway compartment and beaten up by a white stagecoach driver after refusing to give up his seat for a European passenger. That train journey served as a turning point for Gandhi, and he soon began developing and teaching the concept of satyagraha (“truth and firmness”), or passive resistance, as a way of non-cooperation with authorities.

The Birth of Passive Resistance

In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed an ordinance regarding the registration of its Indian population, Gandhi led a campaign of civil disobedience that would last for the next eight years. During its final phase in 1913, hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including women, went to jail, and thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. Finally, under pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts, which included important concessions such as the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of the existing poll tax for Indians.

In July 1914, Gandhi left South Africa to return to India. He supported the British war effort in World War I but remained critical of colonial authorities for measures he felt were unjust. In 1919, Gandhi launched an organized campaign of passive resistance in response to Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Acts, which gave colonial authorities emergency powers to suppress subversive activities. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by British-led soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence.

Leader of a Movement

As part of his nonviolent non-cooperation campaign for home rule, Gandhi stressed the importance of economic independence for India. He particularly advocated the manufacture of khaddar, or homespun cloth, in order to replace imported textiles from Britain. Gandhi’s eloquence and embrace of an ascetic lifestyle based on prayer, fasting and meditation earned him the reverence of his followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the great-souled one”). Invested with all the authority of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Gandhi turned the independence movement into a massive organization, leading boycotts of British manufacturers and institutions representing British influence in India, including legislatures and schools.

After sporadic violence broke out, Gandhi announced the end of the resistance movement, to the dismay of his followers. British authorities arrested Gandhi in March 1922 and tried him for sedition; he was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in 1924 after undergoing an operation for appendicitis. He refrained from active participation in politics for the next several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government’s tax on salt, which greatly affected Indian’s poorest citizens.

A Divided Movement

In 1931, after British authorities made some concessions, Gandhi again called off the resistance movement and agreed to represent the Congress Party at the Round Table Conference in London. Meanwhile, some of his party colleagues–particularly Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a leading voice for India’s Muslim minority–grew frustrated with Gandhi’s methods, and what they saw as a lack of concrete gains. Arrested upon his return by a newly aggressive colonial government, Gandhi began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment of India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God.” The fasting caused an uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindu community and the government.

In 1934, Gandhi announced his retirement from politics in, as well as his resignation from the Congress Party, in order to concentrate his efforts on working within rural communities. Drawn back into the political fray by the outbreak of World War II , Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in return for Indian cooperation with the war effort. Instead, British forces imprisoned the entire Congress leadership, bringing Anglo-Indian relations to a new low point.

Partition and Death of Gandhi

After the Labor Party took power in Britain in 1947, negotiations over Indian home rule began between the British, the Congress Party and the Muslim League (now led by Jinnah). Later that year, Britain granted India its independence but split the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid the massive riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together, and undertook a hunger strike until riots in Calcutta ceased.

In January 1948, Gandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi. On January 30, 12 days after that fast ended, Gandhi was on his way to an evening prayer meeting in Delhi when he was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic enraged by Mahatma’s efforts to negotiate with Jinnah and other Muslims. The next day, roughly 1 million people followed the procession as Gandhi’s body was carried in state through the streets of the city and cremated on the banks of the holy Jumna River.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi – Contributions and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi

500+ words essay on mahatma gandhi.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi – Mahatma Gandhi was a great patriotic Indian, if not the greatest. He was a man of an unbelievably great personality. He certainly does not need anyone like me praising him. Furthermore, his efforts for Indian independence are unparalleled. Most noteworthy, there would have been a significant delay in independence without him. Consequently, the British because of his pressure left India in 1947. In this essay on Mahatma Gandhi, we will see his contribution and legacy.

Contributions of Mahatma Gandhi

First of all, Mahatma Gandhi was a notable public figure. His role in social and political reform was instrumental. Above all, he rid the society of these social evils. Hence, many oppressed people felt great relief because of his efforts. Gandhi became a famous international figure because of these efforts. Furthermore, he became the topic of discussion in many international media outlets.

Mahatma Gandhi made significant contributions to environmental sustainability. Most noteworthy, he said that each person should consume according to his needs. The main question that he raised was “How much should a person consume?”. Gandhi certainly put forward this question.

Furthermore, this model of sustainability by Gandhi holds huge relevance in current India. This is because currently, India has a very high population . There has been the promotion of renewable energy and small-scale irrigation systems. This was due to Gandhiji’s campaigns against excessive industrial development.

Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is probably his most important contribution. This philosophy of non-violence is known as Ahimsa. Most noteworthy, Gandhiji’s aim was to seek independence without violence. He decided to quit the Non-cooperation movement after the Chauri-Chaura incident . This was due to the violence at the Chauri Chaura incident. Consequently, many became upset at this decision. However, Gandhi was relentless in his philosophy of Ahimsa.

Secularism is yet another contribution of Gandhi. His belief was that no religion should have a monopoly on the truth. Mahatma Gandhi certainly encouraged friendship between different religions.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi has influenced many international leaders around the world. His struggle certainly became an inspiration for leaders. Such leaders are Martin Luther King Jr., James Beve, and James Lawson. Furthermore, Gandhi influenced Nelson Mandela for his freedom struggle. Also, Lanza del Vasto came to India to live with Gandhi.

The awards given to Mahatma Gandhi are too many to discuss. Probably only a few nations remain which have not awarded Mahatma Gandhi.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest political icons ever. Most noteworthy, Indians revere by describing him as the “father of the nation”. His name will certainly remain immortal for all generations.

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

• Mahatma Gandhi
• APJ Abdul Kalam
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Swami Vivekananda
• Mother Teresa
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
• Subhash Chandra Bose
• Abraham Lincoln
• Martin Luther King

FAQs on Mahatma Gandhi

Q.1 Why Mahatma Gandhi decided to stop Non-cooperation movement?

A.1 Mahatma Gandhi decided to stop the Non-cooperation movement. This was due to the infamous Chauri-Chaura incident. There was significant violence at this incident. Furthermore, Gandhiji was strictly against any kind of violence.

Q.2 Name any two leaders influenced by Mahatma Gandhi?

A.2 Two leaders influenced by Mahatma Gandhi are Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela.

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Religion 100Q: Hinduism Project

A Student Blog about Aspects of Hinduism

Teachings of Gandhi

Zachary Kio

Religion 100

November 23, 2015

Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi

            Mahatma Gandhi, a world-renowned peace activist, has affected the modern world through his teachings of non-violence and social equality. To this day, his legacy and what he has contributed can be found in all walks of life. The life of Mohandas Gandhi, his original name, spans from 1869 to 1948 to which he was a very prominent political activist in the Eastern Hemisphere (Molloy). From speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. to educational curriculums in higher institutions, elements from the teachings of Gandhi have integrated into almost every realm of society today. Out of all his teachings and legacies that are remembered, there is no doubt that his mentality towards civil disobedience through nonviolence means is the most prominent. The effects of what he has taught has sprouted many more movements and ideologies that have transgressed past his lifetime and into the lives of future generations.

Prior to discussing the effects of his teachings, nonviolence in its true essence, must be discussed. The concept of nonviolence can be captured in the meaning of ahisma , which is a philosophy of causing no injury or harm through means of words, thoughts, or deeds (Mayton 713). This word dates back to ancient Indian and Asian religious traditions that deem it as a way of life that one should uphold (Arapura 392). Although the existence of ahisma dates long before the time of Gandhi, he was the first to apply it on such a large scale during times of political upheaval in 20 th Century India (Asirvatham). Molloy defines ahisma as, “nonharm” or “nonviolence” (Molloy). Walker claims that it is impossible for men to completely act in accordance with ahisma because men constantly engage in acts of violence with other men, animals, or even plants (Bajpai 148). Unintentional or not, because all men engage in acts of violence, man can only agree with it in principle while striving to achieve it in practice. Walker makes an interesting point when she claims that gunpowder, in its mere existence, totally defies everything that ahisma stands for because the primary utility of gunpowder is to engage in violence (150). Although man cannot practice ahisma fully, there are those who act in accordance with the principle more than others. In Gandhi’s weekly journal, the Harijan , he described non-violence as being, “the greatest force at the disposal of mankind” (Harijan 2). Gandhi added that it is the strongest weapon to utilize when change is desired; it is stronger than actual destruction of property or violent acts toward others (Harijan 1). In addition, man is defined as, “living freely by his willingness to die” (Harijan 2). This quote in the Harijan is especially important because it displays the type of mentality that a society must have in order for change to be enacted. Man must want something so much that he is willing to get hurt, go to prison, or to even die at the cost of his goals. Gandhi outlines the repercussions of violent acts and how they plant seeds of hatred in future generations when he says, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent” (Gandhi). In other words, violence is the wrong way to enact change because an infliction of violence on a person will cause a seed to hatred to be planted and an on-going chain of violence, stemming from vengeance, will ensue. Bose says that nonviolence requires courage whereas acts of violence are simply loud (Bose 161). He adds that nonviolence is very difficult to practice because it requires man to be forgiving; forgiving of the disservices committed to him and to relinquish any kind of animosity (161). Furthermore, Bose says that, “self suffering is the chosen substitute for violence to others” (161).

Gandhi and his teachings rooted from influences that dated back long before his birth. Influences such as Jesus, Thoreau, and Buddha played significant roles in shaping his teachings and they way he applied it during the Indian Independence Movement. Jesus in particular, played an enormous role in defining Gandhi’s morals as he was growing up. As a child, he would read the Christian Bible, specifically the New Testament, and found the content resonating (Bose 160). In his book, Gandhi on Christianity , Gandhi spoke on how the Sermon on the Mount message impacted him so heavily (Gandhi 34). What struck him the most in the Sermon on the Mount was Christ’s teaching on non-retaliation and how one should return good when evil is performed. This new mentality is something Gandhi had not been accustomed to, yet he found great value in the practice. Because Jesus was so successful in adopting new followers using this mentality, Gandhi was fixated on learning more about it and its applications toward the Indian Independence Movement. Ultimately, it was the passion and unconditional love of others by Jesus Christ that transformed Gandhi, so much so that elements of Christianity are found everywhere in the ideals shared by Gandhi.

Another vital influence that shaped Gandhi’s teachings would be his parents. Gandhi always spoke highly of his mother and how devoutly religious she was (Dalton 2). During his childhood, Gandhi’s mother would practice fasting whenever the sun was not shining; she would claim that “God did not want her to eat today” (Dalton 2). In return, Gandhi and his brother would always run outside to check if the sun was out that day so their mother could finally eat (Dalton 2). Although never said explicitly, Gandhi would learn principles such as loyalty, self-control, and self-deprivation by daily examples from his mother (Dalton). With any child, the values they hold when they are adults are largely dependent on the values that are instilled in them as child by the parents. It is thanks to an accumulation of multiple influences that has allowed Gandhi to be the influential political and social activist that he is today.

Gandhi is most known for being a political reformer and activist through his actions during the Indian Independence Movement. A common misconception that arises from Gandhi’s actions in India is that he wanted independence for India. This is wrong; Gandhi wanted something known as swaraj, which translates into self-rule (Dalton 2). The concept of swaraj exists on two plains, the first being a political realm while the second being on a spiritual realm. Independence was freedom to do anything, which carries a negative connotation whereas swaraj means disciplined rule from within which carries a positive connotation (Dalton 2). In a political sense, having swaraj for India would mean India would be free from British imperialism and have complete sovereignty over itself. In a spiritual sense, the idea of swaraj can be found in The Bagavad-Gita where it teaches people to regain control of the ‘self’ (Dalton 4).

Specifically in his active role during the Independence movement for India, Gandhi taught people the correct way to fight injustice. Instead of retaliating with acts of violence, Gandhi implored his followers to only oppose an unfair act and never a person (Gerry 1). An element from Christianity that runs strong with Gandhi’s ideals is the principle of unconditional love. That is, to love your neighbor despite any injustices that he may have caused you. During his time in South Africa and from teachings by Thoreau, Gandhi learned of the power of strikes and protest marches, two powerful weapons that he utilized during the independence movement (Gerry 1). The power of nonviolent forces the opposition to look at themselves and the problems between the oppressed and the suppressors in a different light (Gerry). A principle that Gandhi instilled and emphasized to his followers was the fact that only love could drive out hate and stop the chain of animosity (Gerry 3). A specific instance of Gandhi’s practice can be seen during the Salt Protest in India in 1930 where salt was heavily taxed so Gandhi and his followers marched peacefully to the beach to pick up salt (Gerry 4). In doing so, Gandhi was arrested and put into prison. As a result, over 60,000 people, abiding by Gandhian principles, ‘turned the other cheek’ while the British attempted to stop their march (Gerry 4). This prime example of how 60,000 people followed the footsteps and practices of one man is a testament to amount of people Gandhi touched with his teachings.

Mahatma Gandhi is the cultivation of past iconic influences and will be seed of future leaders that will come and enact change in all realms of society. Through his teachings of nonviolent protest and unconditional love, Gandhi has touched the lives of many and because of this, society today and societies to come will still reap the benefits of the change he has enacted and the process by which one should combat injustice. His teachings have not only freed India from the British, but African-Americans have more civil rights because of Martin Luther King Jr., South Africans have been liberated from apartheid because of Nelson Mandela, along with many more leaders to come.

Bose, Anima. “A Gandhian Perspective on Peace”.  Journal of Peace Research  18.2 (1981): 159–164. Web…

Mohandas K. Gandhi,  Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth , New York: Dover Publications, 1983, p. 2

Ghandi, Mohandas K., “Ahimsa, or the Way of Nonviolence.”  A Peace Reader.  Ed. Joseph J. Fahey and Richard Armstrong. New York: Paulist Press, 1992. 171-174.

Dalton, Dennis. “Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action”. Columbia University Press (2012). 2-20.

Walker, claire. “what do we mean by non-violence”.  the journal of religions and psychical research.   volume 17, number 3. ebsco publishing, 2002. 146-149., parker, clifton. “gandhi’s nonviolent approach offers lessons for peace movements, stanford scholar says”. stanford report, 2004. 1-3., asirvatham, eddy.  political theory . s.chand..

Mayton, D. M., & Burrows, C. A. (2012),  Psychology of Nonviolence , The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology, Vol. 1, pages 713-716 and 720-723, Wiley-Blackwell.

Bajpai, Shiva (2011).  The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times , Himalayan Academy Publications (Hawaii, USA),  ISBN 978-1-934145-38-8 ; see pages 8, 98

Rev. Gerry Straatemeier, MSW. “Mahatma Gandhi”. AGNT, 2002. 1-4.

Molloy, Michael. “Chapter 3: Hinduism.”  Experiencing the World’s Religions . 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. 75+. Print.

One thought on “teachings of gandhi”.

Things to remember: Details about Gandhi’s though in Molloy, pp. 111-113, such as satyagraha (“truth force”). “Satya” is better translated as “truth,” and Gandhi evolved from saying “God is Truth” to saying “truth is God,” and he devoted his life to the spiritual pursuit of truth (his “experiment with the truth”). He said that the the pursuit of truth was true Bhakti. The only way to truth is through nonviolence: the organized, active, steadfast pursuit of truth that also led to justice, freedom, and peace through active (not passive resistance) involvement with the world. It also does not involve ill-will toward anyone (like agape love in Christianity which actively wills the well-being of others, even “enemies”).

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VOICE OF GUIDES

The principles and teachings of mahatma gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi is the central figure in the Indian independence movement who protested peacefully against British colonial rule. The teachings and principles of Gandhi define the identity of India until now. His simple self-woven dress, sandals, and round glasses gave him an unusually puritan look. He repeatedly went on a hunger strike fighting for the rights of the „untouchables” (the most vulnerable in society), the equality between women and men, and between different religions. Gandhi was assassinated six months after the country gained its independence. He did not want to be idolized and said he had nothing to teach the world because “truth and non-violence are as old as the hills.”

Famous quotes of Gandhi 

„Be the change that you want to see in the world.” „Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” „You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.” „What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another.” „The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi

Read about the rat temple, the love of cricket, arranged marriages, death rituals, and other interesting facts about India

The Father of the Nation orders the British to quit India

The road to south-africa.

Gandhi was born in 1869 in Gujarat state, in a wealthy family under the name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 

The Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore gave him the honorary title, “Mahatma” (Great Souled). 

Gandhi’s father governed one of the Principalities in the State of Gujarat as a minister. He got married at the age of 13 as his parents wished and missed a year for that in school. His wife, Kasturba, was an illiterate, simple woman. He finished high school in Bombay and wanted to become a doctor. But because his religion condemns vivisection, he decided to follow the family tradition to become a civil servant. He went abroad to study law in London for three years. Before leaving, he made a vow of self-restraint to which he remained loyal throughout his life. He already had four children before he left.

He returned to India as a graduated lawyer, but he failed at the beginning of his career. At his first trial, he got confused and fell into a chair in the middle of his speech. He soon realized that working as a lawyer contradicted his beliefs about the truth. So he returned to his village, handed in applications. Finally, an Indian company called him to South Africa. Although he was not keen to leave India, it was an offer too hard to refuse.

Nearly 20 years in South Africa

He arrived in South Africa in 1893, where he finally spent 20 years. Till the age of 18, Gandhi hardly read the newspapers. He did not show any interest in politics as a student or a practicing lawyer. But at the age of 25, he suddenly changed and became a spokesman for the Indian minority in South Africa.

After the British abolished slavery, they used contracted laborers from the colonies, including Indians, to cultivate their lands. For many landless Indians, this was a possible way out of the misery, and they could later decide to return to their country or settle in South-Africa. In South Africa, he encountered several racial discriminations against his compatriots. The colonists despised and called them “untouchables”. They forced them into townships (ghettos) and could not use the sidewalk in some places or be on the street after 9 pm.

He also faced humiliation after he arrived in India. Once, when he was traveling to Pretoria on the first-class, he had to go over to another wagon. They forbid him to sit among the white people on the bus. His access was denied to most hotels saying it was only open to Europeans.

When he learned that there was a plan to deprive the Indians of their voting rights, he said as a spokesman for the Indian community: “This is the first nail in our coffin”. 

He returned to India in 1896 to take his family with him. At the same time, he gave speeches throughout India about the harsh circumstances of Indians in South-Africa to get supporters. He bombarded the British with petitions due to the insults against Indians.

The core teaching and principle of Gandhi: the peaceful Disobedience Movement, the „Satyagraha”

In 1906 a humiliating decree required immigrants over the age of 8 to sign up at the police, register themselves stating their ethnicity, religion, and caste and apply for their identity certificate. Otherwise, they could not travel in the country or could even be deported. The Indians refused to comply with the order and protested at the side of Gandhi. The British answered with retaliation and dismissed countless Indian workers. Apart from Gandhi, 150 other Indians went to jail. So started the civil disobedience movement, the satyagraha (sat = truth, agraha = resistance), and lasted for seven years. It was the principal teaching of Gandhi. 

“To insist on the truth, accept the suffering, and resist peacefully, without violence.”   Gandhi Tweet

According to Gandhi, violence is not the right way to answer aggression. He steadfastly abided by the truth. This political method became the symbol of Gandhi, who first applied it in South Africa. Later it developed into a mass movement in India.

The second 4 year-long Satyagraha started in 1913 when a decree prohibited Indians from going from one state to another without a certificate. It also declared marriages between non-Christians illegal. Under the pressure of London and the international public, the South African government finally made a compromise with the Indian community in 1914.

Gandhi returns to adapt his principles in India

Gandhi returned to India as a hero in 1914 and fought against the British superiors. He was especially outraged by the law that authorities can imprison anyone suspected of riots. As a result of the self-proclaimed Satyagraha movement, strikes broke out across the country. The colonists resorted to military retaliation, the most brutal of which, the Amritsar massacre of 1919, claimed nearly 400 dead.

He became the most influential personality in India and was at the forefront of the Indian independence movement.

His party, the Congress Party, which had existed for 35 years, has developed into a mass organization. Gandhi announced a boycott of British goods and urged people not to use British services and visit their institutions. By 1922 the disobedience movements had already seriously endangered the work of the government. The power wanted to create an order with terror. Thousands went to jail again. Gandhi himself got six years prison sentence on the charge of rioting, but after two years, he got released. The strikes followed one another, and the national independence movement flourished.

The famous “salt-march” of Gandhi

The British imposed taxes on salt and enjoyed a monopoly for production. So the extraction and sale of salt became the exclusive right of the British. Indians had to buy the salt from the British, and they even taxed it.  In response to that, Gandhi started his famous “salt-march” on 12th March in 1930 with 78 of his followers.

After 350 km of walking from Ahmedabad to the coastal city of Dandi, he arrived with tens of thousands of people at the beach. As a sign of protest, he started illegal distillation. 

“Out of all the laws, I consider this to be the most unfair against poor” .

The British authorities imprisoned 60 000 followers of Gandhi. But by 1931, the British approved the free distillation of salt for consumption. 

The fight against the discrimination of the “untouchables”.

One of his principles was to fight against the discrimination of the “untouchables”. For that, he went on a hunger strike. He called them Harijans, „the children of God”.

He regarded the existing practice of the caste system as a mockery of Hinduism. Because of the urging threat of overpopulation, he encouraged self-restraint. He got up early every day and insisted on wearing the same self-woven dress as peasants. Gandhi prayed, wove, walked a lot, and talked to politicians. Even many Indians found him quite eccentric.

He was a strict vegetarian, and he even wrote a book entitled „The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism”.

He did not consume dairy products before his health deteriorated. Then he used to take his goat with him to make sure he always had fresh milk. Nutrition experts are still examining how Gandhi could survive for 21 days without eating. When he was wasting, the British government did not allow any official photographs of Gandhi. They feared that it could fuel nationalist aspirations. His fasting launched a powerful campaign that resulted in many positive changes.

The “swadeshi movement” to support domestic production

The Congress Party weakened, and Gandhi resigned as chief of the party in 1934 and even quit for some time. He retreated and established an ashram in Ahmedabad near Gujarat – where everyone could make ends meet with their own hands- and launched the  “swadeshi movement”  based on the boycott of British products and services and the revival of Indian production. He trained the leaders of the national movement here and developed a program of social and economic growth. The spinning-wheel movement aimed to introduce home weaving. Mahatma also wore his home-made dhoti.

He moved to another ashram in 1936 and started the independence movement from here. When World War II outbroke, the Congress Party supported the British war efforts, but they always failed to fulfill the promised concessions in return. Gandhi first demanded that the British leave India in 1940, which led to the arrest of the entire party leadership, including Gandhi. Two years later years he openly requested from the British to “ Quit India”.

The wife of Gandhi died in prison in 1944. The day she died (22nd February) became Mother’s Day in India. Gandhi was also in jail at that time. They only released him because he had malaria, and the British were afraid that it would come to an uprising if he also lost his life in prison.

India gains independence at the cost of the partition of Pakistan

The Congress and the Muslim League have begun talks with the British about the independence of the country. The Congress Party, formed in 1885, was the only party for a long time. It represented Indian politics itself. The common goal to expulse the British could temporarily unite Hindus and Muslims. 

But as the religious conflicts intensified, Jinnah quit and founded the Muslim League. 

In 1933, he came up with the idea to ​​establish a separate Muslim-only state called Pakistan. 

Under the pressure of the events, the Indian National Congress gave its consent to the new state. But did not abandon its policy to reduce the existing religious and ethnic conflicts. The Congress said that religion and statehood must be separated and continued to fight for a social structure beyond the caste system. Even the constitution included these principles.

On 14th August Pakistan, while on 15th India gained independence in 1947 .

Gandhi refused to attend the ceremony as he was deeply disappointed that his country gained independence at the cost of losing its unity. Bloody clashes between Hindus and Muslims began immediately after the declaration of independence. Five million Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims were displaced, and thousands died on their way. Gandhi was blamed for being biased by both sides. So he gave his vow in Kolkata to fast until his death.

Under these circumstances, the extreme Hindu Mahasabha organization gained popularity. It was initially a response to the Muslim League. The Mahasabha evoked hatred against the Congress leaders. They considered them traitors who wasted the thousand-years political and religious heritage of the country. But Gandhi never wanted that India gains independence by the separation of Pakistan. In his view, it was much worse than the British occupation. It is the reason why he did not even show up at the independence celebration. 

Gandhi stated that if they want a Muslim state, they should take all the Muslims (there are currently 11-12% Muslims in India, and their number amounted to 25% before the partition). Besides, the national wealth must also be divided proportionally between the two countries.

“Vivisection” – Many of those Indians who supported an independent Pakistan also used this term for the partition.

The assassination of Gandhi

On 30 January 1948, in preparation for the regular evening prayer, Gandhi walked out to his garden. 

Nathuram Godse, a Hindu journalist and the leader of the extremist organization Mahasabha stepped out of the waiting area and fired at Gandhi three times. 

Learn 30 incredible facts about India

All Gandhi could say was: Ram, Ram – My God, my God. These last words of him appear on the black marble block dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. His ashes were thrown in a holy river according to Hindu tradition. Two million people escorted the “Father of the Nation” on his final journey.

Before any official declaration about the assassination, the scariest rumors spread and created unrest and outrage. Just two hours after the death of Gandhi, robbery and murders caused turmoil in Bombay. The police tried to restore the order with weapons while the crowd fought with stones and knives. People capsized buses and trams. Entirely unfounded, someone spread that the perpetrator was a member of the Muslim League.

But the killer was not a Muslim. He was called Nathuram Godse, and he was the local secretary of the nationalist Hindu Mahasabha organization. When the news reached the alleyways of Bombay, the situation changed. Now Hindu extremists became the targets of attacks by other Hindus. 

Just ten days before the murder of Gandhi, an unsuccessful assassination attempt had already taken place. That time they captured the perpetrator, who was also a Hindu. It happened at the same spot (Birla house) at the same time of day. But this issue has not been brought to the attention of the general public. After that, they banned Mahasabha and arrested the leaders. The trial took place in the Red Fort of Delhi. 

At the hearing, Godse testified: “I am the sinner myself. It was my obligation to end the life of the so-called “Father of the Nation”, who has played a major role in vivisecting the country.” On 11th November in 1949, Nathuram Godse and Narajam Apte were hanged.

 The birthday of Gandhi, the 2nd of October, is National Day in India. The UN declared the same date as International Non-Violence Day.

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Two Gandhi and Religion

• Published: October 2004
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This chapter presents an essay which explores Mahatma Gandhi’s religious beliefs. Though Gandhi’s attitude to religion holds the key to the understanding of his life and thought, its nuances and significance have often been missed by his admirers as well as by his critics. It recounts that Gandhi’s prayer meetings were held not in temples, but under the open sky; this became a symbol of religious harmony by including recitations from Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, and Buddhist texts. Though Gandhi was deeply religious, he said he would have opposed the author’s proposal for a state religion even if the whole population of India had professed the same religion. He considered religion to be a personal matter and argued that the State can look after only the citizens’ secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, and other issues, not religion.

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Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation

Last updated on October 2, 2022 by ClearIAS Team

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi was a lawyer, nationalist, and anti-colonial activist. He led a non-violent mass movement against the British rule of India which ultimately resulted in Indian independence .

Mahatma Gandhi is revered in India as the Father of the Nation.

Table of Contents

The early life of Mahatma Gandhi: Birth and Family

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 nd October 1869, in Porbandar in the princely state of Kathiawar in Gujarat.

His father was Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi who served as a dewan of Porbandar state. His mother was Putlibai who came from Junagadh. Mohandas was the youngest of four children. He had two brothers and a sister.

At age of 13, Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kastubai Makhanji Kapadia as was the custom at that time.

His father passed away in 1885, and the same year he and his wife lost their first child. The Gandhi couple later had four sons over the years.

Education of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Ji received his primary education in Rajkot where his father had relocated as dewan to the ruler Thakur Sahib. He went to Alfred high school in Rajkot at the age of 11.

In 1887, at the age of 18, Gandhi Ji graduated from a high school in Ahmedabad. He later enrolled at a college in Bhavnagar but dropped out later. He had also joined and eventually dropped out of a college in Bombay.

He then went to London in 1888 to pursue law at the university college. After completing his studies, he was invited to be enrolled at Inner temple to become a barrister.

He returned to India in 1891 at the age of 22 after his mother passed away.

He failed to establish a successful law career both in Rajkot and Bombay.

In 1893, he moved to Durban, South Africa, on a one-year contract to sort out the legal problems of Abdullah, a Gujarati merchant.

South Africa during the 1800s

The British had colonized and settled in the Natal and Cape provinces of South Africa during the 1840s and 50s. Transvaal and Orange Free State were independent Boer (British and Dutch settlers) ruled states. Boer means farmer settler in Dutch and Afrikaans. The governance of colonial regions (Natal and Cape) was controlled by the minority white population which enforced segregation between government-defined races in all spheres.

This created three societies- whites (British and Dutch or Boer ancestry), Blacks and Coloureds (mixed race) which included ethnic Asians (Indians, Malayans, Filipinos, and Chinese).

Indian immigration to South Africa began in the 1860s, when whites recruited indentured Indian labour (Girmityas), especially from south India, to work on sugar plantations. Later many Indian merchants, mostly meman Muslims also migrated. By the 1890s, the children of the ex-indentured labourers had settled down in South Africa making up the third group.

Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa

1893 : Mohandas Gandhi witnessed extreme apartheid or racial discrimination against Asians in South Africa. His journey from Durban to Pretoria witnessed the famous incident when he was thrown out of a first-class compartment by a white man at Pietermaritzburg station. Upon arriving at Johanessburg, he was refused rooms in the hotels.

These experiences motivated him to stay in South Africa for a longer period to organize the Indian workers to enable them to fight for their rights. He started teaching English to the Asian population there and tried to organize them to protest against the oppression.

1894: After the culmination of his Abdullah case in 1894, he stayed on there and planned to assist Indians in opposing a bill to deny them the right to vote. He founded the Natal Indian Congress and moulded the Indian community into a unified political force.

1899-1902: The Boer War

The Boer War extended Britain’s control from Natal and Cape Province to include Transvaal and Orange Free State.

During this time, Gandhi volunteered to form a group of stretcher-bearers as the Natal Indian ambulance corps. It consisted of indentured labourers and was funded by the Indian community and helped treatment and evacuation of wounded British soldiers.

Gandhi Ji thought that helping the British war efforts would win over the British imperial government and earn sympathy for the plight of Indians there. He was also awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal for serving the British empire.

Till 1906, it was the moderate phase of the struggle for the Indians in South Africa. During this time, Gandhi concentrated on petitioning and sending memorials to the legislatures, the colonial secretary in London, and the British parliament.

1906: The Civil Disobedience in South Africa

The failure of moderate methods led to the second phase of the struggle, civil disobedience or the Satyagraha.

He started two settlements- the Phoenix settlement in Durban and the Tolstoy farm in Johanessburg for helping the needy and initiate a communal living tradition.

His first notable resistance was against the law passed by the government, making it compulsory for Indians to take out certifications of registrations that held their fingerprints and was compulsory to carry it on the person at all times. Gandhi formed a Passive Resistance Association against this.

Gandhi and his followers were jailed. Later the government agreed to withdraw the law if Indians voluntarily registered. They were tricked into the registrations and they protested again by publicly burning their certificates.

1908: The existing campaign expanded to protest against the new law to restrict migrations of Indians between provinces. Gandhi and others were jailed and sentenced to hard physical labour.

1910: Gandhi Ji set up the Tolstoy farm in Johannesburg to ready the satyagrahis to the harsh conditions of the prison hence helping to keep the resistance moving forward.

1911: Gopal Krishna Gokhale visited South Africa as a state guest on the occasion of the coronation of King George V. Gokhale and Gandhi met at Durban and established a good relationship.

1913: The satyagraha continued against varied oppressive laws brought by the government. The movement against the law invalidating marriages not conducted according to Christian rites brought out many Indian women onto the movement.

Gandhi launched a final mass movement of over 2000 men, women, and children. They were jailed and forced into miserable conditions and hard labour. This caused the whole Indian community in South Africa to rise on strike.

In India, Gokhale worked to make the public aware of the situation in South Africa which led the then Viceroy Hardinge to call for an inquiry into the atrocities.

A series of negotiations took place between Gandhiji, Viceroy Hardinge, CR Andrews (Christian missionary and Indian Independence activist), and General Smuts of South Africa. This led to the government conceding to most of the Indians’ demands.

Gandhiji’s return to India: 1915

1915: On the request of Gokhale, conveyed by CF Andrews (Deenbandhu), Gandhi Ji returned to India to help with the Indian struggle for independence .

The last phase of the Indian National movement is known as the Gandhian era.

Mahatma Gandhi became the undisputed leader of the National Movement. His principles of nonviolence and Satyagraha were employed against the British government. Gandhi made the nationalist movement a mass movement.

On returning to India in 1915, Gandhi toured the country for one year on Gokhale’s insistence. He then established an ashram in Ahmedabad to settle his phoenix family.

He first took up the cause of indentured labour in India thus continuing his fight in South Africa to abolish it.

Gandhiji joined the Indian National Congress and was introduced to Indian issues and politics and Gokhale became his political Guru.

1917: At this point, World war I was going on, and Britain and France were in a difficult position. Germany had inflicted a crushing defeat on both the British and French troops in France.

Russia’s war effort had broken down and the revolution was threatening its government.

America had entered the war but no American troops had yet reached the war front.

The British army required reinforcements urgently and they looked to India for participation. Viceroy Chelmsford had invited various Indian leaders to attend a war conference. Gandhi was also invited and he went to Delhi to attend the conference.

After attending the viceroy’s war conference Gandhiji agreed to support the recruitment of Indians in the British war effort. He undertook a recruitment campaign in Kaira district, Gujarat.

He again believed that support from Indians will make the British government look at their plight sympathetically after the war.

Early movements by Gandhiji

Champaran Satyagraha, Kheda Satyagraha, and Ahmedabad Mill Strike were the early movements of Gandhi before he was elevated into the role of a national mass leader.

1917: Champaran Satyagraha

Champaran Satyagraha of 1917 was the first civil disobedience movement organized by Gandhiji. Rajkumar Shukla asked Gandhi to look into the problems of the Indigo planters.

The European planters had been forcing passengers to grow Indigo on a 3/20 of the total land called the tinkatiya system.

Gandhi organized passive resistance or civil disobedience against the tinkatiya system. Finally, the authorities relented and permitted Gandhi to make inquiries among the peasants. The government appointed a committee to look into the matter and nominated Gandhi as a member.

Rajendra Prasad, Anugrah Narayan Sinha, and other eminent lawyers became inspired by Gandhi and volunteered to fight for the Indigo farmers in court for free.

Gandhi was able to convince the authorities to abolish the system and the peasants were compensated for the illegal dues extracted from them.

1918: Kheda satyagraha

The Kheda Satyagraha was the first noncooperation movement organized by Gandhi.

Because of the drought in 1918 crops failed in the Kheda district of Gujarat. According to the revenue code if the yield was less than one-fourth of the normal produced the farmers for entitled to remission. Gujarat sabha sent a petition requesting revenue assessment for the year 1919 but the authorities refused to grant permission.

Gandhi supported the peasants’ cause and asked them to withhold revenue. During the Satyagraha, many young nationalists such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik became Gandhi’s followers.

Sardar Patel led a group of eminent people who went around villages and gave them political advisors and instructions.

The government finally agreed to form an agreement with the farmers and hence the taxes were suspended for the years 1919 and 1920 and all confiscated properties were returned.

1918: Ahmedabad mill strike

This was Gandhi’s first hunger strike. He intervened in a dispute between Mill owners of Ahmedabad and the workers over the issue of discontinuation of the plague bonus.

The workers were demanding a rise of 50% in their wages while the employees were willing to concede only a 20% bonus.

The striking workers turned to Anusuiya Sarabai in quest of justice and she contacted Gandhi for help. He asked the workers to go on a strike and to remain non-violent and undertook a fast unto death to strengthen the workers’ resolve.

The mill owners finally agreed to submit the issue to a tribunal and the strike was withdrawn in the end the workers receive a 35% increase in their wages.

Gandhiji’s active involvement in the Indian National Movement

Gandhi’s active involvement in the Indian Freedom Struggle was marked by many mass movements like the Khilafat Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement, and Quit India Movement.

1919: Khilafat movement

During World War I Gandhi sought cooperation from the Muslims in his fight against the British by supporting the Ottoman Empire that had been defeated in the world war.

The British passed the Rowlatt act to block the movement. Gandhi called for a nationwide Satyagraha against the act.

It was Rowlatt Satyagraha that elevated Gandhi into a national leader. Rowlatt Satyagraha was against the unjust Rowlatt Act passed by the British.

On April 13th, 1919 the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place. Seeing the violence spread Mahatma Gandhi called off the civil disobedience movement on the 18th of April.

1920: Non-Cooperation Movement

Gandhi convinced the congress leaders to start a Non-Cooperation Movement in support of Khilafat as well as Swaraj. At the congress session of Nagpur in 1920, the non-cooperation program was adopted.

1922 : Chauri chaura incident took place, which caused Gandhi to withdraw from the non-cooperation movement.

After the non-cooperation movement ended, Gandhi withdrew from the political platform and focused on his social reform work.

1930:  The Salt March and The Civil Disobedience Movement

Gandhi declared that he would lead a march to break the salt law as the law gave the state the Monopoly on the manufacturer and the sale of salt.

Gandhi along with his followers marched from his ashram in Sabarmati to the coastal town of Dandi in Gujarat where they broke the government law by gathering natural salt and boiling seawater to produce salt.

This also marked the beginning of the civil disobedience movement.

1931 : The Gandhi Irwin pact

Gandhi accepted the truce offered by Irwin and called off the civil disobedience movement and agreed to attend the second round table conference in London as the representative of the Indian National Congress.

But when he returned from London he relaunched the civil disobedience movement but by 1934 it had lost its momentum.

1932 : Poona pact

This was a pact reached between B.R Ambedkar and Gandhi concerning the communal awards but in the end, strived to achieve a common goal for the upliftment of the marginalized communities of the Indian society.

1934 : Gandhi resigned from the Congress party membership as he did not agree with the party’s position on varied issues.

Gandhi returned to active politics in 1936 with the Lucknow session of Congress where Jawaharlal Nehru was the president.

1938 : Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose’s principles clashed during the Tripuri session which led to the Tripuri crisis in the Indian National Congress.

1942: Quit India movement

The outbreak of World war II and the last and crucial phase of national struggle in India came together.

The failure of the Cripps mission in 1942 gave rise to the Quit India movement.

Gandhi was arrested and held at Aga Khan Palace in Pune. During this time his wife Kasturba died after 18 months of imprisonment and in 1944 Gandhi suffered a severe malaria attack.

He was released before the end of the war on 6th May 1944. World war II was nearing an end and the British gave clear indications that power would be transferred to Indians hence Gandhi called off the struggle and all the political prisoners were released including the leaders of Congress.

Partition and independence

Gandhiji opposed the partition of India along religious lines.

While he and Congress demanded the British quit India the Muslim league demanded to divide and quit India.

All of Gandhi’s efforts to help Congress and the Muslim league reach an agreement to corporate and attain independence failed.

Gandhiji did not celebrate the independence and end of British rule but appealed for peace among his countrymen. He was never in agreement for the country to be partitioned.

His demeanour played a key role in pacifying the people and avoiding a Hindu-Muslim riot during the partition of the rest of India.

Death of Mahatma Gandhi

30th January 1948

Gandhiji was on his way to address a prayer meeting in the Birla House in New Delhi when Nathuram Godse fired three bullets into his chest from close range killing him instantly.

Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy

Throughout his life, in his principles practices, and beliefs, he always held on to non-violence and simple living. He influenced many great leaders and the nation respectfully addresses him as the father of the nation or Bapu.

He worked for the upliftment of untouchables and called them Harijan meaning the children of God.

Rabindranath Tagore is said to have accorded the title of Mahatma to Gandhi.

It was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who first addressed him as the Father of the Nation.

Gandhian Philosophy inspired millions of people across the world.

Many great world leaders like Nelson Mandela followed Gandhiji’s teachings and way of life. Hence, his impact on the global stage is still very profound.

Literary works of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhiji was a prolific writer and he has written many articles throughout his life. He edited several newspapers including Harijan in Gujarati, Indian opinion in South Africa, and Young India in English.

He also wrote several books including his autobiography “The Story Of My Experiments with Truth”.

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Reader Interactions

January 31, 2022 at 6:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter? It is an irony that Gandhi was a British stooge, he partitioned India and was responsible for death of millions of Hindus and Sikhs during partition. How he and Nehru got Bose eliminated is another story. He slept with many women by his own confession. He never went to kala Pani and enjoyed luxury of British even in jails in India.

January 31, 2022 at 7:14 pm

How is he ‘Father of nation’ ?? He is not even close to be a father of post-1947 India(It would be Bose anyday).And he is the one who did all kinds of absurd fantasies(mentioned in his own autobiography).His role in independence was MINIMAL ! His non-violence theory was hypocritic and foolish(teaching oppressed instead of oppressor!) And as AMBEDKAR rightly said ‘sometimes good cometh out of evil'(on jan 30th 1948)

March 26, 2024 at 11:47 am

So true …

Bro I literally agree with all of this…

May 20, 2022 at 1:37 pm

It is Bose who first gave the title of “Father of the Nation” to Gandhi.

Please try to look at things with an open mind.

May 26, 2022 at 11:15 am

Ck is wrong I think Mahatma Gandhi Is a TRUE LEADER.

November 26, 2023 at 8:36 pm

Gandhi the greatest freedom fighter

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 1000+ Words

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a transformative figure in the history of India and the world. He is widely regarded as the father of the Indian independence movement and a pioneer of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi’s life and philosophy left an indelible mark on the fight for civil rights, freedom, and social justice. In this essay, we will explore the profound impact of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and principles, emphasizing his role in India’s struggle for independence, his advocacy for nonviolence, and his enduring legacy.

India’s Struggle for Independence

One of the most significant aspects of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy is his pivotal role in India’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule. Born in 1869 in Porbandar, India, Gandhi grew up witnessing the injustices of colonialism. He became a lawyer but later chose to devote his life to the fight for Indian independence. Gandhi’s leadership in various movements, such as the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Salt March, captured the imagination of millions of Indians and galvanized them to demand self-rule. His commitment to nonviolence and civil disobedience inspired a mass mobilization that eventually led to India gaining independence on August 15, 1947.

Advocacy for Nonviolence

Perhaps Gandhi’s most enduring legacy is his unwavering commitment to nonviolence as a means of achieving social and political change. He coined the term “Satyagraha,” which means “truth force” or “soul force,” to describe his philosophy of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi firmly believed that nonviolence was not only a moral choice but also a practical and effective strategy for social and political transformation.

Gandhi’s advocacy for nonviolence was instrumental in shaping the course of history. His methods of peaceful protest and civil disobedience not only led to India’s independence but also inspired civil rights movements around the world. Prominent leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States and Nelson Mandela in South Africa drew inspiration from Gandhi’s approach to nonviolent resistance.

Social Justice and Equality

In addition to his fight for independence, Mahatma Gandhi was a staunch advocate for social justice and equality. He believed that true independence could only be achieved by addressing the deep-seated social issues that plagued India, such as caste discrimination and economic disparities. Gandhi’s vision of an independent India was one that upheld the principles of justice, equality, and inclusivity.

Gandhi’s efforts to combat caste discrimination and promote the rights of the Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) were particularly noteworthy. He undertook hunger strikes and protests to raise awareness about the injustices faced by the marginalized sections of society. His commitment to social justice remains an inspiration for activists fighting against discrimination and inequality to this day.

Simplicity and Self-Sufficiency

Mahatma Gandhi’s personal life exemplified his dedication to simplicity and self-sufficiency. He firmly believed that embracing a modest and frugal lifestyle was pivotal in comprehending the plight of the underprivileged and marginalized. Consequently, Gandhi adopted plain, self-made attire and resided in a communal ashram.

His philosophy of self-sufficiency extended to the economic sphere as well. He advocated for the revitalization of village industries and the promotion of small-scale, cottage industries to empower rural communities. Gandhi’s vision of economic self-sufficiency aimed to reduce dependency on imported goods and promote local craftsmanship and self-reliance.

Legacy and Global Influence

Mahatma Gandhi’s influence transcends India’s borders. His philosophy of nonviolence and dedication to social justice have made a lasting impact worldwide. Furthermore, the principles of nonviolent resistance he championed continue to serve as a wellspring of inspiration for global movements advocating civil rights, peace, and justice

Martin Luther King Jr., who played a pivotal role in the American civil rights movement, credited Gandhi’s philosophy as a major influence on his own activism. Similarly, Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid in South Africa was deeply rooted in the principles of nonviolence and reconciliation championed by Gandhi.

Conclusion of Essay on Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi’s life and principles have had a profound and lasting impact on the world. His leadership during India’s fight for independence, combined with his unwavering commitment to nonviolence, advocacy for social justice, and dedication to equality, as well as his personal philosophy of simplicity and self-sufficiency, collectively contribute to his lasting legacy.

Gandhi’s legacy serves as a beacon of hope and a source of inspiration for those who seek to bring about positive change in the face of oppression and injustice. His life and teachings serve as a reminder that, even in the face of immense challenges, the principles of nonviolence and the pursuit of justice hold the potential for profound societal transformations. Mahatma Gandhi’s enduring legacy stands as a testament to the indomitable power of the human spirit.

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Essay on mahatma gandhi: biography of mahatma gandhi | 800+ words.

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, is widely regarded as the Father of the Nation in India. He was a freedom fighter, political leader, and spiritual teacher who dedicated his life to nonviolent resistance and social justice. In this essay on Mahatma Gandhi biography in English, we will explore his life, legacy, and achievements. From his humble beginnings in Porbandar, Gujarat, to his leadership in India's independence movement, Gandhi's teachings and philosophy have had a profound impact on social and political movements around the world. This essay will delve into his life's work and highlight the enduring legacy of this remarkable individual.

In this article, we have shared 800+ words essay on mahatama gandhi, including all the birth, childhood, marriage and education of Mahatma Gandhi.

Essay On Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is also known as Mahatma Gandhi is considered to be the father of this country. In the fight for independence against British rule, he was the leader of the nationalist movement. He was an Indian lawyer, political ethicist, anti-colonial nationalist, writer, and a kind-hearted person.

Birth and Childhood

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, the year 1869 in a place named Porbandar, Gujrat in northwest India. He was born in a Hindu Modh family. His father Karamchand Gandhi was a political figure and also the chief minister of Porbandar. His mother named Putlibai Gandhi was the fourth wife of his father, previous wives died during childbirth. Gandhi was born in a vaishya family that's why from an early age of life he learned a lot of things such as non-injury to living beings, tolerance and vegetarianism.

In May 1883, he was 13 years old when he got married to a girl named Kasturba Makhanji, who was also 13 years old, this marriage was arranged by their parents. They together had four sons, Harilal (1888), Manilal (1892), Ramdas (1897), Devdas (1900).

In this essay on Mahatma Gandhi, let's know about Mahatma Gandhi's education Porbandar did not have enough chance of education, all the children in school used to write in dust with their fingers. However, he was lucky that his father became the chief minister of another city named Rajkot. He was average in education. At the age of 13, he lost a year at school due to marriage. He was not a shining student in the classroom or playground, but he always obeyed the given order by elders.

That's why like other kids he did not go through all the teenage life. He wanted to eat meat but never did because of their parent's beliefs. In the year of 1887, Gandhi passed the matriculation examination from the University of Bombay and joined a college in Bhavnagar named Samaldas College. It was clear for him by then that if he has to maintain his family tradition and become a high office working person in the state of Gujarat, he would have to become a barrister.

At the age of 18, he was offered to continue his studies in London and he was not very happy at Samaldas College so he accepted the offer and sailed to London in September 1888. After reaching London, He was having difficulty understanding the culture and understanding the English language. Some days after arrival he joined a Law college named Inner Temple which was one of the four London law colleges.

The transformation of changing life from a city to India studying in a college in England was not easy for him but he took his study very seriously and started to brush up his English and Latin. His vegetarianism became a very problematic subject for him as everyone around him as eating meat and he started to feel embarrassed.

Some of his new friends in London said some of the things like not eating meat will make him weak physically and mentally. But eventually, he found a vegetarian restaurant and a book that helped him understand the reason to become a vegetarian. From childhood, he wanted to eat meat himself but never did because of his parents but now in London, he was convinced that he finally embraced vegetarianism and never again thought of eating meat.

After some time he became an active member of the society called London vegetarian society and started to attend all the conferences and journals. In England not only Gandhi met Food faddists but also met some men and women who had vast knowledge about Bhagavad-Gita, Bible, Mahabharata, etc. From them, he learned a lot about Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and many others.

Many people he met were rebels not supporting the Victorian establishment from these people Gandhi slowly absorbed politics, personality, and more importantly ideas. He passed his study from England and became a Barrister but there was some painful news was waiting for him back at home in India. In January 1891 Gandhi's mother died while Gandhi was still in London.

He came back to India in July 1891 and started to begin the legal career but he lost his very first case in India. He soon realized that the legal profession was heavily overcrowded and he changed his path. He then was offered to be a teacher in Bombay high school but he turned it down and returned to Rajkot. With the dream of living a good life, he started to draft petitions for litigants which soon ended with the dissatisfaction of a local British officer.

Fortunately in the year 1893, he got an offer to go to Natal, South Africa and work there in an Indian firm for 1 year as it was a contract basis.

Civil Right Movement in Africa

South Africa was waiting with a lot of challenges and opportunities for him. From there he started to grow a new leaf. In South Africa 2 of his four sons were born. He had to face many difficulties there too. Once he as advocating for his client and he had to flee from the court because he was so nervous, he wasn't able to talk properly. But the bigger problem was waiting for him, as he had to face racial discrimination in South Africa.

In the journey from Durban to Pretoria, he faced a lot from, being asked to take off the turban in a court to travel on a car footboard to make room for European passenger but he refused. He was beaten by a taxi driver and thrown out of a first-class compartment but these instances made him strong and gave him the strength to fight for justice.

He started to educate others about their rights and duties. When he learned about a bill to deprive Indians of the right to vote, it was that time when others begged him to take up the fight on behalf of them. Eventually at the age of 25 in July 1894 he became a proficient political campaigner.

He drafted petitions and got them signed by hundreds of compatriots. He was not able to stop the bill but succeeded in drawing the attention of the public in Natal, England, and India. He then built many societies in Durban. He planted the seed, spirit of solidarity in the Indian community.

Very well known newspapers of that time such as The Times of London and The Statesman and Englishman of Calcutta were writing about him from this his success could be measured. He began to wear white Indian dhoti in this time-period which later became his trademark. He started a non-violent protest against tax also known as "Satyagraha" where he led a march with more than 2000 people and later he was arrested and for nine-month he was in prison.

His contribution to India's Freedom struggle and Achievements

Back in India, in the year of 1919, the British started to arrest and imprison anyone they suspect of sedition that's when Gandhi stood up and started non-violent disobedience. Gandhi's goal about Indian's independence got cleared after a tragic incident when more than 20000 protesters were getting open fired by the British army in the city of Amritsar.

400 people were killed and 1000 injured. He started the mass boycotts of British goods and institutions and told everyone to stop working for the British. In 1992 he was again got arrested and got a 6-year prison sentence. In 1930 he started the salt march and a very well known campaign of walking 390km to the Arabian Sea shores.

The salt act protesters around 60,000 including Gandhi were imprisoned. At the time of World War II, Gandhi started his campaign if Quit India to banish British rule from the country, he was again arrested and sent to prison with many other well-known leaders of Indian Congress. He met King George V on behalf of the Indian National Congress, but there was not that much progress.

After the End of the war, Britain's government was changed and this time progress was made they were willing to discuss independence for India but a tragic event followed by it partition of the country into India and Pakistan. In 1947 India gained independence. In the year of 1948, a Hindu extremist killed Gandhi. In this essay on Mahatma Gandhi, learn about the contributions made by Mahatma Gandhi!

What he was famous for?

He was known for his silent protest, disobedience campaign in India, Satyagraha, and passive resistance. His death made India mourn for 13 days, His birthday 2nd October is celebrated as a national holiday in India.

Why he was called Mahatma?

The title Mahatma means "great- soul". It is a title that was given to him by Rabindranath Tagore but he thinks he is not worthy of this title so he never accepted it.

Books dedicated to him or written by him

He was a writer from an early age, he liked writing books and there are many books written by him. Some of the most famous of them is Autobiography of Gandhi, The Essential Gandhi, Hind Swaraj and other writings, the words of Gandhi, Satyagraha in South Africa, and many more.

Many writers have written about Mahatma Gandhi some of them are Great Soul by Joseph Lelyveld, Gandhi Before India by Ramachandra Guha, The Good Boatman by Rajmohan Gandhi, Gandhi: Prisoner of hope by Judith M. Brown, etc.

While writing an essay on mahatma gandhi you can include books dedicated to him or his autobiographies.

Mahatma Gandhi Struggled very much from his early life but regardless of all the suffering, he made his way. And he is a very important part of our history of independence. We hope we have covered all the detail in this essay on Mahatma Gandhi for you to write a perfect essay!

Short Essay On Mahatma Gandhi Biography In English 

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a prominent Indian leader who played a pivotal role in India's struggle for independence. This essay on Mahatma Gandhi biography in English will explore his life, legacy, and achievements.

Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. After studying law in London, he moved to South Africa, where he fought against discrimination faced by the Indian community. His experiences in South Africa would later shape his philosophy of nonviolent resistance or Satyagraha.

Returning to India in 1915, Gandhi became a prominent leader in India's independence movement. He advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against British colonial rule. His leadership and vision played a crucial role in India's eventual independence in 1947.

Gandhi's teachings have had a profound impact on social and political movements around the world. His message of nonviolent resistance has inspired many leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He was a spiritual leader who believed in the power of love and compassion to bring about social change.

In addition to his political achievements, Gandhi was also an advocate for social justice and equality. He fought against caste discrimination, championed the rights of women, and promoted communal harmony.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi was a remarkable individual whose life and teachings continue to inspire people around the world. His philosophy of nonviolent resistance, his leadership in India's independence movement, and his advocacy for social justice and equality make him a true hero of our time. This essay on Mahatma Gandhi biography in English is a testament to his enduring legacy.

Read More- APJ Abdul Kalam Essay | Biography | 800+ Words

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi – 200, 400, 600 Words

• Updated on  
• Aug 5, 2023

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi was a proponent of non-violence and truth, earning him the title of a truth messenger. Coming from a well-to-do family, he was known by his full name, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Although he was a reserved and diligent student, he ventured to England for legal studies and later became a barrister upon his return to India, practising law in the Bombay High Court.  

However, Gandhi’s true calling lay beyond the legal profession. During his time in South Africa , he allied with the locals and initiated the non-violent Satyagraha movement , aimed at challenging the oppression imposed by Europeans . Eventually, he returned to India and took a leading role in the struggle for India’s independence from British rule. 

Deeply moved by the suffering of his fellow Indians, he launched the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Quit India Movement, advocating non-violent resistance against the British.  

We have provided some essays on Mahatma Gandhi below that will be useful for speech delivery, essay writing, or speech-providing competitions. After reading these essays on Babu, you will get knowledge about his life and beliefs, his teachings, the role he played in the independence movement and why he is regarded as the most revered leader in the world.

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Mahatma Gandhi (200 Words)
• 2.1 Birth and Childhood 
• 2.2 Marriage and Education
• 2.3 Civil Rights Movement in Africa
• 3.1.1 Champaran and Kheda Agitations
• 3.1.2 Non-cooperation Movement
• 3.1.3 Salt Satyagraha or Salt March
• 3.1.4 Quit India Movement
• 3.2.1 Champion Against Racial Discrimination in South Africa
• 3.2.2 The Icon of India’s Freedom Struggle
• 3.2.3 Eradicating Social Evils
• 3.3 Demise 

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi (200 Words)

Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, struggled and gave up things he valued to free India from British oppression. All throughout his life, he was guided by nonviolent beliefs. 

One of the greatest political figures in history, Mahatma Gandhi is revered and held in the highest regard in India as the “father of the nation.” His legacy will live on forever, inspiring future generations with his words and example.

Bapu struggled greatly and gave up a lot of his personal possessions in his quest to free India from British tyranny, but he never wavered from his nonviolent beliefs. 

His legal career took him to South Africa, where he fought against racial injustice. He married Kasturba at the age of thirteen and continued his schooling in London.  

Gandhi used nonviolence in a number of movements during India’s war for independence, including the Champaran and Kheda agitations, the Non-cooperation Movement, the Salt March, and the Quit India Movement . His influence was felt all around the world, motivating figures like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr .  

Gandhi made contributions to secularism, environmental sustainability, and social transformation. His legacy is firmly based on his nonviolence (Ahimsa) ideology. On January 30, 1948, he was murdered, yet his influence lives on, earning him the title of renowned “Father of the Nation and Bapu” in India’s history.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi (400 Words)

Mahatma Gandhi stands as one of the greatest political icons in history, with Indians holding him in the highest esteem and revering him as the “father of the nation.” His name and teachings will undoubtedly remain immortal, continuing to inspire generations to come.

Throughout his efforts, Mahatma Gandhi endured great hardship and made significant personal sacrifices in his mission to liberate India from British rule, all while steadfastly adhering to non-violent principles. 

Let’s dive deeper into his life: 

Birth and Childhood 

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, which is now part of the state of Gujarat, India. 

His father, Karamchand Gandhi, held the position of Chief Minister (diwan) in Porbandar during that period. Gandhi’s mother, Putlibai, was a deeply devout and charitable woman. 

As a young boy, Gandhi embodied his mother’s qualities, inheriting her strong values, ethical principles, and spirit of self-sacrifice.

Marriage and Education

At the tender age of 13, Mohandas entered into marriage with Kasturba Makanji. In 1888, they welcomed a baby boy before he set sail for London to pursue further studies. In 1893, he ventured to South Africa to continue his law practice, where he encountered severe racial discrimination imposed by the British. 

A significant incident that profoundly impacted the young Gandhi was when he was forcibly evicted from a first-class train compartment solely due to his race and skin color.

Civil Rights Movement in Africa

Having endured discrimination and humiliation due to his race and color, Gandhi made a resolute pledge to combat and confront racial discrimination against immigrants in South Africa. In 1894, he established the Natal Indian Congress and embarked on a relentless crusade against racial prejudice. Gandhi passionately advocated for the civil rights of immigrants in South Africa, devoting approximately two decades to this endeavor.

Mahatma Gandhi’s influence has reached far and wide, touching the lives of numerous international leaders across the globe. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. , James Bevel, and James Lawson found inspiration in his struggle and adopted his principles. Nelson Mandela, in his quest for freedom, was also deeply influenced by Gandhi’s teachings, while Lanza del Vasto even chose to reside in India to be close to him.  

The impact of Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy is evident in the recognition he received from the United Nations. They have honored him by designating 2nd October as the “International Day of Nonviolence.” Additionally, many countries observe 30th January as the School Day of Nonviolence and Peace to commemorate his ideals.  

Throughout his life, Mahatma Gandhi received numerous awards and accolades, making his contribution widely acknowledged. Almost every nation has bestowed honors upon him, with only a few exceptions. 

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi (600 Words)

Mahatma Gandhi, who was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, advocated for truth and non-violence, giving him the moniker “truth messenger.” He was referred to by his full name, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and he came from a wealthy family.

Let’s dive deep into the life of Mahatma Gandhi in this essay. 

Role of Mahatma Gandhi in India’s Freedom Struggle 

The significance of non-violence in India’s freedom struggle gained prominence with the involvement of Mahatma Gandhi. While there were parallel violent movements against British rule, the peaceful nature of non-violence made it a powerful way to demand complete independence. 

Mahatma Gandhi utilized non-violence in every movement against the British government, and some of the most notable non-violent movements were as follows:  

Champaran and Kheda Agitations

In 1917, Mahatma Gandhi organized a non-violent protest against the British-imposed indigo cultivation and fixed pricing, leading to the acceptance of farmers’ demands. Similarly, in 1918, he led peaceful protests against the British administration for tax relief during a famine in the Kheda region, resulting in the suspension of revenue collection.  

Non-cooperation Movement

Sparked by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and harsh British policies in 1920, this movement promoted the boycott of British products and services. Indians withdrew from British-run institutions and civil services, significantly affecting British administration without resorting to violence.  

Salt Satyagraha or Salt March

In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led the famous 26-day non-violent march to Dandi, Gujarat, protesting the salt monopoly imposed by the British. Breaking the salt laws and promoting local salt production, the Salt March gained international attention and strengthened the foundation of Independent India.  

Quit India Movement

Launched on August 8, 1942, the Quit India Movement demanded the British to leave India. Despite being in the midst of World War II, the non-violent civil disobedience movement intensified the pressure on the British government and paved the way for India’s eventual independence.  

These non-violent movements, led by Mahatma Gandhi, wielded the power of truth and non-violence as their weapons against British rule. The effectiveness of non-violence garnered international attention and exposed the oppressive policies of the British government to the world.

Accomplishments

Mahatma Gandhi, a man on a mission, not only played a crucial role in India’s fight for independence but also made significant contributions to eradicate various social evils. His accomplishments can be summarized as follows:

Champion Against Racial Discrimination in South Africa

Witnessing the racial discrimination in South Africa deeply affected Mahatma Gandhi, motivating him to take a stand against it. He courageously challenged the law that denied voting rights to non-European individuals and became a prominent civil rights activist fighting for the rights of immigrants in South Africa.

The Icon of India’s Freedom Struggle

As a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi adopted a liberal approach, advocating peaceful and nonviolent protests against British rule. His leadership in movements like the Champaran Satyagraha, Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt March, and Quit India Movement garnered global attention and shook the foundation of British rule in India.

Eradicating Social Evils

Gandhi Ji dedicated himself to rooting out various social evils prevalent in society at that time. He initiated campaigns to ensure equal rights for the untouchables and uplift their status in society. Additionally, he championed women’s empowerment, promoted education, and vehemently opposed child marriage, leaving a lasting impact on Indian society.

Demise 

After India gained independence in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi’s life came to a tragic end when he was assassinated by a Hindu activist named Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948. 

Throughout his life, he devoted himself to the service of the motherland, leaving a profound impact on the nation. His teachings and actions illuminated our path to true freedom from British rule. 

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A. Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Gandhiji or Bapu, emerged as a prominent leader during India’s struggle for independence from British rule. He firmly advocated non-violence, civil disobedience, and passive resistance as effective means to achieve social and political transformation.  

A. Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, a town located in present-day Gujarat, India.  

A. His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.  

A. Gandhi played a pivotal role in India’s freedom struggle, leading various non-violent movements and campaigns against British rule, including the Non-Cooperation Movement, Salt Satyagraha, and Quit India Movement. 

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Abhishek Kumar Jha

Abhishek Kumar Jha is a professional content writer and marketer, having extensive experience in delivering content in journalism and marketing. He has written news content related to education for prominent media outlets, garnering expansive knowledge of the Indian education landscape throughout his experience. Moreover, he is a skilled content marketer, with experience in writing SEO-friendly blogs. His educational background includes a Postgraduate Diploma in English Journalism from the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Dhenkanal. By receiving an education from a top journalism school and working in the corporate world with complete devotion, he has honed the essential skills needed to excel in content writing.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi

Here we have shared the Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in detail so you can use it in your exam or assignment of 150, 250, 400, 500, or 1000 words.

You can use this Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in any assignment or project whether you are in school (class 10th or 12th), college, or preparing for answer writing in competitive exams. 

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in 150-250 words

Essay on mahatma gandhi in 300-400 words, essay on mahatma gandhi in 500-1000 words.

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a prominent leader in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, Gandhi played a pivotal role in shaping India’s history and inspiring movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Gandhi advocated for nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience as powerful tools to challenge injustice and oppression. He promoted the principles of truth, nonviolence, and peaceful coexistence. Through his leadership, he mobilized millions of Indians in the fight for independence, employing methods such as boycotts, protests, and fasting.

Gandhi’s philosophy of Satyagraha, or truth force, emphasized the power of love, compassion, and moral courage in bringing about social and political change. His commitment to social equality, religious harmony, and the upliftment of the marginalized sections of society continues to inspire generations.

Gandhi’s influence extended beyond India’s struggle for independence. He became an iconic figure and a source of inspiration for civil rights movements and leaders worldwide. His principles of nonviolence, justice, and equality remain relevant in today’s world, where peaceful resistance and social justice continue to be essential aspirations.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teachings have left an indelible impact on India and the world. His unwavering commitment to nonviolence, truth, and social justice continues to inspire people to strive for a better, more equitable world. Gandhi’s legacy serves as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, change can be achieved through peaceful means and the power of moral conviction.

Mahatma Gandhi, born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, was a renowned leader and a key figure in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Fondly known as the “Father of the Nation,” Gandhi left an indelible mark on the world with his philosophy of nonviolence and principles of truth, justice, and equality.

Gandhi’s journey as a leader began in South Africa, where he fought against racial discrimination faced by the Indian community. It was during this time that he developed his concept of Satyagraha, a nonviolent method of resistance that emphasized the power of truth and moral courage. Gandhi firmly believed in nonviolence as a means to achieve social and political change, and he employed it effectively throughout his life.

In India, Gandhi played a pivotal role in leading the Indian National Congress and mobilizing the masses in the fight against British colonial rule. He led numerous campaigns, including the famous Salt March in 1930, where he and his followers marched to the Arabian Sea to produce salt in defiance of the British monopoly. His emphasis on nonviolent resistance, civil disobedience, and peaceful protests inspired millions of Indians to join the struggle for independence.

Beyond India’s fight for freedom, Gandhi’s influence transcended borders. His philosophy of nonviolence inspired movements and leaders around the world, including Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi. Gandhi’s teachings emphasized the power of love, compassion, and moral courage in bringing about lasting change. He believed in the unity of all humanity and the importance of harmonious coexistence.

Gandhi’s principles of truth, nonviolence, and social justice remain relevant in today’s world. His emphasis on simplicity, self-reliance, and communal harmony serve as guiding principles for addressing contemporary challenges such as inequality, conflict, and environmental degradation.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teachings continue to resonate with people across the globe. His philosophy of nonviolence, his unwavering commitment to truth and justice, and his emphasis on the upliftment of the marginalized are a testament to his visionary leadership. Gandhi’s legacy is a reminder that change can be achieved through peaceful means and the power of moral conviction. His ideals inspire us to strive for a more just, compassionate, and equitable world.

Title: Mahatma Gandhi – The Father of Indian Independence and Champion of Nonviolence

Introduction :

Mahatma Gandhi, born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, was a visionary leader and a prominent figure in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. Fondly referred to as the “Father of the Nation,” Gandhi left an indelible mark on the world with his philosophy of nonviolence and principles of truth, justice, and equality. This essay delves into the life, teachings, and impact of Mahatma Gandhi, highlighting his role as a transformative leader and his enduring legacy as a symbol of peace, nonviolence, and social change.

Early Life and Formative Years

Mahatma Gandhi was born into a middle-class family and received his education in law in London. However, it was during his years in South Africa, where he practiced law, that he encountered racial discrimination and injustice faced by the Indian community. These experiences deeply influenced Gandhi’s outlook and ignited his commitment to fight against oppression and injustice.

Philosophy of Nonviolence and Satyagraha

Gandhi developed a unique philosophy of nonviolence, which he termed Satyagraha or truth force. He believed that nonviolence was not a sign of weakness but a powerful force capable of bringing about profound social and political change. Gandhi advocated for peaceful resistance to injustice, using methods such as civil disobedience, fasting, and peaceful protests to challenge oppressive systems. He firmly believed that by embracing nonviolence, individuals and societies could achieve lasting transformation and justice.

Leadership in the Indian Independence Movement

Gandhi emerged as a prominent leader in the Indian National Congress and spearheaded the struggle for independence from British rule. He emphasized the importance of Swaraj, or self-rule, and called for the empowerment of the Indian masses. Gandhi organized numerous campaigns and movements, including the famous Salt March in 1930, where he and his followers walked 240 miles to the Arabian Sea to protest the British monopoly on salt production. Through his leadership, Gandhi mobilized millions of Indians, cutting across lines of caste, religion, and socio-economic backgrounds, in the fight for freedom.

Principles of Truth and Simplicity

Gandhi’s teachings were rooted in the principles of truth and simplicity. He emphasized the importance of leading an honest and authentic life and believed that truth could conquer any adversity. Gandhi practiced what he preached, adopting a simple lifestyle, wearing homespun cloth (khadi) to promote self-sufficiency, and advocating for economic self-reliance.

Legacy and Impact

Mahatma Gandhi’s impact extended far beyond India’s struggle for independence. His philosophy of nonviolence inspired civil rights movements and leaders around the world, including Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi. Gandhi’s commitment to truth, justice, and equality continues to inspire individuals and communities in their pursuit of social change. His principles of nonviolence and peaceful resistance remain relevant in addressing contemporary challenges, such as conflict resolution, human rights, and environmental sustainability.

Conclusion :

Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teachings continue to inspire generations. His philosophy of nonviolence, his unwavering commitment to truth and justice, and his emphasis on equality and social change make him a transformative figure in the history of India and the world. Gandhi’s legacy serves as a reminder that change can be achieved through peaceful means and the power of moral conviction. His ideals inspire us to strive for a more just, compassionate, and equitable world, and his influence continues to shape the path towards peace and social transformation.

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Mahatma Gandhi – Biography, Movements, Literary Works

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a renowned freedom activist and a powerful political leader. He played an important role in India’s struggle for Independence against the British rule of India through non-violent means which ultimately led to Indian independence. He was also known as Father of India, Bapu (endearment for father), and Mahatma (Great Soul). He also improved the lives of India’s poor people and depressed classes. His ideology of truth and non-violence influenced many including Martin Luther and Nelson Mandela. His professions include lawyer (studied law at London, 1888), politician, activist, and writer.

This topic of “Mahatma Gandhi – Biography, Movements, Literary Works” is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination , which falls under General Studies Portion.

Early Life of Mahatma Gandhi:

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, to Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai. At age 13, he married Kasturba Kapadia as part of an arranged marriage. She bore four sons and supported Gandhi’s endeavors until her 1944 death.

In September 1888 at age 18, Gandhi left India alone to study law in London. Gandhi also adopted vegetarianism and joined the London Vegetarian Society , whose intellectual crowd introduced Gandhi to authors Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. He was also deeply influenced by the stories of Shravana & Harishchandra, Bhagavad Gita, and Thirukkural (ancient Tamil literature) as they reflected the importance of truth. These books’ concepts set the foundation for his later beliefs.

Gandhi passed the bar on June 10, 1891, and returned to India. For two years, he attempted to practice law but lacked the knowledge of Indian law and the self-confidence necessary to be a trial lawyer. Instead, he took on a year-long case in South Africa.

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Contributions of Mahatma Gandhi:

Gandhi’s movement in south africa:.

• 1893: Gandhi went to South Africa to work as a lawyer. There he had first-hand experience of racial discrimination when he was thrown out of the first-class compartment of the train despite holding the first-class ticket because it was reserved for white people only and no Indian or black was allowed to travel in the first class. This incident had a serious effect on him. He also observed that this type of incident was quite common against his fellow Indians. Therefore, he decided to protest against racial discrimination in South Africa.
• 1894: Gandhi agrees to extend his stay in South Africa, and helps to establish the Natal Indian Congress . He assumes a prominent and vocal role in the local campaign for Indian rights.
• 1899: Gandhi forms the Indian Ambulance Corp to provide relief support for British soldiers during the South African War (formerly the Anglo-Boer War).
• 1901: Goes to India to attend a session of the Indian National Congress. He returns to South Africa the following year.
• 1902: Gandhi establishes law offices in Johannesburg.
• 1903: Gandhi begins printing the newspaper, Indian Opinion (later titled Opinion ), in Johannesburg.
• 1904: Gandhi established The communal Phoenix settlement . Meets Herman Kallenbach (Architect & Gandhi’s associate).
• 1906: Gandhi gave birth to the idea of Satyagraha . He chaired a meeting in Johannesburg, in which the Indian community was called upon to resist new anti-Asiatic laws through acts of civil disobedience.
• 1908: Gandhi is arrested for not carrying a passbook. After he was released, he led thousands of Indians in burning their passbooks and registration papers at Johannesburg.
• 1910: Gandhi and Kallenbach established Tolstoy Farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg. It becomes Gandhi’s base in South Africa.
• 1913: After the Searle Judgement (under which marriages conducted under Indian law were declared invalid), many Indian women join the Satyagraha.
• 1914: Suspends Satyagraha, in return for the abolition of taxes, recognition of Indian marriages, and the freedom of movement of Indians.
• Movement in South Africa transformed Gandhi into a new person and it played an important role in the evolution of Satyagraha which was used in upcoming freedom struggles in India.

Gandhi’s Movement in India:

• 1915: Gandhi returned to India and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.
• 1916: He established the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad so that his followers could learn and practice the truth and non-violence.
• 1917: Champaran satyagraha –  marks Mahatma Gandhi’s first successful application of his method of ‘satyagraha’ in India. The indigo cultivators of Champaran, Bihar were greatly exploited by the planters who were largely European. The cultivators were bound by law to grow indigo on 3/20 th (the tinkathia system) of the total area of their land and sell it to the planters at the price fixed by the latter. As a result of this system, the poor peasants were greatly distressed and approached Gandhi in order to lead their struggle against the planters. Gandhi accepted their request but was banned from entering the district by district authority orders. In protest, Gandhi did satyagraha. As a result of his campaign, an enquiry was conducted into the conditions of the peasants. This went a long way in giving the indigo cultivators some relief.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike : In February 1918, there was a conflict between mill owners and workers of the Gujrat Mill. Gandhiji organised satyagraha in favour of cotton mill workers in 1918 at Ahmedabad. It was one of the formative events in the political career of Mahatma Gandhi. 
• Kheda Satyagraha of 1918: Gandhi organised this movement to support peasants of the Kheda district, Gujarat. The people of Kheda were unable to pay the high taxes levied by the British due to crop failure and a plague epidemic.
• Young India was a weekly paper or journal in English started by Mahatma Gandhi. It was published from 1919 to 1931. Through this work, he desired to popularise India’s demand for self-government or Swaraj. He used Young India to spread his unique ideology and thoughts regarding the use of nonviolence in organising movements and to urge readers to consider, organise, and plan for India’s eventual independence from Britain. 
• Navajivan (a new life) was weekly newspaper published by Gandhi, in Gujarati , from 1919 to 1931, from Ahmedabad.
• 1920-22: Non-Cooperation Movement – Gandhi launched this mass movement which involved participation from the nationalists as well as the public.  Factors that led to the formation of this movement were the oppressive policies of Britishers such as the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh incident in Amritsar. The campaign involves Indians revoking their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of inducing the British to grant self-governance (swaraj). The British government arrested Gandhi and sentenced him to six years in jail for sedition. Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement after the Chauri-Chaura Incident . After the non-cooperation movement ended, Gandhi withdrew from the political platform and focused on his social reform work.
• 1929: Navajivan Trust  is a  publishing house  based in  Ahmedabad ,  India . It was founded by  Mahatma Gandhi in 1929  and has published more than 800 titles in  English ,  Gujarati ,  H i ndi and other languages to date. The objective of Navajivan Trust was to propagate peaceful means for the attainment of  Hind Swaraj  (Swaraj for India).
• 1930: Civil Disobedience Movement – The Simon Commission came to India in 1928. It was to look into the functions of the constitutional system in India. As there was no Indian member in it, it was boycotted by all political parties in the country. Later, in 1929, the Congress under the leadership of Nehru declared ‘Poorna Swaraj’ as its main goal. As nationalist feelings began to rise, Gandhi sent a letter containing eleven demands to Lord Irwin in 1930 asking him to accept it. When he refused, Gandhi launched the Civil Disobedience Movement. Civil disobedience implies the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, orders, and demands of a government. In the year 1930, Gandhi started this movement (Dandi) by violating the salt law. The movement was discontinued following the Gandhi Irwin Pact of 1931 .
• Communal Award – Ramsay Macdonald announced communal award due to repeated failure of communities to decide on the proportion of representation. The award provided for a separate electorate for depressed classes. Gandhi condemned this award as it was based on Britishers’ Divide and Rule Policy and it will destroy Hinduism. He led a fast unto death which ultimately resulted in Poona Pact between Congress and depressed classes headed by B.R. Ambedkar . Poona pact provides for reservation of depressed classes in Hindu joint electorate.
• As a result of the communal awards and Poona pact, Gandhi dedicated himself to the upliftment of depressed classes and untouchables. Gandhi founded Harijan Sevak Sangh (All India Anti-Untouchability League) in 1932. He also started a journal named Harijan which means “People of God”.
• 1934 : Gandhi resigned from the Congress party membership as he did not agree with the party’s position on different issues.
• 1936: Gandhi returned to active politics in 1936 with the Lucknow session of Congress where Jawaharlal Nehru was the president.
• 1938 : Gandhi and  Subhash Chandra Bose ’s principles clashed during the Tripuri session which led to the Tripuri crisis in the Indian National Congress.
• 1942: Quit India Movement – The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Also known as the Bharat Chhodo Andolan , this movement was a mass civil disobedience that took place in the country. Gandhi demanded that the British must leave India immediately or face dire consequences. As a part of this movement, a call for mass agitation was followed by violence that took over the country after which Indian National Congress leaders were arrested. The main reason for the Quit India Movement to begin was because the Britishers were planning to drag the country into World War II without consent to fight on behalf of the United Kingdom (UK). During that time, more than 87,000 Indian soldiers were martyred in World War II including people from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Also, the Cripps Mission which was led by Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the War Cabinet in March 1942, made an attempt to secure India’s cooperation in World War II. Following this, Cripps was sent to India to discuss and support the British Government’s Draft Declaration with Indian leaders. Moreover, the declaration also granted India Dominion Status after the war. To which, Congress denied discussing any terms unless given total freedom.
• 1947: India wins independence. Gandhi fasts as penance for inter-communal violence following the partition of India and Pakistan.

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Gandhian Ideologies:

Gandhi developed a set of religious and social ideas first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914 and later in India. He developed these ideologies from various inspirational sources including Bhagavad Geeta, Jainism, Buddhism, Bible, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Tolstoy (His book The Kingdom of God is within you had a deep influence on Gandhi), John Ruskin (Gandhi paraphrased his book Unto the Last as Sarvodaya ), among others. These ideologies have been further developed by later Gandhians most notably, in India by Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan , outside of India by Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and others. Major Gandhian ideologies are as follows.

Truth and Non-Violence: 

• They are the twin cardinal principles of Gandhian thoughts.
• Relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed.
• Absolute truth – the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth). Morality – the moral laws and code – its basis.
• Nonviolence is Active love, that is, the polar opposite of violence, in every sense. Nonviolence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.

Satyagraha:

• It is a method of securing rights through nonviolent action, that is, through personal suffering rather than inflicting injury on others.
• It means the exercise of the purest soul-force against all injustice, oppression, and exploitation.
• The origin of Satyagraha can be found in the Upanishads, and the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira, and other greats including Tolstoy and Ruskin.
• The term Sarvodaya means ‘Universal Uplift’ or ‘Progress of All’.
• It was first coined by Gandhiji as the title of his translation of John Ruskin’s book on political economy, Unto the Last .
• Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhiji gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life.
• The sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals.
• Freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. 
• Much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule and self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.
• He envisaged Ram Rajya where the swaraj is achieved for the people by the people.
• The word swadeshi is a conjunction of two Sanskrit words – ‘Swa’ means self or own and ‘desh’ means country. So Swadesh literally means one’s own country. But it can be loosely translated in most contexts as self-sufficiency.
• It is the focus on acting within one’s own community, both politically and economically.
• It is the interdependence of Community and Self-sufficiency.
• Gandhi believed this would lead to independence (swaraj) as the British control of India was rooted in control of her indigenous industries.
• Swadeshi was represented by the charkha or the spinning wheel, The “center of the solar system” of Mahatma Gandhi’s constructive program.

Trusteeship:

• It is a socio-economic philosophy propounded by Gandhiji.
• It provides a means by which the wealthy people would be the trustees of Trusts that looked after the welfare of the people in general.
• Gandhi believed that Education needs to be a lifelong experience.
• He developed a scheme on education named Nayee Taleem.
• He gave priority to vocational education, the idea of ‘earn & learn’, and the learnings like social forestry, nursing, home science, handicrafts, etc.

Death of Gandhi:

On 30th January 1948, Gandhi was on his way to address a prayer meeting in the Birla House New Delhi when a Hindu fanatic named Nathuram Godse fired three bullets into his chest from close range killing him instantly.

Legacy of Gandhi:

Gandhi always held on to non-violence and simple living throughout his life, in his principles, practices, and beliefs. He influenced several great leaders and the country respectfully addresses him as the father of the nation or Bapu. Rabindranath Tagore is said to have given the title of Mahatma to Gandhi. It was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who first addressed him as the Father of the Nation. Many great world leaders like Nelson Mandela followed Gandhiji’s teachings and way of life. Therefore, his impact on the world is still very high.

Literary Works of Gandhi:

• Hind Swarajya (1909),
• Indian Home Rule (1910),
• Sermon on the Sea (1924 – the American edition of Hind Swaraj),
• Dakshina Africana Satyagrahano Itihasa / Satyagraha in South Africa (1924-25),
• Satyana Prayogo Athava Atmakatha / An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth (1924-25),
• Mangalaprabhata (1930),
• India’s Case for Swaraj (1931),
• Songs from Prison: Translations of Indian Lyrics Made in Jail (1934),
• The Indian States’ Problem (1941),
• The Good life (1943),
• Gandhi Against Fascism (1944),
• From Yeravda Mandir: Ashram Observances (1945),
• Conquest of Self (1946),
• Women and Social Injustice (1947),
• Self-restraint v. Self-Indulgence (1947),
• Gandhigrams (1947). 

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Teachings of mahatma gandhi.

Author: Chander, Jag Parvesh; Prasad, Rajendra

Keywords: Political and social views

Publisher: The Indian Printing Works, Lahore

Source: Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad

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Mahatma Gandhi Essay

Below we have provided very simple written essay on Mahatma Gandhi, a person who would always live in the heart of Indian people. Every kid and children of the India know him by the name of Bapu or Father of the Nation. Using following Mahatma Gandhi essay, you can help your kids and school going children to perform better in their school during any competition or exam.

Long and Short Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in English

We have provided below short and long essay on Mahatma Gandhi in English for your information and knowledge.

The essays have been written in simple yet effective English so that you can easily grasp the information and present it whenever needed.

After going through these Mahatma Gandhi essay you will know about the life and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi; teachings of Mahatma Gandhi; what role did he played in the freedom struggle; why is he the most respected leader the world over; how his birthday is celebrated etc.

The information given in the essays will be useful in speech giving, essay writing or speech giving competition on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 1 (100 words)

Mahatma Gandhi is very famous in India as “Bapu” or “Rastrapita”. The full name of him is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was a great freedom fighter who led India as a leader of the nationalism against British rule. He was born on 2 nd of October in 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India.

He died on 30 th of January in 1948. M.K. Gandhi was assassinated by the Hindu activist, Nathuram Godse, who was hanged later as a punishment by the government of India. He has been given another name by the Rabindranath Tagore as “Martyr of the Nation” since 1948.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 2 (150 words)

Mahatma Gandhi is called as Mahatma because of his great works and greatness all through the life. He was a great freedom fighter and non-violent activist who always followed non-violence all though his life while leading India for the independence from British rule.

He was born on 2 nd of October in 1869 at Porbandar in Gujarat, India. He was just 18 years old while studying law in the England. Later he went to British colony of South Africa to practice his law where he got differentiated from the light skin people because of being a dark skin person. That’s why he decided to became a political activist in order to do so some positive changes in such unfair laws.

Later he returned to India and started a powerful and non-violent movement to make India an independent country. He is the one who led the Salt March (Namak Satyagrah or Salt Satyagrah or Dandi March) in 1930. He inspired lots of Indians to work against British rule for their own independence.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 3 (200 words)

Mahatma Gandhi was a great and outstanding personality of the India who is still inspiring the people in the country as well as abroad through his legacy of greatness, idealness and noble life. Bapu was born in the Porbandar, Gujarat, India in a Hindu family on 2 nd of October in 1869. 2 nd of October was the great day for India when Bapu took birth. He paid his great and unforgettable role for the independence of India from the British rule. The full name of the Bapu is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He went to England for his law study just after passing his matriculation examination. Later he returned to India in as a lawyer in 1890.

After his arrival to India, he started helping Indian people facing various problems from the British rule. He started a Satyagraha movement against the British rule to help Indians. Other big movements started by the Bapu for the independence of India are Non-cooperation movement in the year 1920, Civil Disobedience movement in the year 1930 and Quit India movement in the year 1942. All the movements had shaken the British rule in India and inspired lots of common Indian citizens to fight for the freedom.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 4 (250 words)

Bapu, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born in 1869 on 2 nd of October at Porbander in Gujarat, India. Mahatma Gandhi was a great Indian who led India with independence movement against British rule. He completed his schooling in India and went to England for further study of law. He returned to India as a lawyer and started practicing law. He started helping people of India who were humiliated and insulted by the British rule.

He started non-violence independence movement to fight against the injustice of Britishers. He got insulted many times but he continued his non-violent struggle for the Independence of India. After his return to India he joined Indian National Congress as a member. He was the great leader of the India independence movement who struggled a lot for the freedom of India. As a member of the Indian National Congress he started independence movements like Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and later Quit India Movement which became successful a day and help India in getting freedom.

As a great freedom fighter, he got arrested and sent to jail many times but he continued fighting against British rule for the justice of Indians. He was a great believer in non-violence and unity of people of all religions which he followed all through his struggle for independence. After his lots of struggles with many Indians, finally he became successful in making India an independent country on 15 th of August in 1947. Later he was assassinated in 1948 on 30 th of January by the Nathuram Godse, a Hindu activist.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 5 (300 words)

Mahatma Gandhi was a great freedom fighter who spent his whole life in struggle for the independence of India. He was born in the Indian Hindu family on 2 nd of October in 1869 in the Porbander, Gujarat. He lived his whole as a leader of the Indian people. His whole life story is a great inspiration for us. He is called as the Bapu or Rashtrapita as he spent his life in fighting against British rule for the freedom of us. While fighting with Britishers he took help of his great weapons like non-violence and Satyagraha movements to achieve freedom. Many times he got arrested and sent to the jail but he never discourages himself and continued fighting for national freedom.

He is the real father of our nation who really used his all power to make us free from the British rule. He truly understood the power of unity in people (from different castes, religions, community, race, age or gender) which he used all through his independence movement. Finally he forced Britishers to quit India forever through his mass movements on 15 th of August in 1947. Since 1947, the 15 th of August is celebrated every year as the Independence Day in India.

He could not continue his life after the independence of India in 1947 as he was assassinated by one of the Hindu activists, Nathuram Godse in 1948 on 30 th of January. He was the great personality who served his whole life till death for the motherland. He enlightened our life with the true light of freedom from British rule. He proved that everything is possible with the non-violence and unity of people. Even after getting died many years ago, he is still alive in the heart of every Indian as a “Father of the Nation and Bapu”.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay 6 (400 words)

Mahatma Gandhi is well known as the “Father of the Nation or Bapu” because of his greatest contributions towards the independence of our country. He was the one who believed in the non-violence and unity of the people and brought spirituality in the Indian politics. He worked hard for the removal of the untouchability in the Indian society , upliftment of the backward classes in India, raised voice to develop villages for social development, inspired Indian people to use swadeshi goods and other social issues. He brought common people in front to participate in the national movement and inspired them to fight for their true freedom.

He was one of the persons who converted people’s dream of independence into truth a day through his noble ideals and supreme sacrifices. He is still remembered between us for his great works and major virtues such as non-violence, truth, love and fraternity. He was not born as great but he made himself great through his hard struggles and works. He was highly influenced by the life of the King Harischandra from the play titled as Raja Harischandra. After his schooling, he completed his law degree from England and began his career as a lawyer. He faced many difficulties in his life but continued walking as a great leader.

He started many mass movements like Non-cooperation movement in 1920, civil disobedience movement in 1930 and finally the Quit India Movement in 1942 all through the way of independence of India. After lots of struggles and works, independence of India was granted finally by the British Government. He was a very simple person who worked to remove the colour barrier and caste barrier. He also worked hard for removing the untouchability in the Indian society and named untouchables as “Harijan” means the people of God.

He was a great social reformer and Indian freedom fighter who died a day after completing his aim of life. He inspired Indian people for the manual labour and said that arrange all the resource ownself for living a simple life and becoming self-dependent. He started weaving cotton clothes through the use of Charakha in order to avoid the use of videshi goods and promote the use of Swadeshi goods among Indians.

He was a strong supporter of the agriculture and motivated people to do agriculture works. He was a spiritual man who brought spirituality to the Indian politics. He died in 1948 on 30 th of January and his body was cremated at Raj Ghat, New Delhi. 30 th of January is celebrated every year as the Martyr Day in India in order to pay homage to him.

Essay on Non-violence of Mahatma Gandhi – Essay 7 (800 Words)

Introduction

Non-violence or ‘ahimsa’ is a practice of not hurting anyone intentionally or unintentionally. It is the practice professed by great saints like Gautam Buddha and Mahaveer. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the pioneer personalities to practice non-violence. He used non-violence as a weapon to fight the armed forces of the British Empire and helped us to get independence without lifting a single weapon.

Role of Non-violence in Indian Freedom Struggle   

The role of non-violence in the Indian freedom struggle became prominent after the involvement of Mahatma Gandhi. There were many violent freedom struggles going on concurrently in the country and the importance of these cannot be neglected either. There were many sacrifices made by our freedom fighters battling against the British rule. But non-violence was a protest which was done in a very peaceful manner and was a great way to demand for the complete independence. Mahatma Gandhi used non-violence in every movement against British rule. The most important non-violence movements of Mahatma Gandhi which helped to shake the foundation of the British government are as follows.

• Champaran and Kheda Agitations

In 1917 the farmers of Champaran were forced by the Britishers to grow indigo and again sell them at very cheap fixed prices. Mahatma Gandhi organized a non-violent protest against this practice and Britishers were forced to accept the demand of the farmers.

Kheda village was hit by floods in 1918 and created a major famine in the region. The Britishers were not ready to provide any concessions or relief in the taxes. Gandhiji organized a non-cooperation movement and led peaceful protests against the British administration for many months. Ultimately the administration was forced to provide relief in taxes and temporarily suspended the collection of revenue.

• Non-cooperation Movement

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the harsh British policies lead to the Non-cooperation movement in 1920. It was the non-violence protest against the British rule. Gandhiji believed that the main reason of the Britishers flourishing in India is the support they are getting from Indians. He pleaded to boycott the use of British products and promoted the use of ‘Swadeshi’ products. Indians denied working for the Britishers and withdrew themselves from the British schools, civil services, government jobs etc. People started resigning from the prominent posts which highly affected the British administration. The Non-Cooperation movement shook the foundation of the British rule and all these without a single use of any weapon. The power of non-violence was more evident in the non-cooperation movement.

• Salt Satyagrah or Salt March

Salt March or the ‘Namak Satyagrah’ was the non-violence movement led by Mahatma Gandhi against the salt monopoly of the Britishers. Britishers imposed a heavy taxation on the salt produce which affected the local salt production. Gandhiji started the 26 days non-violence march to Dandi village, Gujarat protesting against the salt monopoly of the British government. The Dandi march was started on 12 th March 1930 from Sabarmati Ashram and ended on 06 th April 1930 at Dandi, breaking the salt laws of the British government and starting the local production of salt. The Salt March was a non violent movement which got the international attention and which helped to concrete the foundation of Independent India.

• Quit India Movement

After the successful movement of the Salt March, the foundation of British government shook completely. Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 th August 1942 which demanded the Britishers to quit India. It was the time of World War II when Britain was already in war with Germany and the Quit India Movement acted as a fuel in the fire. There was a mass non-violent civil disobedience launched across the country and Indians also demanded their separation from World War II.  The effect of Quit India Movement was so intense that British government agreed to provide complete independence to India once the war gets over. The Quit India Movement was a final nail in the coffin of the British rule in India.

These movements led by Mahatma Gandhi were completely Non-violent and did not use any weapon. The power of truth and non-violence were the weapons used to fight the British rule. The effect of non-violence was so intense that it gained the immediate attention of the international community towards the Indian independence struggle. It helped to reveal the harsh policies and acts of the British rule to the international audience.

Mahatma Gandhi always believed that weapons are not the only answer for any problem; in fact they created more problems than they solved. It is a tool which spreads hatred, fear and anger. Non-violence is one of the best methods by which we can fight with much powerful enemies, without holding a single weapon. Apart from the independence struggle; there are many incidents of modern times which exhibited the importance of non-violence and how it helped in bringing changes in the society and all that without spilling a single drop of blood. Hope the day is not very far when there will be no violence and every conflict and dispute will be solved through peaceful dialogues without harming anyone and shedding blood and this would be a greatest tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Long Essay on Mahatma Gandhi – Essay 8 (1100 Words)

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi aka ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ was one of the great sons of Indian soil who rose to become a great soul and gave major contribution in the great Indian freedom struggle against the British rule in India. He was a man of ideologies and a man with great patience and courage. His non-violence movements involved peaceful protests and non-cooperation with the British rule. These movements had a long term effects on the Britishers and it also helped India to grab the eye balls of global leaders and attracted the attention on the international platforms.

Family and Life of Mahatma Gandhi

• Birth and Childhood

Mahatma Gandhi was born as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on 02 nd October, 1869 at Porbandar (which is in the current state of Gujarat). His father Karamchand Gandhi was working as the Chief Minister (diwan) of Porbandar at that time. His mother Putlibai was a very devotional and generous lady. Young Gandhi was a reflection of his mother and inherited high values, ethics and the feeling of sacrifice from her.

• Marriage and Education

Mohandas was married to Kasturba Makanji at a very young age of 13. In 1888, they were blessed with a baby boy and after which he sailed to London for higher studies. In 1893, he went to South Africa to continue his practice of law where he faced strong racial discrimination by the Britishers. The major incident which completely changed the young Gandhi was when he was forcibly removed from the first class compartment of a train due to his race and color.

• Civil Rights Movement in Africa

After the discrimination and embracement faced by Gandhi due to his race and color, he vowed to fight and challenge the racial discrimination of immigrants in South Africa. He formed Natal Indian Congress in 1894 and started fighting against racial discrimination. He fought for the civil rights of the immigrants in South Africa and spent around 21 years there.

• Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian Freedom Struggle

Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and joined Indian National Congress and started to raise voice against the British rule in India and demanded the complete independence or ‘Purn Swaraj’ for India. He started many non-violent movements and protests against Britishers and was also imprisoned various times in his long quest of freedom. His campaigns were completely non-violent without the involvement of any force or weapons. His ideology of ‘ahimsa’ meaning not to injure anyone was highly appreciated and was also followed by many great personalities around the globe.

Why was Gandhi called Mahatma?

‘Mahatma’ is a Sanskrit word which means ‘great soul’. It is said that it was Rabindranth Tagore who first used ‘Mahatma’ for Gandhi. It was because of the great thoughts and ideologies of Gandhi which made people honour him by calling ‘Mahatma Gandhi’. The great feeling of sacrifice, love and help he showed throughout his life was a matter of great respect for each citizen of India.

Mahatma Gandhi showed a lifelong compassion towards the people affected with leprosy. He used to nurse the wounds of people with leprosy and take proper care of them. In the times when people used to ignore and discriminate people with leprosy, the humanitarian compassion of Gandhi towards them made him a person with great feelings and a person with great soul justifying himself as Mahatma.

Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution on various social issues could never be ignored. His campaign against untouchability during his imprisonment in the Yerwada Jail where he went on fast against the age old evil of untouchability in the society had highly helped the upliftment of the community in the modern era. Apart from this, he also advocated the importance of education, cleanliness, health and equality in the society. All these qualities made him a man with great soul and justify his journey from Gandhi to Mahatma.

What are Gandhi’s accomplishments?

Mahatma Gandhi was a man with mission who not only fought for the country’s independence but also gave his valuable contribution in uprooting various evils of the society. The accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi is summarized below:

• Fought against Racial Discrimination in South Africa

The racial discrimination in South Africa shocked Mahatma Gandhi and he vowed to fight against it. He challenged the law which denied the voting rights of the people not belonging to the European region. He continued to fight for the civil rights of the immigrants in South Africa and became a prominent face of a civil right activist.

• Face of the Indian Freedom Struggle

Mahatma Gandhi was the liberal face of independence struggle. He challenged the British rule in India through his peaceful and non-violent protests. The Champaran Satyagrah, Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt March, Quit India Movement etc are just the few non-violent movements led by him which shook the foundation of the Britishers in India and grabbed the attention of the global audience to the Indian freedom struggle.

• Uprooting the Evils of Society

Gandhi Ji also worked on uprooting various social evils in the society which prevailed at that time. He launched many campaigns to provide equal rights to the untouchables and improve their status in the society. He also worked on the women empowerment, education and opposed child marriage which had a long term effect on the Indian society.

What was Gandhi famous for?

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the great personalities of India. He was a man with simplicity and great ideologies. His non-violent way to fight a much powerful enemy without the use of a weapon or shedding a single drop of blood surprised the whole world. His patience, courage and disciplined life made him popular and attracted people from every corners of the world.

He was the man who majorly contributed in the independence of India from the British rule. He devoted his whole life for the country and its people. He was the face of the Indian leadership on international platform. He was the man with ethics, values and discipline which inspires the young generation around the globe even in the modern era.

Gandhi Ji was also famous for his strict discipline. He always professed the importance of self discipline in life. He believed that it helps to achieve bigger goals and the graces of ahimsa could only be achieved through hard discipline.

These qualities of the great leader made him famous not only in India but also across the world and inspired global personalities like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.

Mahatma Gandhi helped India to fulfill her dream of achieving ‘Purna Swaraj’ or complete independence and gave the country a global recognition. Though he left this world on 30 th January, 1948, but his ideologies and thoughts still prevail in the minds of his followers and act as a guiding light to lead their lives. He proved that everything is possible in the world if you have a strong will, courage and determination.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi [100, 150, 200, 300, 500 Words]

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in English: In this article, you are going to read short and long essays on Mahatma Gandhi in English (100, 150, 200-250, 300, and 500 words). This article will be also helpful for you If you are looking for a speech on Mahatma Gandhi or Paragraph on Mahatma Gandhi in English. We’ve written this article for students of all classes (nursery to class 12). So, let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Short Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 100 Words

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest leaders of our country. He was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2, 1869. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the Dewan and his mother Putlibai was a pious lady. Gandhiji went to England to become a barrister. In 1893 he went to South Africa and worked for the rights of our people.

He returned to India in 1915 and joined the freedom struggle. He started many political movements like Non-cooperation movement, Salt Satyagraha, Quit India Movement to fight against the British. Gandhiji worked for the ending of the caste system and the establishment of Hindu-Muslim unity. He was killed by Nathuram Godse On January 30, 1948.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay in English 150 Words

Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader. His full name was Mohandas and Gandhi. He was born on October 2, 1869 at Porbandar. His father was a Diwan. He was an average student. He went to England and returned as a barrister.

In South Africa, Gandhiji saw the bad condition of the Indians. There he raised his voice against it and organised a movement.

In India, he started the non-cooperation and Satyagraha movements to fight against the British Government. He went to jail many times. He wanted Hindu-Muslim unity. In 1947, he got freedom for us.

Gandhiji was a great social reformer. He worked for Dalits and lower-class people. He lived a very simple life. He wanted peace. He believed in Ahimsa.

On January 30, 1948, he was shot dead. We call him ‘Bapu’ out of love and respect. He is the Father of the Nation.

Also Read: 10 Lines on Mahatma Gandhi

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 200-250 Words

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, freedom activist, and politician. Gandhiji was born on October 2, 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the Chief Minister (diwan) of Porbandar state. His mother Putlibai was a religious woman.

He went to England to study law at the age of 18 years. After his return to India, he started a practice as a lawyer in the Bombay High Court. He went to South Africa and started practicing law. There he protested against the injustice and harsh treatment of the white people towards the native Africans and Indians.

He returned to India in 1915 and started to take interest in politics. Mahatma Gandhi used the ideals of truth and non-violence as weapons to fight against British colonial rule. He worked for the upliftment of Harijans. He fought against untouchability and worked for Hindu-Muslim unity.

Through his freedom movements like Non-cooperation movement, Khilafat movement, and civil disobedience movement he fought for freedom against the British imperialists. 1942, he launched the Quit India movement to end the British rule. At last, India got freedom in 1947 at his initiative.

People affectionately call him ‘Bapu’ and the ‘Father of the Nation’. He was shot dead in 1948 by the Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse.  Gandhiji’s life is a true inspiration for all of us.

Mahatma Gandhi Essay in English 300 Words

Mahatma Gandhi was born at Porbandar in Gujarat on 2nd October, 1869. His father was the Diwan of the State. His name was Karam Chand Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi’s full name was Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi. His mother’s name was Putali Bai. Mahatma Gandhi went to school first at Porbandar then at Rajkot. Even as a child, Mahatma never told a lie. He passed his Matric examination at the age of 18.

Mohan Das was married to Kasturba at the age of thirteen. Mahatma Gandhi was sent to England to study law and became a Barrister. He lived a very simple life even in England. After getting his law degree, he returned to India.

Mr. Gandhi started his law practice. He went to South Africa in the course of a law suit. He saw the condition of the Indians living there. They were treated very badly by the white men. They were not allowed to travel in 1st class on the trains, also not allowed to enter certain localities, clubs, and so on. Once when Gandhiji was travelling in the 1st class compartment of the train, he was beaten and thrown out of the train. Then Mahatma decided to unite all Indians and started the Non-violence and Satyagrah Movement. In no time, the Movement picked up.

Mahatma Gandhi returned to India and joined Indian National Congress. He started the Non-violence, Non-cooperation Movements here also. He travelled all over India, especially the rural India to see the conditions of the poor.

Mahatma Gandhi started Satyagrah Movement to oppose the Rowlatt Act and there was the shoot-out at Jalian-Wala-Bagh. The Act was drawn after many people were killed. He then started the Salt Satyagraha and Quit India Movements. And finally, Gandhiji won freedom for us. India became free on 15th August, 1947. He is called as “Father of the Nation”. Unfortunately, Gandhiji was shot on 30 January 1948 by a Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse.

Also Read: Gandhi Jayanti Speech 10 Lines

Mahatma Gandhi Essay in English 500 Words

Introduction:.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi was a politician, social activist, writer, and leader of the Indian national movement. He is a figure known all over the world. His name is a household word in India, rather, in all the world round. His creed of non-violence has placed him on the same par with Buddha, Sri Chaitanya, and Jesus Christ.

Family & Education:

Mahatma Gandhi was born in the small town of Porbandar in the Kathiwad state on October 2, 1869. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the prime minister of Rajkot State and his mother Putlibai was a pious lady. Her influence shaped the future life of Mahatma Gandhi.

He was sent to school at a very early age, but he was not a very bright student. After his Matriculation Examination, he went to England to study law and returned home as a barrister. He began to practice law in Bombay but he was not very successful.

Life in South Africa:

In 1893 Gandhiji went to South Africa in connection with a case. He found his own countrymen treated with contempt by the whites. Gandhiji started satyagraha against this color hated. It was a non-violent protest, yet hundreds were beaten up and thousands were sent to jail. But Gandhiji did not buzz an inch from his faith in truth and non-violence and at last, he succeeded in his mission. He was awarded the title of Mahatma.

Fight for India’s Independence:

In 1915 Gandhiji came back to India after twenty long years in South Africa. He joined the Indian National congress and championed the cause of India’s freedom movement. He asked people to unite for the cause of freedom. He used the weapons of truth and non-violence to fight against the mighty British.

The horrible massacre at Jalianwalabag in Punjab touched him and he resolved to face the brute force of the British Government with moral force. In 1920 he launched the Non-cooperation movement to oppose British rule in India.

He led the famous Dandi March on 12th March 1930. This march was meant to break the salt law. And as a result of this, the British rule in India had already started shaking and he had to go to London for a Round Table Conference in 1931. But this Conference proved abortive and the country was about to give a death blow to the foreign rule.

In 1942 Gandhiji launched his final bout for freedom. He started the ‘Quit India’ movement. At last, the British Government had to quit India in 1947, and India was declared a free country on August 15, 1947.

Social Works:

Mahatma Gandhi was a social activist who fought against the evils of society. He found the Satyagraha Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati river in Gujarat. He preached against untouchability and worked for Hindu-Muslim unity. He fought tirelessly for the rights of Harijans.

Conclusion:

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation was a generous, god-loving, and peace-loving person. But unfortunately, he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30th January 1948 at the age of 78. To commemorate Gandhiji’s birth anniversary Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated every year on October 2. Gandhiji’s teachings and ideologies will continue to enlighten and encourage us in the future.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi, a name synonymous with peace and nonviolence, stands as a towering figure in world history. His life and teachings continue to inspire millions worldwide. This essay delves into the life, principles, and enduring legacy of Gandhi, offering a comprehensive understanding for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Early Life and Education

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was raised in a Hindu family with a strong sense of religious duty. His mother’s devotion to religion and nonviolence profoundly influenced him. Gandhi’s early education in Rajkot provided a foundation for his later philosophical developments.

Struggle in South Africa

Gandhi’s journey to becoming the ‘Mahatma’ began in South Africa. In 1893, he faced racial discrimination firsthand, notably being thrown off a train for refusing to move from the first-class compartment, reserved for whites. This incident was a turning point, prompting Gandhi to fight against racial injustice. He developed ‘Satyagraha’ – a form of nonviolent resistance, as his primary tool in battling discrimination.

Return to India and Leadership in the Freedom Struggle

Gandhi returned to India in 1915, soon becoming the leader of the Indian National Congress. His leadership in the freedom struggle against British rule was marked by nonviolent civil disobedience. Significant movements led by Gandhi include the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-1922), the Salt March (1930), and the Quit India Movement (1942). These movements not only galvanized Indian masses against British rule but also showcased the power of nonviolence on a global stage.

Philosophy and Principles

Gandhi’s philosophy was rooted in ‘Ahimsa’ (nonviolence) and ‘Satya’ (truth). He believed in living a simple life, spinning his clothes, and advocating for self-sustainability. His concept of ‘Swaraj’ (self-rule) was not just political independence but also individual self-control and self-reliance.

Impact on Global Leaders and Movements

Gandhi’s influence extended beyond India’s borders, impacting global leaders and movements. Figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela drew inspiration from Gandhi’s strategies in their respective fights for civil rights and against apartheid.

• Martin Luther King Jr.: Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance deeply influenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights movement in the United States. King adopted Gandhi’s principles of peaceful protest, which played a pivotal role in the American civil rights movement and led to significant social change.
• Nelson Mandela: Nelson Mandela, the iconic anti-apartheid leader and South Africa’s first black president, admired Gandhi’s methods of nonviolent resistance. Mandela’s commitment to reconciliation and peaceful transition was influenced by Gandhi’s approach.
• Cesar Chavez: The American labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez drew inspiration from Gandhi’s tactics during his fight for farm workers’ rights. Chavez’s use of nonviolent protest was strongly influenced by Gandhi’s teachings.
• Aung San Suu Kyi: The Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent struggle against military rule, acknowledged Gandhi’s influence on her commitment to peaceful resistance.
• Desmond Tutu: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a prominent figure in the South African anti-apartheid movement and a Nobel laureate, was inspired by Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence and reconciliation in his quest for justice and equality.
• The Dalai Lama: The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and advocate for Tibetan autonomy, has expressed admiration for Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and its potential to bring about change.
• Civil Rights Movements: Gandhi’s approach to civil disobedience and nonviolent protest served as a model for various civil rights movements globally, including those in India, the United States, South Africa, and beyond.
• Anti-War Movements: Gandhi’s advocacy for peace and nonviolence has influenced anti-war movements and pacifist organizations worldwide. His principles have been cited by activists opposing conflicts and advocating for disarmament.
• Human Rights: Gandhi’s emphasis on human dignity, equality, and social justice has had a lasting impact on the global human rights movement. His ideals continue to resonate with those striving for the protection and advancement of human rights.
• Global Leaders: Gandhi’s leadership style, characterized by humility, self-sacrifice, and dedication to the welfare of others, has set an example for leaders worldwide, emphasizing the importance of servant leadership and moral authority.
• International Relations: Gandhi’s legacy has influenced discussions on conflict resolution, diplomacy, and international relations, emphasizing the importance of peaceful negotiation and dialogue in resolving disputes.
• Environmental Movements: Gandhi’s respect for nature and simple living has influenced environmental movements, inspiring calls for sustainable and eco-friendly practices.

Criticism and Challenges

Gandhi’s approach and ideas were not without criticism. He faced opposition from various sections of society, including those who advocated for armed struggle and those who disagreed with his inclusive approach towards different communities.

Partition and Assassination

The partition of India in 1947, leading to the creation of Pakistan, was a deeply troubling event for Gandhi. He fasted to stop the communal violence that erupted. Tragically, Gandhi’s life was cut short when he was assassinated on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist.

Legacy and Relevance Today

Gandhi’s legacy is more than just the struggle for Indian independence. His teachings on nonviolence and peaceful resistance remain relevant today in a world marred by conflict and strife. His birthday, October 2nd, is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence.

In conclusion Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teachings are a testament to the power of nonviolence and truth. His principles of Satyagraha and Ahimsa continue to inspire and guide people worldwide. As students study and write about Gandhi, they find not just a historical figure, but a source of enduring wisdom and a beacon of hope in the quest for peace and justice.

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Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in English for Students

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi: Mahatma Gandhi is a major figure in India's quest for independence. Mahatma Gandhi is highly esteemed as an emblem of peace, equity, and nonviolent opposition.

November 14, 2023

Table of Contents

The essay on Mahatma Gandhi focuses on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Father of Nation. Every year, on October 2nd, we observe Gandhi Jayanti to honour his efforts and beliefs. Schools and colleges mark this day by organising writing competitions and delivering patriotic speeches about Mahatma Gandhi. It is a national holiday, and all banks remain closed. This essay sheds light on his remarkable contributions and lasting legacy.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi in English

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, Mahatma Gandhi led India’s fight against British rule. His legacy centres on nonviolence, civil disobedience, and social justice, impacting the world and inspiring many movements globally.

At 18, Gandhi journeyed to London to pursue law, initiating his exposure to Western thought and culture and sparking a profound interest in philosophy, ethics, and nonviolent resistance. His activism commenced in South Africa, where he spent over two decades combating racial discrimination and injustice. It was in this crucible that he first experimented with satyagraha, a nonviolent resistance rooted in truth and moral force.

Gandhi’s South African experiences profoundly influenced his philosophy, laying the groundwork for his pivotal role in India’s quest for independence. His life and teachings continue to inspire individuals and movements worldwide.

In 1915, Gandhi came back to India, swiftly rising as a key figure in the Indian National Congress. His philosophy, centred on nonviolence (ahimsa), became the cornerstone of the Indian independence movement. Gandhi believed that genuine independence could only be attained through nonviolent methods, highlighting the transformative force of love and compassion.

A pivotal moment in Gandhi’s civil disobedience was the Salt March of 1930. Protesting the British salt monopoly, he led a 240-mile march to the Arabian Sea. There, he and his followers definitely broke salt laws by gathering natural salt from the shores. This symbolic gesture rallied the masses and drew global attention to India’s pursuit of freedom.

Gandhi’s dedication to nonviolence extended beyond politics to encompass all facets of life. He championed communal harmony, religious tolerance, and the empowerment of the oppressed. His teachings left a lasting impact on leaders who embraced nonviolent resistance in their quests for justice.

Gandhi’s life tragically ended on January 30, 1948, when a Hindu nationalist assassinated him. Despite his early demise, Gandhi’s legacy persists. His nonviolence philosophy still influences global change, guiding individuals and movements morally. The United Nations marks October 2, Gandhi’s birthday, as the International Day of Non-Violence, recognizing his lasting impact on peace and justice.

Mahatma Gandhi, the advocate of nonviolent resistance, looms large in history. His life and teachings keep inspiring millions, emphasising the transformative strength of love, truth, and moral force. Reflecting on his legacy challenges us to embrace nonviolence principles in our lives and contribute to a more just and compassionate world.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 200 words

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, Mahatma Gandhi is globally revered. His life and teachings left an enduring mark on human civilization. Gandhi, India’s Father of the Nation, led the country to independence using non-violent civil disobedience, which he termed Satyagraha.

Gandhi’s early life emphasised morality and commitment to truth. His parents instilled simplicity, honesty, and service values. After law education in England, Gandhi worked as a lawyer in South Africa, where he witnessed Indian community discrimination, sparking his dedication to social justice.

Gandhi’s philosophy centred on non-violence or Ahimsa. He believed means must match the purity of goals. Violence, he argued, perpetuated hatred; instead, he endorsed passive resistance and civil disobedience for social and political change. His Satyagraha campaigns in South Africa and India showcased non-violent protest’s effectiveness.

During India’s independence struggle, Gandhi’s leadership was crucial. The 1930 Salt March protested the British salt monopoly, highlighting non-violent resistance’s power. Gandhi’s principles influenced global civil rights movements, inspiring leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.

Gandhi envisioned a society based on truth, equality, and non-violence, extending beyond political freedom. Swaraj, or self-rule, included individual self-discipline, a decentralised economy, and uplifting the downtrodden.

His commitment to communal harmony and religious tolerance aimed to bridge gaps between Hindus and Muslims. His assassination in 1948 marked a tragic end to a life dedicated to truth and harmony.

Gandhi’s impact transcends India’s borders. His teachings on non-violence, truth, and social justice inspire global movements. The UN declared his birthday, October 2, as the International Day of Non-Violence.

In conclusion, Gandhi’s life exemplifies non-violence and moral strength’s transformative power. Satyagraha, Ahimsa, and Swaraj remain beacons for those aspiring to a just and peaceful world. Gandhi’s legacy urges us to pursue truth and justice, bringing change even amid challenges.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 150 Words

Born in Porbandar, India, on October 2, 1869, Mahatma Gandhi played a crucial role in India’s fight for independence and gained global recognition for promoting nonviolent resistance.

Encountering racial discrimination in South Africa during his early years strengthened Gandhi’s dedication to combating injustice through nonviolent means. Guided by his spiritual convictions, he advocated for the philosophy of “ahimsa,” or nonviolence, viewing it as a potent catalyst for bringing about social and political transformations.

Gandhi led iconic acts, like the Salt March in 1930 and adopting “Satyagraha” (insisting on truth) as a political strategy, crucial for India’s independence.India got independence on August 15, 1947, fulfilling Gandhi’s vision of a united, free nation.

Gandhi’s impact spans the globe, shaping civil rights icons like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. His beliefs in truth, simplicity, and justice persist, fueling global efforts for peace, fairness, and human rights.

In brief, Mahatma Gandhi’s existence and lessons underscore the far-reaching power of nonviolence, forming an enduring heritage experienced worldwide, transcending cultures and time.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi 400 Words

Mahatma Gandhi, India’s “Father of the Nation,” was a significant leader in the country’s fight for independence. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, he grew up in a devout Hindu family and became a key figure in India’s history.

Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, called “Satyagraha,” played a crucial role in India’s independence struggle against British rule. He developed this approach during his time in South Africa, facing racial discrimination and using nonviolent civil disobedience against injustice.

Returning to India, Gandhi became a leader advocating for Indian rights, emphasising truth and nonviolence for social and political change. His unique leadership style involved living a simple life, reflected in his clothing – a loincloth and shawl, a contrast to the opulence of other leaders.

Gandhi addressed social issues such as untouchability, poverty, and education, envisioning a harmonious society without discrimination. His campaign against untouchability aimed at abolishing this social evil, promoting equality.

The Salt March in 1930 was a defining moment. In protest of British salt monopoly, Gandhi walked 240 miles to the Arabian Sea, producing salt illegally. This nonviolent act gained global attention, inspiring others to join the fight for independence.

Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence was tested during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. Despite British brutality, he urged peaceful protests, upholding his principles.

His impact extended beyond politics, addressing social issues like untouchability, poverty, and education. He envisioned a society where all individuals could live together harmoniously, regardless of caste or creed.

The Salt March in 1930 symbolised nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience against British salt monopoly. Gandhi and followers walked 240 miles, producing salt illegally, capturing global attention and inspiring others.

Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence faced challenges, notably during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919. Despite British violence, he advocated peaceful protests.

Gandhi’s teachings continue to inspire civil rights movements worldwide. His emphasis on individual responsibility, self-discipline, and moral courage resonates across ages. Gandhi’s legacy influenced leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, applying his principles in their struggles against injustice.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s life and philosophy made a lasting impact. His commitment to truth, nonviolence, and social justice earned him global respect. Even at the elementary level, students can draw inspiration, learning about peaceful resistance, equality, and individual convictions. Gandhi’s teachings remain relevant, guiding movements toward a just and compassionate world.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi for Class 4

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, Mahatma Gandhi is hailed as the Father of the Nation. His ideas shaped global movements for civil rights and freedom. This essay introduces Gandhi’s life and legacy.

Gandhi’s early years were marked by simplicity. Raised in a devout Hindu family, he learned values like truth and non-violence early on. Despite being an average student, he showed an early interest in social issues. At 19, he went to London to study law, a decision influencing his leadership in India’s fight for independence.

Returning to India, Gandhi faced racial discrimination in South Africa, sparking his passion for justice and shaping his philosophy of nonviolent resistance. He believed in satyagraha, a passive resistance rooted in truth and nonviolence, realising its power for social and political change.

Leading India against British rule, Gandhi united millions across caste, religion, and class. The iconic Salt March in 1930 symbolised self-reliance and showcased nonviolent resistance’s strength.

Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence was a lifestyle, emphasising simplicity, self-reliance, and truthfulness. His influence extended globally, inspiring figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela in their fights for civil rights and against apartheid.

In conclusion, Gandhi’s life and teachings remain relevant and inspirational. His dedication to truth and justice played a crucial role in India’s independence and influenced the global fight against oppression. Introducing Gandhi’s principles to the youth ensures his legacy lives on, fostering a world built on love, compassion, and justice. Mahatma Gandhi will be remembered as a guiding light in the quest for a better, more just world.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi for Class 5

Mahatma Gandhi, or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, led India to independence through nonviolent resistance. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, he embodied civil disobedience, earning the title “Mahatma” or great soul.

Gandhi’s childhood was simple, raised in a devout Hindu family with his father as Porbandar’s prime minister. Despite privilege, he was a reserved child, educated in Porbandar and Rajkot, developing an interest in law. At 18, in 1888, he began his transformative journey by studying law in London.

Returning to India in 1891, Gandhi practised law, but his focus shifted to social and political issues. Working as a lawyer in South Africa from 1893, he encountered racial discrimination, inspiring nonviolent protests and the philosophy of Satyagraha, emphasising truth’s force.

Gandhi’s return to India in 1915 marked a pivotal moment in the independence struggle. Leading the Indian National Congress, he championed nonviolence and self-rule. His influence grew with movements like Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience, challenging British rule through peaceful means.

The Salt March of 1930, a protest against the British salt tax, gained global attention, highlighting the power of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi’s unwavering commitment to nonviolence influenced not only India’s independence but also global civil rights movements, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s in the U.S.

Gandhi faced challenges, yet he stood strong, convinced that love and compassion could conquer oppression. His death on January 30, 1948, marked the era’s close, but his influence persists. Gandhi’s lessons on nonviolence, truth, and justice still motivate positive change through peaceful methods. His life proves the lasting power of principles that surpass time and borders.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi for Class 6

Mahatma Gandhi, born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, was a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and a global advocate for nonviolent resistance.

Gandhi’s early experiences with racial discrimination in South Africa fueled his commitment to fighting injustice through nonviolence. Rooted in his spiritual beliefs, he championed the philosophy of “ahimsa,” or nonviolence, as a powerful force for social and political change.

Raised in a devout Hindu family with a political history, Gandhi studied law in London and faced discrimination in South Africa, shaping his commitment to social justice and non-violence. His philosophy, grounded in “Ahimsa” or non-violence, believed in love and compassion as tools for change. Satyagraha, meaning “truth force,” guided his fight against injustice and colonial oppression.

A pivotal moment was the 1930 Salt March, a 240-mile protest against British salt monopoly. This act of civil disobedience showcased the power of nonviolent protest, drawing global attention and advancing India’s fight for independence.

Gandhi, beyond a political leader, advocated communal harmony and religious tolerance. His commitment to non-violence extended to resolving Hindu-Muslim conflicts during heightened tensions. His teachings influenced leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Cesar Chavez, shaping civil rights movements globally.

Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy transcends India’s struggle for independence. His life and philosophy emphasise the transformative potential of non-violence, individual conscience, and moral courage in the pursuit of justice and freedom. Gandhi’s principles remain relevant, inspiring generations worldwide toward a more just and compassionate world.

Essay on Mahatma Gandhi FAQs

Mahatma Gandhi, born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948), was a key leader in India's struggle for independence against British rule. He was a prominent advocate for nonviolent civil disobedience and played a crucial role in shaping India's destiny.

Gandhi is called "Mahatma," which means "Great Soul" in Sanskrit, as a term of respect and admiration. The title reflects his moral and spiritual leadership, as well as his commitment to nonviolence, truth, and the welfare of humanity.

Gandhiji is of immense importance due to his role in India's independence. His teachings on truth, nonviolence, and social justice continue to inspire movements worldwide. Gandhi's impact extends beyond political realms, influencing ideas of civil rights, freedom, and peaceful protest.

Mahatma Gandhi is often referred to as the "Father of the Nation" in India for his pivotal role in the country's struggle for independence and his enduring influence on its values and principles.

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Essay on Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 100, 150, 200, 300 & 400 Words

Table of Contents

Essay on Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 100 Words

Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader who lived during the 19th and 20th centuries. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, he became one of the most influential figures in the fight for Indian independence from British rule.

Gandhi believed in non-violence and led many peaceful protests and movements, such as the Salt March and the Quit India Movement. He inspired millions of Indians to follow his path of non-violent resistance.

Throughout his life, Gandhi fought against discrimination, poverty, and injustice. He promoted harmony among different religious and ethnic groups and worked towards a unified India.

His teachings of non-violence, truthfulness, and self-restraint continue to inspire people all over the world. Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy is a timeless reminder of the power of peaceful resistance in the face of adversity.

Essay on the Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 150 Words

Mahatma Gandhi was a great leader who played a significant role in India’s fight for independence. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, he grew up in a humble family. Gandhi believed in the power of non-violence and fought against injustice using peaceful ways.

He studied law in London and later became a lawyer. After facing discrimination in South Africa, he started to fight for the rights of Indians there. Gandhi returned to India and played a crucial role in India’s freedom struggle against British rule.

Known for his principles of truth, non-violence, and simplicity, Gandhi inspired millions of people. He led various movements like the Civil Disobedience, the Salt March, and the Quit India movement. Gandhi’s life and teachings continue to inspire people around the world.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s life embodies the spirit of peaceful struggle and justice. His ideas of non-violence and truth continue to inspire generations to work for a better world. Gandhi’s role in India’s struggle for independence is a true example of dedication, perseverance, and leadership.

Essay on the Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 200 Words

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a remarkable leader who played a significant role in India’s fight for independence. Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, Gandhi grew up in a middle-class family.

Gandhi’s life was filled with acts of nonviolence and civil disobedience, which he employed to fight against British rule in India. His peaceful protests, such as the Salt March and the Quit India Movement, inspired millions of Indians to join the freedom struggle.

Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, or Ahimsa, was his guiding principle. He believed in resolving conflicts through peaceful means, which made him a symbol of peace and equality worldwide. His teachings emphasized the importance of truth, simplicity, and self-discipline.

Furthermore, Gandhi advocated for the rights of the oppressed and marginalized communities, including the Dalits, or untouchables. He worked tirelessly to eradicate social evils like untouchability and caste discrimination.

Unfortunately, this great leader’s life was cut short when he was assassinated on January 30, 1948. However, his legacy lives on, and his principles continue to inspire people around the globe.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s life was an extraordinary journey of courage, perseverance, and nonviolence. He will forever be remembered as one of the most influential leaders in the world, who dedicated his life to achieving freedom and justice for his country.

Essay on the Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 300 Words

The remarkable life of mahatma gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a great leader who fought for India’s independence from British rule. His life and teachings continue to inspire people around the world. In this essay, we will explore the extraordinary biography of Mahatma Gandhi and understand why he is considered a persuasive figure in history.

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat, Gandhi was raised in a simple and peaceful environment. Throughout his life, he emphasized the values of truth, non-violence, and justice. Gandhi’s commitment to these principles formed the foundation of his philosophy, known as Satyagraha, or “the force of truth.”

At the forefront of India’s struggle for independence, Gandhi employed non-violent civil disobedience as a powerful tool to overthrow British rule. By boycotting British goods, leading peaceful protests, and engaging in hunger strikes, he inspired millions to join the struggle for freedom.

Moreover, Gandhi’s efforts were not limited to politics alone. He devoted himself to uplifting the poor, promoting education, and women’s rights, and fighting against social injustices such as untouchability. He believed that true independence could only be achieved by eradicating poverty and inequality.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s biography is a constant source of inspiration for all ages. He proved that persistent, peaceful efforts can achieve significant change. Through his teachings of truth and non-violence, he advocated for a world free from discrimination and violence. Gandhi’s principles should guide us in our lives, reminding us to stand up for justice and equality, uphold non-violence, and strive to make a positive impact on society. Let us remember the incredible life of Mahatma Gandhi and continue to learn from his persuasive example.

Essay on Biography of Mahatma Gandhi 400 Words

Mahatma Gandhi, also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was a great leader and freedom fighter in India. He was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. Mahatma Gandhi played a significant role in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. His principles of non-violence and truth inspire millions of people around the world.

Gandhi’s early life was filled with valuable experiences that shaped his character. He came from a modest family and was raised with strong moral values. As a child, he was honest, diligent, and respectful. At the age of 19, he moved to London to study law. This experience exposed him to different cultures and ideas, shaping his perspective on life.

However, it was in South Africa where Gandhi began his journey as a social and political activist. He fought against the racial discrimination faced by Indians living there. Gandhi strongly believed in fighting injustice through non-violent means. This later became his guiding principle in India’s struggle for independence.

Upon his return to India, Gandhi quickly rose to prominence as a leader. He saw the hardships faced by the common people and was determined to make a difference. His leadership during various campaigns, including the famous Salt March and the Non-Cooperation Movement, gave hope to countless Indians.

Gandhi’s teachings emphasized the importance of truth, non-violence, and simplicity. His words “Be the change you wish to see in the world” continue to inspire people to this day. He practiced what he preached and lived a simple life, wearing traditional Indian clothes and spinning his own clothes. This became an example for others to live a meaningful and simple life.

Mahatma Gandhi’s impact on India and the world was immense. He led India to independence from British rule through peaceful means. His advocacy for non-violence as a powerful weapon against injustice continues to be relevant in today’s world. His efforts also inspired other great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

In conclusion, Mahatma Gandhi’s biography is an inspiring tale of courage, resilience, and determination. Through his non-violent approach, he showed the world the power of truth and compassion. His principles still resonate with people of all ages, making him a timeless figure in history. Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy will forever be remembered as the man who brought freedom to India and inspired the nation.

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“It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one’s acts.”  – Mahatma Gandhi

Topic: Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators;

7.  What does this quote means to you? (150 words)

Difficulty level: Easy

Why the question: The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4. Structure of the answer: Introduction:  Begin by explaining the literal meaning of the quote. Body: Write about the importance taking responsibility for one’s actions and importance of being accountable. Accountability is crucial in personal, professional, and social contexts. It refers to the obligation of individuals, organizations, and institutions to take responsibility for their actions, decisions, and outcomes. Cite examples to substantiate. Conclusion: Summarise by highlighting the importance of the quote in the present day.

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Time Is Running Out for Rahul Gandhi’s Vision for India

But in this year’s elections, the scion of India’s most storied political family is still trying to unseat Modi — and change the nation’s course.

India’s National Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi, as his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (Unite India March for Justice) passed through Varanasi. Credit... Chinky Shukla for The New York Times

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By Samanth Subramanian

Samanth Subramanian is a writer and journalist based in London. He has covered Indian politics, culture and the rise of Hindu nationalism for The New Yorker, The Guardian and The New York Times.

• Published April 20, 2024 Updated April 22, 2024

Rahul Gandhi stood in a red Jeep, amid a churning crowd in Varanasi, trying to unseat the Indian government with a microphone in his hand. “The mic isn’t good,” he said. “Please quiet down and listen.” It was the morning of Feb. 17 — Day 35 of a journey that began in the hills of Manipur, in India’s northeast, and would end by the ocean in Mumbai, in mid-March. In total, Gandhi would cover 15 states and 4,100 miles, traveling across a country that once voted for his party, the Indian National Congress, almost by reflex. No longer, though. For a decade, the Congress Party has been so deep in the political wilderness, occupying fewer than a tenth of the seats in Parliament, that even its well-wishers wonder if Gandhi is merely the custodian of its end.

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Gandhi called his expedition the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra — roughly, the Unite India March for Justice. He never said it in so many words, but the yatra was an appeal to voters to deny Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party a third straight term in parliamentary elections starting on April 19. Congress, the only other party with a national presence, is the fulcrum of an anti-B.J.P. coalition. Indian pundits and journalists bicker about many things, but on this point they’re unanimous: Only a miracle will halt the B.J.P. Still, it falls to Gandhi, steward of his enfeebled party, to try.

The speech lasted barely 15 minutes. Gandhi is a fidgety orator, unable to shrug off the routine disturbances of a rally. He kept calling for silence, and scolding overzealous policemen regulating the mob. He didn’t ramble, exactly, but eddied around the point he wanted to make. “This is a country of love, not of hate,” he said. He talked of two Indias, populated respectively by the millionaires and the impoverished. He laid into TV news channels, many of which have been captured by oligarchs prospering under the B.J.P.: “They won’t show the farmers, or the workers or the poor,” he said. “But they will show Narendra Modi 24 hours a day.” Then he helped onto his Jeep a member of the audience, a young man who complained that, despite spending hundreds of thousands of rupees on his education, he still had no job. His is a common story in Modi’s India. Two out of every five recent college graduates are out of work, and young people make up 83 percent of the unemployed. To his crowd, Gandhi called out: “These are the two issues facing India: unemployment and — ?” He received only a tepid response of “poverty.” When he finished, there was no applause.

The crush of people at the rally was suffocating, although in India a crowd is no index of popularity. People may gawk and then go vote for the other guy — and Gandhi is, after all, one of the country’s most recognizable men. Officially, he is no longer his party’s president, but he is undoubtedly its face. At 53, with a well-salted beard and serious eyes, he’s too old to be called Congress’s “scion,” but he still wears the sheen of dynasty. His great-grandfather, the unflinchingly secular Jawaharlal Nehru, was India’s first prime minister. His grandmother, Indira, and his father, Rajiv, both became prime ministers; both were assassinated. His mother, Sonia, steered Congress into government in 2004 and 2009, but declined the top post. Then, on the heels of several corruption scandals, the mighty party — 140 years old next year — came unstuck. Out of 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament, Congress holds just 46, compared to the B.J.P.’s 288. Gandhi embodies all this history: the triumphs as well as the failures. For the crowds, that is the fascination he exerts.

One of Modi’s successes has been not just to trounce the Congress Party but also to persuade people that the party has weakened India and emasculated its Hindus. Through his cult of personality, Modi is fulfilling a century-old project, recasting India as a Hindu nation, in which minorities, particularly Muslims, live at the sufferance of the majority. Emblematic of this is a new law offering fast-tracked citizenship to people fleeing Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan — as long as they aren’t Muslim. It is the B.J.P.’s totemic achievement: the use of religion to decide who can be called “Indian.” Opposing this law or indeed resisting the B.J.P. in any way has proved difficult. Investigating agencies mount flimsy cases against critics of the government, as Amnesty International has frequently noted. (Amnesty itself halted its work in India in 2020, in the midst of what it later called an “incessant witch hunt” by the government.) Activists are regularly imprisoned, sometimes on the basis of planted evidence; journalists are sent to jail or otherwise bullied so frequently that India has slipped to 161st out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index , just three spots above Russia. Pliant courts often endorse it all. Such is the mood in India that one of the plainest sentences in Congress’s election manifesto is also one of its most resonant: “We promise you freedom from fear.”

As the election neared, the quelling of dissent grew more visible still. This year, in an unprecedented move, Modi’s administration arrested two chief ministers of states run by small opposition parties. (One stepped down hours before his arrest.) In both instances, the government claimed corruption, but many critics noted that the arrests were uncannily timed to pull two popular politicians out of campaign season in states where the B.J.P. has struggled. Income-tax authorities froze Congress’s bank accounts, supposedly over a late filing. “It has been orchestrated to cripple us in the elections,” Gandhi told reporters. If so, it feels like overkill, because it is common wisdom that Congress can’t win. Those who want nothing to do with the B.J.P. watch Gandhi with conflicted anguish. He is, by all accounts, sincere, empathetic and committed to a pluralistic India. This is a man who forgave his father’s killers, and who said on the sidelines of a private New York event last year, according to one of those present: “I don’t hate Modi. The day I hate, I will leave politics.” But he’s also the latest in a lineage under whom Congress grew undemocratic and sometimes wildly corrupt. The great liberal hope is that Gandhi can achieve contradictory things: use his dynastic privilege to resuscitate his party, and dissolve the dynasty at the same time.

That’s a steep demand, but Gandhi’s priorities are altogether more Himalayan. “He doesn’t say it,” Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who knows Gandhi well, told me, “but he’s modeling himself after Mahatma Gandhi. He doesn’t want to take any position of power.” In January, Gandhi told his colleagues that he has “one foot in and one foot out of the party,” and that he plans to be “a bridge to activists outside.” As he explained it then, the B.J.P., with its undiluted majoritarianism, “is a political-ideological machine. It can’t be defeated by a political machine alone.” His role, as he sees it, is to be the counter ideology — to go out into the country, rouse Indians to the dangers of the B.J.P. and offer them his dream of a fairer, more tolerant India instead.

The yatra is a well-worn exercise in Indian politics. Its most famous practitioner, Mahatma Gandhi, returned from South Africa in 1915 hungering to know more about his country. Go travel the land, one of his mentors told him, “with eyes and ears open, but mouth shut.” After using the yatra to gain an education, he employed it for political purpose. In 1930, he walked 240 miles to the Arabian Sea to protest the British monopoly on salt; hundreds of people joined him, and he spoke to thousands en route. On reaching the beach, he scooped out a fist of salty sand and announced he had broken the monopoly, setting off a wave of civil disobedience. There have been plenty of other yatras since. In 1983, Smita Gupta, a retired journalist who was then a cub reporter, walked part of a 2,650-mile yatra by a politician named Chandra Shekhar, as he tried to enlist support against Indira Gandhi. As Gupta recalled, for people who live far from the centers of power, “when a politician descends from the skies and comes to your home, it’s a big deal — I was swept away.”

Rahul Gandhi conceived of his yatra much as Chandra Shekhar did: as a way to counter the ideology of a seemingly immovable leader. There’s no place more vital for this project than Uttar Pradesh, the state through which I trailed him in February. With its 80 parliamentary seats and 240 million people, many living on incomes lower than the sub-Saharan average of $1,700 a year, Uttar Pradesh is electorally pivotal. Excelling here isn’t a guarantee of securing power in Delhi, but it’s as close to ironclad as it gets. It’s also the state that produced the Gandhis. When Nehru, born in Uttar Pradesh, ran for Parliament from a constituency near his hometown, Congress shared one advantage with other parties in post-colonial countries: the glory of having led the freedom struggle. That kept for surprisingly long without spoiling. Nehru’s heirs — Indira, then her son Rajiv, then his wife, Sonia — all won election after election from their constituencies in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi once called Uttar Pradesh his karmabhoomi , a Sanskrit word for the land of one’s momentous actions.

But Uttar Pradesh also became the land where Congress was fated to fail. Today it’s the roiling heart of the B.J.P.’s Hindu nationalism. Varanasi, Hinduism’s most sacred city, lies near the state’s eastern border, and Modi chose to represent it in Parliament — a crafty choice for a man wishing to be hailed as a defender of his faith. Around 40 million Muslims live in the state, and under its B.J.P. chief minister, they’re increasingly being erased from public life. One law jeopardizes their right to marry whom they wish. Other regulations have constricted the meat trade, in which many Muslims work. Islamic schools are in danger of being banned outright. By painting Muslims as trespassers, the B.J.P. licenses violence against them, sometimes even explicitly. (In 2015, a man was beaten to death by his Hindu neighbors in his village in western Uttar Pradesh, on the rumor that he had slaughtered a cow. The men accused of his murder have since been freed on bail and the case is still unresolved.) More than any other part of India, Uttar Pradesh shows what the B.J.P. has wrought and how successful it has been. In 2019, during the last national election, the B.J.P. swept 62 of the state’s 80 seats. Congress won just one.

A few years ago, Gandhi decided that his party needed a way to mobilize people against the B.J.P., settling on a yatra as a means to that end. He embarked on his first, walking up the spine of India, in late 2022. Even the plainness of his attire — sneakers, loosefitting trousers, white polo shirt — was a rebuke to the Olympian vanity of Modi, who once had his own name stitched, in tiny letters, to form the pinstripes of a suit. The yatras felt like campaigns, yet Gandhi’s team insists that they were not about projecting him as prime minister but rather a form of ideological resistance, almost above politics. (His staff politely refused my repeated requests for an interview.)

The Congress Party found itself divided over Gandhi’s approach. Salman Khurshid, a Congress veteran, worried that the party has strayed from bread-and-butter political strategy. We were in his office in Delhi, and he kept looking dolorously at his phone, which never stopped ringing. It was the feverish middle of the election season, and Congress was picking its candidates and negotiating alliances with other parties. Gandhi had to weigh in, Khurshid said: “We’d like him to be within shouting distance. He’s a thousand kilometers away.” Khurshid wished for a more customary system, the sort that promised, say, a 20-minute appointment at 10 a.m. to talk about three things. “That’s how ordinary political parties work,” he said. “He wants an extraordinary political party.”

Sometimes, Gandhi’s team told Khurshid and others to come on the yatra and talk to Gandhi on the bus. But it wasn’t sufficient, Khurshid told me. “There’s never enough time.” The yatra involved a lot of stopping and starting and stopping again, as I discovered. Two or three times a day, Gandhi’s Jeep — and its caravan of police cars, S.U.V.s and a vehicle bearing a device labeled “Jammer” — inched through a town, halting at a crossroads for a speech. Then the convoy would hasten to its next engagement, trying to cover vast Uttar Pradesh distances through dense Uttar Pradesh traffic, and always behind schedule. The day ended in a cordoned-off campsite, where everyone slept in shipping containers fitted with bunks. Here, in his own enclosure, Gandhi hobnobbed with local Congress functionaries or practiced jiu-jitsu with his instructor.

In Prayagraj, where we headed after Varanasi, it’s possible to traverse the distance between the party’s zenith and its rock bottom in a single evening. First, Gandhi made a speech outside Anand Bhavan, an ancestral family home, an eggshell-white mansion on an emerald lawn. Anand Bhavan is now a museum, but its chief relic is intangible: the promise of Nehruvian secularism, circa 1947. Then, while leaving Prayagraj, we passed the high court that invalidated Indira Gandhi’s election in 1975 on the grounds of electoral malpractice. The verdict provoked her to impose a state of emergency — a suspension of civic rights — for nearly two years, tarnishing Congress and strengthening its competitors. By this time too, the party had wrapped itself feudally around the dynasty. Any emergent leaders with their own base were subdued or cast off because they threatened the Gandhis. By the late 1980s, other politicians had clawed voters away from Congress by courting specific groups — members of a caste, say, or as with the B.J.P. and Hindus, of a religion.

As Congress faltered, its workers joined rival parties, including the B.J.P. In India, party workers don’t just canvass voters — they step in for an insufficient state. If a farmer needing a loan is turned away by the bank manager, or if a woman can’t pay the cost of treatment for her sick daughter, party workers use their contacts to help. These services are performed in the hope that the favors will be returned every five years, come the election. “The average party worker needs, say, 10,000 rupees a month to run his home,” an old Congress hand in Varanasi, who asked not to be named for fear of professional reprisal, told me. “If their party can’t get to power, how will they get paid? They’ll go work for whoever is most likely to win.”

Gilles Verniers, a political scientist, recounted taking his Ashoka University class on a trip to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh’s capital, on the day votes were counted in a state election in 2017. He distributed his pupils among the headquarters of various parties, but by midmorning, the students at the Congress office called him. “They said: ‘Can we go elsewhere?’” Verniers told me. “ ‘There’s no one here, everybody left.’ The party knew they were getting spanked, but at least you could stick around, thanking workers, encouraging them. There was no one to even make tea.” Today, the Varanasi representative told me, “we just hope to God we win even one seat in Uttar Pradesh.”

Gandhi entered politics with several lifetimes’ worth of trauma packed into his 33 years. When he was 14, two of his grandmother’s bodyguards shot her dead — revenge for an assault she ordered upon a Sikh temple to root out separatist militants sheltering within. The bodyguards had taught a young Rahul how to play badminton. Seven years later, while he was a student at Harvard, his father, Rajiv, was killed by a suicide bomber — revenge again, this time by a separatist group in Sri Lanka, where he had sent Indian troops to aid the government. It became difficult for Rahul Gandhi to be Rahul Gandhi: to trust people or go anywhere ungirded by security. For a while it didn’t seem inevitable that he would choose politics. Later he would say that he made the decision on a train just as it entered Prayagraj, when he was taking his father’s cremated remains to pour into the Ganges River.

Smita Gupta, the former journalist, attended one of Gandhi’s earliest rallies, in an Uttar Pradesh town called Farrukhabad, in 2004. The road was so crowded that a 15-minute drive took three hours. Gandhi arrived in a Jeep, smiling and dimpling and waving. As he walked to the dais, the barricades broke from the masses of excited people pushing against them. “He was swept away, sailing with the crowd,” Gupta said. Soon after Congress won that election, Gandhi took charge of the party’s junior wing. The transition to the dynasty’s next generation seemed underway, and he exhibited the air of someone who knew he was the man for the job.

At the time, Gandhi often showed little patience with the orthodox figures of politics. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a political scientist at Princeton, who met Gandhi back then, recalled that he made minimal eye contact and seemed distracted — unable even to feign interest as politicians usually do so well. A journalist who met Gandhi privately told me that he was, as the saying goes, eager to tell you what you thought: “It was: ‘You don’t know how the Congress works. Let me tell you.’ Or, ‘I’ll tell you about India and Pakistan.’” In his memoir “A Promised Land,” Barack Obama compared Gandhi, whom he met in 2010, to “a student who’d done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject.” One of Gandhi’s colleagues admits he used to be “very anxious and pushy” back in the day. “He has calmed down over a period of time.”

He had to. Congress isn’t a party you can change in a hurry. Its ways are too ossified, and it is honeycombed with fiefs. When Gandhi wanted Congress to field new faces in elections, he pushed for candidates to be selected through an internal voting system, rather like a primary. According to one former party consultant, senior politicians, worried about losing their tickets, complained to his mother, Sonia, the Congress president. Khurshid, one of the old guard, told me: “Everything that destroys democracy got in there — money, muscle, power.” It resulted in “the dedicated warriors of the Congress at the youth level” being sidelined. The primaries never took off. In 2018, Gandhi wanted young chief ministers in three states where Congress had won state elections. He didn’t get his way. But at least Gandhi tried something, a consultant to Congress told me. “If you leave it to these other guys,” he said, “they will not even change the curtains in the party office.”

These exasperations may have amplified a hesitancy about power and responsibility that Gandhi seemed always to harbor. In 2009, he declined the offer to be a cabinet minister. Perhaps even then he saw his role as that of a moral authority outside the government, Yechury said. On becoming the party’s vice president, Gandhi gave not a stirring speech but a somber one, recalling the assassinations in his family and counseling his party that “power is poison.” In 2017, he became the party’s president, but after Congress lost the 2019 election, he quit the post. According to two Congress sources, he expected other top party leaders to feel accountable and step down as well. No one did.

In a party often pilloried for being dynastic, Gandhi has been unable to stamp his will on Congress. One friend of the family described Gandhi as “timid.” When his 2022 yatra went through the state of Kerala, Yechury, the Communist leader, considered walking with him, but members of Congress’s Kerala unit protested: The Communists were their chief rivals in the state, and this show of solidarity — even against the B.J.P., a common antagonist — wouldn’t do at all. Yechury couldn’t understand it. Gandhi might not be the party’s president, but there’s no doubt he is its presiding force, Yechury said. Why didn’t he just hold fast?

Two years ago, during a protest in Delhi, Gandhi and dozens of his Congress colleagues were detained by the police. One of those present, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told me that several senior leaders were held together, and Gandhi had “really frank and open conversations” with them. A couple of these leaders “got aggressive, saying, ‘You have to take charge,’ persuading him to take back the party presidency, accusing him of running away from responsibility.” It was high-octane drama: “What do you do when you’re detained, man? We were there for six hours. He couldn’t go anywhere.” The Congress worker remembers Gandhi saying then: “I know what I have to do. My job is to do mass outreach. You guys handle the party.”

Gandhi’s two yatras have unfolded in the shadow of another, some 30 years ago — one that ultimately helped bring Modi to power. Riding in a Toyota decked out as a chariot, a B.J.P. leader named Lal Krishna Advani rode through northern and central India, advertising one of his party’s priorities: the claim that, 450 years earlier in the town Ayodhya, a Mughal ruler had knocked down a temple to build a mosque. Advani promised his audiences that the B.J.P. would restore the temple to that very spot. Two years later, the foot soldiers of the B.J.P. and other right-wing groups razed the mosque, triggering not just riots that killed 2,000 people but also a deep fracture in Indian society. After that, the B.J.P. regularly listed the construction of a temple in its election manifestos, harvesting votes out of the religious polarization around the issue. In 2019, mere months after Modi won his second term, the Supreme Court ruled that the mosque’s demolition was illegal, and that there was no evidence it had been built by knocking down a Hindu shrine. Yet the judges allowed a new temple to be erected on the site, legitimizing the majority’s abuse of disputed medieval history to its own retributive ends. In January, that temple was consecrated. Modi presided over the rites, as if he were head priest rather than prime minister.

Congress didn’t send any representatives to the temple’s inauguration, and I had expected Gandhi to speak about Ayodhya, which lies, after all, in Uttar Pradesh. But he barely mentioned it, even in Varanasi, a city facing a potential reprise of Ayodhya. The morning after his speech there, I visited a quarter called Pilikothi, following a sequence of lanes, each framed by so many tall tenements that there was something canyonlike about them. It was a Sunday, but Pilikothi echoed with the tack-tack of sari looms. The sound drifted into the basement in which Abdul Batin Nomani, the mufti of Varanasi, sat at a low desk. Behind him were shelves of theological volumes. When he pulled a book out to illustrate a point, his hand didn’t hesitate for a second.

The title of mufti, or jurist, has been in Nomani’s family since 1927, and he has filled the role for more than two decades. In that time, he said, the B.J.P. has spread so much hate that it has corroded even the possibility of amicable relations between Hindus and Muslims. You can be arrested for offering the namaz in public, or for being a Muslim man marrying a Hindu woman, or for running your butcher shop during Hindu festivals. You could be lynched on a whisper that you’re carrying beef, or have your house bulldozed on suspicion of being a rioter, or be hunted by mobs goaded by B.J.P. politicians calling for murder. Nomani told me about the head of a Hindu monastery nearby, and how they would invite one another to their religious functions. “Then, slowly, his mind turned,” Nomani said. “He must have been convinced that to talk to people like me is wrong.”

Nomani heads the committee of the Gyanvapi Mosque, another centuries-old structure that the Hindu right aims to replace with a temple. Weeks before I met Nomani, a court allowed Hindus to worship in the mosque’s basement, similar to what happened in Ayodhya in 1986. Varanasi’s Muslims are fearful, Nomani said. Wouldn’t the same cascade of consequences ensue? Wouldn’t other mosques surely follow? When the yatra swung by, Nomani told a local Congress representative he would welcome a meeting with Gandhi. It never transpired. Nomani wondered why Gandhi didn’t even speak about the issue and directly confront the B.J.P.’s divisive politics. “Someone could have called and reassured us: ‘Don’t worry, we’re with you,’” Nomani said. He regards Gandhi with sympathy. “I believe he wants to do the right thing, and that he is against this culture of hate,” he said. “But he’s weak. His party is weak. He can’t do anything.”

From Prayagraj, the yatra headed to Amethi, a town a couple of hours to the north. I had last visited in 2009, when it was still a stronghold of Congress’s first family, and I remembered the fields of winter mustard, yellow till the horizon, on the town’s outskirts and the wishbone layout of its three main roads. Gandhi won resoundingly that year. But in 2014, when his margin shrank, he must have seen the incoming tide of Hindu nationalism. Sanjay Singh, a local Congress worker, recalled that, on vote-counting day, Gandhi sounded dispirited as the results trickled in, telling his colleagues “the politics of this state is beyond my understanding.” In 2019, the B.J.P. flipped Amethi. If Gandhi hadn’t simultaneously run from another seat, in Kerala, he wouldn’t be in Parliament at all.

The yatra’s schedule included an evening rally, so I spent the afternoon in Singh’s house in a village nearby. A stern-eyed man with a ramrod bearing, he wore a spotless white shirt and trousers, and he had tucked a Congress streamer around his neck like a cravat. He lamented Congress’s loss of Amethi, but he wasn’t surprised. Between 2014 and 2019, Gandhi visited Amethi less and less, dispatching his advisers instead. Still, Singh felt almost guilty that Amethi voted for the B.J.P. Last year he had a chance to meet Gandhi, he said, and asked him to run from Amethi again: “I told him, ‘Whatever mistake we made, we’re ready to rectify.’” A few weeks after I met Singh, though, Gandhi declared that he would stick to his constituency in Kerala.

For the rally, the party had set up rows of chairs in a field, but the audience started dribbling out almost as soon as it began. By the time Gandhi was midway through his speech, only half the chairs were occupied. He talked about China, and riots in faraway Manipur, and the B.J.P.’s cronyism. Standing next to me, a policewoman told a videographer, “He isn’t talking about Amethi at all.” The only cheers came when he raised the plight of India’s poorer castes — the very people who made up most of his audience. As he had done throughout the yatra, he warned them they’d never get very far in the B.J.P.’s India. He may well be right, but I remembered something Mehta told me. Modi’s narrative of a resurgent Hinduism, however hollow, makes people feel good about themselves, Mehta said. “Rahul’s narrative does the opposite.”

The next day, something interrupted the yatra’s staid choreography. We were in Raebareli, the one Uttar Pradesh constituency still with the Congress Party. Halfway through his address, Gandhi invited a young man onto his Jeep to quiz him about his prospects. The man introduced himself as Amit Maurya, but he was barely audible, so Gandhi said, paternally but lightly, “First, learn how to handle a microphone.”

“I’m a little anxious, sir.”

“Don’t worry,” Gandhi replied. “You’re a lion.”

Either it was the pressure of the moment or the unchecking of a dam of frustration, but Maurya burst into tears.

In the week’s most genuine moment, Gandhi seemed nonplused, as if he didn’t know what to do with this political gift. Instinctively, he folded Maurya into an embrace and kept his arm around the sobbing man. Still, he just couldn’t abandon his routine — the statistics he’d memorized, the thesis presentation mode he was in. But even if his speech didn’t change, he sounded more passionate — angry, even — about the inequities he had lined up to narrate to his crowd.

Well after the yatra’s end, when summer hammers down and ballot machines appear in schools and colleges and municipal buildings, Gandhi may at least be able to count on Maurya’s vote. But who knows. Elections are subject to every manner of caprice, and the B.J.P. has shown itself to be peerless at swaying India’s voters. Out of hubris or audacity, Gandhi wants to persuade people to consider lofty things like morality and love, indispensable values that nonetheless make for nebulous campaign platforms. He doesn’t mind if it takes years, and perhaps he doesn’t mind if he loses his party in the process. In that time, though, he risks seeing his idea of India extinguished altogether.

Samanth Subramanian, who has written frequently for the magazine, is the author of several books, including “This Divided Island: Life, Death and the Sri Lankan War” and “A Dominant Character: The Radical Politics and Restless Politics of J.B.S. Haldane,” a New York Times Notable Book of 2020. Chinky Shukla is a documentary photographer based in New Delhi. Her work focuses on cultural assimilation, memory and the environment.

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