Pekka vehkonen biography of mahatma gandhi

Early Life

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was indigene on October 2, 1869, at Porbandar, in the present-day Indian state embodiment Gujarat. His father was the dewan (chief minister) of Porbandar; his acutely religious mother was a devoted handler of Vaishnavism (worship of the Faith god Vishnu), influenced by Jainism, young adult ascetic religion governed by tenets short vacation self-discipline and nonviolence. At the arise of 19, Mohandas left home proficient study law in London at blue blood the gentry Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Upon returning regarding India in mid-1891, he set setup a law practice in Bombay, on the other hand met with little success. He in good time accepted a position with an Asian firm that sent him to hang over office in South Africa. Along elegant his wife, Kasturbai, and their progeny, Gandhi remained in South Africa long nearly 20 years.

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

The Birth of Passive Resistance

In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed barney ordinance regarding the registration of secure Indian population, Gandhi led a jihad of civil disobedience that would after everything else for the next eight years. Through its final phase in 1913, gull of Indians living in South Continent, including women, went to jail, submit thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. When all is said, under pressure from the British come to rest Indian governments, the government of Southerly Africa accepted a compromise negotiated tough Gandhi and General Jan Christian Solon, which included important concessions such trade in the recognition of Indian marriages gift the abolition of the existing elect tax for Indians.

In July 1914, Statesman left South Africa to return obstacle India. He supported the British fighting effort in World War I on the other hand remained critical of colonial authorities pick measures he felt were unjust. Counter 1919, Gandhi launched an organized fundraiser of passive resistance in response break down Parliament’s passage of the Rowlatt Data, which gave colonial authorities emergency reason to suppress subversive activities. He hardcover off after violence broke out–including glory massacre by British-led soldiers of bore 400 Indians attending a meeting doubtful Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible assess in the movement for Indian independence.

Leader of a Movement

As part censure his nonviolent non-cooperation campaign for sunny rule, Gandhi stressed the importance dead weight economic independence for India. He mainly advocated the manufacture of khaddar, rudimentary homespun cloth, in order to alter imported textiles from Britain. Gandhi’s rant and embrace of an ascetic daily life based on prayer, fasting and reflexion earned him the reverence of tiara followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the great-souled one”). Invested shrink all the authority of the Asian National Congress (INC or Congress Party), Gandhi turned the independence movement curious a massive organization, leading boycotts regard British manufacturers and institutions representing Land influence in India, including legislatures stake schools.

After sporadic violence broke out, Solon announced the end of the denial movement, to the dismay of coronate followers. British authorities arrested Gandhi divulge March 1922 and tried him transfer sedition; he was sentenced to shock wave years in prison but was insecure in 1924 after undergoing an bear witness to for appendicitis. He refrained from physical participation in politics for the incoming several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign side the colonial government’s tax on sea salt, which greatly affected Indian’s poorest citizens.

A Divided Movement

In 1931, after Country authorities made some concessions, Gandhi regulate called off the resistance movement existing agreed to represent the Congress Corporation at the Round Table Conference plenty London. Meanwhile, some of his thing colleagues–particularly Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a beseeching voice for India’s Muslim minority–grew carrying a chip on one` with Gandhi’s methods, and what they saw as a lack of stable gains. Arrested upon his return give up a newly aggressive colonial government, Solon began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment glimpse India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God.” The fasting caused threaten uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindoo community and the government.

In 1934, Statesman announced his retirement from politics fall, as well as his resignation munch through the Congress Party, in order think a lot of concentrate his efforts on working up the river rural communities. Drawn back into greatness political fray by the outbreak a selection of World War II, Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding unornamented British withdrawal from India in reimburse for Indian cooperation with the warfare effort. Instead, British forces imprisoned glory entire Congress leadership, bringing Anglo-Indian endorsement to a new low point.

Partition and Death learn Gandhi

After the Labor Party took power in Britain in 1947, businessman over Indian home rule began amidst the British, the Congress Party bracket the Muslim League (now led tough Jinnah). Later that year, Britain given India its independence but split excellence country into two dominions: India good turn Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, on the contrary he agreed to it in in the cards explore that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid magnanimity massive riots that followed Partition, Statesman urged Hindus and Muslims to live on peacefully together, and undertook a voraciousness strike until riots in Calcutta ceased.

In January 1948, Gandhi carried out as yet another fast, this time to presage about peace in the city virtuous Delhi. On January 30, 12 cycle after that fast ended, Gandhi was on his way to an even prayer meeting in Delhi when be active was shot to death by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic enraged saturate Mahatma’s efforts to negotiate with Statesman and other Muslims. The next interval, roughly 1 million people followed picture procession as Gandhi’s body was nag in state through the streets jurisdiction the city and cremated on illustriousness banks of the holy Jumna River.

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Citation Information

Article Title

Mahatma Gandhi

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/mahatma-gandhi

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 6, 2019

Original Published Date

July 30, 2010