The Man Called Mahatma

His real name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, but the people called him Mahatma or Great Soul. One of the foremost spiritual and political leaders of the 1900’s, he is honored by the people of India as the father of their nation.
Gandhi helped free India from British control by using a unique method of non-violent resistance. This was a method of social action based upon principles of courage, non-violence and truth. Gandhi called this method Satyagraha. In this method, the way people behave is more important that what they achieve. The philosophy appeared strange to both European and English-educated Indians, but it appealed to ordinary people.
Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India on October 2, 1869. The Gandhis were middle-class Hindus belonging to the Vaisyas (merchant) caste of Hindus. This caste ranked just below the Brahmans, (priests and scholars) and the Kshatriyas (noble men, warriors).
The young, shy and serious Gandhi got married at the age of thirteen. This was an arrangement made by his parents in accordance with the Indian tradition. The young couple had four children.
Gandhi studied law in London and returned to India after passing the examinations.
In 1893, a Moslem company sent him to South Africa to do some legal work. At that time, South Africa was under British control. Almost immediately, he became a victim of discrimination.
It happened this way: For his travel to South Africa, his employer had purchased for him first class tickets. But at the first stop of his journey, a European entered the compartment where he was in. The European was furious at sharing a compartment with a “colored.” He summoned the conductor to order Gandhi to the baggage compartment. Gandhi refused and he was forcibly taken off the train.
According to Gandhi, the humiliation proved to be the “most creative experience” of his life. He said, “My active non-violence began from that date.”
Gandhi saw that most Indians suffered from discrimination. While at South Africa, he led campaigns for Indian rights. As part of Satyagraha, he promoted civil disobedience campaigns and organized a strike among Indian miners. He was arrested many times by the British but his efforts brought important reforms.
Gandhi also worked for the British when he felt justice was on their justice. He was decorated for paramedic work in the Boer War (1899-1902) and the Zulu Rebelliion (1906).
When Gandhi returned to India in 1914, he became the leader of the Indian nationalist movement. He began a program of hand spinning and weaving, believing that the program aided economic freedom by making India self-sufficient in cloth. He also believed that it promoted social freedom through the dignity of labor aside from advancing political freedom by preparing the Indians for self-government.
Meanwhile, he continued his Satyahgraha campaign, In 1930, he led hundred of followers on a 386-kilometer march to the sea where they made salt from seawater. This was a protest against the Salt Acts, which made it a crime to possess salt not brought from the government. During World War II (1939-1945), Gandhi continued his struggle for India’ freedom through non-violent resistance. He spend several years in prison for political activity. But he believed that it was honorable to go to jail for a good cause.
India was granted freedom in 1947. But the partition of the country into India and Pakistan grieved Gandhi. He was saddened also by the rioting between Hindus and Muslims that followed for he had wanted to see a united country. He urged the Hindus and the Muslims to live together in peace.
On January 13, 1948, at the age of seventy-three, Gandhi began to fast. His purpose was to end the bloodshed among the Hindus, Muslims and other groups. On January 18, the leaders of this group pledged to stop fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days later, in New Delhi, while on his way to a prayer meeting, Gandhi was assassinated. A Hindu fanatic who opposed Gandhi’s program of tolerance for all creeds and religions, shot him three times.
A shocked India and the rest of the world mourned Gandhi’s death.
Gandhi’s great disciple and chosen successor Jawaharlal Nehru, spoke for millions when he said, “The light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere.” The great scientist Albert Einstein, said of Gandhi, “Generation to come will scarcely believe that such a man as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.”


Guide Questions:

1. What is Satyagraha?
2. What specific event for Gandhi started this Satyagraha?
3. What social and political events did Gandhi apply Satyagraha? Describe each.
4. What do Nehru and Einstein say about Gandhi?
5. What do you think they mean about it?