Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1915: Mahatma Gandhi’s real name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Indians venerate him as Bapu and Jati Pita. Netaji revered him as the Father of the Nation. He was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar (now in Gujarat State) to Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi and Putlibai. His uncle and father held positions as Diwans of Rajkot and Porbandar at different times.
At 18 years old, Gandhiji traveled to London to pursue a Law degree. He completed his Barrister (Lawyer) studies at Inner Temple, University College London, and came back to India in 1892. At the age of 13, he married Kasturba ji. (You can read the initial section of this article at: (Second part of this article may be read at: Mahatma Gandhi 1915-1948.)
Father of the Nation
Mahatma Gandhi is honored by the people of India as the Father of the Nation, or Jaati Pita of Contemporary India. Actually, it was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who initially referred to Gandhi as ‘Father of the Nation’ during his Radio address to Indians from Singapore on July 6, 1944. During that period, Bose was advancing towards India with his Indian National Army. Mahatma Gandhi is honored globally for his simple way of life and for effectively opposing the British power of his time without resorting to violence.
It is important to mention that from 1857 to 1947, approximately 350,000 gave their lives to expel the British from India. Shri Balagangadhar Tilak, hailing from Pune, was the first to declare swaraj (freedom) as his inherent right. Tilak promoted solidarity among Hindus by starting Ganapathi celebrations. Shri Arabindo Ghosh took similar action by starting Dasserah celebrations in Bengal. These strategies adopted by Tilak and Arabindo Ghosh resonated effectively with the Indian Hindu populations, preparing them to engage in the National movement.
Nevertheless, both Tilak and Ghosh faced persecution by the British as they promoted and employed violent tactics to remove the British from India.
Let’s examine how Gandhi is admired globally in this manner and why individuals like Churchill feel exasperated when contemplating Gandhi,
Albert Einstein on Gandhi
Gandhi employed Satyagraha as a nonviolent method to combat the oppressive British. Albert Einstein shared his views on Gandhi by stating, “We should all feel fortunate and thankful that fate has provided us with such an enlightened figure (Mahatma Gandhi), a guiding example for future generations.” Future generations will hardly believe that a person like this man existed in the world in flesh and blood.
Human rights advocate Martin Luther King from the USA commended Gandhi by stating, “Christ presented us with the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the methods.”
But we know that a the majestic beauty of a peacock that inspires a poet does not bring the same feeling in a Big cat. In 1931, following the failure of the Round Table Conference, Churchill mocked Gandhi by saying: ‘It is alarming and also nauseating to see Mr Gandhi, a seditious Middle Temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the East, striding half-naked up the steps of the Vice-regal palace….to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King-Emperor.
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Churchill on Gandhi
Churchill labeled Gandhi as ‘a dictator’, a “Hindu Mussolini”, inciting a racial conflict, attempting to substitute the Raj with Brahmin allies, exploiting the ignorance of the Indian populace, all for personal advantage. Churchill portrayed Gandhi as a “deceptive trickster” pursuing personal interests, an “ambitious tyrant,” and an “ancient representative of a primal Hinduism.” Finally, in 1944, worried about the potential death of fasting Gandhi in prison, Churchill sent a telegram to the jail officials stating, “that half-naked fakir must not perish in prison, release him.”
The British prohibited photographs of Gandhi captured during his fasting periods in prisons to avoid stirring sympathy in England and Europe. Gandhi was genuinely revered by his peers in India and in other countries. Time Magazine recognized the Dalai Lama, Lech Wałesa, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Aung San Suu Kyi, Benigno Aquino, Jr., Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela as Children of Gandhi and his successors in nonviolence.
Barack Obama on Gandhi
US President Barack Obama, during a 2010 speech to the Indian Parliament, stated that:
‘I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world’
Subhas Chandra Bose and Gandhi
Let us know us that many of his associates during the freedom movement, such as Rajendra Prasad, Tez Bahadur Sapru, Patel, Nehru, and Bose, occasionally disagreed with Gandhi’s policies, yet they could not abandon Gandhi, save Bose.
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Bose was compelled to step down as President of the Indian National Congress after his second victory in 1938. Bose disagreed with Gandhi regarding the strategies to be employed in the fight for independence. Nevertheless, this did not prevent Netaji from referring to Gandhi as Father of the Nation in 1944. Patel was the head of the Congress elite. Nehru was an effective speaker and drew large crowds. Gandhi coordinated their collaboration.
In his final days, Patel urged his friends to support Nehru and to avoid opposing him at all costs for the sake of the young Nation. Gandhi and Nehru disagreed on numerous occasions. But they worked together in their greater goal of expulsion of the British from Indian soil.
Nehru and Bose criticized Gandhi for suspension of the Non-Cooperation Movement after the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922. In fact, the prevailing sentiment is for the persistence of the unrest. Yet the turmoil diminished with just one word from Gandhi. In 1946, when Patel was nominated to run for President of the Indian National Congress by nearly all Pradesh Congress committees, Gandhi dismissed Patel’s nomination and proposed Nehru’s name instead. Patel cheerfully exited the competition. From where did Gandhi derive such strength? I believe Gandhi was able to do this due to people’s trust in him. People had faith in his integrity.
The Vaishnavite Advaita Vedantic customs of the Gandhi family and the Jaina religious setting significantly influenced his character. Vaishnavism advocates for devotion, faith in God, and unity with the divine. Thus, he must have maintained his dignity to serve God. The Jain faith advocates for Nonviolence. I believe He utilized this Jaina idea of nonviolence as a powerful tool against the oppressor. Yet without wielding any weapons.
My Experiments with Truth
In his book, The Story of My Experiments with Truth (first written in Gujarātī as Satyana Prayogo Athava Aatmakatha), Gandhi recounts that a Quaker mission in South Africa tried to convert him to Christianity. Gandhi participated in their prayers and discussed Christian theology with them, yet he rejected their claim that Christ was the sole son of God. Gandhi felt that every individualcontainstheessenceof God. Thus,every human beingisachild of God, including Jesus. This concept is knownas Advaita philosophy, or non-duality, where it is understood that God existswithin every individual and all living beings.
Gandhi states that he began reading Hindu scriptures to understandtheircontent in order to prepare himself to respond to the criticism of Hindu rituals by Christians.
Gandhi also read the Quran and the Bible. He admired the character of Prophet Mohammad. Nevertheless, he warnedaboutincorrect interpretations of Islam.
Gandhi mentionsthat he was a shyindividualin his youth. However, community engagement is integralto Gandhi’s wayoflife. At20 years old, he became a member of the London Vegetarian Society while studyingLaw there. He instilled a spirit of resilience in South Africa based on his own experiences. He resided in South Africa for 21 years despite the challenges. He was detained multiple times and completed prison sentences. But always stood his ground and never expressed regret for his words or actions. He adhered to his beliefs. He lived up to his convictions.
Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1915
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Gandhi embarked for South Africa in April 1893 atthe age of 23. He wasemployedby Khan and Co. for awhile, and afterward, he managed his practice on his own. He spent 21 years in South Africa.
He declined to follow the requests of other European passengers in the stagecoach to sit on the floor close to the driver. Afterthat, he was hit. In a separateevent, he was pushed into a drain for beingcloseto a home. He was ejectedfrom a train at Pietermaritzburg for declining to vacate the first-class section.
He remained at the train station, trembling throughout the night and contemplating whether to go back to India or fight for his rights. Nonetheless, he opted to demonstrate. He was permitted to get on the train the following day. In a different event, the magistrate of the Durban court commanded Gandhi to take off his turban, which he declined to do.
In January 1897, upon Gandhi’s arrival in Durban, a group of white settlers assaulted him. In that manner, Gandhi endured mental and physical hardships in South Africa. Similar to Gandhi, every Indian would have endured there. Yet Gandhi opposed the wrongdoing in a distant country without resorting to violence and without sacrificing his beliefs and principles.
Europeans in South Africa referredto him as a “parasite,” “semi-barbarous,” “canker,” “squalid coolie,” “yellow man,” amongvarious other insults. Gandhi opposed the approval of legislationaimedatdisenfranchising Indians. Although he did not achievehisgoal, the effortsuccessfullyhighlighted the issuesfacedby Indians residing in South Africa. He playedavitalrole in establishing the Natal Indian Congress in 1894.
In 1910, Gandhi established “Tolstoy Farm” near Johannesburg, withassistancefrom his friend Hermann Kallenbach. In that location, he encouraged his approach of peacefulopposition. It is reassuring to note that after black South Africans gainedvotingrights in South Africa (1994), Gandhi was honoredas a national hero with multiple monuments. In 1915, Gandhi returned to India from South Africa at the request of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, conveyed to him by C. F. Andrews.
Belowis a list of Gandhi’s imprisonments and penalties in South Africa.
10 January, 1908 – He was detained and givenatwo-monthtermof simple imprisonment for notregistering or departingfrom Transvaal. And was launched on 30 Jan.
07 October, 1908 – On his wayback from Natal, he was sentenced to hard labor imprisonment because he couldnotpresent his registration, which he had accidentally burned.
25 February, 1909 – Arrested and given a three-month prison sentence in Transvaal for failing to present a registration certificate.
06 November, 1913 – Following the ‘great march’, he was apprehended at Palm Ford and released on the 7th after Kallenbach provided bail.
08 November 1913 – Once more detained and later freed on bail.
09 November 1913 – Apprehended and given a nine-month prison sentence. Volkhurst received a sentence of an additional three months. However, launched on 18 December 1913
Gandhi composed Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule in Gujarati and released it in 1909. In his book, he contended that expelling Englishmen from India isn’tsufficient; we mustalsodiscard Western culture. Notdoing so would leave India like England ratherthan Hindustan. In this book, he asserted that India can achieve independence solely through passive resistance, ratherthan through armedconflict.
In 1914, Gandhi was referred to by the honorific title Mahātmā (“high-souled”) in South Africa, a term now used globally to address Gandhi ji