Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi and the Father of
India was a well-known Indian political leader who employed for the first time in political
history principles of non-violence and disobedience filled with peace to liberate India from the
British rulers. Gandhi’s novel method of resistance and freedom movement inspired other
movements for freedom and civil rights across the world as well. Gandhi was born in a Hindu
merchant family and raised according to Hindu traditions and customs. Initially, he applied his
technique of civil disobedience through non-violent mode while fighting with the Indian
communities for civil rights in South Africa when he was serving there as an immigrant lawyer.
He came back to India in 1915 and started organizing laborers, peasants and farmers in
disapproval of discrimination and land tax practiced by the ruling British regime before he began
to closely associate with the leaders of Indian National Congress (Gandhi, ch.168). He later led
many campaigns across India toward easing poverty, promoting women’s rights, upholding
cultural and religious amity and ending the evil practice of untouchability. Mahatma, as he is
known across the world, means “venerable” in Sanskrit, which applies to him rightly for his
strong belief in non-violence and promoting equality among all men irrespective of their social
or financial status.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 at Porbandar in the Western
Indian state of Gujarat. His father was a tradesman and mother an illiterate; however, his mother
had impeccable religious devotion that continued to have an enduring impact on his character. As
Gandhi recounts in his autobiography, his mother would not take her daily meals without saying
her daily prayer (Gandhi, ch.1). As a young boy, Gandhi was an average student; neither did the
shy little boy demonstrate any leadership trait. After the death of his father, he went to England
to study law. In England he got in touch with the vegetarian society. He was requested by the
English speaking communities to translate the Hindu epic, Bhagavad Git; and the Gita awakened
his sense of pride as an Indian. While he was in England, he also happened to read the Bible and
the teachings of Jesus, particularly his emphasis on forgiveness and humility, touched him. His
friends’ interest in the Gita inspired him to read it deeply and he began to realize that Bhagavad
Gita was matchless to any other text in teaching truth to humanity (Gandhi, ch.20). He started
reading Gita every day. Perhaps, these Holy texts inspired Gandhi’s leadership style of
embracing non-violence and disobedience through peaceful means later in his political, life.
Gandhi finished his law education in 1891 and left London. On reaching India, he came
to know that his mother had passed away while he was studying in London; in fact, the family
had purposely kept the news of her death from him (Gandhi, ch.26). Later, his attempts to
practice law in Bombay failed since he did not have the psychological inclination to cross-
examine the witnesses. For a brief period he was in Rajkot in his home state Gujarat making a
modest living by drafting appeal letters to litigants. In 1893, he went to South Africa, another
