We explain who Gandhi was and what principles he professed. In addition, we explain his general characteristics, how he died and more.
Gandhi was a key figure in the Indian nationalist movement.
Who was Mahatma Gandhi?
Mahatma Gandhi is the name by which Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) was known, a Hindu lawyer, thinker and politician from India who He led the Indian nationalist movement against British rule.
It is believed that the name Mahatma, which means “great soul” in Sanskritwas given to him as an honor by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, with whom he maintained a long relationship of friendship and mutual admiration.
Gandhi He is famous for having led the Indian nationalist movement against the British Raj. at the beginning of the 20th century and for his philosophy of peaceful resistancefidelity to conscience (even if it means civil disobedience) and a return to the ancient values of Hinduism.
Gandhi He was imprisoned many times and became a national hero.He advocated overcoming his country’s religious rivalries (which often pitted Hindus against Muslims) and reforming caste society.
In 1948, Gandhi He was murdered by a Hindu integrationistdissatisfied with Gandhi’s tolerant stance towards Muslims during the partition of India, and his ashes were thrown into the Ganges River.
Birth and youth of Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Gandhi Born on 2nd October 1869 in Porbandara coastal city in present-day Gujarat state, India.
He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, Prime Minister (diwan) of the princely states of Porbandar and Rajkot, and his fourth wife, Putlibai, who is often credited with raising and educating Gandhi in the values of Hinduism, pacifism and non-violence.
He was married at the age of 13 to Kasturbaa young woman of the same age and belonging to the same caste, with whom he later had four children.
He passed the entrance exam at the University of Bombay (now Mumbai University) and He studied law at Samaldas College in Bhavnagar. (India) and at University College London (England).
Gandhi and the Congress Party
Between 1893 and 1914, Gandhi lived in South Africa and observed the injustices of the racial regime of that countryWhen he returned to India in 1915, he joined the Indian National Congress (also called the Congress Party), a nationalist party founded in 1885.
Although more than a million Indians fought for the British Empire during the First World War (1914-1918), the colonial government tightened repressive laws against nationalist movements and against anyone suspected of conspiring against the colonial regime. This led Gandhi to lead large protests.
In the Amritsar massacre (in northern India) in 1919 More than four hundred Indians were killed by British troopsThis fact prompted Gandhi to rethink his political tactics and from 1920 onwards He launched a campaign of non-violence and non-collaboration with the British authorities.
The Salt March
The Salt March spurred Indian independence from the British Empire.
In 1930, Gandhi led a major non-violent protest call “The Salt March”which served as inspiration to later leaders such as Martin Luther King.
This event is considered one of the most important demonstrations that led to India’s independence from the British Empirewhich at that time extracted and marketed salt in a monopolistic manner.
Gandhi organized a “boycott against salt” which consisted of taking water from the sea and evaporating it to to obtain salt by their own means. A crowd imitated this gesture and Nearly 60,000 people were imprisonedincluding Gandhi.
The Indians did not resist the arrests and the poor population continued to evaporate the water. The colonial authorities had no choice but to legally allow access to saltsince they considered that an intensification of repression would have damaged their image among the Indian elites who contributed to maintaining the stability of the colonial order.
This is considered The first victory of the philosophy of non-violence of Gandhi against British rule.
World War II and the Partition of India
During the interwar period, Gandhi continued to participate in the anti-colonial struggle and was imprisoned several times. When World War II (1939-1945) broke out, the Indian National Congress supported the Allies. (among whose powers was the United Kingdom) in the belief that this would bring improvements to India.
However, Gandhi opposed this position.as he believed that the democratic freedom for which the Allies claimed to be fighting was not recognized in India. He continued to campaign for Indian independence, which led to him and thousands of followers being imprisoned by the British between 1942 and 1944.
British weakness after the Second World War and the rise to power of the Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee, in 1945 accelerated the process of independence. Negotiations between the British government, the Indian National Congress led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League on the Mountbatten Plan (a plan for the division of India following the dissolution of the British Raj) culminated in 1947 with the independence and partition of India in two: The Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.
Violence between Hindus and Muslims and the failure to build a unitary state marked the final days of the pacifist Mahatma Gandhi.
Characteristics of Mahatma Gandhi
Non-violent resistance
Gandhi professed peaceful resistance and civil disobedience.
One of the main precepts of Gandhi’s doctrine was peaceful resistance, which consisted of ignoring authorities considered illegitimate. through autonomous attitudes of disobedience that did not resort to violence.
So, the authority of the dominant group was erodingsince violent repression was not responded to and that took away legitimacy from the oppressive sector in the eyes of more and more people, and at the same time demoralized its own ranks.
This doctrine of peaceful resistance was the inspiration for numerous social movements worldwide and continues to be a method of organizing social protest.
Gandhi’s leadership
Gandhi’s leadership in India was such that His mere presence in public was enough to calm things down.due to the respect that both Hindus and Muslims professed for him. This was important in a context of confrontation between practitioners of both religions in India.
However, this did not prevent episodes of great violence, especially between 1945 and 1947, which left more than 5,000 dead and led to the separation between India (with a Hindu majority) and Pakistan (with a Muslim majority).
Gandhi always encouraged the Indian political classes to defend their interests through non-violence. and rejected India’s involvement in the Second World War, as he believed that the Indian population could not join a fight for democracy and freedom if they lacked it in their own country.
Spiritual Considerations of Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi considered the balance between mind, body and spirit to be fundamental.
Gandhi He was a defender of vegetarianism. He considered this kind of diet to be a way to keep the body pure and healthy, and to balance the mind, body and spirit.
Furthermore, being a vegetarian was a moral decision, since He was opposed to any form of animal abuse.
Gandhi He led a simple life, without luxuriesShe made her own clothes and adhered to Hindu doctrines of purification and inner peace, including celibacy (from the age of 36).
The Assassination and Last Words of Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi He was murdered at the age of 78 in New Delhi on January 30, 1948, while on his way to prayer.
The responsible It was Nathuram Godse, a militant of Hindu integrationismwhich held him responsible for weakening the Indian government in the face of its Pakistani enemies.
Godse and one of his accomplices, Narayan Apte, were tried and sentenced to death.executed by hanging in 1949. However, the masterminds behind the crime were not sentenced due to lack of evidence.
Gandhi’s last words before he died were “Hey, Rama!”a message that has been interpreted as a last greeting to Rama, one of the avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu and liberator of India from the yoke of the demon Ravana according to the religious mythology contained in the epic text Ramayana.
Gandhi’s legacy
Recognition of Mahatma Gandhi
In India, Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on October 2 to commemorate the birth of Mahatma.
Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace Prizebut was nominated five times between 1937 and 1948.
Since 1995, India awards Gandhi Peace Prize. One of its recipients was the South African politician Nelson Mandela. In India, Gandhi’s birth is commemorated on October 2 with a national holiday called Gandhi Jayanti.
Criticism of Gandhi’s thought
Gandhi was criticized for his attitude during World War II.
Many criticized Gandhi’s non-violent stances regarding the Second World War, a decisive conflict for European democracy and from which Gandhi believed that we should lay down our weapons against the Nazis but always refuse to obey them, even if it meant leaving their own homes or being imprisoned.
These statements earned the Indian thinker numerous criticisms, who also He has been accused on occasion of having racist attitudes when he lived in South Africa.
Famous quotes from Gandhi
Some Famous quotes attributed to Gandhi are as follows:
- “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”.
- “Humanity cannot be freed from violence except through non-violence.”
- “Life and death are just two sides of the same coin.”
- “There is enough water to satisfy human life, but not human greed.”
- “Truth is the goal, love is the means to reach it.”
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