|
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati:
મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી,
IAST: mohandās karamcand gāndhī,
IPA:
[mohən̪d̪as kərəmtʃən̪d̪ gan̪d̪ʱi]) (October
2,
1869 –
January 30,
1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of
India and the
Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of
Satyagraha — the resistance of
tyranny through mass
civil disobedience, firmly founded upon
ahimsa or total
non-violence — which was one of the strongest
driving philosophies of the
Indian independence movement and inspired movements
for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is
commonly known in India and across the world as
Mahatma Gandhi (Sanskrit:
महात्मा
mahātmā — "Great Soul") and as Bapu (Gujarati:
બાપુ bāpu — "Father").
In India, he is officially accorded the honour of
Father of the Nation and October 2nd, his
birthday, is commemorated each year as
Gandhi Jayanti, a
national holiday. On
15 June
2007, the
United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted
a resolution declaring
October 2 to be the "International Day of
Non-Violence."As a British-educated
lawyer, Gandhi first employed his ideas of peaceful
civil disobedience in the Indian community's struggle
for civil rights in
South Africa. Upon his return to India, he organized
poor farmers and labourers to protest against oppressive
taxation and widespread discrimination. Assuming
leadership of the
Indian National Congress, Gandhi led nationwide
campaigns for the alleviation of poverty, for the
liberation of women, for brotherhood amongst differing
religions and ethnicities, for an end to
untouchability and caste discrimination, and for the
economic self-sufficiency of the nation, but above all
for
Swaraj — the independence of India from foreign
domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in the
disobedience of the salt tax on the 400 kilometre (248
miles)
Dandi Salt March in 1930, and in an open call for
the British to
Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many
years on numerous occasions in both South Africa and
India.
Throughout his life, Gandhi remained committed to
non-violence and
truth even in the most extreme situations. A student
of
Hindu philosophy, he lived simply, organizing an
ashram that was self-sufficient in its needs. Making
his own clothes — the traditional Indian
dhoti and shawl woven with a
charkha, he lived on a simple
vegetarian diet. He used rigorous
fasts, for long periods, for both self-purification
and protest.
|
