Life of Mohandas K. Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi)
Mohandas K. Gandhi, who is best known to the world as Mahatma Gandhi, led the movement to free India from British rule, and was one of the world's greatest advocates of nonviolent resistance. He was was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize but never won, an omission which the Nobel Committe has publicly regretted.
Life of Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India. He went on to become the major force behind India's partition from Britain and to become known as a symbol of nonviolence around the world.
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 laborers 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.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot and killed while having his nightly public walk on the grounds of the Birla Bhavan (Birla House) in New Delhi. The assassin, Nathuram Godse, was a Hindu radical.
Today Gandhi is commonly known throughout the world as Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma is a Sanskrit word meaning Great Soul. In India, he is also commonly referred to as Gandhiji or Bapu, which means Father. His birthday is celebrated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.
- source:Wikipedia
25th Anniversary of "Gandhi" Movie
Two-Disc DVD Release of "Gandhi" Movie Marked 25th Anniversary
Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 11/23/2008)
"Gandhi," the award-winning movie directed by Lord Richard Attenborough was hailed by critics and movie-goers when it was released in 1982. The movie won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Ben Kingsley as Gandhi). Twenty-five years later, the movie still stands as an extraordinary tribute to the man who inspired it and is great viewing for anyone who wants to know more about Gandhiji's life. The two-disc 2007 DVD release of the movie includes 90 minutes of new material. This is an absolutely fantastic movie that you don't want to miss.
Mahatma Gandhi Timeline
A Short Timeline of Highlights from Mahatma Gandhi's Life
1883 - marries Kasturbai Gandhi
1888 - goes to England to study law
1891 - returns to India and practices law
1893 - goes to Johannesburg
1906 - launches a campaign of nonviolent resistance (satyagraha) in South Africa to protest discrimination against Indians; takes vow of celibacy for life
1913 - arrested and jailed after leading 2,500 Indians in a nonviolent demonstration in South Africa
1915 - returns to India at age 45 and later stages the first of 14 fasts
1919 - begins all-India Satyagraha movement
1922 - arrested for sedition and sent to prison
1924 - released from prison
1930 - leads 78 supporters in a 241-mile "Salt March" to the sea to protest the British monopoloy in salt production
1932 - begins a "fast unto death" to protest the British government's treatment of India's lowest caste of "untouchables," who Gandhi calls Harijan, or "God's children"
1947 - India gains independence from Britain
1948 - Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu fanatic on the way to evening prayers
Gandhi Quotes
Quotes from Gandhi to Inspire
- Be the change you wish to see in the world.
- Love is the subtlest force in the universe.
- Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
- You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.
- There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.
- Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
- Democracy and violence can ill go together.
- The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
- It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.
- The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Gandhi T-Shirts and Gifts
"Be the change you wish to see" - Gandhi
Gandhi Books
Learn More About Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth
Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 11/23/2008)
The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on His Life, Work, and Ideas
Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 11/23/2008)
Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age
Amazon Price: $19.80 (as of 11/23/2008)
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 11/23/2008)
Gandhi and Jesus: The Saving Power of Nonviolence
Amazon Price: $15.27 (as of 11/23/2008)
Gandhi Photos
A statue of Mahatma Gandhi. The dried out garlands are remnants of the Gandhi Ja...
Statue of Gandhi near the Ferry Building.
This bronze sculpture depicting Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was sculpted by Kanti...
the exact spot where Mahatma Gandhi was killed by Godse, 1948. Gandhi was stayin...
The Gandhi Memorial in Delhi
Detail of the Mahatma Gandhi monument in Washington, DC. Indian Embassy in the ...
This statue resides in central Delhi where many government offices and residence...
Mahatma Gandhi muralDavidson and Rankin StreetsSan Francisc...
This is a statue of M. Gandhi at a Gandhi-devoted museum in Sevagram, India. Sev...
A statue of Gandhi in one of London's parks.
People compare China and India a lot nowadays, as the two rising Asian nations. ...
Gandhi Collectibles
Find collectibles such as Gandhi stamps, coins, photos and historical memorabilia on eBay.
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Gandhi Videos
More Sites About Mahatma Gandhi
- Gandhi's Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World
- "Seven Blunders of the World" by Mahatma Gandhi
- Proverbs, quotes, Mahatma Gandhi
- Seven Blunders of the World - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Mahatma Gandhi Album: Gandhi on Jews & Middle-East
- WELCOME TO MAHATMA GANDHI ONE SPOT COMPLETE INFORMATION WEBSITE
- Mahatma Gandhi Research and Media Service - GandhiServe Foundation
- Mahatma Gandhi Quotes - The Quotations Page
- Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate
- Mahatma Gandhi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Richard Grenier review of 'Gandhi'
- Stephen R. Covey " Blog Archive " The Mission Statement That Changed The World
- Mahatma Gandhi's 5 Teachings To Bring About World Peace | Zen Habits
- Epica Awards
- An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth - Wikisource
About the Indian Independence Movement
More information about India's nonviolent struggle to shake off British rule
The term "Indian independence movement" is diffuse, incorporating various national and regional campaigns, agitations and efforts of both Nonviolent and Militant philosophy and involved a wide spectrum of political organizations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending the British Colonial Authority as well as other colonial administrations in South Asia. The initial resistance to the movement can be traced back to the very beginnings of Colonial Expansion in Karnataka by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the British East India Company in Bengal, in the middle and late 1700s. The first organised militant movement was in Bengal, that later took political stage in the form of mainstream movement from the latter part of the 1800s was increasingly led by the leaders of the then newly formed Indian National Congress with prominent moderate leaders seeking only their basic rights to appear for civil services examinations and more rights, economic in nature, fo...
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Catalysthere wrote...
Ghandi was a true Hero, Welcome to http://www.squidoo.com/groups/heroesandheroines you are a featured lens for week commencing 20th October 2008
Posted October 20, 2008
JudyDunn wrote...
What a wonderful lens. There can never be enough information out in the world about people such as Ghandi. Thank you for creating this opportunity to share more about his story.
Posted September 17, 2008
Oosquid wrote...
I can't believe it's been 25 years since the Ghandi movie, a powerful film about a powerful man. Fabulous lens,5 stars.
Posted September 17, 2008
Gandhi Links
Read more about Gandhiji at these sites
- TIME 100: Mohandas Gandhi
- His philosophy of nonviolence and his passion for independence began a drive for freedom that doomed colonialism.
- BBC - History - Mohandas Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
- Known as Mahatma ('Great-Soul'), Gandhi was the leader of the Indian nationalist movement against British rule, and is widely considered the father of his country. His doctrine of non-violent protest to achieve political and social progress has been hugely influential.
- Nobelprize.org - Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate
- Mahatma Gandhi has become a symbol of peace. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times, but never won. Why?
