On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the coastal city of Porbandar, in what is now the Indian state of Gujarat, and the man whom the world would remember as the Mahatma, the "great soul." His name would later become synonymous with nonviolent resistance, and his birthday would be declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Nonviolence.
Gandhi studied law in London between 1888 and 1891. In 1893, he went to South Africa as a young lawyer. He spent nearly two decades there and encountered the racial discrimination faced by Indian immigrants. It was in South Africa that he began to develop his idea of satyagraha - resistance based on truth, moral fortitude, and the rejection of physical violence.
From lawyer to leader of a mass movement
When he returned to India in 1915, Gandhi gradually became one of the most influential leaders of the struggle against British rule. Instead of armed rebellion, he encouraged boycotts, civil disobedience, strikes, marches, and non-cooperation with the colonial authorities.
The most memorable episode of this strategy was the Salt March in 1930. On March 12, Gandhi left the Sabermati Ashram at the head of a group of followers and headed for the coastal village of Dandi. After about 240 miles, or nearly 386 kilometers, the participants reached the sea and broke the British monopoly on salt by producing their own salt from seawater. The simple gesture turned the salt tax into a symbol of the entire colonial system and led to the arrests of tens of thousands of people.
In 1942, the Indian National Congress adopted the "Quit India" call, which demanded that Britain immediately end its rule. The British authorities responded with mass arrests, including of Gandhi and other leaders. The movement became the last major national campaign before independence.
Independence did not end its struggle
India declared independence on August 15, 1947, but the partition of the country and the creation of Pakistan were accompanied by severe intercommunal violence. Gandhi did not participate in official celebrations that day. He is in Calcutta, where he is fasting, praying and calling on Hindus and Muslims to stop the attacks. For him, political freedom has no meaning without religious tolerance and human dignity.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot dead in New Delhi. His death came just months after independence, but his ideas continue to influence movements for civil rights and social change around the world. The United Nations quotes one of his messages:
“Non-violence is the greatest power available to mankind.“
Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times - in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and 1948 - but he never won. In 1948, the prize was not awarded after he was assassinated before nominations were closed.
In India, Gandhi is revered as the “Father of the Nation“, although the Indian government states that there is no official act conferring this title on him. It remains not a title, but a public recognition of his role in the liberation of the country and his attempt to turn morality into a political force.
Sources: nobelprize.org, history.com, time.com, gandhismriti.gov.in, un.org