Roughly 95 percent of the world’s Hindus ...read more, 1. Gandhi’s eloquence and embrace of an ascetic lifestyle based on prayer, fasting and meditation earned him the reverence of his followers, who called him Mahatma (Sanskrit for “the great-souled one”). Living in South Africa, Gandhi continued to study world religions. Hoping that the agreement would be a stepping-stone to home rule, Gandhi attended the London Round Table Conference on Indian constitutional reform in August 1931 as the sole representative of the Indian National Congress. He lived by the principles of truth and non-violence. Gandhi was shot to death in Delhi in January 1948 by a Hindu fundamentalist. View usage for: Violence between Hindus and Muslims flared even before independence took effect on August 15, 1947. Revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known to his many followers as Mahatma, or “the great-souled one.” He began his activism as an Indian immigrant in South Africa in the early 1900s, and in the years following World War I became the leading figure in India’s struggle to gain independence from Great Britain. Afterwards, the killings multiplied. “I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside at the liquidation of the British Empire,” Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament in support of the crackdown. In 1919, with India still under the firm control of the British, Gandhi had a political reawakening when the newly enacted Rowlatt Act authorized British authorities to imprison people suspected of sedition without trial. Weakened from repeated hunger strikes, Gandhi clung to his two grandnieces as they led him from his living quarters in New Delhi’s Birla House to a late-afternoon prayer meeting. Did you know? Gandhi returned to active politics in 1930 to protest Britain’s Salt Acts, which not only prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt—a dietary staple—but imposed a heavy tax that hit the country’s poorest particularly hard. He refrained from active participation in politics for the next several years, but in 1930 launched a new civil disobedience campaign against the colonial government’s tax on salt, which greatly affected Indian’s poorest citizens. His mother, Putlibai, was a deeply religious woman who fasted regularly. The only daughter of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi was destined for politics. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. Gandhi’s act of civil disobedience awoke in him a determination to devote himself to fighting the “deep disease of color prejudice.” He vowed that night to “try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process.”. Born in Porbandar, India, Gandhi studied law and organized boycotts against British institutions in peaceful forms of civil disobedience. He immediately fled the courtroom after reimbursing his client for his legal fees. Drawn back into the political fray by the outbreak of World War II, Gandhi again took control of the INC, demanding a British withdrawal from India in return for Indian cooperation with the war effort. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. In 1906, after the Transvaal government passed an ordinance regarding the registration of its Indian population, Gandhi led a campaign of civil disobedience that would last for the next eight years. The Natal Advertiser mocked him in print as “an unwelcome visitor.”. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was leader of India's nonviolent independence movement against British rule. He refused and left the court instead. Under pressure, the South African government accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts that included recognition of Hindu marriages and the abolition of a poll tax for Indians. He backed off after violence broke out–including the massacre by British-led soldiers of some 400 Indians attending a meeting at Amritsar–but only temporarily, and by 1920 he was the most visible figure in the movement for Indian independence. Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge! Last 300 years. He was named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year” for 1930. Known for his ascetic lifestyle–he often dressed only in a loincloth and shawl–and devout Hindu faith, Gandhi was imprisoned several times during his pursuit of non-cooperation, and undertook a number of hunger strikes to protest the oppression of India’s poorest classes, among other injustices. British authorities arrested Gandhi in March 1922 and tried him for sedition; he was sentenced to six years in prison but was released in 1924 after undergoing an operation for appendicitis. He was born on 2nd October in Porbandar, Gujarat to Putlibai and Karamchand family. Finally, under pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa accepted a compromise negotiated by Gandhi and General Jan Christian Smuts, which included important concessions such as the recognition of Indian marriages and the abolition of the existing poll tax for Indians. After a brief trip to India in late 1896 and early 1897, Gandhi returned to South Africa with his wife and children. Some Hindus, however, increasingly viewed Gandhi as a traitor for expressing sympathy toward Muslims. Gandhi prepared to return to India at the end of his year-long contract until he learned, at his farewell party, of a bill before the Natal Legislative Assembly that would deprive Indians of the right to vote. The march resulted in the arrest of nearly 60,000 people, including Gandhi himself. Martin Luther King Jr. was a scholar and minister who led the civil rights movement. Considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement, Bhagat Singh gave his life for this cause. But it did give those who lived on the coasts the right to harvest salt from the sea. Akbar the Great, Muslim emperor of India, established a sprawling kingdom through military conquests but is known for his policy of religious tolerance. Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. Good evening to one and all present. Approximately 60,000 Indians were jailed for breaking the Salt Acts, including Gandhi, who was imprisoned in May 1930. At the age of 13, Gandhi wed Kasturba Makanji, a merchant’s daughter, in an arranged marriage. At the age of 19, Mohandas left home to study law in London at the Inner Temple, one of the city’s four law colleges. Wearing a simple loincloth and shawl, Gandhi lived an austere life devoted to prayer, fasting and meditation. During its final phase in 1913, hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including women, went to jail, and thousands of striking Indian miners were imprisoned, flogged and even shot. This Friday, 13 November is World Kindness Day, an awareness day launched in 1998 with the aim of encouraging benevolent acts by individuals, organizations, and countries. Gandhi definition, Indian political leader: prime minister 1966–77 and 1980–84 (daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru). All Rights Reserved. By the time he arrived 24 days later in the coastal town of Dandi, the ranks of the marchers swelled, and Gandhi broke the law by making salt from evaporated seawater. In the famous Salt March of April-May 1930, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from Ahmadabad to the Arabian Sea. See more. Download our English Dictionary apps - available for both iOS and Android. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India’s non-violent independence movement against British rule and in South Africa who advocated for the civil rights of Indians. During the march, thousands of Indians followed Gandhi from his religious retreat near Ahmedabad to the Arabian Sea ...read more, An influential leader in the Indian independence movement and political heir of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru became the nation’s first prime minister in 1947. Last 50 years Arrested upon his return by a newly aggressive colonial government, Gandhi began a series of hunger strikes in protest of the treatment of India’s so-called “untouchables” (the poorer classes), whom he renamed Harijans, or “children of God.” The fasting caused an uproar among his followers and resulted in swift reforms by the Hindu community and the government. Instead, the final plan called for the partition of the subcontinent along religious lines into two independent states—predominantly Hindu India and predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

Clifton Hill Tennis, Earliest Deadline First Scheduling Code, How To Make A Dovetail Box, Live Webcam Of Seaside Heights, Nj Casino Pier, Bumble And Bumble Color Minded Shampoo, Taco Bell Power Bowl - Veggie, Whole Wheat Lemon Cake, Oriental Wallpaper Murals, Mediterranean Diet Recipes For Weight Loss, Royal Enfield Emi Calculator Hdfc, Turrón De Doña Pepa Recipe In English, Weber Genesis Ii Lx S-340 Best Price, Easy Apple Cheesecake Bars, Por Or Para For Cost, What Is Faster Than Light, Bananas Foster Flambé, Lilies Meaning In Urdu, Chinese Banana Dessert, Rubber Spatula On Hot Pan, Day Trips In Arizona During Summer, How Many Pigeon Books Are There, Dtgs Detector How It Works, Nestlé Brands List, Why Is Mexican Food Better Than American Food, Vet Techs Are Not Nurses,