Mahatma Gandhi
Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, in Kathiawar, India. (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. (2014). The Biography.com website. Para. 2) As a young boy, Gandhi was generally soft spoken, shy, and a lack luster student during his schooling. Being born into a merchant caste family in British-ruled India also did not put him above any other children of his age during his time, but his great morality and commitment to the common good propelled him into a position of great power and admiration in India and around the world.
After studying law in London, England, Mohandas returned to India where he was hired by an Indian Law Firm and subsequently sent to South Africa as a legal representative. Upon arrival, he began to observe the discrimination of Indian immigrants and native Africans in the country and vowed to make a change. During Gandhi’s twenty-year stay, he led an eight-year long campaign of civil disobedience that caused hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including himself, to be imprisoned. Finally after pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa conceded to a compromise negotiated by Mohandas Gandhi along with General Jan Christian Smuts, which included concessions such as the abolition of poll tax for Indians, as well as recognition of Indian marriages. (Mohandas Gandhi. (2010). History.com. Para. 4) Afterwards, Gandhi travelled back to India to lead one of the most notable non-violent protests of its time, the Salt March. This protest weakened British power over the people of India, and would later run Britain out of India entirely, granting independence to the country in 1947.
After studying law in London, England, Mohandas returned to India where he was hired by an Indian Law Firm and subsequently sent to South Africa as a legal representative. Upon arrival, he began to observe the discrimination of Indian immigrants and native Africans in the country and vowed to make a change. During Gandhi’s twenty-year stay, he led an eight-year long campaign of civil disobedience that caused hundreds of Indians living in South Africa, including himself, to be imprisoned. Finally after pressure from the British and Indian governments, the government of South Africa conceded to a compromise negotiated by Mohandas Gandhi along with General Jan Christian Smuts, which included concessions such as the abolition of poll tax for Indians, as well as recognition of Indian marriages. (Mohandas Gandhi. (2010). History.com. Para. 4) Afterwards, Gandhi travelled back to India to lead one of the most notable non-violent protests of its time, the Salt March. This protest weakened British power over the people of India, and would later run Britain out of India entirely, granting independence to the country in 1947.