GandhiFrom rebel to father of the nation

We take you on the incredible journey of an audacious teenagerfrom a privileged background who went on to become an apostle ofpeace, and subsequently helped overthrow the British rule in India

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wasborn on October 2, 1869, in theprincely state of Porbandar, now

modern-day Gujarat. His father, KaramchandGandhi, was a high-ranking official of theregional government. Gandhi’s mother, Put-libai, was a devout follower of Vaishnavism.Gandhi had three siblings – two brothers anda sister. Like many teenagers Gandhi fell preyto bad company and picked up poor habits.Gandhi once stole a piece of gold to pay offa debt that his brother had incurred. He knewhe had committed a serious crime and con-fessed his misdeeds to his father by writinga letter to him. Seeing his father’s disap-pointment, Gandhi vowed to never veer fromthe path of righteousness.

1869Reckless and fiery

1883Marries Kasturba in anarranged child marriage

Gandhi married Kasturba Makhan-ji at the age of 13. Later, he went onto disclose that marriage didn’t

mean anything to him at the time. He wasjust happy and excited about wearing a setof new clothes. When he grew up, Gandhialways condemned child marriage andspoke against this practice. His marriagelasted until the death of Kasturba in 1944.They had four children: Harilal, Manilal,Ramdas and Devdas.

1891Returns to India to beginhis career as a lawyer

Gandhi suffered from extreme shyness– an unlikely quality for an aspiringlawyer. In his first courtroom case, a

nervous Gandhi blanked out when the timecame for him to cross-examine a witness. Hefled the courtroom after reimbursing his clientthe legal fees. He painfully recalled, “My headwas reeling and I felt as though the whole courtwas doing likewise.” Gandhi’s attempts to bea lawyer failed but he never gave up workingin other capacities in legal firms.

T he Non-Cooperation Movement be-gan under the leadership of Gandhiand the Indian National Congress.

From September 1920 to February 1922, itmarked a new awakening in the Indian In-dependence Movement. After a series ofevents, including the Jallianwala Bagh mas-

sacre, Gandhi realised that there wasno hope of getting any justice from theBritish. After Jallianwala Bagh, Indi-ans were asked to relinquish their ti-tles and resign from nominated seatsin the local bodies as a mark of protest.People were requested to resign fromtheir government jobs and boycott for-eign goods. They were also asked notto serve in the British army. Gandhicalled off the movement on February12, 1922 in the wake of the ChauriChaura incident where a violent mobset fire to a police station, killing 22policemen during a clash between thepolice and protesters of the movement.However, the movement sent a joltamong the British. It also establishedGandhiji as a leader of the masses.

Gandhi began studies at the Universi-ty College, London. During his stay inLondon, from 1888 to 1891, he started

following a vegetarian diet and joined the ex-ecutive committee of the London Vegetari-an Society. His stint in England provided op-portunities for widening his horizons andgetting a better understanding of religionsand cultures. He also developed an interestin books on philosophy, particularly those byLeo Tolstoy, John Ruskin and Henry DavidThoreau. Putlibai, his mother, passed awaywhen he was in London but this news waskept from him until he returned to India.

1888Reaches England to study law

1893Sailed to SouthAfrica to work for alaw firm

South African railway incidentmade Gandhi determined to fightracial oppression

Aseminal moment occurred on June 7, 1893,during a train trip to Pretoria, South Africa,when a white man objected to Gandhi’s pres-

ence in a first-class railway compartment, althoughhe had a valid ticket. When Gandhi refused to moveto another compartment, he was thrown off the trainat Pietermaritzburg station. He stayed at the stationthat night shivering in the cold. This incident prompt-ed him to remain for 21 years in South Africa andfight for civil rights. In his autobiography, Gandhiwrote, “It was winter. The cold was extremely bitter.I began to think of my duty. Should I fight for myrights or go back to India, should I go on to Pretoriawithout minding the insults, and return to India af-ter finishing the case? It would be cowardice to runback to India without fulfilling my obligations.” Thesame unassuming man would go on to become a gi-ant force for civil rights. Next, Gandhi formed theNatal Indian Congress (NIC) in 1894 to fight dis-

crimination against Indians in South Africa. 1908Arrested for the first time

On January 10, 1908, Gandhi was arrestedfor the first time for refusing to carry anobligatory identity document card com-

monly known as the ‘pass’. He was released inFebruary after negotiations with the government.When he was arrested later that year, he read thebook, “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thore-au and became even more committed to peacefulresistance. In South Africa, Gandhi also set upPhoenix Farm, near Durban, where he trainedhis cadres on peaceful restraint or non-violentSatyagraha. This farm was considered to be thecradle of Satyagraha. He also set up another farm— Tolstoy Farm — where Satyagraha was mould-ed into a weapon of protest.

1917Led Champaran Satyagraha

Gandhiji led a successful Satyagra-ha campaign fighting for the rightsof the indigo planters at Cham-

paran district in Bihar. Champaran wasa turning point in India’s freedom strug-gle. For the first time, using peacefulmeans, Gandhiji declared that the “Britishcannot order me about in my own coun-try”. Simultaneously, he stoked the latentembers of self-respect among Indians.

1915Gandhi returned to India

After his long stay in SouthAfrica — 20 years —Gandhi arrived in India

to a rousing welcome as a na-tionalist, theorist and organis-er. He was invited by Gopal Kr-ishna Gokhale, senior leader ofthe Indian National Congress tojoin the Indian National Move-ment against the British Raj.

1915Bestowed the title of Mahatma

Rabindranath Tagore referred to Gandhias Mahatma for the first time . The titlemeaning “Great Soul”, is given only to

the holiest men. Gandhi didn’t want to acceptit because he believed that all men are equal.While he reposed his faith in Gandhi as a leader,Tagore was critical of some of his policies, par-ticularly his adherence to non-cooperation.

1906Gandhi asks theIndian community in South Africa to refuse to comply with theTransvaal AsiaticRegistration Act

When the Transvaal (province of SA from 1910 to1994) government announced that all Indians mustregister and produce identification on demand or

risk deportation, Gandhi asked his countrymen to peace-fully put up a resistance. The Indians agreed, setting off sev-en years of protest between the Indians and the government.

1920 to1922

Launched the Non-Cooperation Movement

1930Led the famous Dandi March

In 1932, the British announced ‘The Com-munal Award’, considered to be one of thetools of the divide and rule in India. On

September 20, Gandhi sat on a ‘fast unto death’in Yerawada Central Jail, where he was lodgedat that time, to protest against the provisionof separate electorates for Dalits. An agree-ment (called Poona Pact) was signed by PtMadan Mohan Malviya, Dr BR Ambedkar andsome Dalit leaders at Yerawada Jail in Pune,to convince Gandhi to give up his fast.

1932Fight against untouchability

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

1944:Death of Kasturba. When Kasturba Gandhi realised that her end was near, shewished to be taken to Gandhi, who was at the Aga Khan Palace DetentionCamp in Pune. She died on February 22, 1944, with her head cradled onBapu’s lap. Paying a tribute, Gandhi said, “If anything she stood above me.But for her unfailing co-operation I might have been in the abyss.”

1944:Gandhi visits Muhammed Ali Jinnah in Bombay (now Mumbai), but isunable to work out an agreement that will keep India undivided.

1946: British Cabinet Mission publishes proposal for an Indian state, without Partition; Jinnah and the Muslim League reject the proposal.

1947:India attains Independence officially; the country faces Partitioninto two — India and Pakistan.

1948: In 1948, Gandhi kept a fast for five days to bring communal peace in the country. On January 30,

1948, while holding a prayer meeting inDelhi, he was shot dead by Vinayak

Nathuram Godse.

Why ‘BAPU’ is still relevant today

If humanity is toprogress, Gandhi isinescapable. He lived,thought, acted andinspired the vision ofhumanity, evolvingtowards a world ofpeace and harmony.

DR MARTIN LUTHER KING, American revolutionary

There is a danger among young-sters to be swayed away by theeconomics attached to thegame of cricket. It is becomingincreasingly difficult for themto keep a steady head on theirshoulders... The administratorsrun the risk of overplayingthe economics andunderplaying theethics. Gandhiji’svalues of integri-ty, persistenceand meeting basicneeds can come invery handy to sal-

vage the sport.

SUNIL GAVASKAR, former cricketer

In my view, four aspects of Gandhi’s legacyremain relevant, not just to India,but to the world. First, non-vio-lent resistance to unjust lawsand/or authoritarian govern-ments. Second, the promotionof inter-faith understand-ing and religious tolerance.Third, an economic modelthat does not pillagenature. Fourth,courtesy in pub-lic debate andtransparency inone’s publicdealings.

RAMCHANDRA GUHA,author

There are two Gandhian principles, which have influenced my life and activity. First,Gandhiji advocated that young people should bring to villages a blendof brain and brawn. Thesecond principle whichhas influenced me isGandhi’s advocacythat we should serveas trustees of our economic and intellectual wealth.

MS SWAMINATHAN,father of India’s Green Revolution

Gandhi would certainly havesomething to say today aboutinjustice, or perceivedinjustice. I came to realisethe relevance of Gandhi tothe Arab Spring’s resist-ance to dictatorial regimes,the anti-corruption movementin India, the threats to thelegitimacy of govern-ments in this coun-try, the Indianelites’ disdain forpolitics, and therole of moralityin economics.

MARK TULLY,veteran journalist

The marriage of the two was the culminationof the friendship of their parents

MahatmaGandhi (R)with hisbrother,LaxmidasGandhi,India, 1886

DioramadepictingGandhi’sevictionfrom afirst classrailwaytrain inSouthAfrica,1893

Gandhiaddressingthe Indiancommunityin SouthAfrica in 1910

Gandhi (centre)sitting with fourassociates infront of his legal practiceoffice atJohannesburg,South Africa

Mahatma Gandhi with Nobel LaureateRabindranath Tagore

Gandhi calledoff themovement onFebruary 12,1922 in thewake of theChauri Chauraincident

Gandhi picking up grains of salt atthe end of the Dandi March

1942Launched the Quit IndiaMovement in 1942

Kalam Azad, Nehru and Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel were arrested. Despite the lack of lead-ership, large-scale protests and demonstra-tions were held all over the country. TheBritish made more than 100,000 arrests, whilesome 10,000 people died in police firing.Though the Quit India Movement was sup-pressed by the British, they realised it wasnow impossible to rule over India. At the endof the war, the British indicated that powerwould soon be transferred to India. SubhasChandra Bose, was, by this time, organisingthe Indian National Army and the Azad Hindgovernment from outside the country.

Gandhi launched the Quit India Move-ment on August 9, 1942, demanding anend to British Rule in India. He made

a call for do-or-die in his Quit India speech.Within hours of the speech, almost all the mem-bers of the Indian National Congress (INC)were imprisoned without a trial. Several na-tional leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Abdul

Demonstrators lyingon the road to avoid clouds of teargas released by thepolice. They wereprotesting against the arrest of Gandhiand other IndianNational Congressleaders in 1942

Artist’s impression of Gandhi’s fast insupport of oppressed castes, 1932

Gandhi at theage of seven

The difference between what we do andwhat we are capable of doing would suf-

fice to solve most of the world’s prob-lems. Mahatma Gandhi

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an

indomitable will. Mahatma Gandhi

The British Salt Act of 1882 prohibitedIndians from collecting or selling saltand also imposed a heavy tax on it. The

Act created an uproar as salt was an impor-tant component in Indian cooking. In 1930,from March 12 to April 6, Gandhi marched 388km from Ahmedabad to Dandi, in Gujarat, toextract salt from seawater, as was the practiceof locals until the British Salt Act. Thousandsof Indians joined him in this the Salt Marchalso known as Dandi March. It sparked largescale acts of civil disobedience against Britishsalt laws by millions of Indians, leading to80,000 Indians being taken into police custody.

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Thousands congregated to bid farewell toGandhi in South Africa