Digital illustration based on historical photographs.
Mohandas Gandhi had no army and never held political office. Yet he became a hero of India’s struggle for independence from the British Empire. Gandhi’s weapon was resistance: millions of Indians refused to cooperate with British rule, while Gandhi insisted that they resist without violence.
Early Life and Education
Gandhi came from a prominent family of government officials in western India. After the death of his father, a family adviser recommended that he study law in England and prepare for a career in government. As Gandhi studied law in London, he purchased new clothes and practiced speaking English without his Indian accent to fit into British society.
After a few months, Gandhi realized he was pretending to be someone he was not. Instead of trying to be British, he began studying his own Indian culture while living in London.
Awakening in South Africa
Gandhi took a job as a lawyer in South Africa, which, like India, was part of the British Empire. He spent the next twenty years fighting discrimination against South Africa’s Indian minority, developing satyagraha, a method of resisting injustice without violence.
Return to India
After twenty years defending Indian rights in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in 1915 to a hero’s welcome. On the advice of his political mentor, he spent much of his first year traveling through India. He traveled third class and wore simple Indian clothing so he could experience the lives of ordinary people. Gandhi also began speaking out against untouchability, the centuries-old discrimination against people at the bottom of India’s caste system.
Non-Violent Protest
Gandhi and his followers opposed British rule through civil disobedience and non-violent protest. In 1919, he called for a nationwide strike against a British law that allowed citizens to be imprisoned without trial. Indians closed businesses, stopped working, fasted, and prayed. When violence broke out, Gandhi halted the campaign, believing non-violence could succeed only if his followers refused to answer violence with violence.
Boycott and Self-Reliance
Gandhi became a leader of a growing movement for independence from Britain. He urged Indians to boycott British cloth. India exported raw cotton to Britain, then imported cloth manufactured in British factories. To promote self-reliance, Gandhi spun his own yarn, wore simple Indian cloth, and urged others to do the same. As Gandhi’s popularity grew, many Indians began calling him Mahatma, meaning “great soul.”
Independence
After World War II ended in 1945, India’s independence campaign finally succeeded. Although the British were victorious, the war shattered their economy. Concluding the cost of maintaining colonial rule over an unwilling subcontinent was too high, Britain began turning over power to the Indian people.
Partition
In 1947, Britain divided its former colony into two independent nations, India and Pakistan. This split, known as Partition, forced millions of Hindus and Muslims to flee their homes amid widespread religious violence. Gandhi considered the division of his homeland the greatest disappointment of his life. He fasted to stop the bloodshed, successfully calming violence in Calcutta and Delhi.
Assassination
On January 30, 1948, less than two weeks after his final fast, Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu extremist while walking to a prayer meeting. Although he could not prevent Partition, Gandhi proved that non-violence could bring down an empire, inspiring civil rights movements around the world.
Resources
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Mr. Donn has an excellent website that includes a section on India.