Mahatma Gandhi was a political and spiritual leader who played a key role in India’s struggle for independence from British rule. He was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, a coastal town in present-day Gujarat, India.
Gandhi studied law in England and then worked as a lawyer in South Africa, where he first became involved in political activism. He returned to India in 1915 and began leading campaigns of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance against British rule. Gandhi believed in the power of peaceful protest and urged his followers to resist the British with nonviolent means.
Gandhi’s campaigns of nonviolent resistance included boycotts, strikes, and peaceful demonstrations. He also undertook several hunger strikes to protest the treatment of the Indian people. Gandhi was arrested several times for his activities, but his nonviolent protests eventually helped to bring about India’s independence from Britain in 1947.
Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and his emphasis on self-discipline and moral values have had a profound influence on people around the world. He is remembered as one of the most important leaders of the 20th century and as a symbol of peace and justice. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a Hindu nationalist who disagreed with his views on religious tolerance.