2. Introduction
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MOHANDAS Karamchand Gandhi, the youngest son of
Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai, was born on October 2,
1869. His birthplace was Porbander, a small seaside town
in the Kathiawar peninsula of western India. His mother
was a devout and religious woman who attended temple
services daily and never ate before she prayed.
3. •
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In May 1883, the 13-year-old Mohandas was married to 14-year-old Kasturbai
Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and
affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, according to the custom
of the region.[18] In the process, he lost a year at school.[19] Recalling the day
of their marriage, he once said, "As we didn't know much about marriage, for
us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives."
However, as was prevailing tradition, the adolescent bride was to spend much
time at her parents' house, and away from her husband.[20] In 1885, when
Gandhi was 15, the couple's first child was born, but survived only a few days.
Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, had also died earlier that year.[21] The
religious background was eclectic. Gandhi's father was Hindu[22] Modh
Baniya[23] and his mother was from Pranami Vaishnava family. Religious
figures were frequent visitors to the home.[24]
Mohandas and Kasturba had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in
1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in
1900.[18] At his middle school in Porbandar and high school in Rajkot,
Gandhi remained a mediocre student. He shone neither in the classroom nor
on the playing field. One of the terminal reports rated him as "good at English,
fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad
handwriting." He passed the matriculation exam at Samaldas College in
Bhavnagar, Gujarat, with some difficulty. Gandhi's family wanted him to be a
barrister, as it would increase the prospects of succeeding to his father's post.
[25]
4. HISTORY
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In 1888, he went to London to study law. He returned to Bombay
to work as a barrister but went to South Africa to work in 1907.
In South Africa, he took part in passive protests against the
Transvaal government's treatment of Indian settlers who were in
the minority in the region. In 1915, he returned to India and,
after joining the Congress movement, he emerged as one of the
party's leaders.
•
Gandhi encouraged Indians to boycott British goods and buy
Indian goods instead. This helped to revitalise local economies in
India and it also hit home at the British by undermining their
economy in the country. Gandhi preached passive resistance,
believing that acts of violence against the British only provoked a
negative reaction whereas passive resistance provoked the British
into doing something which invariably pushed more people into
supporting the Indian National Congress movement.
5. •
Gandhi was imprisoned in 1922, 1930, 1933 and in 1942. While in prison, he
went on hunger strike. His fame was such that his death in prison would make
international headlines and greatly embarrass the British at a time when
Britain was condemning dictators in Europe.
•
In 1931, Gandhi came to Britain for the Round Table conferences. Nothing was
achieved except for the publicity that Gandhi received for dressing in the
clothes of an Indian villager; Gandhi saw this type of dress as perfectly norma
for a man who represented the Indian people. The British representatives at
the conference were more soberly dressed in formal morning dress.
•
When in India, Gandhi took on the British where possible. He famous walk to
the sea to produce salt was typical of his actions. Britain had a monopoly on
salt production in India and Gandhi saw this as wrong. Hence his decision to
produce salt by the sea.
•
He realised that the religious issues of India were too deep for any remedy to
work. Hence he collaborated with Mountbatten and Wavell in the build up to
independence in 1947. This association with the break-up of India was to cost
him his life. There had been one assassination attempt on Gandhi on January
20th 1948 - it had failed. Just ten days later on the 30th January, he was
assassinated by a Hindu fanatic who could not forgive Gandhi for his belief
that Muslims had equal value to Hindus and no-one was better than anybody
else.
He was shot dead on 30 January 1948.
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