Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known as the 'Mahatma' or 'father of the nation' in India, led the Indian nationalist movement against British rule through non-violent protest. Born on October 2, 1869, in Gujarat, India, he experienced discrimination in South Africa, which fueled his commitment to fighting injustices through his philosophy of satyagraha. After returning to India, he became a prominent figure in the struggle for independence, was assassinated in 1948, and left a lasting legacy of non-violence and simple living.

1. MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND
GANDHI
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER - KNOWN AS FATHER OF THE NATION IN INDIA
Known as 'Mahatma' (great soul), Gandhi was the leader of the Indian
nationalist movement against British rule, and is widely considered the father of
his country. He was a peacemaker. His doctrine of non-violent protest to

3. GANDHI…the early years
Born on 2nd October 1869 in Gujarat, India.
Gandhi went to England to study to become a
barrister/lawyer in 1888. He learned Latin and
French and became a lawyer after which he
returned to India.
In 1893 he moved to Natal in South Africa to
work as a legal advisor for a Gujarati
businessman there

4. Gandhi in South Africa 1893 - 1913
In SA, Indians were ill-treated and disgraced. They were called
‘coolies’. It was his first experience on a train to Pretoria that
changed the course of Gandhi’s life.
He decided at this point to fight all injustices with the weapon of
Truth and he called this Satyagraha. He became a successful
lawyer and gave inspiring speeches to stop the injustice. He went
back to India after 3 years.
When he returned to SA with his family, Gandhi was mobbed by
angry South Africans and hurt badly. The South African Govt.
wanted Gandhi to complain about the white people that did this to
him, but he refused and this had a very good effect on the whites.
He continued to fight against the Black Act in SA and led 6000
Indians to repeal several laws that were to their detriment. He
never once used violence even though they were hit by the police.

5. Gandhi and India
Gandhi returned to India in 1914 and set up the
Satyagraha Ashram in Gujarat. He did all the
work that his workers would do and set an
example.
By 1916, Gandhi and his speeches were well
known. He travelled all over India to help the
poor and listen to their worries. He eventually
gave up wearing fancy clothes and wore a onepiece loin cloth.

6. Gandhi became very involved in India’s struggle for
freedom against the British empire and colonialism.
He used his philosophy of satyagraha – a policy of
non-violence and non cooperation to achieve
independence.
He was jailed for 2 years also. In 1946 he negotiated
with the Cabinet Mission to have a new structure and
eventually India received her independence in 1947.
After independence, there was a lot of Hindu &
Muslim fighting (because the Britsh mapped the
countries of Pakistan and India as separate). This
hurt Gandhi as he believed in non-violence. He
started to fast to ask people to stop fighting.
He was assassinated by a Hindu in Delhi while trying
to resolve this conflict in 1948.

7. Gandhi’s Legacy
Even after his death, Gandhi's commitment to
non-violence and his belief in simple living—
making his own clothes, eating a vegetarian diet
and using fasts for self-purification as well as a
means of protest—have been a beacon of hope
for oppressed and marginalized people
throughout the world.

8. What is so special about
Gandhi?what they believe
FAITH IN HIMSELF “Men often become
themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me
incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the
ability to do it even if I didn't have it in the beginning.”
RESISTANCE & PERSISTENCE “First they ignore you, then they
laugh at you, then they fight you and then you win.”
FORGIVENESS “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the
attribute of the strong.”
BELIEFS “Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is
important that you do it”
NON VIOLENCE “An eye for an eye would soon make the whole
world blind.”
“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts
become your words. Your words become your actions. Your
actions become your habits. Your habits become your values.

10. Inspiration to the world
A Short Film from Freedom Riders
http://video.pbs.org/video/1568403914/