Life & Accomplishments Of Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. Gandhiji was more influenced by his mother, a saintly, a religious- minded lady. He was one of the most respected political and spiritual leaders of the time. He helped in the freeing the Indian people from the oppressive hands of the British through the use of nonviolent resistance. India recognized the contributions he made to the country and named him the father of the nation. Gandhi was named Mahatma by the people of India meaning great soul.

The life of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi married his wife Kasturba at the age of 13 years. He studied law in London and returned to India in the year 1891. In London, Gandhi had decided to mould himself into an English gentleman but later realized it was all waste of time and money. He therefore decided to live a simple life and take on his studies seriously. The simple kind of life he decided to live made him discover that he was a vegetarian. He joined the London vegetarian community in his search for Vegetarian hotels. Through this society, Gandhi started to read the Bhagavad-Gita, a poem that was considered sacred by Hindus and a series of many other books.

Gita was the main source of inspiration for Gandhiji. He took it as a spiritual reference book and learnt about truth and non- violence from it. To him “The Gita became an infallible code of conduct.” In the year 1893, he took a 1 year contract to do legal work in South Africa so as to improve his Self- confidence at trials. Gandhi stayed in South Africa for 21 years, suffering at the hands of the British who were the colonizers of South Africa. His stay in South Africa saw him transform from a silent and shy man to a strong and resilient leader against discrimination. Gandhi experienced his first form of discrimination in South Africa after he was thrown out of a train while he was on his journey to Transvaal for his first case.

At that cold night, Gandhi decided to fight against the injustices. The tribulations faced by others and which he was later to face encouraged him to develop a method of nonviolence fight for justice based on courage and truth called Satyagraha. In his life, Gandhi believed that the way people behave is more important than what they think. As a way of obtaining political and social targets, Satyagraha promoted the use of civil disobedience and nonviolence. Gandhi opted to use fasting to show others the need of nonviolent means in their struggle. He learned more about the grievances faced by other Indians, studied law organized petitions and wrote letters to the officials, all in the process of fighting against injustice.

Gandhi became a leader of the Indian community in South Africa. He joined the National Indian Congress. In the year 1896, he went back to India to take his wife and his son with him to South Africa. Gandhi went back to India in 1915 and within 15 years, he became the leader of the Indian nationalist movement. He used the same principle of Satyagraha to lead Indians in the campaign for independence from British. In the process of fighting for justice, Gandhi was arrested many times by the British colonialists both in South Africa and in India (Fischer, 1983).

He was sentenced for seven years for inciting people against the British. He believed that going to jail for a just cause was an honor. His simple lifestyle and minimal dressing earned him envy from the people. He spent his life in fighting for the rights of the poor people and advocated for the removal of British colonialists from India. Gandhi’s way of fighting for justice using nonviolent tactics was emulated by other human rights activists in the world such as Martin Luther King Jnr. Gandhi worked very hard to preserve the Hindu-Muslim relation (Easwaran, 1997). He had observed a 21 day fast in his cell when a Muslim-Hindu war broke out at kohat. Gandhi suffered humiliations from the leaders of the Indian untouchables.

Achievements of Mahatma Gandhi

Satyagraha

The idea and practice of Satyagraha constitutes the heart and soul of Gandhism and It inculcates ‘agraha’ or mortal pressure for the sake of truth. Gandhi Ji Shook by this unjust encounter in his train journey to Transvaal, he set on a non-violent movement based on Satyagraha to expose the evils of racial discrimination (apartheid). His tireless efforts bore fruit and he succeeded in his mission to liberate people against apartheid. Satyagraha emphasizes internal strength and offers more determined opposition to injustice and tyranny than passive resistance.

Non-cooperation Movement

He instituted Non Co-operation Movement in 1920. The protestors refused to use British goods and started using everything manufactured in India. Everything and every institution that belongs to British were boycotted. It was apt to paralyze the Government. Non Cooperation may be resorted in the form of ‘hartal’, social ostracism or picketing.

Civil Disobedience Movement

Mahatma Gandhi led the Civil Disobedience Movement in the year 1930. It proved to be a significant milestone in the annals of Indian Nationalism. With his followers he indulged in Dandi March and prepared salt and broke the salt law of the British. The chief ideology of this movement was to defy the laws made by the British. As the hand and guidance of Mahatma Gandhi was in this movement, success was bound to follow and the same happened.

Quit India Movement

The Quit India Movement is also known as Bharat Chhodo Andolan or the August Movement. This movement was launched in August 1942. This movement was a response to Gandhiji’s call for immediate independence. The British put all their atrocities into practice to curb it but the spark ignited by Gandhiji had been turned into a blazing flame. His efforts bore fruits and India got independence in next five years.Mahatma Gandhi’s accomplishments can’t be bound in words. It was under his forceful guidance that National Movements of India took shape, were put into practice and succeeded.

Controversies

Here are some claims that have the Father of the Nation embroiled in controversy:

1. In a letter to Adolf Hitler, Gandhi had said, "We have no doubt about your bravery or devotion to your fatherland and nor do we believe that you are the monster described by your opponents." This according to many observers showed that Gandhi did not hold Hitler who killed many Jews accountable for his crimes.
2. Recently newly revealed letters added to speculation about Mahatma Gandhi being gay. As letters between a South African bodybuilder named Hermann Kallenbach and Gandhi suggested that the pair may have had a physical relationship.
3. The Poona Pact between Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi was signed to save the latter's life as he was on a fast unto to death to stop separate electorate in parliament for Dalits. Many people say that the move appeared to deny the Dalits any real access to power.
4. Mahatma Gandhi had taken a public vow of celibacy at age 37 and toward the end of his life he undertook what he described as the last yajna or ritual to test his sexual impulses. His exercise involved by sleeping naked with young women in his ashram. He acknowledged “that this experiment is very dangerous indeed,” but insisted “that it was capable of yielding great results.” This has been viewed with suspicion by sceptics.